To the editor:
As members of Mothers Out Front, an environmental group dedicated to a swift and just transition away from fossil fuels, we are urging everyone to support the school building project.
We have an opportunity to build a school that is environmentally important—a chance to build a net-zero school. We must think outside of Lincoln as we make this decision. What is our responsibility to this earth? In the past two years, we have seen the California wildfires destroy unprecedented amounts of land and untold lives. In fact, the California wildfire season is now year-round. And closer to home, Boston has had two “100-year storms” that flooded the Long Wharf area in 2018.
This is the climate reality we are all living with in 2018. Scientists have predicted that these climate related events will intensify in both frequency and force. And Lincoln will not be immune. These climate related events are vastly costly. Hurricane Harvey was estimated to cost $125 billion.
We must do all we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that means moving away from the use of fossil fuels. Our new school will be be heated with electricity made primarily onsite from solar panels. Its goal will be to produce as much energy as it uses.
The design team has also incorporated plenty of natural light and views to the outdoors to minimize the need for overhead lighting. The heating system will be air- or ground-source heat pumps, providing a consistent and comfortable environment for our students and staff. And over the life of the building, we will save considerably on energy costs, while honoring our 2008 town bylaw to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption by 80 percent on any town-owned buildings undergoing renovation.
Sincerely,
Mothers Out Front Coordinating Team: Emily Haslett, Sheila Dennis, Staci Montori, Patricia O’Hagan
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
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