[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Welcome, everyone. We made it. I'm thinking we should begin with a quick roll call, see who we got. So I'll just run down this list. Lois, I know is not here. Benji.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_06]: I'm here.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Barry. I'm here. Loretta said she couldn't make it. Kathleen. Here. Luke. have not seen Luke yet. Martha? Oh, here we go. Perfect. Dan? Present. We got Bob? Present. Jessica?
[Jessica Parks]: Here.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: John? Not seeing anything. Uh, well, I'm here, Sarah and Paul. Perfect. I see a little wave. That's good enough. Perfect. Uh, we have quorum plus, uh, so welcome everyone. And I would like to acknowledge, I think we have some guests as well. Some folks joining us from looks like mothers out front. But I'd like to start with a review of our minutes. Has everyone had a chance to look those over with comments?
[Unidentified]: No.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: All right. You'll have to bear with me. I'm still remembering all the procedurals here, but I would entertain a motion to accept the minutes.
[Barry Ingber]: Second. Somebody has to make the motion before you can second it. I'll make that motion. Thank you very much.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I'm not sure if I'm really allowed to.
[Barry Ingber]: No, no, the chair is not allowed to do that.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: We're not that formal.
[Brenda Pike]: But yeah.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: All right. Seconded by Paul. You're here. Great. In that case. Let's commence. I think first things first, we'll throw this over to Brenda with updates from Medford.
[Brenda Pike]: Before we jump into that as sort of an administrative update, can we talk about the next meeting and our guests at that meeting?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Oh, yes, thanks to Bob for introducing us. I just negotiated a presentation from Senator Mike Barrett, who'll be speaking with us next session, so May 6th, starting around seven o'clock. We'll give a presentation on all things climate policy in Massachusetts. So come prepared with whatever questions you might have for him, as well as get ready for what I hope will be a very interesting presentation.
[Brenda Pike]: I just dropped a link to an article that I thought was interesting about the interactions between the House and the Senate for the committee that he heads. seems like they've finally come to a truce and are able to move forward some of the bills that have been waiting for a little while.
[Robert Paine]: And how long is the session going to last, roughly?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, they ballparked it about 30 to 40-ish minutes. I put it down as a solid 45 to give time for questions that we might have at the end. So we'll still get out with all the time we've been blessed with, that extra eight o'clock finish time. We should be still on track.
[Brenda Pike]: Great so yeah so Medford updates. We for electrify Medford, we are so close to having the contract with mass CC signed, which is the grantor. for this program. And once we do, then we'll be able to reach out to the energy coaches who are being paid for this and start onboarding them and then start the trainings for everybody. And the ideas for that, so I will be doing one training that's introductory to the program. and sort of what the materials that will be, we'll have for coaches and how coaches will be, you know, what coaches will be talking to residents about. And then Abode, who is the consultant here, will have some recorded sessions. And then a couple of in-person sessions where we can, where coaches can, ask questions about some of the materials that they have learned about. And this is one of the things that I wanted to get some feedback from this group, actually, because I know that a few members of this group are actually taking the abode training that was being offered sort of across the country. And we got a few coveted spots there. So So Abode isn't able to do evening sessions for the most part. So we will be having these recorded trainings. And I think it's probably more useful for me to schedule some evening sessions where we're just playing these recorded trainings over Zoom so that everybody's kind of sitting down together to do this rather than expecting people to be finding the time to fit this in. here and there on their own time. Do you think that's a good approach for it?
[Jessica Parks]: As someone who's still trying to find time to fit it in, yes.
[Brenda Pike]: I had heard that from you where you're saying it was, yeah, it was difficult to find the time for the recorded trainings if you miss the actual sessions.
[Unidentified]: Yeah.
[Brenda Pike]: Great. And then the slides from those trainings will be available for anyone. So whether you're signed up as an energy coach, or you're just interested in the material, I'll be able to share those with you. And I know that we have a few folks here that are taking a version of the training. Would you be willing to share your thoughts on it with me? Any suggestions for changes to it, things that you found really helpful, things that you didn't find helpful.
[Robert Paine]: This is Bob. I started the training, but I'm only going through one of five sessions, so I don't have too much. Yeah, I mean, it was useful. I mean, the first session we were trained on, okay, what kind of heating system is this? Is oil fired or gas fired? Is it ducted or is it non-ducted? So it was like a lot of nuts and bolts things. So that was interesting. It seems like as a coach, you might have to walk into somebody's basement offer some knowledgeable comments as to what it is. So it looks like you know what you're talking about, that type of thing.
[Brenda Pike]: It sounds like they changed the training from the time that I took it. The time that I took it, they got into some very detailed heat load calculations in the first course. And my feedback was, that's going to scare some of my coaches away.
[Robert Paine]: in the first session. I haven't gotten to that yet, but I'm sure it's coming. But obviously, if you do an insulation project, that's going to change it. And they were saying, well, you shouldn't. They have all this attic insulation stuff. And I was saying, my house is so clogged with stuff. There ain't no way I'm going to take everything out of my attic and put nine inches of extra insulation on the floor, which is what they advocate. I said, that's totally impractical. So there's some interesting back and forth. I was like, you can't possibly expect me to do that. I've been in this house for 30 years, and I'm a pack rat. And that's the way it is.
[Brenda Pike]: That's interesting. Attic insulation is the most important insulation, though, more so than wall insulation.
[Robert Paine]: My stuff is insulating everything, I'm sure.
[Martha Ondras]: Martha, did you have a comment? Yeah. I wanted to comment on what Bob just said. I threw them out of my house when they told me to clear out my attic so they could put down nine inches of insulation and a new floor, which would mean moving 30 years of stuff out of my attic. I think one advantage of us as earth creature, energy coaches is that we can deal with people's real life perspective on what's possible. I know a lot of this money is supposed to be committed to low-income and underrepresented groups, and I think that makes it even more important to be real about what will people save and what will they have to invest in terms of time and energy, and does that make sense for them.
