TWO WEEKS AGO, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration predicted a 7 degree Fahrenheit (almost 4 degrees Celsius) rise in global temperatures within the century, suggesting that there is no point trying to stop it. Whether it is calling climate change a hoax or concluding climate change is inevitable, the Trump administration is […]
Climate change
Posted inEnvironment
Why I’m running against Joe Kennedy
IT’S TIME TO choose: Will we accept the change needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change or cling to the status quo and hope against hope we’ll be spared? The good news is we can reverse climate change, grow our economy, and improve food quality, all at the same time. This change is […]
Posted inOpinion
Harbor barrier study undermined by assumptions
A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY releases a report advising on the course of action that a major urban center should pursue to prepare for predicted sea-level rise and increased frequency and severity of storm events. What is the public reaction? How is the report evaluated? Does a single study based on numerous unexamined assumptions set the course […]
Posted inOpinion
Music and climate change
WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD, I decided I would become a professional musician because it had nothing to do with oil. I was born in Fort McMurray, Alberta, home to Canada’s notorious tar sands and the world’s third largest oil reserve. For a time, I lived in a neighborhood called Petrolia. Our hero was […]
Posted inEnvironment
Harbor-wide dikes get thumbs down
A NEW ANALYSIS SUGGESTS incremental, shore-based initiatives are more practical and cost-effective in addressing sea level rise in Boston than harbor-wide dikes or barrier systems. The study addresses a debate that has been simmering below the surface for some time – what to do about the sea’s encroachment on the city, as exemplified by storms […]
Posted inEnvironment
On climate action, do not hit snooze
MARK TWAIN’S WITTY aphorism that climate is what you expect and weather is what you get has been sorely tested in Boston and the northeast this past quarter. If the weather this winter is anything to go by, what we are getting must surely be pushing even the most recalcitrant climate denialists into revised expectations. “One […]
Posted inOpinion
Do climate resiliency the right way
PROMOTING CLIMATE CHANGE resiliency is top of mind for Massachusetts residents and businesses. The 2018 nor’easters have placed considerable stress on our infrastructure and communities, as well as the public’s consciousness. Sixty-five percent of voters now say that climate change is affecting storms, according to a recent WBUR poll, conducted by the MassINC Polling Group. […]
Posted inOpinion
The Boston climate trial that might have been
“THE IDEA THAT natural gas combats climate change is a sleight of hand,” writes Bill McKibben in a recent essay that pulls no punches. “No one wants to hear this,” he observes, not Republicans or the oil and gas industry, not Democrats (especially the Obama alums now working in the industry)—and not journalists, who “don’t […]
Posted inOpinion
Severe storm effects are the new norm
ONLY TWO MONTHS after surging tides and high winds flooded MBTA stations, knocked out power and sent three feet of water into the streets of Boston, it’s all happening again. The governor and the mayor call press conferences to lay out preparations, urge caution and call up the National Guard. Schools close. Businesses get out […]
Posted inOpinion
With more control, communities choose clean energy
ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS, COMMUNITIES are taking control over where their energy comes from. By leveraging local bulk purchasing power, more than 100 towns and cities in the Bay State have increased the amount of renewable energy they buy each year, while at the same time producing savings for consumers. Community Choice Energy (CCE, also known as […]