All over Massachusetts, municipalities are using their leverage to negotiate creative deals for reuse of abandoned state assets. We have the power to reject a private developer’s plan for East Cambridge’s former courthouse and do the same in Cambridge.

The adoption of the Net Zero Action Plan is just the latest example of the city’s commitment to sustainability. But despite these and many other positive efforts, the fact is, we must do even more to reduce our carbon footprint and limit greenhouse gases.

In May, Boston once again took the lead in environmental building practices when its City Council approved a Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance – and Palo Alto., Calif., has adopted a 100 percent renewable energy portfolio for all residents.

Not everyone has signed on to the citizen proposal to restrict emissions from new buildings, which is why we need to make sure that everyone is talking about the same thing.

World-renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben has added his name to the Connolly Petition and endorsed the efforts of Cambridge residents to enact the nation’s first “net zero” zoning standard for new development projects.

A proposal to require new, large-scale building projects to meet a “net zero” standard for greenhouse gas emissions not just helps the environment; it lays the groundwork to innovate in environmental action the way Cambridge did for biotech in the 1970s.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s plans for Kendall Square remain deeply flawed – skewed heavily to commercial real estate development to the detriment of its own grad students and other city residents – and comes from an equally flawed process.