HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano tweeted that the Legislature will vote on a compromise bill to combat climate change on Thursday, presumably by suspending rules designed to give lawmakers proper notice […]
Environment
Posted inOpinion
Your gas stove is dangerous to your health
THERE ARE ABOUT 43 million gas stoves in the United States. We don’t typically think of them as harmful to our children, communities, and environment, but a growing body of […]
Posted inOpinion
Cut the subsidies for biomass energy
A WELL-FINANCED, industry-led effort has been insidiously recasting burning trees for energy as a climate solution. Massachusetts residents and ratepayers have overwhelmingly chosen to support clean energy – but greenwashing […]
Posted inThe Download
Oil, gas exec sees energy landscape changing
Clean energy advocates and environmentalists would be quick to point out that Mike Sommers is not exactly a neutral observer when it comes to energy policy. As CEO of the […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Oil, gas exec sees energy landscape changing
CLEAN ENERGY ADVOCATES and environmentalists would be quick to point out that Mike Sommers is not exactly a neutral observer when it comes to energy policy. As CEO of the […]
Posted inOpinion
What will it take for blue Mass. to go green?
MASSACHUSETTS FINDS itself at a moment of choosing when it comes to embracing clean energy. The state boasts the best wind corridor in the nation and has the potential to […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Utilities facing pushback on clean energy contract compensation
THE THREE MASSACHUSETTS utilities, accustomed to getting their way on Beacon Hill, are facing pushback on a provision in state law that allows them to collect from electricity ratepayers up […]
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 inThe Download
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 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 inEnvironment
David vs. (Verizon) Goliath in Pittsfield
THE PITTSFIELD BOARD OF HEALTH is taking a bold stand against a cell phone tower owned by Verizon, claiming the South Street structure is dangerous to those in the area […]
Posted inOpinion
Spending billions fixing gas system makes no sense
TO HAVE ANY CHANCE of averting climate catastrophe, the latest climate science is definitive that we must actively decommission much of our existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Flying in the face […]
Posted inThe Download
Challenging the status quo on electricity, heating
Two top officials with the Conservation Law Foundation say the region’s power grid operator and the state’s utilities are in some ways part of the problem instead of the solution […]
Posted inEnvironment
Challenging the status quo on electricity, heating
TWO TOP OFFICIALS with the Conservation Law Foundation say the region’s power grid operator and the state’s utilities are in some ways part of the problem instead of the solution […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey climate plan calls for cabinet czar
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL candidate Maura Healey began to flesh out her policy positions on Tuesday by unveiling a climate change plan that calls for the appointment of cabinet-level official to oversee […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
National Grid has new vision for heating
THERE IS OVERWHELMING evidence the world is experiencing the impacts of climate change, and that we must move away from fossil fuels. As an energy company serving millions of people […]
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
Too many containers are being burned, buried, littered
CLIMATE CHANGE is wreaking havoc on our planet, particularly in the Northeast region. A recent report from the United Nations found that climate change is accelerating at a shocking clip. The UN’s […]
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
Moving the needle on climate change by not eating
WE HAD PROTESTED. We had lobbied, called, emailed, and written. We had marched, rallied, and chanted. We had sat in, blocked, disrupted, and gotten arrested. None of it had stopped the insanity. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Grid operator urges slower transition on renewables
THE NEW ENGLAND power grid operator filed a proposal with federal regulators on Monday seeking more time to come up with a system for incorporating clean energy into the region’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Addressing the drinking water gap in Mass.
AMONG THE MANY progressive actions taken in Massachusetts, access to clean water was deemed a right guaranteed by Article 97 of the state Constitution in 1972, yet over half a […]
Posted inEnvironment
An international shout-out for Boston planning efforts
OUR NATION AND WORLD have experienced great trauma in the past two years: a global pandemic, the January 6th Capitol riot, an intense reckoning with past and present racism, and […]