[Brenda Pike]: Yep, absolutely. Being realistic about it and being really careful about what we're encouraging people to do, understanding that there are limited resources there, both in terms of time and money and all of that. Yeah. So one more Electrify Medford thing. I had been thinking a kickoff the week of April 22nd for an event. The closer we get to it without a signed contract, I'm thinking that seems less and less likely and probably not a good idea because it's already so busy with other things and Passover. So the following week might be better. So I think that's what I'm going to shoot for instead. Because as a reminder that week, there's also the community cleanup on the 27th. There's the Green Fest with Boston Glory on the 26th. There's an Arbor Day proclamation on the 26th and some like seedling giveaways at the library on the 27th. I'm sure other things too that I'm missing here, but it's a pretty busy week. So moving on to the aggregation supply contract. So we're going out to bid on Thursday for a three-year contract for Medford's electricity aggregation. Our current one ends in December. And it looks like we'll be increasing the renewable content of the default option up to 10%. And the rate will be lower than what it is now. And Dan, I know you asked at the last meeting, if all the RECs, if it's all mass class one RECs, it definitely will be. That was something that the consultants didn't recommend at first, and we pushed back on that because we knew that our energy committee and 350 and others would definitely be asking for that. So thank you for bringing that up. So more to come there. So the curbside composting program. I don't have complete up to date numbers on this. I think it was two weeks ago, we had over 800 people on the wait list with almost 1000 already composting as well. So the numbers are increasing there steadily. And I think at the last meeting, somebody had asked about doing a bulk compost drop-off in the similar way that Garbage to Garden does in other towns. And so we did ask about that and we are actually trying to organize something like that in May. We don't have an exact date yet. It probably won't be free because that's not, that wasn't part of our contract with them. but people will probably be able to come to one site to pick up compost in buckets and pay sort of a discounted rate for that. So more details on that once we have more information.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: That's great. I think since the citywide composting has gone into effect, What I've heard from a lot of the people I know around here, I've heard two things. I've heard, how do I get involved in that? How do I sign up? And a lot of people that I know around the Tufts area have not known about it or weren't aware. And secondly, how can we get compost or buy compost from them? So that's great to hear that there could be a bulk compost drop-off.
[Brenda Pike]: Great. Yeah, that's wonderful. And just a reminder for folks, if anybody asks you for more information about this, although you probably know this already, but the email, the website to sign up, well, both to sign up for the program and sign up to volunteer to help out is medfordcompost.com. I think they haven't really started a lot of their serious outreach yet, but we'll be getting into that very soon.
[MCM00001758_SPEAKER_12]: Can I just mention that Mothers Up Front had a meeting with Annika, who's the kind of coordinator for this project with G2G. And we talked about ways that we can help support them. There's going to be door hangers that will be available at some point. to him and flyers and they said that, she said that they're happy to have more people or organizations helping to promote it because so far we're the only ones that have stepped up to do that.
[Brenda Pike]: Great, thank you for doing that.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Very appreciated. I might be jumping the gun schedule wise here, but that's definitely something we should try to get involved in. Finding time or hours to devote to that might be a really good way to achieve some of these priority goals that we're looking at.
[Brenda Pike]: That's great. So moving on to zoning. So the City Council's Planning Committee has started looking at zoning changes with a consultant. And the committee is meeting every other Wednesday at 6 o'clock. And the first pass is really just cleaning up some things from the last recodification, definitions and cleaning up tables and moving things around. but then they'll be digging into the more substantial material after that. So resiliency is scheduled to be discussed April 24th, but I think that's really just an initial discussion and I don't think anything regarding it will be voted on until the summer probably. But yes, I'll keep an eye on that and let you know the details of it as we go along. Um, let's see what else here so green communities has a new level to their to their program. Medford has been a certified green community since. But 2011, I think, and now they're creating sort of a step up above that called climate leaders. And they have a different set of requirements for the climate leaders. 1 of them being passing the specialized energy code. 1 of them is being having an energy committee. So, we, the only 2 things that we don't haven't. Already completed is. having an electric vehicle first purchasing policy, which is something that we will be moving forward on presenting to the city council. And then also having a decarbonization roadmap for municipal buildings. And Kathleen is actually helping me with that. We're putting together the building inventory at this point, and then sort of setting out for the next 25 years, what are the expected, you know, lifespans of the different equipment types in the building, and what do we want to replace them with? And there's some technical assistance available through green communities as well to help us out with that. So, but that first step is getting that building inventory together. But so the goal is for us to have everything in place by June 30th, because that's the point when we would be eligible for applying for additional grants. So there's still the green communities grants out there that we can take advantage of. This is just going to be additional grants that we have access to on top of that if we have this climate leader certification.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: This is money from federal government, is that right?
[Brenda Pike]: From the state. Oh, from the state. Yeah, from the Department of Energy Resources.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Right.
[Brenda Pike]: Yeah, and cities who are certified green communities are eligible for this funding every year. So it's really a reliable source of funding that we can use, we can go back to over and over again for different types of efficiency and decarbonization projects. Let's see, what else? The Climate Equity Council, their last meeting was a couple weeks ago, and the city engineer came by and discussed some stormwater upgrades in South Medford, and that we're applying for MVP municipal vulnerability preparedness grant for and the climate equity Council is going to be submitting a letter of support for that grant application and then they're going to be helping us with outreach to some of the residents in that neighborhood about the project in the fall. And then I think the only other thing that I wanted to mention here was the city council tomorrow night, one of the things that they'll be discussing is the make polluters pay bill and officially supporting that. That's something that 350 Mystic Valley and 350 in general is really supporting. Did anybody go to the 350 meeting about this? I think it was on the 27th. Yeah, Martha, do you have any?
[Martha Ondras]: Yeah, I have I have information on it. I think to the extent that this committee as a group or at least as individuals can support it, it's a good thing. It's called. an act establishing a climate change super fund and promoting polluter responsibility. It's a new bill in the mass legislature sponsored by Senators Eldridge and Representative Owens that would require top polluters, which are primarily oil, big oil and gas companies to contribute to a super fund that will be used to pay for climate related damages in Massachusetts. And some other states have been doing this as I'm sure you're aware, the cost of climate adaptation is very high and tort law, environmental litigation is one way to secure funds for Massachusetts cities and towns to do this work. Other things about it, at least 40% of the funding would be targeted to environmental justice areas. What else? And it would be subject to fair wages, prevailing wage requirements. And it would provide funding for undertaking preventative health care programs, as well as physical infrastructure improvements related to climate adaptation.
[Brenda Pike]: My understanding is that it's really targeting the largest fossil fuel companies. I think they had to be responsible for at least 0.05% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2019, so it's really targeting like a tiny number of corporations. I thought that the committee that was looking at that, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, had essentially killed it in February. It was given a study order in February, so I wasn't aware that it was, you know, up for consideration really in this cycle?
