Environment
Tech tested on Cape Cod could track backyard septic-system pollution
Nitrogen from septic systems has been disrupting local waterways for years, causing fish kills and blooms of toxic algae. Now, field testing on Cape Cod is playing a national role in the development of technology to monitor nitrogen — even in individual backyards — as a step toward keeping the excess out of our waters.…
Read More19th century New England whaling logs offer clues to 21st century climate change
Tucked away in the New Bedford Whaling Museum is a room full of records. It holds manuscripts, manifests, banking records and crew accounts from New England’s storied whaling industry. It also contains the largest collection of whaling logbooks in the world. Logbooks were a legal record of each voyage, in which first mates documented…
Read MoreWhere does your power come from? We answered your questions about New Hampshire’s energy system
Energy is essential to our lives. It keeps us warm, powers the ventilators in our hospitals, runs the machines that package our food and helps us see through the darkness of a winter night. But our energy system carries costs — costs that are driving climate change. The energy system is complicated. And as we…
Read MoreFederal appeals court reinstates lobster gear restrictions off Maine’s coast
A federal appeals court is reinstating restrictions on fishing gear in a nearly 1,000-square-mile swathe of ocean off Maine’s coast. It’s a blow to Maine’s lobstermen and a victory for advocates for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. In October, in an effort to protect the roughly 340 right whales remaining on the planet from…
Read MoreResearchers look to prepare coastal New England for future storms
New research on the combined threat of rising sea levels and extreme weather focuses on coastal areas in New England. By simulating hazards like flooding with computer models, the researchers say their findings could help prepare communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. “We’re particularly interested in looking at close to the…
Read MoreSalt marshes soak up carbon. Restoring them is key to fighting climate change
Marshes have been called the “kidneys of the landscape” because they clean pollutants from water. They also protect communities against storm surges and erosion, and are better than forests at capturing carbon, so are considered critical in the fight against climate change. But when they’re under stress, they degrade, and actually release carbon into the…
Read MoreSea level rise is accelerating in Maine. In York County, hundreds of millions in property value is at risk
Sea level rise is accelerating along Maine’s coast. This year, record high water levels have been documented in Bar Harbor, Cutler and Wells. For coastal communities it means threats to buildings and infrastructure, the loss of beaches and intrusion of salt water into private wells. A modest 1.6 foot rise, which is expected by the year 2050, will…
Read MoreMaine’s solar power output has surged in two years. ‘Community solar’ projects play a big part
A mid-sized project in York County that’s part of the state’s new “community solar” program is just about to go live. It’s happening as the state’s capacity for generating low-polluting electricity from the sun has surged in the last two years by more than 300% — and that’s expected to grow as the state moves…
Read More‘Beautiful jewels of the sea’: Scientists hope these teeny algae made of glass will help them protect New England lakes amid climate change
On a sunny day in August, environmental scientist Kellie Merrell scans the shoreline from a motorboat in the shallows on Lake Fairlee. There are lots of cottages. White pine trees tower over the water, reaching out from a few rocky points. Merrell is here with a team of scientists from the state to do a…
Read MorePortsmouth Naval Shipyard tends the nation’s submarines. That won’t protect it from rising tides
“Climate resilience” has become a phrase that describes the efforts of scientists, conservationists and government officials to respond to sea-level rise, intense storms, and increasing temperatures. The concept is getting the attention of military planners as well, and in Maine, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery is hardening its own historic facilities against higher tides,…
Read More