 Good morning. My name is Elizabeth Henry. I'm the president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. And I'm really honored to be facilitating this conversation today, and I thank you for joining us. I think it's clear that we are at a critical juncture. We've all read the IPCC report. We've all seen the recent wildfires, the heat from the summer, the flooding, climate changes impacts are here, and we cannot wait any longer. And this is why I'm so honored to be hosting this conversation among mayors and city counselors who are equally anxious to see local, state, and federal action. I'm here today, both representing the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund, we're the state affiliate for the League of Conservation Voters, and representing the Vermont Conservation Voters, Maine Conservation Voters, and the team, the New Hampshire team at the League of Conservation Voters. Today's conversation is part of this mayoral week of action, and LCV affiliates in 32 states are engaging their mayors to help call for the passage of a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package through Congress. We all agree that it must include robust investments in climate justice and jobs. The investments we're calling for must cut US emissions by at least 50% by 2030, put our nation fully on a path to 100% clean energy, powering our grid, our new cars and buses, buildings by 2035, to ensure that at least 40% of investments benefit low income communities and communities of color, who as we know have borne the brunt of toxic, toxics and fossil fuel pollution, and who we also know are the most vulnerable to climate impacts. And finally, to ensure that clean energy and climate investments can sustain high quality jobs. So we are thrilled to have with us today for climate champs from across New England, and they are leading on climate in their cities and states, and and we're seeing modeling that national leadership as well. So I will briefly introduce them, and then get right to questions. Towards the end of the conversation, we'll take a few questions from the audience. So you're welcome to use the chat function, which I'll be monitoring at any point during during the webinar. So first, Anne Watson, you were elected as Mayor of Montpelier, Vermont in March of 2018. And that was after serving on the Montpelier City Council for five and a half years, you were City Council President for three of those. You have been a really proud advocate for the Council's net zero energy goal and for issues that disproportionately affect Montpelier's renting population. I should note you're a teacher at Montpelier High School, you've taught physics, engineering and math for the past 13 years. Welcome. Next, we have my friend Jesse Lieuterman, an at large city councilor for Springfield, Massachusetts. You were born and raised in Springfield. You'll see this as a see this as a theme. You're very proud of Springfield and you've been the chairman of Springfield's first ever committee on sustainability and environment. You've served on the Council since 2017. And you are front and center in the fight to stop a biomass waste incinerator plant in Springfield, which we're looking forward to hearing more about. Next, we have Sarah Nichols, current Bangor City Councilor. You were first elected to public office in November of 2015, born and raised in Bangor and you went to work for the Maine Education Association. I'm interested in particular that you've worked with the council to partner with the town of Orno to establish a framework for joint municipal climate action that's in line with the state's broader goals. And I also want to acknowledge that you are joining us from vacation in your car. So you get a gold and silver star. Thank you so much for making time for this. Summers in Maine are precious and it means a lot that you're here today. And last but not least, we have Mayor Joyce Craig. You are the first woman ever elected as the mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire. You're born and raised in Manchester. You are proud queen city and also a proud member of the climate mayors. I think eight of the 13 New Hampshire mayors also join you on this team. You have continued the city's progress and economic development and taken real steps to protect the environment and make meaningful commitments to combating climate change, including a target of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030. So welcome, all of you. I'm going to start with the first question in the order that I introduced you and then we'll shake it up for the second question. So turning to you, Mayor Watson. Montpelier has really led. You are the first state capital in the nation to commit to net zero climate pollution for all city operations in 2030. It's a big deal. Can you talk to us a little bit about the types of climate actions you've taken so far and what you think it's going to take to meet the rest of that commitment? Yeah, thank you. Absolutely. So the city of Montpelier adopted this net zero goal quite a few years ago now and since then we have made some significant progress towards that goal. We have a couple of major projects that we did. One was we built a district heat plant that burns wood chips that heats all of our municipal downtown buildings as well as many of our buildings in the downtown renewably, which is just a fantastic project for the city that helped us switch off of burning oil for heat. That was a significant project for us and it was years in the making. In addition to that, we recently passed a bond to build a to do some significant upgrades to our wastewater treatment plant to increase the amount of methane that it was burning so that that facility could be thermally net zero and we're still in the process of determining what to do with the excess. We may generate electricity or we may end up drying the