Stories
It was Boston-born Ben Franklin who first used the term “battery” to describe an electric storage device. Now, nearly three centuries later, Massachusetts is hoping to jump-start the development of new kinds of batteries to power the future.
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In the Marines, Dan Crim learned how to strap an air-tight respirator over his mouth and nose to protect himself from a biological threat. He was glad to never have to use one in a combat zone during his five deployments overseas. Now a retired Marine, Crim wears a respirator whenever he sets foot in the house he bought but no longer lives in.
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There’s some good news for sushi lovers. A new report finds that over an 8-year period, mercury levels in Gulf of Maine tuna declined 2 percent a year — a decline that parallels reductions in mercury pollution from Midwest coal-fired power plants.
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President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to deport millions of illegal immigrants with criminal records. It’s unclear how many people fit this category — but Trump’s sweeping statements are already sending shock waves into many undocumented workers’ lives.
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The nation’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island will start producing electricity any day now. It’s a pilot project that will change the way the people on this small island power their homes and businesses. They’ve relied on importing diesel fuel up to this point.
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Although charcoal is now sold at your local supermarket, the unassuming briquette’s story wasn’t always confined to American grills and backyards. For a long time, charcoal was the lifeblood of Connecticut’s iron industry — fueling furnaces creating everything from weapons of war to wheels that rolled across the country.
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Donald Trump’s surprise victory has prompted climate ministers from around the world to issue a joint statement about the need for the whole international community, including the United States, to remain committed to the Paris Climate Accords.
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Any day now, America’s first offshore wind farm, off Block Island, will begin commercial operation.
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Plastic today is everywhere: in our bottles and cell phones, our grocery bags, and our trash. Some plastic garbage is so small, it’s impossible to see with the naked eye: tiny microbeads, which have been banned from some products because of their environmental impact. WNPR went looking for them in the waters off Connecticut’s coast.
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In a big preseason sale, Sugarloaf, Sunday River and four other New England ski resorts are being sold. And that’s just part of an $830 million deal that includes ski resorts, theme parks and other recreation properties around the country.
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