This story has been updated. A TOP AIDE to Gov. Charlie Baker sent a letter to town officials in Somerset indicating the administration is interested in working with them to […]
Environment
Posted inThe Download
Baker aide Zooms in on sewage overflow problems
Forget the carefully curated Zoom office background or the blank white wall. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides testified before the Legislature on Thursday sitting at an outdoor […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker aide Zooms in on sewage overflow problems
FORGET THE CAREFULLY curated Zoom office background or the blank white wall. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides testified before the Legislature on Thursday sitting at an outdoor […]
Posted inEnvironment
Key breakthrough in fusion energy production
A CAMBRIDGE STARTUP working with officials at MIT said on Wednesday that it has achieved a major breakthrough in fusion technology that could begin revolutionizing the way energy is produced […]
Posted inEnvironment
Curtatone to head Northeast Clean Energy Council
SOMERVILLE MAYOR Joe Curtatone announced on Wednesday that he is taking over as president of the Northeast Clean Energy Council when his current term ends in January. Curtatone, who is […]
Posted inEnvironment
Ida renews calls for decentralizing grid
HURRICANE IDA delivered a knockout punch to the power grid in New Orleans on Sunday, plunging the city into darkness and renewing a long-running national debate about the best way […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate change is fundamentally a health issue
AS THE WILDFIRES raged out west on July 26, we woke up to a hazy sky that was uncharacteristic of the Boston area. The usual clear and clean skies of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Is it Cape Wind all over again?
TWO NANTUCKET RESIDENTS, backed by a network of think tanks and beachfront property owners along the East Coast, set in motion what appears to be a Cape Wind strategy for […]
Posted inOpinion
Lots of problems, but also hope, at DCR
SUMMERTIME, and the living is not easy. A lingering pandemic, intense heatwaves followed by drenching rains, followed by intense heatwaves and more rain have made this summer a bit problematic. […]
Posted inOpinion
EJ communities finally get a say
FOR DECADES, low-income, immigrant, Indigenous, and communities of color across Massachusetts have been overburdened by air pollution from power plants, congested highways, and industrial facilities. Known as environmental justice populations, […]
Posted inTransportation
Biden proposes ambitious electric vehicle plan
THE BIDEN administration announced a series of policy measures on Thursday designed to accelerate the country’s embrace of electric vehicles, a move that should make it easier for states like […]
Posted inThe Download
Environmental justice designation coming under scrutiny
Environmental justice communities, marginalized areas of the state overburdened with pollution from power plants, industrial facilities, and highways, are turning out to be more commonplace in Massachusetts than you might […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental justice designation coming under scrutiny
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE communities, marginalized areas of the state overburdened with pollution from power plants, industrial facilities, and highways, are turning out to be more commonplace in Massachusetts than you might […]
Posted inEnvironment, Race/Racism
Proposed biomass limits restrict new plants in 90 percent of state
MONTHS AFTER THE Baker administration pulled the plug on plans for a controversial new biomass plant in Springfield, state environmental officials proposed new regulations that would drastically limit where biomass […]
Posted inEnvironment
Salem newcomer to offshore wind conversation
SALEM IS NOW in the conversation as one of a handful of Massachusetts communities that could be key players as the state vies to become a hub for offshore wind […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. must lead in combating climate crisis
SIX MONTHS into President Biden’s first year in office, we are witnessing a profound reversal of the anti-environment legacy that his predecessor left behind. Our federal government is poised to […]
Posted inOpinion
Breaking up Boston’s heat islands
A PLACE to climb. An anchor for a tire swing. A home for wildlife. A source of shade on a hot summer day. Trees hold many meanings. For families, a […]
Posted inOpinion
Dealing with climate change with justice and equity
IN THIS EPOCH we are living in, accelerating climate change is causing severe weather events to happen more frequently and with greater force. This includes extreme heat, which is dangerous, […]
Posted inOpinion
In praise of downtowns, Main Streets
COMING FROM NEWTON I should have known that Greater Boston has hundreds of wonderful little downtowns and village centers, the hearts of walkable neighborhoods. Newton itself has 13 villages. I […]
Posted inEnvironment
Somerset board drafting letter to Baker on Brayton Point
THE SOMERSET Select Board is preparing to send a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker calling on him to take action against the companies that are using state land at Brayton […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker administration breaks silence on Brayton Point
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION, after months of silence, issued a cryptic statement suggesting it is reviewing the legal status of a controversial scrap metal operation using a state-owned pier at Brayton […]
Posted inEnvironment
State urged to take control of Brayton Point pier
A CANDIDATE for the Somerset Select Board on Monday night called on the state to take control of the deep-water pier at Brayton Point and oust a private company that […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop sweetheart deals with state utilities
Electrifying buildings and appliances that now run on gas, oil, and other fossil fuels will be a key piece of meeting Massachusetts’ climate targets. The region’s investor-owned utilities will be […]
Posted inOpinion
No justification for proposed Peabody gas plant
THE MASSACHUSETTS Municipal Wholesale Electric Company and the staff at some participating municipal light plants say that building a new, 60-megawatt combined natural gas and oil peaker power plant in […]
