Energize Acton

Eating more plant-based meals is important for our health and for our environment, so please join Energize Acton for this informal outdoor “tailgate” potluck. Instead of coming together for a sporting event, we are gathering to celebrate our wonderful plant world, share recipes, and eat delicious food! EnergizeActon will provide vegetarian chili, cornbread, and hot cider and we ask you to bring a vegetarian or vegan “nibble” to share. Please dress for the weather! The address will be sent upon registration. Info and registration at https://community.massenergize.org/ActonMA/events/2075.

Concerned about winter energy bills? Join Carrie Katan, of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, at an online meeting as she helps us understand our utility bills, reveals energy saving options from the utilities themselves, and looks at energy efficiency actions to take in your household. Topics include consumer energy rates (e.g. income eligible options and heat pump discounts), significant efficiency savings through Mass Save, and a look at possible future directions in the energy market. Co-sponsored by Energize Acton and  MassEnergize.org. For more information and to register, go to https://community.massenergize.org/ActonMA/events/2108.

The goal of the Biosphere Book Club is to reflect on climate vis-à-vis the health of human and ecological communities. This month we’ll explore the beautiful 2025 publication, Is a River Alive? The session will be “text-based,” with quotes, participatory activities, and discussion. You are invited to read the book, but it is not required. Sponsored by EnergizeActon.org. Info/registration at https://community.massenergize.org/ActonMA/events/2110.    

Of all the books that Energize Acton volunteers display at community events, this book--Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson--has generated the most enthusiasm and interest. The blurb that went out with the book calls it a “once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.”  Katherine Sypher, of NPR, writes, “The woes of the world can be paralyzing. It was refreshing, therefore, to be called to action by Abundance. Well-known journalists and podcast hosts Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that,

This Earth Day join us for a tour of Acton’s award-winning Gates and Douglas School, known as the Boardwalk Campus. Drawing on geothermal power (ground source heat pumps) and utilizing other special technologies, this school has blown past all its energy-saving predictions. Schools Energy Manager Kate Crosby will share all the cool details. Nibbles, brief talk, and tour. Register at: https://energizeacton.org/event/clean-energy-school-tour  

Bob Zogg, co-founder of the HeatSmart Alliance, and Kit Wu, of the Laminar Collective, share their great knowledge of home heat pumps and pricing. Find out about air source and ground source heat pumps for improved heating/cooling energy efficiency, air quality, home comfort, and low emissions. Plus, learn about significant Mass Save incentives. Register for Zoom link at: https://energizeacton.org/event/heat-pumps-101/  

As the state legislature considers cutting back on clean energy incentives, do climate goals still matter? Is a renewable future too challenging and, as some claim, too expensive? Join Amanda Barker of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance as she looks at Massachusetts climate goals, where we stand at reaching targets (looking at heating and cooling goals in particular), and why renewable energy is not only doable but necessary for a reliable, independent, healthy energy future. Register for Zoom link at: https://energizeacton.org/event/why-climate-goals-matter/

EnergizeActon.org invites you to discuss key themes in this luminous work by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A trained botanist and member of the Potawatomi Nation, the author shares the wonder of the plant world, but also helps us to see plants as teachers. Her First Nations perspective reminds us that we have a lot to learn from other species, including the meaning of reciprocity and thanksgiving.  You do not need to read the book. A reflection guide with quotes and questions will be sent to those who register. Info and registration at https://energizeacton.org/event/biosphere-book-club-may-title-braiding-sweetgrass/