Sustainability
NENC/America Amplified Special: What The Biden Administration Will Mean For Climate Change In New England
Premieres: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2020 Severe storms. Heat waves. Rising seas. New England is already seeing the impacts of climate change, and scientists project they will become more severe and deadly, shaping how we live and work in the northeastern U.S. Ahead of Inauguration Day, the New England News Collaborative and America Amplified will look…
Read MoreState Workers’ Switch To Telework During Pandemic Brings ‘Seismic’ Drop in CO2 Emissions
Maine government workers have reduced their car travel by 1 million vehicle miles a week since the start of the pandemic, thanks to the rapid, wholesale adoption of telework policies. The preliminary data are opening an unexpected window on the future of telecommuting and its potential to deliver substantial reductions in global warming pollution. Last…
Read MoreFarms Will Harvest Food And The Sun, As Massachusetts Pioneers ‘Dual-Use’ Solar
Paul Knowlton owns 300 acres of land in Grafton, and farms about 50. The farm has been in his family for five generation, ever since Knowlton’s great-great-grandfather settled in the Blackstone Valley in 1872. These days Knowlton grows pumpkins, squash and corn. Up a gravel road, past the family cemetery, corn stalks are still standing…
Read MoreVermonters Are Complying With Composting Law, Which Means … A Lot Of Food Scraps
The state’s new law that bans household food scraps in landfills went into effect on July 1. Vermonters are getting on board with the new system, which means transfer stations are struggling to keep up and new businesses are popping up to haul the food scraps to composting facilities. For the past three months or…
Read MoreIndustry Heavyweights To Invest In UMaine Offshore Wind Project Near Monhegan Island
The University of Maine’s effort to pioneer floating offshore wind technology took a $100 million leap forward Wednesday with the announcement that two industry heavyweights are going to invest in development of the project near Monhegan Island. A subsidiary of the Mitsubishi company, called Diamond Offshore Wind, is joining with RWE Renewables to invest the…
Read MoreAs Plastic Waste Surges, Local Woman Helps Cape Reduce Dependence
On a hot summer Friday, a Toyota RAV4 rolls into the parking lot of Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis. It’s there for an outdoor festival with live music, cornhole, and, of course, beer. Trailing just behind the car is a bright green shed. The driver parks it right in front of the beer garden. “I…
Read MoreAfter Years Of Slow Action On Climate Change, What Sets Offshore Wind Apart For New Hampshire?
Most New England states have been investing in alternative energy sources for years. But New Hampshire has been slower to act in response to climate change. Now, the Granite State is looking to be a leader in a major new source of renewable energy: offshore wind. Turnout exceeded all expectations at the first meeting, last…
Read MoreHow A Climate Change Nonprofit Got Eversource Thinking About A Geothermal Future
Natural gas utilities in Massachusetts are facing an existential crisis: they could be out of business by mid-century. That’s because the state’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act requires emissions from burning fossil fuels — like natural gas — be cut by 80% economy-wide by 2050. But now a solution that could help save the companies…
Read MoreCoal Is Dirty. Amid Protests, Why New England Is Still Burning It For Power
On a freezing night in December, about a dozen climate activists stood on the train tracks in a wooded section of West Boylston, Mass. They huddled together, headlamps and flashlights pointing south towards an approaching coal train. The light from the train’s headlights got brighter, and the horns blared louder and longer, but the activists…
Read MoreWhy A Commercial Fisherman Turned To Restorative Ocean Farming
Bren Smith began his career as a commercial fisherman, but now is the owner of Thimble Island Oyster Farm, a 3D restorative ocean farm in Connecticut. He’s also the author of the new book, Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer.
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