[Martha Ondras]: Yeah, that's not really discussed in this, but as you, you know, if you're familiar with the Massachusetts cycle, you know, it's a two-year cycle and things do get reviewed to committee and they do sometimes take a few go-arounds before they become actively sponsored and endorsed by enough of the legislature to pass. So I wouldn't say killed it, is probably put it gently to sleep for a while maybe, but there's, as you know, Mass 350 is still very much working on this. And would like Medford to be one of the supporting communities.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I guess that brings me to a general question for Brenda and the committee writ large. Looking at some of these, are there any of these that feel actionable for us? Do you want us to be looking at certain statements being put out by the Climate Equity Council to sign on to, things relating to this make polluters pay bill, or even like joining people for the Arbor Day presentation? Like if any of these feel actionable for us as a committee.
[Brenda Pike]: Oh, interesting so I know a few committee members are also members of trees Medford, or or at least following that. So. I think they'll probably be be there at least. I don't know if they're looking for more folks to be present there. Yeah, and I know some members of the. Of this committee are helping out with, like, the, with the, Boston Glory Greenfest, for instance. So I think it's it's kind of on a, an individual basis, what what you want to get involved with. But definitely, I mean, if folks want to get involved with the getting the word out about the curbside composting, or, you know, again, involved with electrify Medford, and or even just involved in getting the word out about it, if you don't want to be a coach, like, those are all things that I think, as as individuals, it would be great to sign up for.
[Martha Ondras]: Brenda, following on Will's question, this group historically I think has done things as individuals rather than passing a resolution as a group that goes forward. I can't think of any reason why we couldn't vote a resolution related to environment and energy, do you?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Can we make that a motion?
[Martha Ondras]: Okay, I move that we endorse the bill to enact a, let's see, let me get the right language here. a climate added bill to enact a polluter responsibility and super fund and climate change super fund bill H872 S481. I second it.
[Robert Paine]: This is Bob, I had a question. Is this bill, what's the status of this bill?
[Martha Ondras]: I don't know if I'm not familiar with what it says. It's a new bill in the Massachusetts legislature sponsored by Senator Eldridge and Representative Owens. that would require top polluters to contribute to a super fund used to pay for climate-related damages in Massachusetts. I don't know where it is in the legislative cycle. 350 Massachusetts is trying to get local city and town councils to pass resolutions supporting it. As you know the idea that locals building local support having more cities and towns passing that type of resolution will. Encourage the Legislature to pass.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: With this impact that are there any superfund sites here that are. That would be impacted by this bill.
[Brenda Pike]: So this isn't for Superfund sites, it's it's essentially. It's essentially. I don't know what a fee or or fine or something targeting fossil fuel corporations that are responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions in the in the state.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: OK, so so it doesn't have any local impact besides. being symbolic and targeting?
[Martha Ondras]: Well, down the road, it would definitely, you know, the idea is it would make money available to produce a source of funds available to cities and towns. And Medford having, you know, several areas identified as environmental justice areas subject to flooding, you know, South Medford, Wellington, Glenn would presumably be very much eligible for this funding. The use of the word superfund is really that this idea is modeled on the original superfund, which if you're familiar with it, polluters pay into a superfund to clean up the legacy pollution that they've left.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Okay, thanks. Thanks a lot.
[Brenda Pike]: If if folks are not comfortable voting on this, because you haven't had the chance to review the bill fully, I think that makes that that would make sense. And I think also, we didn't put it, we didn't call it out specifically on the agenda today. So if there were Members of the public that were interested in, you know, I don't know, weighing in or or. Or viewing this tonight, they wouldn't have had notice about it. So it might make more sense in this case to to, you know, if you're supporting it, supporting it at the city council meeting tomorrow night.
[Martha Ondras]: Is that a rule for us, Brenda, that we have to have items on the agenda a certain amount of time and publicize it, publicize the agenda before we can take a vote at our meeting?
[Brenda Pike]: Generally, it should be an item on the agenda that's noticed 48 hours ahead of time if it's something that you're officially taking a vote on. Again, this is an ad hoc committee so it's we're not, you know, voting on people's, you know, private property. changes or anything like that, so it's not as big a deal.
[Barry Ingber]: We don't have any power. And I would note that we have an item called new business on the agenda, and if it is inconsistent to have an item called new business on the agenda and say that we can't take up items that come up in the course of a conversation, I would want to know what the state legislature's timeline is. I think that delaying a month would could make our resolution meaningless and I would rather I would rather go ahead and vote on the motion, especially since city council is taking it up tomorrow, and they may consider us as a body that is credible and worth listening to. Yep.
[Brenda Pike]: And the state legislature timeframe is, so what is, it's May and June when they're reconciling the different versions of the climate bill.
[Martha Ondras]: Does the chairman want to bring it to a vote or some more discussion?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I would love to bring it to a vote.
[Brenda Pike]: And Will, I think you just sent that link to me, so I just dropped the link to the campaign in the chat.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Thank you. No, I'd found the campaign website as well, in case anyone would like to familiarize themselves with the mission. But yes, I would entertain a movement to vote on this, to endorse this policy.
[Barry Ingber]: So moved. Seconded. Seconded.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Excellent. We can do, I don't know if voice works so well online, but I could just go down the list if you'd like. Benji?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_06]: Yes, I vote yes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Barry? Yes. Kathleen?
[Jessica Parks]: I'm going to abstain for lack of information on my part.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Understood. Martha?
[Martha Ondras]: Yes.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Dan? Will abstain as well.
[Robert Paine]: I think I'll abstain because I just don't know what it is yet.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Wait, wait, wait. Let's start over. Perhaps let's just screen share the text. Let's look at the website, make polluters pay. Let's look at it together and then start the vote.
[Robert Paine]: Is that in the chat?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah. If we'd like to discuss it further, I think that's also a fair and right thing to do. I do also want to be mindful of time, knowing that we have our eight o'clock close. Not that I want to rush any, but I also want to be acknowledging that as well. Thank you, Brenda.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Will, could you screen share?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, I'm going to pull up the actual text. that might not be worth sharing.
[Martha Ondras]: I have a summary of it.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: That would be perfect. Would you be able to send that into the chat?
[Martha Ondras]: Actually, I could put the link in. Well, can I share screen? Okay, sorry, I went to the wrong site. Excuse me. Okay, I'm having trouble sharing because I'm on a really old computer. Let me send you the link.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, if you can leave the link in the chat, we can all follow along.
