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Last Call
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Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Andrew Ahern has served as the hub coordinator for Sunrise Worcester since January 2020. On July 1, he and a colleague will be stepping down to make room for new leadership. Ahern was part of the core group that resuscitated Sunrise Worcester, setting up the organization as the nerve center for climate activism in the area. What went into this activist renaissance was detailed in a Worcester Magazine article in January. Last week, he sat down with Last Call to discuss his plans for the future.
Why are you stepping down and what’s next?
I’ve known for probably a couple months that I would be stepping down — I’ve been looking for a different job and knew there wasn’t much opportunity in Worcester for climate change work.
In September, I’m moving to Vermont and working in the Brattleboro Office of Sustainability. Teaching the public about climate change, working with the local energy committee, removing invasive species, urban planning. Sustainability is a pretty general and vague word and encompasses a lot — we are aiming to educate and activate the public.
What will you miss most about Sunrise Worcester?
It really comes down to the people. We have been working basically throughout a worldwide pandemic where we’ve all been in lockdown. It’s been really comforting and helpful to meet with folks my age who are going through similar experiences — not just the pandemic but growing up in an age of such chaos. It helps me understand why we’re doing this work — not for some abstract carbon measurement of parts per million in the atmosphere but for people. It’s what motivates me.
Does Sunrise plan to take advantage of the easing of lockdown restrictions in your last month?
Yes, we’ve been active. Our political project the last three months has been endorsements for Worcester City Council and the School Committee. We created an endorsement sub team that’s been really committed to getting people in office, and interviewed a handful of candidates two weeks ago. We just made a couple decisions of who to endorse: Etel Haxhiaj for District 5 City Councilor and Tracy O’Connell Novick for School Committee.
Sunrise members have also joined 350 Central Mass for inperson protests.
What swayed you in your endorsements?
It’s a question of principles and values versus harm reduction. There were candidates we interviewed who may not put the climate crisis at the top of their list but are definitely better than their opponents. Naturally, we have to factor in whether they could win or not.
As you probably know, there is a real lack of knowledge and understanding around the climate crisis with our current City Council. We really need someone who is going to put it at the top of their platform and has proved their commitment to combating the climate crisis as soon as possible. Etel is a member of Mothers Out Front and there’s really no better candidate for our endorsement.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just set a record. What would Sunrise suggest for Worcester to combat this crisis?
The scale and scope of the crisis requires more from the city in terms of where they’re attacking it and how much money they have committed. The Green Worcester Plan is too slow — we can’t wait until 2045 or 2050, we needed to implement harm reduction yesterday, to have done this in the 1990s.
In terms of more specific steps that the city could be taking — massive reinvestment in affordable housing and a carbon budget that aligns with the 1.5 C warming increase. Worcester also has a huge transportation problem — get cars off the street and implement public transport.
Will anyone from the old guard be staying on for the sake of a transition?
Other hub members have known about this for a while and have worked to ease the transition. If there are any bumps along the way, even if we’re not official hub coordinators, we’re only an email or a phone call away.
Andrew Ahern leads a Sunrise protest. KELSEY HARRIS