solids and folks may not know that wastewater treatment facilities are often the most energy intense operation that a municipality does and so to have that plant be thermally net zero is fantastic. Yeah, so those are just a couple of big projects that we've done. Other things include trying to stretch the money that we do have. We have we established an internal green revolving loan fund so that projects with sort of a short payback turnaround could be paid for with city money and then the savings from that could go back to being reinvested in in further projects for the city and that has helped us do things like weatherization on buildings or air sealing or making systems more efficient, which has been helpful but it really is about stretching the money that we do have. Montpelier-Vermont, though we may be the capital we are not necessarily we're not a big city and so we have to make every dollar count. That's a great answer and congratulations on all that progress. Turning to you, City Councilor Jesse Lieberman from Springfield, you are leading the push right now against the construction of this biomass waste incinerator in Springfield. I'm not sure how you're sleeping. I see you and I see you out there all the time on this issue and the state now has these draft regulations that would remove incentives for biomass incinerators for plants that are within five miles of EJ communities. Can you tell us more about how this journey has shaped your climate agenda? Sure, well Elizabeth, thank you so much for the question and it's great to be here with you and fellow councillors and mayors to talk about such important issues for our community. As you know and as some folks on the on the call may know, this has really been a more than decade long battle for the residents of the city of Springfield. This is an incinerator that you know started out as a proposal to burn construction and demolition debris in the largest city in western Massachusetts, the city of Springfield, which is our home, and really would have trucked in debris from the entire northeast to burn it in an environmental justice community in a community that has already been impacted so strongly and so negatively by generations of concentrated pollution and it's really one of the first initiatives that I got involved with in local government in the city of Springfield. It mobilized an entire generation of individuals in the city of Springfield cutting across neighborhood boundaries, cutting across any boundary you could imagine, and has continued for this long really because unfortunately it's taken a long time for the state's priorities to change towards where they really need to be headed, which is true clean green renewable energy production. What this has looked like today is the fact that most recently, even though after a decade of fighting the incinerator, we saw last year a proposal come up in a climate bill to once again extend tax credits to incinerators of this nature both in the city of Springfield and across the northeast, something that could impact all of our communities. It really brought back that same grassroots mobilization and what we have seen is a real serious reversal at the state level of their efforts to grant those types of incentives for these incinerators, which have since kind of switched away from construction demolition debris and towards what they call green wood, which is a longer conversation as to why that is still as harmful. But the truth is that this would not have been possible without the mobilization of activists across the city of Springfield and across the Commonwealth. We are still pushing the DOER and the state legislature to strengthen these protections even further because what they are still proposing is a rollback of what is in place now. While it would prevent incentives from being granted to incinerators in Springfield and incinerators within five miles of an environmental justice community, it would allow those same taxpayer energy-funded incentives to be granted to incinerators in other communities outside of the Commonwealth and some communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And we believe that we must protect all communities from pollution, not just the city of Springfield. So there's more work to be done, but it is an incredible testimony to the change that can be made when people step up to the plate. And we've seen more than one individual go on from that fight to hold elected office to lead on environmental issues in the Commonwealth. And so we know there's more work to be done, but are grateful for what we've achieved thus far. That's great. Now, turning to you, City Councilor Sarah Nichols, and I should have acknowledged that you were also the former mayor of Bangor as the chair of the City Council. So last February, the Bangor City Council adopted a resolve recognizing a climate emergency and committing to a planning process that was consistent with the state's climate action plan, which I love the title of, Maine Can't Wait is the name of the plan. Can you talk a little bit about where that process is now and what's what's happening next? Yeah. So pretty much back so in February, obviously we passed the resolve, but from that point in the past few months, because that was, I guess, only a few months ago, we have met with towns in the area, Orono as I think was alluded to earlier, we have an actual formalized agreement with and for those who don't know, Orono is the town just north of us, where the University of Maine is. And we started a partnership to kind of work on these things together. We are now, that was formalized, I was just checking the date was a month ago, as of the 15th. So I mean, that's still pretty new in terms of formalizing that. And we have started to reach out to the other municipalities surrounding the Phenom Scott River area where we are to hopefully get more buy in, because