Environment
Tropical Storm Henri Is Bringing High Winds, Heavy Rain And Flooding. Is It Climate Change?
As Tropical Storm Henri batters much of New England this weekend with damaging winds, heavy rainfall, storm surges and a large possibility of inland flooding, it may feel like one more item to add to the list of abnormal weather events we’ve seen this year. And what a year it’s been — from wildfires out west and record heat here in…
Read MoreWhen It Rains, It Poops: The MDC’s Efforts To Keep Sewage Out Of Conn. Waterways
The Connecticut River after Tropical Storm Elsa looked like a chocolate milkshake. And the reason is pretty gross: rainwater runoff and raw sewage. This dirty water makes its way into rivers because of century-old infrastructure called “combined sewer systems,” which merge stormwater and household water into one big pipe. And when it rains a lot,…
Read MoreCan The Internet Be More Resilient To Climate Change? Some Are Banking On It
Data has replaced oil as the world’s most valuable resource. But increasingly, our data is stored remotely “in the cloud” and climate change — challenging the resilience of the internet — puts access to our data at risk. Urban planner Duane Verner learned just how vulnerable our data are in the climate-changing world. When the COVID-19…
Read More‘Weather Whiplash’ And Other Takeaways For Boston and New England From Major Climate Report
The world needs to get to net-zero carbon emissions by the 2030s to have a chance of avoiding the worst effects of climate change. That’s the stark message delivered in a sweeping report on the current scientific consensus on climate, released Monday by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report’s scope is global, but here are…
Read MoreDrones Could Help Farmers Keep A Watchful Eye On Crop Health
On a farm in South Glastonbury, a tractor idles. It’s one of the most iconic farming inventions of the late 19th century, a tool that was invented shortly before Donald Preli’s grandfather came from Italy and started Belltown Hill Orchards. Now, more than 100 years later, Preli said a much newer invention could revolutionize farming…
Read More‘The Beating Heart Of The Park’s Ecosystems’: How Bioacoustics Are Teaching Land Managers About Songbirds In Woodstock
Close your eyes for a second. Listen. What do you hear? Do you notice the hum of a refrigerator? Are cars driving by? Kids yelling and playing? This is a soundscape. The sonic environment created by — and creating — the place where you are. “Our soundscape tells us a few things right away,” says…
Read MoreSummer Rains Bring Mushroom Frenzy to New England
If you were hoping for hot, sunny days on the beach this summer, you’ve been mostly disappointed. But the wet, cool weather has been great for wild mushroom gatherers like Christine Gagnon. She’s known on Facebook for her pictures, including selfies with wild mushrooms, jokingly called “melfies.” On a recent walk along the Piscataqua River…
Read MoreKey Takeaways From Coastal Flooding Report On Martha’s Vineyard And Nantucket
Roughly 900 structures on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket may experience daily flooding from tides in 2050. That’s one of the key takeaways from a new report from the nonprofit Trustees of Reservations, which asked a consultant a few years ago to look at erosion and flood risk at their coastal properties. The Trustees is — somewhat surprisingly…
Read MoreThe Last Rains of A Very Wet July Cause Road Damage, Flooding In Western New Hampshire
Around 20 towns throughout western New Hampshire are dealing with washed-out roads, damaged bridges and flooding after rain hit the area over the weekend. Jennifer Harper, New Hampshire’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management director, said recovery efforts have been difficult. She said her crews and the state’s department of transportation have been out helping affected…
Read MoreStudy: Right Whales Seen Year-Round in Waters Targeted for Offshore Wind Development
North Atlantic right whales can now be found year-round in offshore wind development areas in the waters off Southern New England, a new study found. Previously, it was thought that the critically endangered whales were only present in high numbers in waters off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard from late winter to early spring. But new research, published…
Read More