[Martha Ondras]: It's a Google Doc, so it should be pretty easy to share.
[SPEAKER_03]: Did that work?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I'm not.
[Brenda Pike]: I think it might have just gone to me again, so yeah, I just I can see it here.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I am unable to open OK.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Can you make me co-host? I can screen share.
[Brenda Pike]: You should be able to now.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Thank you, Sarah.
[SPEAKER_03]: Is this related to the bill?
[Martha Ondras]: Yes, it is.
[SPEAKER_03]: OK.
[Brenda Pike]: You don't think this is the fact sheet you were talking about, though, Martha, was it?
[Martha Ondras]: It's not the fact sheet I was talking about, but this is basically the same. Information, I think.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Go ahead, Dan.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, I guess. Personally, I support this. But I feel like for this committee. I guess I have 2 thoughts 1. I don't think that. We should be looking at 1 side of this and this does appear to be like a 1 side of this. Uh, this policy, and again, I'm, I'm keeping my personal thoughts completely over this. And secondly, I, you know, I. I think that we just have not had enough time to. Review this, and it's a complicated subject. I guess I just put it out there. I feel a little bit uncomfortable with how where this is going.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I fully agree for what it's worth. Barry?
[Barry Ingber]: I think it's perfectly legitimate for people who are uncomfortable with it to vote no. And I also think that it's completely legitimate for people who feel they don't have enough information to abstain, but I think that we should nonetheless go ahead with the vote. There's been a motion, it's been seconded. And I mean, if you lose, that's allowed to happen, but the vote should happen.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I concur with Barry. I agree.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: All right. In that case, would people feel comfortable continuing with a vote, recognizing that we have the power to abstain and vote no? We don't have to be unanimous by any stretch of the imagination.
[Barry Ingber]: Procedurally, somebody could also make a motion to table. I'm not sure if that can happen once a roll call has started. Somebody with more knowledge of Robert's rules than me would have to say that. But then the motion to table would have to win in order to table. And like I said, it might be too late for that, I don't know.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: If I can defer to Brenda, I'd love to know what procedure would dictate, but otherwise, we can follow through with a vote, acknowledging our limitations.
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, I don't know all of the details of Robert's rules either, unfortunately, so I think it would make sense to follow through with a vote.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Okay. With this in mind, we can start from the top. and I will begin calling roll once again. Benji?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_06]: I vote yes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Barry? Yes. Kathleen?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_06]: Abstaining.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Martha? I love Martha.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm sorry, yes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Dan? That's it.
[Robert Paine]: Bob. Still abstaining. Jessica.
[Jessica Parks]: Abstaining.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: John. It's not here. Will. I will abstain. Sarah.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: I vote yes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: And Paul. Muted.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Brady. And... Oh, shoot.
[Barry Ingber]: Five yes, five abstain, the motion passes.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Thank you, Barry. Motion passes. So if at all possible, it'd be great, we can work with Brenda on this to show some form of recognition and support from this committee
[Brenda Pike]: Would you like to have a representative speak at the city council meeting tomorrow? Would you like to submit a letter? How would you like to show support?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I'm going to be there.
[Martha Ondras]: I'm going to be there too. However, I think it is good to put a written, it doesn't have to be a long letter, but an email to the councilors letting them know.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Creed, I can draft just a quick statement if we'd like after this and send it over to Brenda. And we can make sure that shared with committee members. So. Are there any other points of discussion we'd like to. Touch on before we move on. hearing and seeing none. Is it all right, since we are running late, to table a conversation for another day, Brenda?
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, definitely.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: ICR finalizing the MEEC priorities, I recognize that would be a substantial conversation, one that would potentially take us quite a bit of time. I would love to hear these updates and move on, if that is all right. I don't know if I have saying power on that, or if we want to put that to a vote, or if we need to put that to a vote.
[Brenda Pike]: Just so you know, the tree ordinance updates, unless someone else in the group has them, Loretta just sent me a couple of sentences, so that shouldn't take long to share.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Right here, right? I, I think the. Priorities would take quite a bit of time. I think I'd feel comfortable. Pushing that to another week, another session. Just to make sure we give it due diligence.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Dan, I would suggest that I, I looked at the sheet and didn't see any. Or a noticeable kind of involvement on there for people, I would suggest that people go in and put in their priorities. Any thoughts and we can use that as the basis of the discussion.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, actually. Uh, brings up a good point. I think we should. If it's all right with Paul, who's next to speak, I'd like to take probably 10. I'd like to take about 10 minutes of discussion. To kind of orient ourselves for the year. So, I would love to entertain a discussion. given that we've kind of set aside these general priorities of decarbonization and outreach to discuss tangible goals that we as a committee could begin to orient ourselves towards, keeping in mind this is not likely to end in any votes or any major decisions, simply a discussion to kind of establish some guiding tracks uh, that we can begin to, uh, move down for that year.
[Brenda Pike]: I dropped the Google doc link in the chat. Will do you, would it be helpful if I shared that on my screen?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, I actually, I think I can do the same if you'd like here. I will share the screen here. Is everyone seeing our priorities list?
[Brenda Pike]: Can you zoom in on it at all? I see the whole sheet and so the words at the top are a little small.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: How's this?
[Brenda Pike]: That looks great.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: You should probably note too, I don't think that's in any particular order, right?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yes, that is correct. These were kind of distilled umbrella priorities that I think deserve a little more specificity, particularly towards actionable goals. And I'd like to open that for discussion, at least for the next, I'd say, seven minutes.
