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 of this dire warning, Massachusetts is on course to spend roughly $40 billion recommissioning its gas distribution system. How is this possible? In 2014, at […]
Environment
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 to dealing with climate change. Greg Cunningham, the vice president and director of CLF’s clean energy and climate change program, and Caitlin Peale Sloan, the […]
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 to dealing with climate change. Greg Cunningham, the vice president and director of CLF’s clean energy and climate change program, and Caitlin Peale Sloan, the […]
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 and coordinate the effort and sets ambitious goals for eliminating the use of fossil fuels in generating electricity and powering the MBTA. As the state’s […]
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 in the Northeast (National Grid), and as an organization representing over 3,400 businesses in Massachusetts (AIM), we’re both deeply invested in not only assisting in […]
Posted inEnvironment
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 clean energy industry and reining in emissions from the transportation and building sectors. Nearly 12 hours after they kicked off debate, senators voted 37-3 on […]
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 bad news comes on the heels of research showing the Northeast is warming faster than average global temperatures, putting the region at a heightened risk of extreme […]
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 a small group of municipalities to ban the use of fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction, and set aside $100 million for investments in clean […]
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. So we stopped eating. In a year when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is “code red for humanity,” at a time when […]
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 electricity markets. The grid operator, known as ISO-New England, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to put off until 2025 plans to do […]