IMAGINE SWIMMING in a water so murky that you can hardly see your toes, a water laden with toxic algae, a water devoid of the marine life we know and love. This could be the reality of Bostonians within the coming years if stormwater runoff continues to pollute the Boston Harbor. Impervious pavement, which prevents […]
Environment
Posted inOpinion
Straight talk about plastics recycling
HAS RECENT NEWS left you wondering if it’s worthwhile to rinse and sort your plastic containers? As a lifelong waste warrior and 30-year recycling professional, my answer is an emphatic “yes.” Attacking recycling programs, as anti-plastic organizations have been doing, is like hiding the lifejackets during a storm. Yes, there is too much trashy plastic […]
Posted inOpinion
Cheap natural gas is a thing of the past
DEFENDERS OF THE fossil fuel status quo have long tied environmentalists to the whipping post of New England’s constrained natural gas pipeline network. And it’s arguably true that popular resistance from climate activists and others over the past decade has influenced state policies that favor investment in renewable energy over new fossil fuel infrastructure. But as […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting our state parks back on track
On October 14, Massachusetts Conservation Voters convened a state virtual parks summit attended by more than 20 environmental organizations from across the Commonwealth. This open letter, signed by more than 50 organizations, is the result. MASSACHUSETTS STATE PARKS are in crisis. More than a decade of funding and staffing cuts have eviscerated the Department of Conservation […]
Posted inEnvironment
Report says Boston not meeting climate action targets
Boston University Statehouse Program AN INAUGURAL progress report says Boston isn’t on pace to meet its goal of cutting carbon emissions by half before 2030 and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. The report – issued by the Boston Foundation and developed in partnership with the Boston Green Ribbon Commission – includes findings from more than 50 […]
Posted inState House News Service
Waste ban ratchets up recycling
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A REGULATION from environmental regulators aims to reduce food waste in the state starting in November, moving toward the goal of reducing 30 percent of all waste disposal statewide by 2030, while bolstering Massachusetts’ green economy. The Department of Environmental Protection is expanding its waste disposal bans by lowering the threshold […]
Posted inOpinion
Forests: the natural solution to climate crisis
FROM CATASTROPHIC STORMS and record-breaking heat to the rapid decline of bird and insect populations, a day doesn’t pass without news about the dire ecological and economic effects of climate change. Sometimes, the relentless cascade of troubling data and predictions can seem like background noise – too difficult to solve, easier to tune out. Here […]
Posted inOpinion
Trees in New England are in trouble
DESPITE THE RECENT RAIN, most of New England remains in the throes of a persistent drought – including an extreme drought in Boston and surrounding areas. For many, droughts may immediately conjure images of burned-out lawns or raise concerns about wells drying up and economic impacts on industries like agriculture or travel and tourism. But […]
Posted inEnvironment
Rising sea levels challenging New Bedford hurricane barrier
THE HURRICANE BARRIER at the mouth of New Bedford harbor is closing more often as sea levels rise and could be closed one to two times a day by 2050, a new reportfrom the Trustees of Reservations says. The report says harbor officials are aware of the challenges looming ahead but have determined that closing […]
Posted inEnvironment
State burying, burning too much banned material
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A COALITION of environmental organizations under the name Zero Waste Massachusetts released a report Thursday morning that examines the effectiveness of waste bans, and calls on officials in Massachusetts to demand stricter enforcement of existing rules. The state Department of Environmental Protection implemented waste ban rules in 1990, prohibiting materials such […]