[Brenda Pike]: So on that second tab, it gets into, I think, more detail.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: I guess I can start with a general thought. I think the power of this committee and where we can make the most impact is in community outreach and local decarbonization or local initiatives. And the more that we are visible and the more that we reach out to the, I hate to say changing Medford, but you know, that the kind of, You know, it's a lot of ways to college town. There's young families moving in here. There's a lot of people who are very interested in this kind of thing. And the more we can reach out to them in the places that they are, they're in the better. So I would put out there that it's a, the more we can do on social media and the more that we can do kind of locally and reach out to the community, the better.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: And to Dan's point, if you notice in the description column, again and again, it says raise awareness, raise awareness, speak, spread the word, communicate. It's all outreach. Many, many of these priorities, outreach is part of the language. So I can... I can take on one thing, which I think is helpful, which is to make another communication channel, which is Instagram, that's really widely used. So by next meeting, I will show it to you, I will get that page started. And I would like everybody's help in drawing attention to it, because there's 12 of us. So if we each invite five people, or if we each invite 10 people, that's 120 followers. And so there's a potential for massive growth with social media when you invite your friends to engage with your content. And because you have some friendship, your friends will support you and engage with your content.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I agree with Sarah. Although I no longer use Instagram, I was kicked off. So I have. Yeah, so. But I think Instagram is very, very solid platform to put this on. And I think in terms of engagement with students, I think that's an excellent idea. So I look forward to whatever you do. And perhaps by then, I'll re-emerge on Instagram as somebody else. Who knows? Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: But I also think there are very strong, I mean, I know Instagram is very big with students, and there's a definite population that is using Instagram, but Medford has some very, very strong Facebook pages that are big. incredibly strong and incredibly active currently, that we just also want to make sure we're not forgetting, because that's where a lot of Medford's information is passed.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: But on Instagram, you have the choice of sharing whatever you post over there on Facebook too. So if you do it properly, whatever you post on Instagram gets on Facebook. So As long as the two sites are connected, I think that'll work out.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: I would say too, I don't think it's like saying we should use one in favor of the other or stop using another. It's just expanding, right? To Instagram, TikTok, to reach a wider audience. It doesn't mean we have to stop using Facebook.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: I know, I know. It really is. There's a demographic divide. Facebook is increasingly skewed towards an older population, and Instagram is more popular with the younger population. But both those platforms are now part of the same company.
[Jessica Parks]: Right. No, I definitely know that. And I definitely know that you post on one. It shows up on the other and things like that. I just want to want to point out that there are definitely community pages on Facebook that are incredibly active and where people are going to get information. So I just want to point out that those specific pages exist.
[Brenda Pike]: And Sarah, let's connect before the next meeting to just so that you can get a clear picture of what social media accounts exist already in the city and Go Green Medford and things like that so that you can make sure that anything you're looking at is additive to that.
[Martha Ondras]: Right, of course. Yeah, I think Sarah had maybe suggested this at a previous meeting that in addition to posting material or having our own Instagram account, we could post on the sites of city council members or others who are active posters themselves and add comments, engage with them. There's also an active Reddit site for Medford.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yes. So I just wanted to bring up the urban meadows things again. If we're going to do anything with that in terms of finding a place or rather, you know, a place, small places to rewild, then the time to do that is now. If there is any seeding to be done or preparation of ground to be done, that needs to be done soon. So if we can have a conversation about that at some point, get some input from the city in terms of where we can have some geographic specificity to this.
[Brenda Pike]: And Paul, since the last meeting, I looked into this a little bit and I found out that the McGlynn Playground, when that's done, will have a pollinator garden as part of it. And I think Wright's Pond either does or will. I haven't pinned down whether that actually exists right now. OK.
[Barry Ingber]: It exists.
[Brenda Pike]: Great.
[Barry Ingber]: Or has existed. I'm assuming it will exist again this year.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: So we should put in place some sort of some rudiments of a plan to do something with that ground, who gets involved, who brings out the shovels, stuff like that. I'm just putting that out in terms of specifics.
[Brenda Pike]: Yeah, and I think an important part of this is, Um, yeah, having specific people attached to the different, um, projects that are under these, these priorities. Right. So that, um, yeah, I know, Will, I think you had said, um, when we were talking, um, you would love it if we could just, you know, if there are projects that people are working on that are, that people are heading up that the meetings could be, you know, going to the people and getting updates from about the different projects they're working on. separately. And I think that makes a lot of sense.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, I'll weigh in briefly, acknowledging a lack of time as always. But yeah, I could imagine, I know at one point or another, Barry and Luke had mentioned different solar projects they're interested in heading up. And I know many of us are very vocal and active folks that I want to use this potentially as a platform to gain to gain support and give extra assistance to those that are heading these kinds of projects. So I'd love to see this committee and committee members take on extra little projects here and there on a volunteer and as needed basis or wanted basis. And this will be an opportunity for us to check in on those projects and give support and advice as needed. to kind of give a different scope as to what these meetings could look like in the future, or at least a new way of treating our time here. So seeing something like Paul expressing interest in the nature restoration and this wilding initiative, I know I would like to support that as well. And I know we have community garden groups that are active as well in Medford. So finding opportunities outside of these monthly meetings to establish a presence, begin that process, feels like a great place to start.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Okay, so what should we do as an actionable thing? Just one thing we can think of right now.
[Brenda Pike]: My impression is that everyone has very different interests here. And so I think the thing to do is to sign up on this sheet for whichever project that you are interested in heading up or supporting. And then we'll know which projects actually have active interest to pursue, right?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: I would say to put under the notes or questions, but but. Like, you know, ideas, specific ideas that you have of what it's like to Paul's point. Like, if you ask me what we could do right now, I think. The native, uh. But the urban meadows, uh, idea is great and I know in previous meetings, we talked about, um. Like, reaching out to local schools and. Um, you know, students and doing something there. And I think that all that kind of ties together, uh, between a pollinator garden and, uh, urban meadows, getting people involved in planting, reaching out to the city. So it feels like there's a big project there. Um, but. It's not clear to me right now who's going to do what, uh, based off of these priorities.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Earlier, I mentioned that I would really like to make a high school visit to recruit volunteers, especially the students who are passionate about the environmental field, which is, in my opinion, very interesting. Yes, so I would like to recruit some volunteers. And I wanted to know how the rest of you feel about me and any of you who want to join me on a high school visit to recruit volunteers for a urban meadows planting project.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Sign me up.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Okay, Paul. We'll figure out a good week.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Sure. Let's do it sooner than later.
[Brenda Pike]: And let's make sure that we connect with the folks at the high school so you're not just strange adults showing up.
[Jessica Parks]: And then we've got to schedule in advance. And figure out the right webs or whatever it is. Sure, sure.
[MCM00000770_SPEAKER_02]: Oh, and that leads to a question, Brenda. Can we tap some of those funds that are set aside for this committee? Can we tap those funds to buy the seeds for wildflowers, the things that birds and pollinators like to eat?
[Brenda Pike]: So I would need to follow up with Alicia about this. I'm not sure what funds are set aside for this committee or if it's just the planning development sustainability budget that is tapped into if there's a project that we're working on. So we need to make sure that that's something that's actually available.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I have two pounds of seed. Oh, yeah. So that should be enough to cover both areas of whatever we're gonna do, so. What kind of seed? I'll give that out for free, so. What kind of seed, Paul? It's, um, it's, uh, I, I bought these from New England, uh, local, it's, it's New England local flowers.
