THINK GLOBAL. ACT LOCAL
SEVEN MILE RIVER – SOUTH ATTLLEBORO
ATTLEBORO’S ENVIRONMENTAL MASTER PLAN
Climate change is real and an existential threat to all humans around the globe. Ninety seven percent of climate scientists concur. Blistering temperatures, snowless winters, record drought followed by record floods, and increased storm intensity are daily news.
The run-away temperature increase of 1.5°C was reached last year (the north and south pole have warmed +4°C). Thirteen of the fourteen warmest years on record have occurred since 2000. Americans consume three times more resources than the Earth can replenish.
A recent report written by the United Nations concluded that we have one generation to address climate change before the damage is irreparable.
No doubt, our Earth has been through several climate changes in its 4-billion-year history. So, what makes this climate change so different? Two things: this climate change is caused by humans and the speed at which change is happening.
While humans-caused global warming is occurring, the good news is that humans can fix the problem. But it will take resolve to stem the tide.
“Think global, act local” is a well-used refrain that can work in Attleboro. In early 2022, a Mayor’s Task Force was assembled to draft Attleboro’s Environmental Master Plan (EMP). The seven-member volunteer task force, comprised of environmental and business professionals, met for more than 850 hours, at no cost to the city. The Master Plan was completed and approved by the mayor in August 2022.
The EMP is strategic roadmap that focuses on six core pillars: Sustainable Growth; Water Security; Conservation; Renewable Energy; Waste Reduction; and Education & Participation. Each core pillar was chosen specifically for Attleboro with an overarching vision of “To be in the top 1% of Green Communities in the Commonwealth by 2035, where its leaders and residents make environmentally sustainable choices every day, even in the face of competing interests”.
To read the EMP roadmap, visit the Attleboro city
website at To: (cityofattleboro.us)
Accompanying the EMP are more than 100 recommended actions that can be evaluated and put into place to make Attleboro Sustainable By Design. Each recommended action would address one or more core pillars.
Recommended actions can be put in place by an individual (e.g., combine trips in the car), a family (e.g., food composting), or the community as a whole (e.g., a tree ordinance). Some recommended actions are quite easy (e.g., diligently shut lights off when leaving a room), some more difficult (e.g., achieving carbon neutrality). To read more about recommended actions, visit:
EMP Actions.xlsx (cityofattleboro.us)
Whether easy or difficult, we (you and I) need to start somewhere.
To help guide Attleboro to be more a sustainable community, the City Council is currently reviewing the creation of a Sustainability Commission.
Like other commissions and boards, the new Sustainability Commission would be comprised of volunteer residents appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.
The Commission would serve in an advisory role to help Attleboro meet the vision of being top 1% of Green Communities in the Commonwealth.
What can you do? There are many opportunities for you participate
Review the document links shared above.
Talk to other members of your family to support the vision.
Carry out one or more recommended actions in the Action Plan, “Personal” actions tab
Contact your City Councilor to let them know you support the creation of the Sustainability Commission
(Attleboro Municipal Council | Attleboro, MA (cityofattleboro.us)
Look into becoming a member of the Sustainability Commission (see contact information below).
Run for City Council to help create sustainability policy.
We are in this together, and together we can do our part to make Attleboro more sustainable.
If you want more information, contact Mike Davis at
Mike Davis has lived in Attleboro for nearly forty years. He is a former City Councilor, chaired the Mayor’s Environmental Master Plan Task Force, and is actively seeking the creation of the Sustainability Commission.