气候变化领域集成服务门户

We waste too much money on the dark hole of carbon and not enough money on local conservation land and easements. Money should be spent conserving local suburban ecosystems and creating more state parks and state forests. Planting trees. The basics, Jeff K. from Middleton said. We can fight even what is ultimately a losing battle against rising seas for hundreds of years. We fortify areas where it makes sense and we retreat from more vulnerable areas. Low-lying areas can be made into parks, farms, and conservation land to handle the rising water.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, a dozen towns and cities have gotten the go-ahead to participate in a pilot program that would ban the use of fossil fuels in new buildings and major renovations a move Mayor Michelle Wu is looking to make in Boston.

From mandated composting to improved public transit, readers had many suggestions on what policies local lawmakers should use to tackle climate change.

Some entries may be edited for length and clarity.

Institute stronger regulations for composting. Businesses, schools, households, and all government institutions should compost. This is the easiest fix that people can help to save the environment without changing their lifestyle. It s just a matter of throwing away compost in a separate bin. Deanne M., Andover

Empower and incentivize small businesses, co-ops, and municipalities to adopt advanced recycling systems. Alex, Everett

Offer free composting pickup to all residents, and compost bins at apartment buildings. Require larger businesses and restaurants to compost. Lynn, Watertown

Reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road. Invest in public transit and protected bike lanes to expand transit alternatives. The only way to achieve our climate, environmental, and safety goals is to make roads more accessible and remove the well-documented inherent inefficiencies of single-occupancy vehicles. Peter G., Boston

More renewable energy sources. More and better public transit. MBTA needs an overhaul and expansion. Faster and more reliable commuter rail would decrease car traffic. More dedicated bike lanes (with physical partitions). Jonathan, Newburyport

1. Congestion charges in the city, 2. An aggressive program to restrict single-person car use, 3. Increase bus and cycle lanes with heavy policing, 4) FREE enhanced public transportation. Paul H., Roslindale

Start building a sea wall at Deer Island. Anything else is a bandaid. Get real and start building. This is a federal project. Nothing that is being built along the harbor will stop the onslaught of water. Bob B., Newton

The city must concentrate on making the right adaptations for higher sea levels. The development in the Seaport was pitched as resilient but regularly floods. How much will the city have to spend on mitigation and resilience because of the multi-million-dollar condos that have gone up there? Local carbon reductions are a drop in the bucket. It would be unfortunate for residents to be footing the bill when the houses built on sand wash away. Steve, Charlestown

Boston (and possibly the entire U.S.) needs to stop allowing builders to erect buildings and houses close to waterways, be they oceans or rivers. This is particularly true in Boston where much of the city is built upon reclaimed land. When the area around the New England Aquarium floods it is partially due to climate change and just as much due to the fact that the shoreline in that area is artificial and used to extend further up State Street. Anonymous, Quincy

Shut down all natural gas and coal plants. Build out wind and solar generation 24/7/365 for as long as possible. Replace all HVAC with heat pumps. We re past the point where it ll be comfortable and seamless to make the necessary changes, so everyone would do best to get themselves prepared to be uncomfortable. That ll mean paying a prohibitive cost for energy, rationing electricity, etc. So many people talk about making tough choices but that s not at all true. The choices are the easy part but living or dying with the consequences of the choices is the hard part. Tucker, Brookline

Better state incentives for solar, high-efficiency HVAC, heat pumps, insulation of homes, and conversion away from oil. Enhancing the electric grid and connecting to solar and wind will make things safer and reliable while helping climate change. Steve, Bodford

Set an aggressive goal (date-wise) to 1. Source all of our energy needs as renewable, 2. Ban all non-renewable energy vehicles from Boston and other larger cities, 3. Incentives (and then outright bans) to convert homes and businesses to electric only. Julie, Lincoln

Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers opinions.