[Unidentified]: Wow.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, this is a wonderful beginning of a discussion, one that I think, when we have more time and other meetings, will continue. But I would like to, we have that document shared back in the chat, so I'd love to see folks begin thinking, when time allows, of very specific, hopefully small action items that we can begin on a volunteer basis as we'd like. So things like spreading those seeds and identifying those spaces would be an awesome place to start. Seeing a spring is springing very rapidly. But I think that is kind of how I want to end this section if there are no other statements people would like to add.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Can you send out where these plots are geographically, Brenda, in terms of where we can go and just take a look, sort of get a layout of land before we embark on this process, you know.
[Brenda Pike]: I'm sorry, have plots been identified? I'm not aware of locations.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Oh, I thought you said there was somewhere in Wright's Pond that you had... Marked awful. Did I hear that wrong?
[Brenda Pike]: I'm sorry. I was just saying that there are pollinator gardens that already exist at the pond and that are being planned as part of the playground at McGlynn. But that's being planted, like the city is planting that with the playground funding.
[Jessica Parks]: And there's also a pollinator garden at the Mississauga as well.
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, I was just pointing out that there are existing ones that are done or planned, yeah.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I just want to point out that this could happen anywhere, any little plot of land that's available, that's just sitting there doing nothing. It could be in front of a store. It could be besides a school. It could be besides an apartment building, as long as it's public property, obviously. So it doesn't have to be like an elaborate thing, but... So it's important to identify it early so we can get to work. That's all I'm saying.
[Robert Paine]: And Brenda, you might want to check with the Brooks Estate to see if there's any available land there.
[Brenda Pike]: Yeah, that's a good point. And let me check in with Amanda Centrella here in my office, who focuses on our parks projects too. she's probably more aware of areas around the city that would be appropriate for this.
[Martha Ondras]: You might want to talk with the Girl Scouts, because I recall they did a project at the fells on some Medford land. They basically reclaimed some land that had been trashed and put in some native species.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Alrighty. I think this is great. Paul, we're not giving you as much time as I think you were allotted or deserve, but we could do an abridged version or move your discussion to another day, depending on how you feel, what feels most comfortable.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: How much time have we got, sir?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: We're looking at 747.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, you know, I'll go through it quickly. I'll share my screen, if you don't mind. But you need to give me, I think, privileges. Yep, I just did.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: It's all yours.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Can everyone see this? Yes.
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, but it's not in presentation mode.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yes, I'm trying to switch that. Can you see it now? Right, so this is a paper that came out just last month. It talks about the pervasive environmental chemicals that are there and they impair oligodendrocyte development. And oligodendrocytes, I'll go into that, but this was published in Nature Neuroscience 25th of March. So what is the function of oligodendrocytes and what are the links of oligodendrocytes to disease? Let me just, okay. So this is a schematic of some of the cell types that are present in the brain. You can see the neurons there. Do you see my mouse?
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, I can.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah. So that's a neuron there. There's lots of neurons billions of neurons in your brain but they all need support. So support cells are like microglia astrocytes and of course oligodendrocytes. And oligodendrocytes, the main function of oligodendrocytes is that they provide insulation for neurons. So neurons talk to each other, electrical signals go back and forth, but of course, you can't have naked electrical wires in your brain. Otherwise you get, well, you just go mad. But so these cells actually provide the myelin sheets that insulate the axons between neurons. And they allow communication and of course they support the maintenance of these axons that communicate between neurons. So very, very important cell type, support cell type in the brain. And this function in oligodendrocytes is linked to a bunch of diseases, Alzheimer's disease, amyotropic lateral sclerosis, multiple system atrophy, degenerative disease of all sorts, Parkinson's disease, and there's also some indications that there are connections to ADD and ADHD. Right, so what these people wanted to look at was two classes of compounds really. Quats and OPFRs. Quats are basically quaternary ammonium compounds. These are also known as quats and these are potent disinfectants. They're found in all kinds of household cleaners, disinfectant sprays, wipes. The CDC considers quats to be a low-level disinfectant. And that is effective against most nasty stuff that we encounter. Bacterial viruses. And some fungi and QACs, that's the other term for them, are certified by the EPA as actually as pesticides and are often the reason a product claims to be antibacterial. OPFRs are another class of compounds that these guys looked at. These are organophosphate flame retardants. They're organic esters of phosphoric acid. These are used as flame retardants in plasticizers, lubricants, textiles, furniture, carpets, electronics, building insulation. They're also used in all sorts of production of dyes, varnishes, adhesives, synthetic resins. So you can see that they're very promiscuous all over the place. OPFRs are also classified into four main groups. There are inorganic, halogenated organic, organophosphate, and nitrogen-based. And the class that they looked at is the organophosphate, which is very commonly used in all sorts of things. So, the major findings of the study, I'm going to go through this really quickly since we don't have too much time. These guys developed a toxicity screening platform to look at about 1,823 environmental chemicals and to see what effect these had on oligodendrocyte development. First finding was quaternary compounds commonly found in personal care products and disinfectants were identified as chemicals that stop the generation of oligodendrocytes. So they prevent them from actually growing and becoming fully functional. Organophosphate flame retardants, also pervasive in the environment, were found to arrest the development of oligodendrocytes in both mice and human cortical organoids. And these cortical organoids is a is a new way of looking at things by actually making cells turn into little tiny organs, if you can believe that. It does actually happen. I've seen these in the lab, so it's remarkable. So, the associations were observed between childhood exposure to organophosphate flame retardants and abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes. This is a epidemiological study that they did pursuant to the first findings of this article, and this was significant finding too. So quaternary chemicals such as quaternary ammonium and phosphonium compound as well as organophosphate flame retardants raise potential health concerns for neurodevelopmental toxicity. Obviously, further studies are required after these findings to see what the exact exposure levels are and how much are actually present in various populations, although we already have some information on that. So, I'm just going to go through this very fast. Please bear with me. This is a Many of you might not be used to this, but I'll try to explain this as far as possible. So this is a schematic of the primary chemical screen that they did. So they essentially take these plates, they grow these cells inside each of these wells, and they apply separate compounds into the wells. And what they look at is essentially the transformation of the oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to the actual oligodendrocyte, functional oligodendrocyte. And that's the primary screen, so they use it as a fixed concentration of compounds. So 1,800 compounds all put in at 20 micromolar to see what the effect is totally before they do anything else with it. And what they found out was that 1,462 compounds had no effect. 