Climate Change
Climate change indicates a change in long-term weather patters.  As areas become warmer or colder and  rainfall or snowfall increase or decrease, the  lands and waters, we depend on for survival, are impacted.
We seek to educate others on how people contribute to these changes and advocate for change in behavior and policy to address climate change.

GREEN TOWN

Green Town is an effort of the BOLD Teens and the Codman Square Neighborhood Council  to Green Boston one neighborhood at a time.  The focus area of the initiative is Cronin Playground.

We are working with the City of Boston to “reduce green house gas emissions 25% by 2020” and “give special attention to segments of the Boston community that are more vulnerable because of lack of resources, poor health, age, or other reasons”.  Sparking Boston’s Climate Revolution Summary Report April 2010

Green Renovations

Working with the residents surrounding Cronin Playground, we are providing  climate change education, energy audits, information on resources for green renovations and tracking improvements.

Green Development

The new development at 81 Brent  Street is set to include the green features listed below.  The project has and continues to engage residents in understanding how to develop a green and healthy home.  We will make sure youth take part in the process.

Healthy Green Features:
•Eco friendly materials
•Efficient insulation
•Energy efficient appliances
•Photovoltaic panels
•Smart Home Meter
•Hardwood floors
•Green Landscape
•Single stream recycling
•Energy Star certification
•LEED certification

Green Park: Cronin Playground/ Wainwright Park

Working with the City of Boston and the Boston Parks Dept. we will serve as the community partners ensuring residents are engaged in the design and construction of the park with a focus on green features:

•High-efficiency lighting
•Low-emitting finishes
•Recycled materials
•Low-flow plumbing fixtures
•Proper drainage
•Solar / human powered additions
•Bike Racks

Green Space
Planting trees and increasing green space in the community.   Working with the Urban Ecology Institute, every summer we learn how to plant and tend to trees and other green space in the community.  We learn the importance of green space and educate the community on the importance of increasing green space in the community.  Our green reduces toxins in the air, improves our air quality and beautifies the community.  We also encourage residents and merchants to adopt trees and care for the environment.

FACT: B.O.L.D. Teens helped plant over 65 trees in Dorchester in 2007. Call us if you would like a tree this spring. 

Hybrid Cars
Fact: over 33% of air pollution in Dorchester comes from vehicle emissions. Over 300,000 vehicles travel in and through Dorchester everyday.

Solutions: You can purchase a hybrid car, put plants inside your house or office (to reduce indoor air pollution) and plant more trees (to reduce outdoor air pollution).

Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor. They are great for the environment because they can reduce smog by 90 percent and they use less gasoline than standard cars. They can get up to 60 miles per gallon in city driving while a typical SUV might travel around 20 miles per gallon, or use three times as much gas for the same distance.
This car is very quiet and will reduce air pollution and save you money. For more information on hybrid cars, or to look into a hybrid car, visit one of the links below.

Links:
http://hybridcars.com/

Diesel
Air pollution in Dorchester is of intense interest to the BOLD Teens as it is the hub of the city of Boston. Burning diesel fuel releases carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter. Fine particles (particulate matter) in diesel exhaust penetrate deep into to lungs and cause serious health problems- asthma, lung damage, and other respiratory complications. Children and the elderly are more susceptible to air pollution.  As part of their awareness building the BOLD Teens place banners signifying the air quality daily.  Green stands for good, yellow means moderate, and red means hazardous and it is advised that children, the elderly, and everyone with respiratory complications remain indoors.  This banner can be seen on the outside of the Codman Square Health Center.
(Insert Picture Here)

From ongoing research and more recently in the summer of 2007 BOLD Teens found that during traffic surveys Dorchester streets are heavy points of travel especially since it connects 203 East and West to I-93.  Idling commercial vehicles using diesel gas are of particular interest as they are most visible in the commercial districts of Codman Square and Fields Corner.  The BOLD Teens do education and outreach with local schools, and created their own anti-diesel campaign.  See our partner agency REEP/ACE to start your own anti-diesel campaign!
Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project /Alternatives for Community & Environemnt
http://www.ace-ej.org/reep

Healthy Homes Campaign
Every year we administer a ‘Healthy Homes Agreement’ to community residents to encourage healthier home environments.  This educational tool is used to follow up with people in six months time to provide additional information about how to make one’s home better for relatives that may have asthma or other respiratory diseases.  We will soon have a database to track the health of our community, and provide more educational support to parents or guardians on how they can go ‘Green’!

Toxic Products- PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) and Personal Care Products
PVC (polyvinyl chloride), commonly known as vinyl, is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created.  It is found in packaging and products such as children’s toys, teething rings, shower curtains, lunchboxes, shampoo bottles and home building materials.  The production, use, and disposal of PVC release toxic chemicals that cause serious health and environmental problems such as cancer.

The problem is that this can be prevented, and changed with citizen action and consumer demand.  In October last year we, along with other groups around the country held an awareness protest outside of neighborhood Target stores advocating for the store to take the dangerous PVC out of its plastics.  What was their response?  “Rather than make false promises, Target has told the Center for Health Environment Justice that we are committed to exploring alternatives to PVC- we cannot, however, provide a date for if and when PVC would be phased out of the products we sell.” 

Firstly, you as a consumer have power, so let Target know that this is important to your family’s health.  Secondly visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at http://www.safecosmetics.org/ to see how your favorite everyday products rated in safety and toxicity.  In Europe they already banned about 1,100 harmful chemicals from cosmetics, and the United States has only banned 9.  This is because the National Institution of Health has not done any real substantial and extensive research on those dangerous chemicals found in cosmetic products.  Because the government is not fully informed of the dangerous chemicals in cosmetics, they are not able to help the consumers they represent. 

Does it make sense that manufacturers make the same products for the U.S. that they make for Europe, but the products they make for Europe do not consist of harmful chemicals?  Toxic chemicals that are found in some cosmetics are mercury, a possible human carcinogen, lead acetate, which has been found to cause birth defects, and formaldehyde, another possible human carcinogen.  According to the Environmental Work Grouping, which is leading the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, there are 10,500 ingredients in personal care products and only 11% of those have been tested for safety in the U.S.
 
Don’t like what you see. Try hosting a party among your friends to educate each other about chemical free products on the market.  Most importantly remember that it can be done, the European Union has already banned over 1100 harmful chemicals in their cosmetics, yet those same companies are not doing the same for the United States!

Anti-Litter Campaign
Anti-Litter Campaign within our community.  Our merchants, police and stakeholders are aware of this initiative and excited for its launch in the spring. This initiative is in partnership with B-SMART (Boston’s Strategic Multi Agency Response Team).
The plan includes education around keeping our community clean, a Respect Your Neighborhood Mural, the Solar Recycling Sort and more.  There is also a Clean Streets Initiate of enforcement where we educate merchants on their responsibility to their storefronts, enforcing parking violations and developing street cleaning times.  This is a true youth and adult initiative and we organize cleanups and presentations within the community.