This letter was sent to the Fairhaven Selectboard on 8/13/0
Dear Bob, Dan and Keith,
We respectfully ask for your vote in favor of the 10% across-the-board increase in RECs in the 2021 Good Energy contract to protect our Town’s coastal vulnerabilities. So did the majority of the 128 respondents to the Town’s recent survey. (To put that in context, 139 people attended July’s Town Meeting.)
This 10% RECs increase is a clear opportunity to protect the community from future hazards. By supporting this action now, you’ll show that you care about mitigating the risks from the climate-related hazards we collectively face.
Connect the dots, please! A vote against this 10% increase would be completely inconsistent with the Town’s ongoing work toward a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness planning grant, which seeks funding to deal with the following known hazards which climate change amplifies:
• Sea Level Rise — including long-term changes to shoreline, flood and erosion hazard areas, base flood elevations, etc.
• Flooding including coastal flooding (recurring tidal events, storm surge,
wave action, etc.) and inland flooding (heavy rainfall + stormwater/drainage events).
• Severe Storms — including hurricanes, nor’easters, winter storms, and other extreme weather events.
• Heat and Drought — including increasing temperatures, heat waves, consecutive dry days, etc
The determination of these top hazards was informed by the conclusions of previous hazard planning efforts as well as updated information and relevant data on climate change and future conditions (including downscaled climate projections for the Buzzards Bay Basin).
From: Town of Fairhaven Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Planning Grant.
As you take this critical vote for the future safety of our Town, please consider this: How would your constituents, your neighbors, your children, and your grandchildren feel about a vote against their future safety?
Thank you for your time.
With best regards,
Laura Gardner, Co-Chair
Jean Lawlor, Communications Chair
Climate Reality MA Southcoast
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