The medical gravitas of the Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility (GBPSR) is enormous. Governor Baker takes pride in his connections to healthcare. Governor Baker makes a big deal of shaving his head for cancer every year. Governor Baker has consistently ignored the warnings of the doctors who have a lot more knowledge than he does about healthcare and cancer. Governor Baker is a hypocrite.

GBPSR has been very vocal on the compressor station issue. They have continuously tried to bring attention to the very real and serious health concerns related to the proposal. You can read their latest letter on their website.

Enbridge is digging up toxic soil at the proposed compressor, further exacerbating the presence of toxins in the air. The most recent filing on the FERC docket claims there was no problem. But we witnessed the muddy tires leaving a trail of sludge along the access roads on the rainy days. Enbridge brought in a street sweeper to hide the evidence.

Read more from the Weymouth News - "Dirty concerns raised about Weymouth compressor station construction (link)

This week we premiered our new short film "Telling the Stories". This film shares the personal stories of people who have been impacted by air pollution in the Fore River Basin, while at the same time showing the beauty of the Basin. Those of us who call the Basin home know that many toxic industries have been dumped here for decades. The legacy of this industrial abuse has made us sick and will continue to make us sick until the we are able to stand up to the State agencies and the various governors who have abandoned us and tell them "no more!"

Watch the film here or below.

A few of our members attended a speaking event that featured Jane Fonda. Jane Fonda has been leading the weekly “Firedrill Friday” direct action effort to bring attention to the seriousness of climate change. Every Friday for the past few months, Jane Fonda and others have been arrested in DC as they try to get people to see the severity of the issue.

Six community members were arrested today for stopping activity on the North Parcel, stating it's necessary to conduct nonviolent civil disobedience to stop construction since Governor Baker and his State agencies have refused to uphold their charge of office and protect our communities -especially the two environmental justice communities very close by.  

The North Parcel, also known as the proposed compressor site, is highly contaminated. It was a dumping ground for coal ash decades ago. We also known that asbestos is present at the site and believe that TRC did not adequately test for it while they were collecting soil samples. Asbestos is a toxic substance that would require very stringent cleanup procedures. We are asking for further testing of the presence of asbestos at the site.

You can read more about this effort from The Patriot Ledger - Neighbors want more testing at compressor site (link).

We’re premiering our new short film “Telling the Stories” on Tuesday, December 10. This film tells the stories of people who have been impacted by pollution in the Fore River Basin. Join us on Tuesday for the premiere.

The Patriot Ledger - Film about health impacts in the Fore River Basin to debut Tuesday (link)

Gas is not clean. It is not safe. It is DEFINITELY not renewable. Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, Dr. Howard Frumkin, and Dr. Brita E. Lundberg published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine about the dangers of natural gas.

You can read their full article — The False Promise of Natural Gas — here.

Miriam Wasser of WBUR digs up details about what toxins lie under the land that Enrbidge wants to build on. We know that it is a very toxic site that should not be disturbed, but Enbridge wants to dig it up to construct their toxic compressor station.

Arsenic And Diesel As Thick As Peanut Butter: What’s Below The Future Weymouth Compressor? - WBUR

FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a rubber-stamping agency told Senators Markey and Warren that they could not deny Enbridge’s request for a Notice To Proceed with construction. Always a big disappointment, but no surprise. Funny how a regulatory agency lacks the the authority to review its own decisions.

A first person perspective of why we fight and what we must do. Thank you, Laura, for your service to our cause, our community, and our planet.

You can read Laura’s piece below or from The Hingham Anchor.

On Thursday morning, dozens of community members and allies gathered at the proposed compressor station site to put a stop to Enbridge’s construction activities. Four community members were arrested.

Residents of the South Shore and their allies from around the state rallied early this morning at the proposed compressor site in Weymouth to stop Enbridge from beginning removal of highly contaminated soil in order to build the compressor station.  A large group of residents held signs and peacefully told Enbridge to stop their activities.

Mayor Koch of Quincy, Councillor Brad Croall, and Councillor David McCarthy sent a joint letter to MassDEP’s Southeast Regional Director, Millie Garcia-Serrano, urging the DEP to exercise their authority under the Mass Contingency Plan to conduct further review of Enbridge’s Release Abatement Measure. We thank the City of Quincy for their continued advocacy on this issue. You can read the letter here.

Our state representatives are really wonderful. They sent another joint letter to Commissioner Suuberg of MassDEP, in response to Enbridge's inadequate cleanup plan. You can read the letter here.

Finally, the Globe catches up after 5 long years. Congratulations, Fellas. Maybe if you'd picked up on this a little earlier your good friend Charlie Baker might have listened. You can read their article here: Weymouth gas project gets final federal OK

We especially like the part where Enbridge says that "Algonquin Gas Transmission. . . remains committed to ensuring construction activities are conducted in compliance with all applicable requirements, with public health and safety as our priority."

The Town of Weymouth continues to fight for its residents, unlike our Governor. Mayor Hedlund sent a letter to the DEP today, asking them to review Enbridge’s clean up plan, before construction begins.

This morning, FERC granted Enbridge the Notice to Proceed (NTP) construction on the compressor station. While this was not unexpected, it comes over the objections of all of us, our Federal delegation, our state legislators, the Town of Weymouth, our allies, and pretty much everyone you can think of except for Gov. Baker.

We really did not want to ruin your Thanksgiving, but we want you to know that we are still in the fight. With your help--your time, your treasure, and your talent--we are not giving up this fight. We will work to stop this by all means available. And we need you to stay focused, stay strong, and stay with us as a community.

DARTMOUTH’S IRVING INSTITUTE: TELL IRVING OIL TO CANCEL ITS TOXIC WEYMOUTH COMPRESSOR CONTRACT

The Town of Weymouth filed three more lawsuits against the compressor station proposal today. The lawsuits seek to overturn CZM’s approval of the project and DEP’s wetlands and waterways approvals. Many thanks to the Mayor and the Town for pursuing this situation to the bitter end! FRRACS is filing on the Waterways and is looking into our ability to file against CZM. Stay tuned, Campers.