Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety Marks 31st Anniversary

On the sultry summer evening of June 20, we gathered in the big hall at St. John’s United Methodist Church near Watertown Square. We numbered about 50 friends and supporters of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety (WCES), and we’d come together to mark and celebrate WCES’s 31st year as a voice in Watertown for peace, the environment, and social justice.

That evening we included State Representative Jonathan Hecht, Town Councilors Tony Palomba and Susan Falkoff (all of whom are WCES members; Falkoff served as President for many years and only recently retired as a member of the Planning Committee). Joining us were toddlers and their young parents, old-timers who’ve been with WCES for decades, and lots of folks in between. We brought tasty dinners, desserts, and refreshing drinks to share together. We opened the windows and doors and turned on the fans to catch and enjoy the breezes.

Cool news about a national initiative also came into the hall that night, through our keynote speaker, historian Mark Solomon. “WCES was made for what we’re striving for,” Solomon said. “The enormity of what you’re doing represents the very best of what this country is about.”

Solomon, professor emeritus of history at Simmons College, introduced us to the Majority Agenda Project. Born in Watertown and other cities and towns nearby, this initiative takes a good hard look at the dangerous crossroads our country faces, and sees solutions, and sources of hope. Our nation’s crisis is a convergence of three elements, Solomon said: It’s economic, extending to health care, education, and housing; the crisis is a catastrophic threat posed by climate change; and it’s a complex crisis around issues of war, global security, and control over natural resources.

In such a time, at such an historic intersection, noted Solomon, we can’t successfully address the solution piecemeal, because no single component defines the crisis by itself. A comprehensive strategy is needed.

Fortunately, measures of public sentiments across the United States show that most Americans agree about the policies that would successfully address the present dangers and promote everyone’s welfare. Here, said Solomon, is the common ground that the Majority Agenda Project promotes:

One: We need to invest our public resources in our economic security and general well-being. This means decent jobs, supporting local business, protecting the rights of working people. This means everyone should have access to a home and quality public health insurance.

Two: The Majority Agenda holds that the solution to our energy crisis is to quickly cut harmful emissions and build a green economy with millions of new green jobs. Just as rapidly, expand renewable energy sources and create a new energy, transportation, and urban infrastructure. These initiatives answer the calls of all working people, especially in poor communities, and can redress inequities of race and gender.

Three: Finally, the Majority Agenda calls for an end to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which cannot answer our nation’s security problems. They cost us tremendously in human lives, instigate new grievances and instability globally, and generate unsustainable budget deficits here at home. Building cooperative relationships with other countries that are based on sustainable development and common security interests will more effectively promote global security.

These three components of the Majority Agenda are inextricably linked. And as Solomon pointed out, these are precisely the three issues that WCES works on locally, through our task forces: the Climate Change Task Force (CCTF); the Local Environmental Task Force (LETF); and the Peace & Justice Task Force (PJTF).

On June 20, we discussed the Majority Agenda and caught up with friends. We heard what each of our task forces had been up to for the past year, and caught a glimpse of our upcoming activities. We also witnessed the election of our new officers and celebrated the superlative contributions given for years by those whose roles have changed – most notably Tony Palomba, who served as President from 2004 to 2010. I stepped in as the new President, with not a small degree of nervousness, but bolstered by the knowledge that a fantastic group backs me, just as I do my best to support them. Our other officers are Ernesta Kraczkiewicz, Treasurer, and Deborah Peterson, Secretary. New members of the WCES Planning Committee are Lisa Kane, Marty Lerman, and Paul Wernick. They join our existing members Peter Brooks, Terese Hammerle, Henrietta Light, and Lois Mastrangelo. Our task force chairs are Peter Brooks (CCTF); Susan Falkoff and Terese Hammerle (LETF); and Tony Palomba (PJTF).

Thirty-one years after its founding, WCES is, as Solomon put it, “a source of hope.” Everyone is welcome to join us. Please sign up for our bi-weekly e-newsletter, become a member, and volunteer on a task force. Write us at: mail@watertowncitizens.org, or PO Box 1194, Watertown, MA 02471-1194. To get the latest on upcoming meetings, go to www.watertowncitizens.org. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.