obviously these things are not just impact, if it impacts, Bangor is going to be impacting everyone around us as well. And obviously expanded on that. But also in between that time, we started really documenting all the things we had been doing, because we were, we had been working on all these projects like solar and a lot of work on our wastewater treatment plant to make it, well, I mean, long story short, there was, we were under consent decree actually with the EPA in regards to how our plant was set up and to keep from stormwater overflows going into the river, we had to totally revamp our sewer stormwater system, which has been to the tune of $25 plus million, but is going to save, I mean, it's going to save our river. So we've been trying to work on all those projects still concurrently and kind of document where we're at to see how much further we need to go based on the plan that we set back in February. So hopefully we hear back from more municipalities and partners to work on this. But we haven't set a meeting, our first meeting yet, because we only just sent out those requests to the other towns only a few a week ago. So still kind of new, but working fast. That's great. And last but not least, Mayor Craig, New Hampshire is not alone. I think most New England states are overwhelmingly car dependent. And New Hampshire together with all of us can't get to a net zero economy without really addressing the transportation sector. You've been a chance, you've been a champ for transportation solutions. And I was hoping you might be able to talk about your top priorities for electrification specifically. And with a follow on, I guess, invitation to talk a little bit about your vision for connecting Manchester to our regional rail system. Sure. Thank you so much for the question, Elizabeth. And it's great to be here with everyone and to hear the answers to these questions. Because as I sit here, I realize we share an awful lot in what we're doing. And I always find these conversations fantastic. So through the Volkswagen settlement, we added 14 propane fuel school buses to our fleet in an effort to improve our local air quality. And it's estimated that that will cut emissions from diesel buses by about 96%. Our hope obviously is to expand that to more of our bus MTA fleet, as well as the fleets within our department. So the car fleets within our departments. I've been a huge advocate for vehicle charging infrastructure. We have it at a few locations here in the city at the airport, for example. But we really need to, and we want to do more throughout the city to encourage that. And then our recently adopted 10 year plan highlights climate friendly infrastructure. So specifically talks about green streets, rails and trails to really encourage mobility, biking, walking, and additional parks. You talked and mentioned rail. I have been a huge advocate for rail from Boston to Manchester. And I feel like we're getting closer and closer with that. So it's really encouraging news. Last week, the board of mayor and Alderman here in Manchester approved rail station location in our downtown. We know that, you know, train travel is a green way to travel. And by using that, it's 30% less energy per passenger per mile than cars. So we really are optimistic that that'll happen sooner rather than later and really appreciate the funding that seems to be coming available to do that. That's great. Well, as your neighbor to the south, we'd love to have more rail connectivity between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. And I think this is a great segue to the next question. And I will turn it back to you, Mayor Craig. It's hard for people to conceptualize 3.5 trillion dollars. And it's hard for voters and constituents to understand what that means for them. So I'd like to invite each of you to reflect on the same question. And I'll turn to you in reverse order to localize this 3.5 trillion dollar package. Specifically, what could this kind of federal investment mean for your community in terms of climate and energy? What could you and your fellow leaders make possible in your cities and towns? So for me, I look at this opportunity as a once in a lifetime opportunity where we have these federal dollars that can really make a tremendous impact in our community. And the few things that I've thought about, obviously, the transportation that I just talked about, that would be and would make a huge impact on our community. For the last year and a half, the city has been working on our first major solar project here in the city of Manchester. It will be going on a former landfill on the west side. Originally, it was planned for one megawatt because that was a limitation. The governor, I believe, is going to be signing legislation that will allow us to expand to four megawatts. So that is our plan. So we're really excited about that. But being able to expand solar to more residents and throughout the city from a business perspective would be fantastic. And then I think just making it easier for communities to recognize and accept climate change, that climate change is real and everything that we're doing from a planning perspective to make sure that we are are doing that. So we are going through a CSO project, as the councilor had mentioned, you know, and our EPD division really does bring they begin their major projects by identifying what they need to do and what is required to address climate change and what those potential impacts are. And obviously, some of those changes that need to happen will cost more money, but they're necessary. And we all need to start looking at these major projects in the same way and make those changes now for the future. Turning to you, Councillor Nichols. Yeah, this one was actually harder than I thought it would be mostly because we have so many projects going on that I think would be worthwhile. But