AS WE LEAVE BEHIND one of the hottest summers on record, it is encouraging that the federal government has just released more than $1 billion in grants from the administration’s Inflation Reduction Act to help communities build broader, healthier, and more equitable urban forests. The city of Boston received over $11 million, Springfield $6 million, […]
Environment
Posted inOpinion
My energy efficiency efforts were frustrated by Mass Save
THERE’S A BROAD consensus in Massachusetts, affirmed by state law and policy, to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies as an important way to advance our climate and energy goals. In my experience, unfortunately, the Commonwealth’s energy efficiency programs do not appear capable of supporting these goals. I offer this brief outline of my […]
Posted inOpinion
Why is the US locking down for climate change?
AMERICANS REALLY hated locking down for COVID-19, so why does the US keep locking down for climate change? Sometimes we are locked in, due to wildfire smoke and heat; and sometimes we are locked out, with homes leveled due to flooding and fire; but the bottom line is–we keep locking down. Our children aren’t playing […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey: State agencies to stop buying plastic bottles
GOV. MAURA HEALEY said she plans to issue an executive order later this week barring state agencies from purchasing single-use plastic bottles, a move that gives new life to a long-simmering debate on Beacon Hill about the best ways to reduce and recycle waste materials. At a conference in New York on Monday hosted by […]
Posted inOpinion
Building resilience into built environment no easy task
AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER, climate resilience enthusiast, and local agriculture advocate, the recent flooding in Western Massachusetts touched on the things I care about most in the world. Within my local region, the ancestral Nonotuck Homelands now known as Pioneer Valley, the impacts to roads, rivers, and farms have been nerve-racking, but the community responses […]
Posted inOpinion
All-electric homes are cheaper to build than fossil fuel residences
OUTSIDE THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S doors, our air was filled with wildfire smoke from Canada and extreme heat, while record flooding wiped out farms and livelihoods in western Massachusetts. Inside, lobbyists and special interests used a flawed academic report in an attempt to undermine Massachusetts’s climate goals, creating false headlines designed to push us back decades. […]
Posted inEnergy
Avangrid resuming construction of Mass.-financed hydro line
THE TOP OFFICIAL at Avangrid said construction of the Massachusetts-financed transmission line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec into Maine is slated to resume next week, and his presentation suggested the project could be up and running this year. In an earnings call with financial analysts, Pedro Azagra, the CEO of Avangrid, said the company notified regulators […]
Posted inEnergy, Opinion
A game plan for bridging the coming energy divide
WHENEVER THERE IS a major transition, there is often a divide between the haves and the have-nots. Consider the digital divide. To this day, some communities still don’t have broadband internet access. We are about to see a similar divide with respect to energy and the environment. According to a report published by McKinsey & […]
Posted inOpinion
What you need to know about heat pumps
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS likely to reach the market within two years will improve conventional air-to-air heat pump efficiency by perhaps 10 percent or more while reducing the climate risks of refrigerant leaks. The improvements will involve a shift in the refrigerant chemicals used within the pumps. From an environmental perspective, it may make sense for some […]
Posted inEnvironment
Final regulations target nitrogen pollution on Cape
THE HEALEY ADMINISTRATION issued final regulations on Wednesday aimed at addressing Cape Cop’s nitrogen pollution, which is caused by wastewater from septic systems finding its way into waterbodies where it spurs the growth of algae that chokes off plant and wildlife and often leaves a foul smell. The new regulations allow towns to apply for […]