IN BUSINESS-LIKE FASHION, the Senate passed a sweeping package of climate change legislation on Thursday night that sets a net-zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, creates an independent commission to watchdog that effort, and requires the MBTA to start buying all-electric buses by 2028 and go all-electric by 2040. Even though the issue […]
Climate change
Posted inOpinion
2 simple steps to address climate change
HAVING GROWN UP in the wooded suburbs of Boston, and then moved to the deep woods of the Adirondack and Green Mountains, I can be fairly accused of loving the forest—for its wildlife, for its beauty, for its recreational opportunities—and, on this overheating planet, for the fact that it sucks up carbon that would otherwise […]
Posted inOpinion
T needs to move fast on electric buses
Editor’s note: This op-ed was written prior to the filing of Senate climate legislation mandating an all-electric MBTA bus fleet by 2040.  RESIDENTS OF THE BOSTON AREA feel the pain of transportation problems daily. Congestion is crippling the region and policy-makers are struggling to implement short-term solutions to improve public transit services. But it is […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate to vote on sweeping climate change bill
THE SENATE IS PREPARING to vote on sweeping legislation to address climate change, putting in place a series of mandates and regulatory measures as well as phased-in carbon pricing on automobile and building fuels to make sure the state meets the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Gov. Charlie Baker announced the 2050 […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker’s net-zero goal is business-as-usual
ON TUESDAY, two notable public figures gave public addresses on the topic of climate change, illuminating the bridge that exists between what society needs to do to tackle climate change, and what society is so far willing to do to tackle climate change. In his State of the State address, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker laid […]
Posted inEnvironment
Net-zero target called most aggressive in world
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S top energy aide said his proposal for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 puts Massachusetts among a very small group of states and countries attempting to limit the impact of climate change. Kathleen Theoharides, the governor’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs, said Massachusetts is joining Hawaii, New York, and California in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker: Net-zero emissions by 2050
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in his State of the State address Tuesday night, and promised to achieve that ambitious target with a regional transportation climate initiative that is facing pushback in neighboring states and a series of measures that have so far seen little movement in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mayflower Wind, without contract, moving ahead
Mayflower Wind still doesn’t have a final contract for its offshore wind farm off the coast of Nantucket, but it appears to be moving ahead with the project anyway in a bid to tap federal investment tax credits. A press release issued by a joint venture of two Danish companies on Wednesday indicated Mayflower has […]
Posted inThe Download
Mayflower Wind, without contract, moving ahead
Mayflower Wind still doesn’t have a final contract for its offshore wind farm off the coast of Nantucket, but it appears to be moving ahead with the project anyway in a bid to tap federal investment tax credits. A press release issued by a joint venture of two Danish companies on Wednesday indicated Mayflower has […]
Posted inTransportation
TCI club appears to be shrinking
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN A PROTEST-INTERRUPTED State of the State address Thursday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott cast a shadow on the prospects of him signing his state up for a multi-state compact to reduce vehicle emissions. Scott, who along with Gov. Charlie Baker is one of two Republican governors in New England, did not […]