By Darcie Fisher, for Town of Westwood
One gas-powered leaf blower running in your yard for 30 to 60 minutes emits as much carbon dioxide as a pickup truck driving from Texas to Alaska. It sounds hard to believe, but that was one fact discussed during a meeting of Westwood residents, including a group of Westwood High School students, interested in contributing to the town’s first Climate Resiliency Plan.
Town Planner Elijah Romulus led the meeting.
“We broke into five small groups based on different areas of the plan,” said Romulus. “Those five areas are: land use and transportation; natural and working lands; sustainable buildings and clean energy use; resiliency planning and implementation; and water and waste management.”
During the breakouts, the groups discussed hopes and concerns then came back together to share what they worked on.
“We are looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint while being business friendly,” said Romulus. “For instance, one group looked at the Route 109 corridor in Westwood and communities it crosses through, and talked about potentially lobbying the MBTA for a fixed bus route in that area.”
A 2017 study found that only about 3 percent of the town’s emissions were generated by municipal buildings and operations and that the bulk of emissions came from residential buildings, passenger vehicles, and the manufacturing industry.
The group will meet again on November 2, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at the Westwood Public Library main branch. Romulus urges more members of the public to attend.
“It’s important to come out so that your voice is heard,” said Romulus. “If you have any concerns or hopes around this plan, please join us. It’s all about climate action. There has definitely been an uptick in large climate events and natural disasters. We want to be prepared as a community to move forward.”
Residents are also encouraged to fill out a Climate Action, Resiliency and Sustainability survey which can be found here. A new youth survey recommended for residents from sixth grade to college age can be found here.
Romulus said the town’s goal is to have the Climate Resiliency Plan completed by next summer.
Thanks to Darcie Fisher and the Town of Westwood for contributing this article to Westwood Minute.
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