What are the History and Accomplishments of Tipping Point 01545?
2020 Fall
Tipping Point 01545 was established as a local, volunteer climate and environmental group
2021 Spring
Tipping Point 01545 brought a citizen’s petition to the May Town Meeting, urging the town to declare a Climate Emergency. The Declaration passed with strong support.
2021 Summer
SELCO announced a critical step towards town-wide decarbonization, The SELCO Net-Zero Roadmap: Carbon-Free by 2032. This Roadmap commits to increasing Shrewsbury’s supply of renewable energy which will reduce a significant portion of the town’s greenhouse gas emissions.
2021 Fall
Tipping Point 01545 began a conversation with the Shrewsbury Select Board about the need for a town-wide Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resiliency.
2021/2022 Winter
Tipping Point 01545 urged the Select Board to bring to the May Town Meeting an Article to fund the development of a town-wide CARP. The Select Board supported an Article to fund the development of CARP solely for the Municipal government, which passed with a nearly unanimous vote.
2022 Summer/Fall
Two Tipping Point 01545 members participated in interviewing and selecting Kim Lundgren Associates (KLA) to develop the Municipal CARP.
2023 January
KLA begins the greenhouse gas inventory for the municipal government, including all public buildings, vehicles, and energy use.
2023 Spring/Summer
Three Tipping Point 01545 members participated in the Climate Action Advisory Group led by KLA to evaluate strategies to reduce municipal climate pollution and improve resiliency.
2023 Fall
KLA completed the municipal CARP, All In Shrewsbury, which was developed with input from over 500 town residents and municipal employees. The Plan can be viewed on the Shrewsbury Town website. Although it does not cover town-wide greenhouse gas emissions, All In Shrewsbury is a big step forward for municipal decarbonization and resiliency, and reduces Shrewsbury’s contribution to climate change.
2024 Early Spring
Tipping Point 01545 began conversati#### ons with members of the Select Board about the benefits to the Town of forming a Sustainability Committee. The Committee would work to extend the goals of the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) to include residents and businesses. It would advance initiatives that focus on climate and environmental matters that impact public health, the built environment, vehicles, equipment, land use, solid waste and natural resources. The Shrewsbury Sustainability Committee would promote improvements in energy, efficiency, resiliency and use of renewable energy. The Committee would inform, educate and engage the community to reduce its climate and environmental impact.
2024 Month of April
Tipping Point 01545 members created the annual month of April display in the entry of the Shrewsbury Public Library. The 2024 focus was ‘The Five Biggest Decisions That Really Matter”, for your health, your finances and the earth. The topics were:
How You Cook Your Food How You Heat and Cool Your Home Where Your Power Comes From What Kind of a Car You Drive How You Heat Your Water The table in front of the display offered handouts to support decision-making to reduce climate impacts. SELCO provided a brochure about their plan to provide carbon free electricity to Shrewsbury by 2032 or sooner. Links to MassSave and SELCO rebates, as well as the IRA tax credits were posted, to assist residents with the costs associated with making these changes.
2024 Early Summer
The Select Board voted to form a Sustainability Committee for Shrewsbury, consisting of seven residents, appointed to staggered terms.
2024 June
The Select Board appointed seven members to the Sustainability Committee. Two members will serve an initial three-year term, set to expire on June 30, 2027. Two members will serve an initial two-year term, set to expire on June 30, 2026 and two members will serve an initial one-year term set to expire June 30, 2025. A High School student member of the Committee will serve a one year term, set to expire on June 30, 2025.
2024 September
Tipping Point 01545 members staffed a table at the Annual Electric Vehicle (EV) Show held at the Hebert Candy Mansion, coordinated by Shrewsbury resident Jeff Manning. We spoke with attendees and handed out materials about actions people can take to reduce carbon emissions to promote better health, including information about home electrification.
2024 September 28
Tipping Point 01545 members participated in the 2024 Spirit of Shrewsbury Expo, held at Saint John’s High School. A climate-oriented fishing game gave attendees the chance to win prizes, including an induction cooktop, the Catan New Energies board game, a kite and Hot-Wheels Electric Vehicles for children. We engaged with residents to talk about heat pumps and induction stoves and handed out literature to support these efforts.
2024 Fall
The first two blog posts were added to the Tipping Point 01545 website, tippingpoint01545.com. They are Transitioning to Heat Pumps, Part 1 and Part 2, with interviews of Shrewsbury residents who have replaced fossil fuel heating systems with whole house heat pumps and mini-splits powered by electricity.
2024 October 2
The Shrewsbury Sustainability Committee held its first meeting and decided to meet on a monthly basis on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. Meetings are held at Town Hall and are open to the public for observation.
2024 Late Fall
Tipping Point 01545 members brainstormed and set priorities for 2025 initiatives. New members were welcomed. Appointments were made to meet with the Green Team, which is empowered with implementing the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) within the municipal government, and with SELCO, Shrewsbury’s Municipal Power (MLP) and Cable Company to become updated on their initiatives.
2025 January
Tipping Point 01545 hosted it’s first Heat Pump Party at the home of a member. Seventy Town Meeting Members were invited to attend. A mini-split heat pump, a hybrid heat pump water heater and an induction cooktop were shown and members were available to talk about these technological advances with residents. Snacks and hot cider were offered.
2025 January
Tipping Point 01545 was invited to participate in the 2025 SELCO Arbor Day/Earth Day Event at Dean Park on Saturday April 26 from 9am to noon, where SELCO will give away trees. Tipping Point 01545 will host a table with a climate game and give away 10 native Juneberry Trees.
2025 March
Tipping Point 01545 prepared for the Shrewsbury Public Library display for the entire month of April. In collaboration with Tipping Point 01545, Shrewsbury High School students who are members of the National Art Honor Society are creating a three-panel art work entitled ‘Growing a Better Future’ with a meaningful artist statement. On the table in front of the art work, there will be an opportunity for Library patrons to respond to the art work by writing their feelings and thoughts about climate change.
2025 March
In preparation for participating in SELCO’s Arbor Day Event at Dean Park on Saturday April 26, 2025 from 9 am to noon, Tipping Point 01545 created its first sticker. The sticker is designed to increase residents awareness of the benefits of transitioning from fossil fuels to town-wide residential electrification, a shift that SELCO facilitates with its very low electric rates and rebates. Electrification of homes and vehicles in Shrewsbury is a very advantageous proposition, along with rebates from MassSave for gas customers and generous IRA tax credits for everyone. The sticker also aligns with the goals of the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP), and the charge of the Shrewsbury Sustainability Committee.
2025 March
Tipping Point 01545 members, together with staff of Shrewsbury Media Connection created two videos. One video is about the advantages of owning an electric vehicle. Both Tipping Point 01545 members who created this video drive EVs, so they speak authoritatively about that experience. Watch it here.
The second video created by Tipping Point 01545 is about the types of home heat pumps: whole home heat pumps and mini-splits, shown in a home in Shrewsbury, narrated by the owner. Watch it here.
Both videos are being shown on Shrewsbury Media Connection.
🔗All-In-Shrewsbury Municipal Climate Action and Resilience Plan
🔗Shrewsbury Climate Action and Resilience Dashboard
“Transformation is not accomplished by tentative wading at the edge.”
-Robin Wall Kimmerer