“It’s a transition, but we all have to be more thoughtful,” she said recently.
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
FEMA quietly removes access to New England coastal erosion hazard tool
FEMA has not explained why some climate products have been hidden from view, but the New England regional director told Nantucket that it is “to ensure the alignment” of FEMA actions with Trump directives.
Posted inEnvironment
‘We have time to reverse this. We have time to step up’
The Trump administration has begun to pull back on key environmental protections designed to transition the country off of fossil fuels.
Posted inEnergy
The $500 million cut to Mass Save budget is ‘short-sighted,’ climate activists say
“Like a lot of stuff in the climate world, this decision is going to save people money in the short term but cost us more money in the long term.” – Vickash Mohanka, head of the Massachusetts Sierra Club.
Posted inEnvironment
Spring in Massachusetts has warmed by approximately two and a half degrees Fahrenheit over the past 55 years
Spring in Massachusetts counties has warmed by approximately two and a half degrees Fahrenheit over the past 55 years leading to earlier fire seasons and increased risks of drought, according to a new Climate Matters analysis.
Posted inEnvironment
Republican and Democratic lawmakers push for a statewide water conservation strategy
After a record fire and drought season in Massachusetts, legislation in the new legislative session aims to empower the state to conserve water during severe drought.
Posted inEnergy
National Grid pulls plug on a geothermal pilot program in Lowell
One of three geothermal pilot programs in Massachusetts to displace fossil fuels for heating and cooling has been quietly scrapped. National Grid has cited high costs for pulling the plug on its project in Lowell.
Posted inEnergy
Replacing fossil fuel-fired ‘peaker plants’ can help Massachusetts meet climate goals, according to new report
New report says that replacing fossil fuel-fired “peaker plants” can help Massachusetts meet climate goals. Advocates say that these power plants are the “worst offenders with the dirtiest per unit of energy produced.”
Posted inOpinion
Each of us needs to help regulate our urban forest
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
As strandings of sea turtles rise, voluntary rescue efforts won’t cut it
EVERY YEAR, as countless endangered sea turtles migrate south along the Massachusetts shore to escape the cold, they become trapped in Cape Cod Bay’s freezing waters. Dedicated staff and volunteers […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should back Make Polluters Pay bill
IN MAY, the Massachusetts House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources heard testimony from a large number of voters who had descended on the State House to urge the committee […]
Posted inOpinion
Weymouth compressor fight has implications for Pilgrim
IN THE 1940s, the Fore River Basin of Weymouth, Quincy, and Braintree was home to major factories, supplied hundreds of good paying jobs, and set the stage to create the […]
Posted inOpinion
Braintree chemical fire leaves behind a lot of questions
COMMUNITY HEALTH can be a sleepy subject – unless, perhaps, it is your own community that is under fire. Or on fire, as in the case of Braintree, where a […]
Posted inEnvironment
AG reaches $300,000 Brayton Point settlement
AFTER NEARLY TWO years of negotiation, the owner of Brayton Point in Somerset on Wednesday agreed to a $300,000 settlement with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office related to allegations that […]
Posted inOpinion
Lots left on the to-do list for reducing waste
THIS YEAR, as we celebrate the 53rd Earth Day, we should use the occasion to reckon with our growing waste crisis. A few years after the first Earth Day, held […]