292 compounds were cytotoxic. And 47 compounds were actually inhibitors of oligodendrocytes. And then there was also some drivers of oligodendrocytes. And this is a viability plot versus just the number of compounds. And you can see all the black spots at the bottom are showing below the 50% mark. So these compounds, these are the effect of the compounds on the bottom. You can see there's a lot of them that are below 50%. That means they reduce the viability of these oligodendrocytes by 50% at least, and also much more. Some of them are way at the bottom there. And in terms of looking at how these look at, like, if you look under a microscope and look at these cells, you can see that this is how they would look. These are just stains. So in the first panel up here, top left panel, you'll see the effect of no compound at all. This is just a carrier. This is DMSO. And then if the compound is cytotoxic, well, this is what happens over here. If you go to the right, if you come down to the bottom left, you'll see inhibitor preventing the growth of oligodendrocytes, which is depicted in the lack of green color. And here you have a driver that uses a control. So this driver essentially increases the amount of oligodendrocytes. All right, so the most compelling part of all this data are these curves that you see over here. These are called dose-response curves. And I will just point out that curves that are red represent oligodendrocytes, curves that are gray or astrocytes, another class of supporting cells in the brain. And of course, as a control, we have fibroblasts, which are essentially skin cells. And you can see that the further left a curve is shifted, the more sensitive that cell line is to the compound that you're putting in. So you're essentially increasing the concentration of a compound and you're looking at the viability of those cells. And you can see that the oligodendrocytes happen to be extremely sensitive to the presence of these compounds. And you can see some of the median toxicity levels in the nanomolar range over here. in these curves. So this is my stock and trade, so I look at these curves all the time. So I apologize if I expose you to some surprise thing. But I hope you appreciate some of the nuances in these curves. Anyway, what are the actual findings? So what comes out of those curves? So these are the actual numbers that they got out of those cells. So these are these, the compounds are listed in the first column and the actual cytotoxicity that these guys measured in these assays are listed in the second column and what the EPA considers as the cytotoxicity median of these compounds is listed in the third column. So let's compare the first column or rather the second column to The third column, you can see the discrepancy between what the EPA considers as the median cytotoxicity of these compounds and what how these are showing up in these assays. And many, many times there are 100 to a tenfold difference in terms of concentration. So this means these compounds are having an effect at far lower concentrations on the cells than the EPA thinks they have, based on the data that EPA has. And not surprisingly, the concentrations that these guys are measuring are actually the concentrations that are found in people. And of course, at the bottom here, I've got some chemical structures of the compounds that we're all exposed to in this study. Anyway, so they also did some epidemiological analysis of exposure to these Organophosphate compounds that are used as flame retardants, and they've been lit deep. These compounds have been linked to abnormal neuronal development for quite a while. Remarkably, this hasn't found any traction anywhere. And then to investigate the impact of postnatal exposure to these organophosphate compounds, they looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This is a long study where they took a population of children. They took samples from the children's urine, blood over many years, and these were analyzed for various compounds. And the study analyzed, it's called the NH aims to assess childhood exposure to these flame retardants. So they looked at a urine metabolite of these flame retardant. And this urine metabolite is a very reliable predictor of exposure to this flame retardant. And high levels of urinary concentrations of this metabolite were associated with increased risk of gross motor dysfunction and a need for special education. And yeah, I mean, this was very concerning to me anyway. So these findings provide strong evidence for a positive association between organophosphate frame retardant exposure and abnormal neurodevelopment. So some more information worth knowing, and I just want to put this up because it completes the picture in a sense in terms of what is going on regulatory-wise and why we are having these compounds all over the place with nobody looking at it. So there is something called the Toxic Substances Control Act. This was established in 1976. It provides the APA with the authority to require reporting, record keeping, testing requirements, and restrictions on chemical substances and or mixtures. Of course, some products are generally excluded from TSCA. This includes drugs, foods, food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides. I don't know why. It's worth looking into why that is. Also, unfortunately, this act continues to protect the chemical industry by allowing them to use toxic chemicals by grandfathering in over 80,000 chemicals, making them very hard to regulate. So TSCA was updated in 2016 by Obama This amendment updated the requirements for testing the chemicals, increased transparency with the public, and provided more information to the public. But the Trump administration reversed much of the progress that was made, and they delayed the strong enforcement of policies that Congress had been hoping for. Unfortunately, EPA has been very slow to respond to all of this. But the takeaway from this is that as of April 2023, only 1% of 84,000 chemicals in circulation have been tested for safety. The Environmental Protection Agency has only required about 200 of these chemicals to be tested. DAPA has said that less than 1% of more than 40,000 chemicals used in consumer products in the US have been rigorously tested for human safety. So that's something to really ponder. So what can you do? Read the product labels. Avoid these products that contain these compounds. Choose alternative products. Make your own do-it-yourself cleaning solutions. I do this at home now because of my concern. So I They're easy enough to make, lots of solutions, lots of recipes on the internet. Go have a check down. Use ventilation when you're using these chemicals. Open the windows. Use gloves that reduces exposure to your skin. And research your products. Look for safer alternatives or inquire about chemicals, use of coatings. And don't use it if you don't need to use it. In many cases, soap and water are just enough to do the job. You don't need antimicrobial agents. And then educate yourself, stay informed about potential risks with these compounds and other chemicals. It's important to be an aware consumer because we don't know, like I said, 84,000 chemicals, 1% has only been tested for toxicity. So you don't know what you're getting exposed to. And lastly, and I put this up as very, very important, is to advocate for safer alternatives. You should support and encourage the development of safer alternatives to these compounds in consumer products, and definitely call the manufacturers and regulatory authorities. And absolutely, absolutely, this is a must. call your federal and state representatives and say that you're concerned, this needs to be addressed. This is potentially affecting our children. I am convinced at this stage that it is. So I will put that out as a scientist. So anyway. These are some of the references that are meant to inform and inflame you. I sent the presentation over to Brenda, and hopefully she can post it somewhere. I don't know where it is, but these certainly will give you some initial reading and information about what the situation is. And thank you for listening. Thank you.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_06]: I had a quick question. Paul? Yes. You used the term association as opposed to causation. Is that because of sample size issues or what are the reasons that you're talking about associations instead of causations?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, in order to, in order to, like, definitively say that something is caused by something, but you have to have vast epidemiological data, right? And to gain this kind of information takes years and years and years. And there is no, you know, there's no, a lot of times you'll find that there is no impetus to do that. Funding is not available for these large epidemiological studies. There is some resistance from interested parties that this doesn't happen. And of course, there is, you know, so that that in so ascribing of ascribing causation is a is a bigger hurdle. But I you can see that there are various tricks to get around that by doing these kinds of studies that they're doing. So it's important to understand that these are, you know, we try to model complex systems in a reduced way. And this is one of those ways that they've done that. And like I said, it's very compelling data for me. It's important to understand that this is going on. There's been many, many, like the effect on oligodendrocytes by flame retardants, for instance, has been looked at before. Developmental problems with kids exposed to these chemicals have been, there is increasing amounts of epidemiological data that suggests this is happening. So it is time for regulation. It is time to really deeply think about this and do something about this. Thanks, Paul. I'll stop sharing my screen.