trying to pick the few that are like worth highlighting that would actually be the most impact, I think is hard because, I mean, the water and their sewer I mentioned, but we seem to have a grip on that with their funding. But something we have been working on, which is actually broadband, which would actually limit, I mean, Maine is a pretty rural state, and a lot of people commute to Bangor or Bangor. People just, I mean, until recently, I was commuting to Augusta every day to work. But if there was a way to have better broadband in our community, that would mean a lot less cars on the road. And so that's something we've already been looking at and identifying to try to use these funds for. But as a project, we've also been kind of working on, actually, we have RFPs back. So we're actually reviewing them right now. So they're a lot closer to being finalized. And I probably just hinted at, but I think that would actually be a really, it'd be a pretty impactful climate project, even though it's not usually what one thinks of as the immediate climate, but keeping people off the road and getting them more localized in their community is really important to us, especially in Maine. When we're, and I'm sure this is actually really familiar to every other New England state that we all drive a lot, because there's, or at least especially Vermont and New Hampshire, where our public transit is not as intense, I think, as other like Connecticut and Massachusetts can be in places. So that would be my big priority, besides all the ones I have mentioned that we're already working on. That's great. And Council Leaderman, what could you make possible in Springfield? You know, one of the things that came out of the original fight against the biomass incinerator is the fact that, you know, residents, advocates and elected officials in Springfield really began to look more closely at climate change and environmental justice issues and the way that they impact Springfield. And so while we've been working to hold off new polluters, and while we've been trying to send a clear message that the days of rubber stamping polluters in communities like ours are over, we've also been really working to get ahead. You know, since that time, we've put into place, written and put into place the Springfield Climate Action Plan with a goal of reducing pollution by 80% by 2050. We're currently working on upgrading that goal to bring it into compliance with what we know is what we need to do now, which is more. But we recently held a hearing and found that we completed 81% of that plan so far. We've saved millions of dollars by reducing energy usage, by upgrading municipal buildings. But we've been able to do that by working really hard, you know, to get grant funds, to find funding to be able to do this. The truth is, is that cities like Springfield are the ones that are in the most serious position of needing to respond to increased weather events and global climate change, but also are still having to spend so much money responding to the impacts of them. And so funds like this is so critical to help us really get ahead. One of the things that comes to mind is how much work we need to do to upgrade our housing infrastructure in the city of Springfield. We are one of the oldest cities in Massachusetts. Our housing structure is some of the oldest in Massachusetts. And what that means is that when we see these increased weather events like the heat waves that we've been experiencing, it is actually truly detrimental to the public health of our constituents. We know that there are people who are not able to really adapt to that because they don't have air conditioning in their homes because their homes are not constructed for this. So I think that being able to put in place broader retrofitting and upgrading for homeowners and tenants is going to be important. That's also going to have an important public health benefit. We want to be able to increase solar on our buildings. We're replacing four new school buildings in Springfield in the coming years, and they are solar ready, but we can't get reimbursed for solar installation through the funding formula that currently exists. So that's another example. And we talked about, I know a lot of conversation has happened today about public transportation. Interestingly enough, in Western Massachusetts, we also face an issue with public transportation even in the urban areas like the city of Springfield because unfortunately our RTAs are expected to be generating revenue as opposed to serving the community. And so to be able to make more investments in reducing the costs or making public transportation free and increasing the opportunity for routes in the city of Springfield is going to be critical as well. And the last thing I'll say is relative to this three and a half million, as we create these jobs that our community so desperately need, it's very important that we address child care. We know child care is an extremely serious expense for so many constituents that is out of reach. We want our constituents to be able to secure those jobs and have the child care safe, reliable, affordable child care to back it up in our communities while they are out there earning a living. So we know that we are out of time and that means that now is the time to think big and towards the future and that is what these funds will let us do. That's a great answer. I love how all of you are thinking so intersectionally about these issues of climate and environment. So let's turn it to you, Mayor Watson. What can you make possible? Yeah, thank you. Well, and I'm thinking too about your previous question, what will it take to move forward? And the short answer is money. And that is why this reconciliation bill is so important. We just had a net zero energy plan come out for the city of Montpelier. And even though we've made a lot of