2. Argentina.
3. Cambridge Common.
4. Destruction on the Charles River.
5. Welcome to new facebook member.
6. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
1. WBZ Radio Report.
WBZ Radio this morning, and, I believe, last night has reported that an environmental disaster is proceeding to happen to our world with all the trees being destroyed by human beings.
This conclusion has been announced after extended analysis by a Harvard researcher.
2. Argentina.
We reported on Harvard’s massive destruction in Argentina yesterday, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/organizing-against-harvard.html.
3. Cambridge Common.
The City of Cambridge is in the process of destroying 22 excellent trees on the Cambridge Common which Harvard claims as Harvard open space on campus maps.
Cambridge claims Cambridge is improving the view.
It is inconceivable that such an outrage would be occurring in this location without the consent of Harvard.
Here are a few photos of endangered trees.
I reported on this outrage with more photos at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/impending-destruction-cambridge-ma-usa.html.
Last spring, the Cambridge City Council voted to mark the trees they were destroying, after they voted to destroy them. Then they took a tour. The trees were never marked.
4. Destruction on the Charles River.
In about 2004, Harvard bought the train yards and I90 (Mass. Pike) off ramp on the north side of the Charles River opposite Magazine Beach.
About four months earlier, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority demonstrated that the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge running under the BU BRidge could be used for an off ramp from I90 to Cambridge.
House Bill H3332 sponsored by Governor Patrick includes a bond request for the destruction of hundreds of trees between Magazine Beach and the Longfellow Bridge, two bridges east of the BU Bridge. This destruction is being fought for under the lie “underpasses”. The Patrick moneys include $2 to $4 million for the “underpasses” and about $22 million for associated “pathways” which very clearly include that destruction. The leader of the most visible group fighting for the destruction, a falsely named “Conservancy” has oozed at the brilliance of all that destruction.
Multiple projects on the Cambridge side are preparing Cambridge for receipt of this traffic. This destruction would straighten out Memorial Drive east of the new off ramp to allow faster movement more consistent with the expectations of folks using Harvard’s off ramp.
The governor has announced plans to straighten out I90 / the Mass. Pike in the yards / current off ramp area. The maneuvering rather clearly indicates long range plans to move the Harvard Medical School there to allow expansion of Longwood Medical Area hospitals. Harvard has proposed a spur off the rapid transit Red Line starting at Porter Station (next stop after Harvard Station), running through Harvard Station, and the new Harvard Medical School, connecting to a supposed bus tunnel to serve the Harvard Medical Area through a stop at Longwood Avenue and Louis Pasteur.
The bus tunnel is nonsense. The expense would be much more justified by an Orange Line spur through the tunnel to Kenmore / Fenway Park as first phase on a circumferential rapid transit line.
I have done many reports on this.
One example is: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-hospital-by-harvard-university-at.html.
Here is a space / aerial photo showing the lay of the land.
This photo is from 2006. At the far left is the rail yard / future Harvard Medical School. In the middle on the river is Magazine Beach. The bridge is the BU Bridge. Then comes the Destroyed Nesting Area. Barely under the BU Bridge can be seen the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge. The Grand Junction Railroad is the black line white extends up and to the right in a straight line from the Railroad Bridge. The white swath running from the rail yard below the Charles River to the BU Bridge is I90 / the Mass. Pike.
The trees being destroyed in the H3332 project start at the railroad on the upper side of the Charles River and follow the river to the bridge beyond the bridge at the right side of the photo.
I have been informed that the railroad yard has been emptied. Operations were planned to be moved to Worcester.
Here is a blow up of the area without the targeted trees.
Here are some photos of a group of smaller trees slated to be destroyed.
This excellent grove consists of about 104 trees about half a mile east of the BU Bridge at the Memorial Drive split. More than 80 of its trees are slated for destruction.
I repeat, most of the other trees being destroyed are larger than the ones in this grove. The trees are so thick that it is impossible to do photos of them which communicate the depravity.
5. Welcome to new facebook member.
Sam Wohns of Harvard who is very visible in the fight against the Argentine outrage has been kind enough to friend the Charles River White Geese on Facebook.
6. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
Massachusetts Governor’s Office email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.
State environmental people, DES Hotline: ESF.Hotline@state.ma.us.
MassDOT Accelerated Bridges Program: 857-368-8904 or Stephanie.Boundy@state.ma.us.
All Massachusetts Legislators’ emails: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
Cambridge, MA, USA city councilors: Council@cambridgema.gov.
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For people listening to Boston Sierra Club endorsements of environmentally destructive members of and candidates for the Cambridge City Council, you should be aware that
(1) using the world’s definition of “environmentalism,” there are no environmentally responsible members of the Cambridge City Council; Cambridge’s definition is that environmentalists protect that which Cambridge does not feel like destroying; the Cambridge pols are oh, so pious using their secret, fraudulent definition;
(2) the school committee member running for Cambridge City Council fought for the outrages at the Magazine Beach playing fields;
(a) his indignant explanation is that he claims to be only responsible for the good stuff;
(b) that explanation is combined with exactly no demonstration of any meaningful opposition whatsoever to the outrages; and
(c) as is usual in Cambridge, his claims of “improvements” are belied by reality. The playing fields have been decreased in size by his project!!!!! This is to drain off the poisons being dumped to keep alive sickly introduced grasses which replaced healthy grass that survived the better part of a century without poisons; and
(3) there are Cambridge Machine activists very visible and apparently very active in the Boston Sierra Club.
If you are talking to a person associated with the Boston Sierra Club, do a credibility check. Ask if they are familiar with the “Urban Ring” rapid transit proposal. This is a subway proposal designed to link the existing subway spokes. I have been working on it since 1985. Cambridge raised the project in a comment to an environmental Impact Statement a few months ago.
If the Boston Sierra Club “expert” answers “yes,” that he / she is familiar with the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal, ask how many rail options there are. If the answer is “one,” you are getting the flat out lie put out by the City of Cambridge.
Cambridge’s flat out lie is that, of the TWO rail options, the only one that exists is the environmentally destructive streetcar option which the City of Cambridge supports. This option would be highly destructive to the environment near the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.
The reality is that THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SUBSIDIZED THE OTHER OPTION, the responsible Orange Line / heavy rail option, the Kenmore crossing. The state legislature has subsidized the expansion of Yawkey Station as part of the massive Fenway Park area project which has gotten recent press.
Cambridge’s nonsensical proposal would move Yawkey Station three blocks. The Cambridge proposal would not work without moving Yawkey Station. The Kenmore Crossing uses the now subsidized and being expanded Yawkey Station as part of a brilliant megastation.
You should immediately respond to such nonsense from a Sierra Club “expert” by having nothing more to do with this person. Whether the person is stupid or venal is irrelevant, the person has no credibility and is not worthy of your time.
It is frequently difficult to pin these irresponsible people down in general. The deviant behavior in my test is extreme. They are pious in their demands that, if you are politically correct and pro environment, you have to rubber stamp them. Please do not waste your time arguing about destruction they can try to wiggle around.
Turn your back on them and walk away fast.