[Barry Ingber]: I have a question. I usually for those of us who are not scientists, even those of us who are not scientists but have been fairly steeped in sciences, there's been a popularized association between flame retardants, PFAS, and all sorts of physiological problems. What is the relationship between PFAS and these classes of chemicals? That's part A of the question. And part B of the question is, Avoiding these chemicals is easier to say if you know what the chemicals are, but I haven't a clue what I'm looking for if I were to look at an ingredients label and what to avoid.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Sure. You can get a listing of the quats just by doing a Google search. It'll tell you what these compounds are and what to look for if you look at the labels of these compounds. They're very, very promiscuously used in cleaning products. And there is uh you certainly and there is obviously laws now too that you have to list all your ingredients in on a on a on a on a chemical product so definitely look for what uh there's a quaternary ammonium compound as for flame retardants well they're a little bit harder to uh list because they're not They're not actually listed. You find them in almost everything, any plastic toys that are made. Even remarkably, I found out that there is an act that requires that children's pajamas have flame retardant in them between the four months and 14 months or something like that. It's absolutely remarkable that that's there. That was passed, I think, in 1977 or something. It's hard to find where those flame retardants have been used, but it's important, I think, for us to pressure the powers that are to make sure that any product that goes out is listed with the ingredients that are used to make them. particularly plastic toys, particularly garments and clothing that are made for kids, because oligodendrocytes are actually part of a developing brain. They support the structurization of brain areas and they Any kind of material that interferes with that obviously has consequences for the child growing up. As for the PFAS compounds, they are also, you can look that up on Google and see where they are, but I can tell you that most non-stick, you know, cookware contains those. And so if you cook with that, and particularly you use grease to, you know, make your fries or, you know, do some Chinese cooking with a nonstick pot, then you're getting exposed to that. They're also pleasant in some cleaners. So there's that very, very much. ubiquitous chemicals and they are involved, more and more information is coming out about these chemicals, the PFAS being connected to immune dysfunction and endocrine dysfunction in people. So some of the effects that we see in, let's say, sperm accounts going down all over the planet, We don't know yet, but there are some indications that there might be some connectivity there. But that has to be researched much further. So it's important for us to know what... My point in doing this is that we're just exposed to a lot of stuff that we don't know anything about. And it's high time we just started paying attention to this, because it's taking a toll.
[Brenda Pike]: I see a couple of raised hands here.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Martha, you were first. Go ahead. Or Barry.
[Martha Ondras]: Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Paul, for the presentation. In my day job, I work on PFAS and its removal from drinking water. So I would agree. If you look to Europe or even California, you can find lists of banned chemicals or regulated chemicals that are not regulated in the US by the EPA.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Exactly.
[Martha Ondras]: I think it would be a good project of this group and I would volunteer for it to put together a list of sites or databases like the environmental working groups database where people can turn to learn more about these chemicals and how to avoid them. Because as you pointed out, it's extremely difficult to do.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, I mean, they've been used so ubiquitously in almost everything that we touch and use every day. They're present everywhere. So even remote populations that have no you would think that have no contact with these kinds of chemicals have been shown to have them in their blood. So they get everywhere. And it's important to find out how we can avoid them and mitigate it somehow.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Dan, did you still have something you wanted to add?
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, I think Barry had his hand up.
[Barry Ingber]: No, I was applauding.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_12]: Okay. Really quick, I just wanted to add one thing. If I remember correctly, last year, maybe it's yearly, there's a hazardous chemical pick-up or drop-off that they did at the James Street DPW lot. I know myself, I brought a whole bunch of stuff over there that was just unlabeled chemicals in jars that were in my basement when I moved into my house. I think in Medford especially, there's a lot of old houses, there's a lot of old chemicals, a lot of old stuff sitting around that might have something to do with this, but also just is hazardous in general. I would suggest that we put some either educational or call it person power, behind helping people dispose of chemicals that are in their houses to mitigate this, I think would be a great place for this committee and for Medford to get involved with this.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I completely agree. Let's start something going. Yeah, let's keep in touch.
[Brenda Pike]: Yeah, if folks are interested in reviving something like that, I would suggest talking to the DPW about that. They're the ones who held the hazardous waste drop off last year.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Barry, cast iron is king.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: Right. I'm not seeing any more hands. Thanks again, Paul. I realize I rushed you a little, but I'm glad we could fit you in. This is well worth it.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah. Thanks for your time, everyone. Appreciate it.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: All right. We will breeze through if there's any new business people would like to introduce.
[Robert Paine]: Ready said you had 2 sentences on the tree ordinance.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: I would love to hear.
[Brenda Pike]: Yes, so that the tree ordinance drafts are still being worked on probably completed within the next month. And last week trees Medford distributed along with the mystic River watershed Association. 54 free shade trees to residents in the hottest areas of Medford to help reduce heat island effects.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: That's fantastic. That's a really nice update. All right. Any others? Seeing none, I would entertain a motion to adjourn.
[MCM00001610_SPEAKER_11]: I second. Did I get this wrong again? I'll make a motion to adjourn. I stink.
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: We're going to get it one day. But with that, I see two.
[Brenda Pike]: All in favor?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: All in favor?
[rov34HMcKiU_SPEAKER_27]: The ayes have it. This has been a very busy session, so I appreciate you all and your time. And I believe I will see you all May 6th. We'll be hearing from Senator Barrett.
[Martha Ondras]: Thanks, Will. Thanks, everybody. Bye-bye.
|
total time: 1.32 minutes total words: 113 |
|||