progress so far, we still have a substantial amount of work to do. And it's going to just take money. And that is where this bill could be a significant help that we still have multiple municipal buildings that need to be weatherized that need to be taken off of oil that need some fuel switching. And this is going to make that possible. You know, I think about our school district, I think about our garage building and our rec center, places that are not already have that don't already have renewable sources of heat. You know, I also think about kind of as a counselor, a leader man referenced, we have a substantial amount of renters in the city of Montpelier about 60% of our housing units are rental apartments. And they they often don't have the agency to make whetherization decisions or fuel switching decisions. And so we need to make it really easy and obvious for landlords to again make energy efficiency and fuel switching decisions in our community. You know, it's I think it's important to keep in mind that those with means and the agency to make the decisions for their own homes are going to be fine, right, they're going to be able to, when one oil becomes expensive, they'll be able to make the switch to cheaper renewable fuels. But those who are renters may be stuck facing higher fuel costs. And so one of the hopes that I would have would be to make this money available, particularly to landlords, particularly to protect the renting community, which is often folks with lower incomes. And I also think about protecting our small businesses, making grants and funding available to small businesses to make their facilities net zero. And then I also think about public transit, that there are there need to be opportunities for people to get around to their jobs that do not require fossil fuels. And so as much as we can be switching our infrastructure to support non fossil fuel based transportation, whether that's public transit, ride shares or electric vehicles, all of these are necessary parts of the solution moving forward. And I think we need to make that again, easy and obvious for people in the future. And again, that just is going to take money, because people often vote with their with their pocketbooks, you know, they're they're making decisions based on what is financially in their best interest. And if we can switch habits and practices with this investment from this reconciliation bill, that will be a significant and really important step towards making our planet more livable. So I'm going to pivot to this next question here. And this is kind of a what can we do question for those who are for those who are listening and, you know, mayors and city councilors often enjoy a special relationship with members of the congressional delegation, their members of Congress are often looking to you for feedback and input on local priorities. And you also have an opportunity sometimes to help shape how they're thinking about how they're thinking about federal policy. So I'd like to ask about briefly for each of you to reflect on what can those who are listening today and the residents of your cities do to ensure that Congress is successfully passing this $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. How can how can your constituents, your voters, help make the case that local climate action can only be scaled up with federal dollars? I will start with Councillor Liderman, I'll start with you. Well, I think the key as always is reaching out. You know, the truth is, is that the more calls, the more emails and the more conversations that our federal leaders have, not just with folks like us who serve in elected offices locally, but with constituents across our communities, moves us closer. And so, you know, tomorrow I'll be participating in a friendly rally outside the federal courthouse in Springfield urging Congressman Neal to put his efforts behind this reconciliation bill. And I would encourage everybody listening to reach out and tell their congresspeople and their senators that, you know, they appreciate the work that they are already doing. We are seeing unprecedented levels of funding come into our municipalities. Really, these are generational investments that we are already seeing through the American Rescue Plan, through CARES Act funding. And it shows that when our federal government puts their mind to it, the money is there to support our communities. But you have to have a push behind it. When we, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, began writing letters as counselors and with community organizations to our senators and our congressmen about the impacts we were starting to see in our community, about the amount of money that we were going to need for rental assistance, about the amount of money that we were going to need for unemployment, we never imagined that we would actually see that level of investment. But it came because there was an unprecedented push. And we need to recognize that climate change and the increased extreme weather events that we are going to be seeing are going to be as serious and as deadly for our constituents as COVID-19 was. And we need our federal representatives to recognize that as well and pass these bills. Great. I'll turn to you, Mayor Craig. Anything you'd like to add about how your constituents can help make the case? Yeah, I feel like in New Hampshire we're very fortunate. Our federal delegation is very accessible and they are in our communities, living in our communities. They're here all the time. I share the same thoughts. It's important that we all speak up. And I think what's most impactful is when our residents share personal stories about how these issues are impacting their lives. That's really what resonates. And that's what they take back to Congress. And that's what really makes a difference. So I would encourage residents to continue to do