Walpole Peace and Justice Group sponsors talk on proposed Spectra Energy gas pipeline on Wednesday, March 30, at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Library

What You Should Know About the Proposed Gas Pipeline in Massachusetts

The Spectra Energy 30 inch gas pipeline, proposed for transit through Walpole, will be the subject of a talk at the Walpole Public Library on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 7:00 PM.   Carolyn and Rand Barthel will offer information about the pipeline, its potential impact on Walpole, why it is not needed, and what Walpole residents can do about it.  

The pipeline is part of the Access Northeast Project, which is upgrading the 125-mile Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline from New Jersey to Massachusetts.   This pipeline would be developed by Spectra Energy, Eversource Energy, and National Grid at a cost of three billion dollars. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office released a study,  “Power System Reliability in New England:  Meeting Electric Resource Needs in an Era of Growing Dependence on Natural Gas”,   concluding that, under existing market conditions,  there is no electric sector reliability deficiency through 2030. The study indicated  that no additional pipeline gas capacity is needed to meet electric reliability needs. 

Carolyn Barthel is a climate activist and founder of the Central Mass and Greater Franklin Nodes of 350 Mass.  Rand Barthel is also a climate activist and  a member of 350 Mass. 350 Mass was created by the Better Future Project to support volunteers working in their communities on local issues and climate awareness. Better Future Project is a Cambridge-based climate organizing nonprofit founded in January 2011. 

The talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group. It will be held in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.

Talks on important peace issues offered in the area

Below are two talks and a movie on important peace related issues that are being presented in Natick and Millis. We are fortunate that there are many groups in the area working on peace and sponsoring educational talks on these important subjects. 

Sunday, March 6, Dr. Elaine Scarry speaks on Thermonuclear Monarchy: Why we​ should abolish nuclear weapons.  6 PM at Gallery 55, 55 S. Main St., Natick Sponsored by Metrowest Peace Action

Friday March 18, "This Changes Everything" movie: Why is climate change incompatible with capitalism? This movie inspired Naomi Klein's recent book of the same name.  Millis Public Library, 961 Main St., Millis. 6 PM Sponsored by Metrowest Peace Action.

Wednesday March 23, Alison Weir: Should the US Keep Giving Israel 10 million dollars Per Day? Common St. Spiritual Center, 13 Common St., Natick, 7 PM Sponsored by Peace for Palestine and Pax Christi Metrowest and Metrowest Peace Action.

Walpole Peace and Justice Group sponsors talk by Dr. Bacevich on his book 'America's War for the Greater Middle East' on Monday, March 21, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Public Library

Dr. Andrew Bacevich will give a talk on his upcoming book, America’s War for the Greater Middle East, on Monday, March 21, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Walpole Public Library. In his book, Dr. Bacevich makes a searing reassessment of U.S. military policy in the Middle East. Over the past four decades, U.S. forces embarked upon a seemingly endless series of campaigns across the Islamic world. Few achieved anything remotely like conclusive success. Instead, actions undertaken with expectations of promoting peace and stability produced just the opposite. As a consequence, phrases like “permanent war” and “open-ended war” have become part of everyday discourse. Understanding what America’s costly military exertions have wrought requires seeing these seemingly discrete events as parts of a single war. It also requires identifying the errors of judgment made by political leaders in both parties and by senior military officers who share responsibility for what has become a monumental march to folly.

Dr. Bacevich is a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he served for twenty-three years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. He received his PhD in American diplomatic history from Princeton. Before joining the faculty of Boston University, he taught at West Point and at Johns Hopkins University. His three most recent books, Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country, Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War , and The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, have all been on the New York Times bestseller list. His essays, reviews, and op-eds have appeared in publications and newspapers like The Wilson Quarterly, Foreign Affair, the New York Times, and the Boston Globe.

Dr. Bacevich’s talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group. It will be held in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.