Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Boston history causes problems for Earth Day

One intrepid reporter, Chrisanne Grise, learned that Cambridge and other communities don't have many Earth Day events. One reason is an Earth Day concert that used to be held at the Hatch Shell along the Charles River.

The concert, sponsored by WBOS-FM, drew so many people that local activities went overlooked. But several years ago, the show was changed to mid-May because of rain-outs and yet remains a reason for limited local events on Earth Day itself.

"For years, we didn't organize any events here [in Cambridge] because everyone was going to the free concert over there," said John Bolduc, environmental planner for the city. "This year the station moved it to May, probably for weather reasons."

However, some groups in Cambridge have planned their own events. MIT has an entire Earth Week , featuring a speech from Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday night, in which he will speak about his plans for the future of clean energy in the commonwealth, according to an MIT press release. Patrick is expected to also discuss energy innovation and other energy policy plans.

MIT's Earth Week also includes an opportunity for MIT students to show projects related to environmental research, called the EcoExpo on April 23. The following day there is the Earth Day Fair which features MIT groups and vendors teaching students how to voice opinions on environmental issues and how to make life more sustainable. There will also be free food and live music.

"I hope this raises environmental awareness on campus. I went to Dartmouth a few weekends ago and compared to them, I would say we don't very well in terms of energy conservation and recycling," said Jean Li, a sophomore at MIT. "I'm not sure what exactly the agenda is for the Earth Fair, but I hope it's a good mix of long term research goals like biodiesel, or solar power as well as things we can do better on a daily basis."

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