that. That's what they've done. That's what they're so good at. They're living here. They're living through it. They need to share their stories. Mayor Watson, anything to add? Well, I would echo Council Leader Minns and Mayor Craig's call to be in touch, to share stories. I guess I would add that if you are feeling motivated to do something about this, to find a couple friends who might also want to also be in touch. Because I think it is really very much about the volume and the pressure that we as the constituents of these folks, it's about putting pressure on them. So find some friends, write some postcards, make it social, make it fun, and get in touch. That's great advice. And Councilor Nichols? Yeah, that was kind of where I was going with it and going to echo everyone what they said about reaching out more specifically to Maine. I know Congressman Golden and has been, he kind of falls in the House's court right now and he's been on the fence about supporting it. So I would, but with him, he's always accessible. So trying to really give the personal stories on what, how it's going to impact our district because we're split into two. So I say CD2 a lot, but that this part of Maine is going to be dramatically impacted, not just with our fisheries, but with our, just with our, the drought that we're experiencing up in a Rooster County. And so having those personal stories on how it's impacting their daily lives and how they're impacting your work, I think is something that resonates with him. And I think so please reach out to share those stories that really does make a difference. So interesting that the power of story, personal stories is coming through from, from all of you. So there's been some activity in the Q&A and in the chat, I'm going to take a couple of themes and try to fold it into one question here. And it really does relate to racial justice and equity and addressing overburdened communities. So, you know, we know that in addition to climate outcomes, President Biden's Build Back Better agenda is geared towards ensuring that 40% of climate and clean energy investments benefit low income communities and communities of color. We know that these communities in town after town, state after state, have historically borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution. And we also know that they are typically the most vulnerable to climate impacts. Several of you have touched on how you believe this 40% could make a difference in your cities. But an invitation to add any other context or color about how this 40% frame will impact your jurisdiction. And Mayor Watson, I'll start with you. Yeah, again, I mean, this is one of the reasons that I am thinking particularly of the renting community in Montpelier and the kinds of difficulties that our renting community faces, you know, whether that's lack of access to renewable energy or efficient energy efficient housing. And so that's going to be important for us moving forward. Yeah. That's great. Mayor Craig? Yes, thank you. Manchester is a very diverse community. So these funds would have a tremendous impact in our community. You know, I was thinking we talked about the school buses. 60% of the kids in Manchester public schools are on free and reduced lunch. One of the things we're talking about right now, and in New Hampshire, we're not required to pay for buses for high school students. And so one of the things that we're talking about right now is if we had the funding, we would not charge students to take a bus to school, which I believe is the right thing to do. But also this funding would allow us to make some advancements from an infrastructure perspective in the inner city, which is very gray. And so allow us to increase parks and walkability and change some of the, you know, the two-way one-way streets that are urban highways and do more of a green street effort that I believe would make a tremendous impact in those neighborhoods. That's terrific. Councillor Nichols? Yeah, so I should admit my battery low went blinking right as you were speaking. So if I miss, I may have missed the question, but I think I, so if I miss a part of your question, that's why. So just, so Bangor is not the, I mean, I think this was settled in the census. We are not the most diverse, but we have more diversity than we did 10 years ago. So this is something that funds would really help. And mostly in terms of housing, I think that has been mentioned a few times by Mayor Watson, but also Councillor Lieberman in regards to our housing stock. And that really would affect, I mean, Bangor has some of the oldest housing stock in the country. And I mean, my house is over 120 years old. And I think that's on the younger, it's about probably on the older side, but it's the majority of our homes. And so they're not very efficient. And trying to, something we did a few years ago was actually in hopes to kind of reach that middle ground in terms of we have efficiency main here. And so we're trying to complement that funding in terms of like making sure if someone wants to get a heat pump, if there are more of a middle income or low income, they could maybe get additional funds through the city to help make that happen. And so trying to do projects like that, that will not just, well, that will help all people in our city that would really, that's kind of where I was thinking about where we'd go with that is improving our housing stock. But also I saw a comment from someone about our EV charging stations. I should probably mention that we did, we actually have been, that's something we've been investing in for a long time in Bangor. We have them all over. And I actually just got an email from our local power company to try to see how we can do more. So it's something we are working on. I just wanted to address that comment that I saw in the chat as well. Thank you. And Councillor