TODAY IN MASSACHUSETTS, both the Baker administration and the Legislature – and some individual communities, too – are working on proposed “net zero” policies to address the climate crisis. Dramatic […]
Climate change
Posted inOpinion
How the gas system can adapt to net zero future
THE FUTURE of natural gas is now at the forefront of state and local climate planning as it has become clear that the combustion of fossil methane and the leakage […]
Posted inOpinion
A strategy for tackling housing, climate crises simultaneously
TWO CRISES are bearing down on our state. There’s the critical shortage of affordable housing, which leaves ever more of our neighbors unable to keep a roof over their heads. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Climate change brain drain in Baker administration
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER lost another key aide on the climate change front, as Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said she is leaving the administration next week. Theoharides has […]
Posted inOpinion
Massport is targeting net zero by 2031
CLIMATE CHANGE isn’t something that could happen in the future – it’s already here. And the effects in a maritime city like Boston and coastal state like Massachusetts are particularly […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA goes out to bid for battery-electric buses
THE MBTA is beginning the process of electrifying its bus fleet, launching a long-awaited procurement that could lead to the purchase of 460 battery-electric buses over the next five years. The […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Senate passes climate bill, adds offshore wind boost
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATORS TOOK a major step Thursday toward achieving the net-zero emissions target they already set for Massachusetts by approving a policy-heavy bill aimed at expanding the […]
Posted inOpinion
Senate plan puts too much emphasis on electric vehicles
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE on Thursday rolled out Senate Bill 2819, “An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward.” The bill was apparently meant to showcase the Senate as leading the way for […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate climate bill goes granular, ups electric vehicle rebates
SENATE LEADERSHIP unveiled a very prescriptive $250 million climate change bill on Thursday that would direct Gov. Charlie Baker and his successor to boost rebates for zero emission vehicles, allow […]
Posted inOpinion
Olmsted inspiration: Use parks to address climate change
IT’S ALL TOO EASY to imagine: a Boston neighborhood keeps flooding in extreme weather. Rising waters and dirty storm runoff threaten public health and homes. A community that wants to […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, Transportation
Senate seeks fixed date for bus electrification
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WARNING THAT the pace of electrification underway for the MBTA’s bus fleet is “too slow for the Legislature,” a top senator is newly forecasting that his […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Meeting Mass. emission targets about to get bit tougher
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE ENERGY and environmental officials responsible for making sure Massachusetts meets its greenhouse gas emissions reductions commitments already had their work cut out for them […]
Posted inOpinion
Grid operator should stop crying wolf
NEW ENGLAND’S fossil fuel interests and electric grid operator are at it again. Every winter, they issue dire warnings that our region’s power grid won’t be able to handle the […]
Posted inThe Download
Fault lines in New England’s climate plan
Electricity in many ways is the key to the region’s climate change plans – bulk up and decarbonize the New England power grid and then use the green electricity to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Fault lines in New England’s climate plan
ELECTRICITY IN MANY WAYS is the key to the region’s climate change plans – bulk up and decarbonize the New England power grid and then use the green electricity to […]
Posted inEconomy, Race/Racism
Combating climate change could yield societal change
IT IS HARD to miss the urgent calls to do something about global warming. The Paris Agreement, Greta Thunberg, President Biden’s infrastructure legislation — the unusual climate patterns and the […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston Green New Deal should include downsized Logan Airport
HIGH ON BOSTON Mayor Michelle Wu’s agenda is a municipal-level Green New Deal. Indeed, the new mayor recently declared that she is “looking to make Boston the greenest city.” The Boston Green New […]
Posted inOpinion
Lower the voting age, the planet depends on it
DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, destructive hurricanes, extended droughts, and rising sea levels: These effects of climate change, feared by scientists for decades, are now reality for innumerable communities around the globe. Yet, […]
Posted inOpinion
Real work starting now at Pier 5
THE BOSTON PLANNING and Development Agency’s decision to reject the three proposals advanced for privatization of Pier 5 in Charlestown is welcome news, but now the real work begins. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we need to identify Green Zones
PRESIDENT BIDEN has signed an infrastructure bill that includes $21 billion for environmental remediation and $150 billion to boost clean energy and promote “climate resilience.” This money presents a tremendous […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine judge deals blow to Mass. climate change plan
A MAINE JUDGE dealt a blow on Thursday to a key Massachusetts initiative to address climate change by importing hydroelectricity via a 145-mile transmission line running from Quebec down to […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. urgently needs a Plan B for TCI
THE CANCELLATION of the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI), a centerpiece of the Commonwealth’s efforts to combat climate change, is deeply disappointing, because transportation causes over 40 percent of all greenhouse […]
Posted inOpinion
Where women lead, a healthier world follows
MICHELLE WU is the first woman and first person of color elected to lead Boston and this, among other things, is a major victory for climate justice. She acknowledges the public […]
Posted inTransportation
Rhode Island makes it trifecta on TCI
CONNECTICUT GOV. NED LAMONT dropped out on Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts called it quits on Thursday, and now Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is pulling his state out of […]
