Without FEMA resilience money, Mass. communities scramble to save flood prevention projects
One month since the Trump administration shut down a resilience funding program, communities dependent on the money for major infrastructure projects are still reeling.
How higher temperatures and more pollen are affecting the health of Boston residents
Extreme temperatures pose a health risk on both ends of the spectrum as increasingly hot days can contribute to heat stroke and worsening seasonal allergies, while the bitter cold can aggravate respiratory health issues and cause hypothermia.
Utility companies target heat pump incentives for cuts to pare back Mass Save budget
“These cuts represent some of the best options of bad options,” said Kyle Murray, the Massachusetts program director at the Acadia Center about the new compliance plan for Mass Save, which reduces the budget for heat pump incentives and program to help residents use one vendor for energy efficiency upgrades.
‘Water doesn’t know property lines’: Where Massachusetts’s climate and housing crises meet
“The state rules have to catch up with the reality of climate change,” said Matthew Fee, a Nantucket select board member. “A town road can’t be abandoned if someone’s [living] on it, but what happens when the road goes into the ocean?”
When the river rises
By 2050, severe floods that were expected to happen once every 100 years will be three times more likely to occur in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts. But the uneven distribution of resources across municipalities leaves some towns less equipped to plan for and respond to disasters.
How these Massachusetts communities are pushing forward to meet state climate goals
In the absence of federal funding and support, municipalities feel added challenges on their paths to net zero but many chug along with the state’s help in projects to decarbonize buildings, municipal fleets, and put up solar arrays.
OPINION
Accelerating climate change demands ‘agile systems’ thinking — and action
Why we were in handcuffs at Hanscom Airfield
In the fight for a more sustainable future, we can’t afford to leave underserved communities behind
Energy prices are soaring in Massachusetts. Trump’s tariffs are making it worse.
MORE CLIMATE COVERAGE
Massachusetts postpones rule requiring truck makers to sell electric vehicles
Massport hires first climate chief
Betting (on) the farm
Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s big question on climate
FEMA quietly removes access to New England coastal erosion hazard tool
‘We have time to reverse this. We have time to step up’
Trump’s shadow looms as offshore wind price negotiation deadline missed
PODCASTS
No man is an island: The collective climate challenge of coastal Massachusetts
This episode of the Codcast is a recording of a live event that took place April 30 in Provincetown, Mass., co-moderated by CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith and Eve Zuckoff of CAI (the Cape and Islands NPR station). Together with a panel of conservation, planning, and community development experts, they discussed what it means to…
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UMass Pres. Meehan on higher ed crisis response
CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Marty Meehan, president of the University of Massachusetts system, to discuss UMass’s work in climate technology and its response to the federal government’s attacks on higher education.
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