Letterman. Certainly, I mean, we've talked a lot today about the fact that communities like Springfield have faced the brunt and the impacts of pollution for generations. We're seeing a systemic shift in policy thanks to so many activists across the Commonwealth who helped pass the environmental justice policy for multiple state agencies, including DEP and DOER, so that we can see the increased protections that are really necessary. But as we talk about the fact that our communities are going to be hit the hardest and are the least prepared, my advocacy on policy has always been that as we look at environmental policy and combating climate change, we can't do it on the backs of the people that can afford it the least and are impacted the most. And so I think the fact that this proposal exists in the reconciliation bill is really a testament to how we have shifted the conversation around environmental justice in the Commonwealth and in this country. And that has to go forward. So I think everything that we've talked about today points in that direction. I think that the other conversation to have is about the fact that folks who are in a position to continue to carry on in the face of extreme weather events and climate change, as Mayor Watson said, the folks that have the money to make the transition will make the transition. Some folks will also continue their activities because they won't be impacted by it. And so for our constituents, it really is going to become a matter of life or death, especially when it comes to heat waves. And that's why I make the comparison to COVID-19. I also wanted to jump in on the EV charging stations because I've been thinking a lot about this lately. So I mean, we're investing in EV charging stations in the city of Springfield. We have them in multiple neighborhoods. But there has to be more investment from the federal and state government in making electric vehicles actually accessible to our constituencies. Because right now, even with the rebates that exist, those rebates are not accessible to enough people in the way that they are given. It does not actually make these cars affordable for the vast majority of my constituents at several different income levels. And furthermore, I mean, you're still talking about more than $30,000, even with rebates for one that could put you in a position to be able to get the range that you need. So if we are going to see, which we must see a switch to electrification of personal vehicles, we need to see significantly more investment from the federal government in not just rebates, but in actual subsidy for people to be able to swap out their vehicles. And that's going to be a broader conversation that we're going to have to have. That's great. So I've got one more question here, and then I'll give you each of you an opportunity for a brief closing remarks. The question really relates to your voters and your constituents. There's a question here about, do your voters care about this? As you're going door to door, as you're answering constituent mail, what are you hearing from them? And Councillor Nichols, I'll give you a moment to just characterize what you're hearing. Yeah. So I've now run for office twice or gotten reelected at least once. And there's been a huge shift between the first election and this election, the first one was in 2015. And I am hearing more from our constituents just on a regular basis regarding, I mean, the cold climate emergency, the draft actually came from a constituent. It was stuff we were already doing, a lot of it, but we had not contextualized that into an actual resolve to really put it real into to really put it into motion. And so I think that actually came from one of our high school students, who's impressive in her own right. But so I have been hearing more and people are getting more concerned and actually wanting to know what we're doing in regards to just on a municipal level. Trying to care, I mean, outside of Bangor, I think it's still hard because I think a lot of people, I think we do need to educate how you can do that and also still be the rural state that we are, because I think that is the biggest challenge we have. I mean, Bangor, our catchment area is all the Fort Kent, which is one of our most northern communities. It is also needs comes down to Bangor to get services. And so we're having a range of people needing our community in order to survive. And so how to make it more, I mean, rural health, all of those things more accessible and better. So we are not, people are not having to drive and commute and also not that I mean, yes, I love being a service center, but it does drain in terms of trying to reduce our climate impact. And so that is sort of the things I'm looking at outside of Bangor, how we can be helped assist those other communities, not necessarily financially all the time, but in how we can make it happen. So they can stay in place and be more local with their community and get the services they need. And they'll obviously help with our community and emissions. Mayor Watson, what are you hearing from, from voters and constituents? Yeah, voters in Montpelier have supported climate related renewable energy related projects for many years. But that's actually also very typical of Vermonters, something like 70% of Vermonters are concerned about climate change and are interested in climate action. And this is, this has been true for years. It's been true across multiple mayors in Montpelier. And I am certainly seeing that continue. And I would actually add that I think in, especially since the the most recent I PCC report, as well as particularly since the fires that have been sending smoke down our way from the Northwest, we're in California, we're, it's a little it's very present, you know, to see the smoke impacting visibility. It really feels like, oh gosh, like the climate change is really happening now and it is urgent. And so that's, that's sort of the sense that I am getting from folks now is that it's, it's being ratcheted up a level from caring about it and wanting to do something about it to like, oh, this is urgent. This is a high priority. Mayor Gray. Thank you. I agree with everything that's been said. And I would just add that, especially when it comes to young people, this is one of their top priorities. I have a daughter who's in high school. And, and they're talking about this today. And, and they care. And so we're seeing young people, young voters who are really engaged and really pushing to see change. And I think that's very exciting. That's great. And, and Councillor Letterman. When I first announced my candidacy in 2017, there was a local media outlet that ran a headline. And the headline was Springfield environmentalist Jesse Letterman announces run for city council. And there was a political advisor of mine who said, Oh, I don't, I don't know if that's going to help us, right? You do so much more than just environmental work. I won that election. And when we, when we work through and walk through and talk with folks in our community, they recognize the real impact that these policies have on their lives. Springfield has historically had one of the highest asthma rates in the Commonwealth. We were named two years in a row on the asthma capital list as number one by the asthma and allergy foundation of America. And by working to keep new polluters out and by working with larger polluters in our community to transition them to more efficient methods, we've seen that drop. So people are realizing that these real policies have real impacts on their family. And for, you know, parents struggling with their kids asthma, when they recognize that by putting these policies in place, we can improve their lives, you see this become a priority for them. So now four years later, you see other candidates running, putting environmental issues on their platform. And we really welcome them. Let's be clear. I mean, I've passed legislation on a whole wide variety of things. But this is truly one of the most pressing issues facing our communities. And I know that the voters recognize that. All right. So I'm going to give you each, you know, 30 seconds or a minute to close with your final remarks of call to action. So let's let's put it back to you, Mayor Craig. Any last words? Yes, I just want to thank you for hosting this conversation. It's been very enlightening and educational. I appreciate everyone participating. And I guess I would just really say that it's imperative that Congress pass this bill that makes bold investments that are needed to tackle climate crisis and make it easier for our communities to transition to clean energy. It's it's time. It's time. And Councilor Nichols. Yeah, first, thank you again for hosting this. And I would I was just going to advocate, especially to email for my constituents, please email and reach out to Congressman Golden's office. He still is on the precipice of hopefully voting in support of this. But I think he really needs to hear those stories. And I think that this really does need to pass if we're going to make any sort of headway in our in our half of the state. So thank you again, Councilor Letterman. Well, just thank you so much, Elizabeth, to you and ELM. And it's great to be here to with with and meet these colleagues from, you know, across New England, especially those that have served on their city councils, I always say city councils are the closest elected body to the people. And that's really where we get to see firsthand the impacts of what this policy really can do. So I agree, reach out to your local elected officials, reach out to your state and federal elected officials, tell them why this is so important to you and and also get involved locally, reach out to your local organizations that are pushing for change in your communities. And if you're not getting the response that you want, run for office yourself. All right. And then closing as we as we began with you, Mayor Watson. Yeah, thank you. I just want to say what an honor it is to be here with with you all. I think as folks involved in local government, we have a very clear understanding of how climate change is impacting our communities. We are the closest to the ground, so to speak, in terms of the impacts of policy on our communities. And so I think we have a good understanding of how climate change is impacting our communities. And we are basically out of time, we must act on climate change now. So it is imperative that the reconciliation bill includes significant amount of money to go towards energy efficiency and renewable energy, putting people back to work and with good paying jobs to make our planet more livable, particularly improving the lives of those affected by climate change, the most are our communities with low incomes and communities of color. And so very grateful for this time. And thank you for organizing this. This is a hugely important piece of legislation in our country, perhaps, and as somebody said earlier, this is a generational piece of legislation, and it needs to be significantly impacting the climate work around the country. Well, thank you. And thank you to all of you, our distinguished panel attendees in the press who've joined us today. If you want to take action, the League of Conservation Voters, ELM Action Fund, New Hampshire LCV, Maine Conservation Voters, and Vermont Conservation Voters are here to help. As you've heard today, this really is a make or break moment for climate action. We are all in, we're working together with EJ and labor leaders, the private sector, elected leaders at all levels to help get this done. So we're now counting on Congress to enact President Biden's full Build Back Better agenda as soon as possible. Thank you all. Have a great afternoon.