Environment

A crew from the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project spray to control mosquitos from a pick-up truck on July 8, 2020, while driving through a neighborhood in Burlington, Mass. Officials are preparing for another summer with a high number of cases of eastern equine encephalitis. (Charles Krupa/AP)

Should We Stop Spraying For Mosquitos During The Pandemic?

We should question using pesticides that may compromise the human respiratory system during the pandemic, writes Kyla Bennett. In the long term, we should shift to prevention.

Cognoscenti

Oct 7, 2020

Big Banks Shouldn't Underwrite Environmental Ruin

We make personal sacrifices to reduce our own carbon footprints. We demand that our elected officials take action. Wall Street shouldn’t get a free pass, writes Frederick Hewett.

Cognoscenti

Apr 11, 2019

Mass. Should Act Now To Curb Rising Recycling Costs

If we don’t commit more state resources to teaching people how to recycle properly, writes Miles Howard, we’re going to pay for that negligence with our wallets and our health.

Cognoscenti

Apr 26, 2018

A black-capped chickadee/ (Minette Layne/Wikimedia Commons)

Is Climate Change The Swan Song Of The Black-Capped Chickadee?

A new report argues our warming climate threatens nearly half the bird species in Massachusetts, writes Frederick Hewett. Here’s why it matters.

Cognoscenti

Sep 20, 2017

Why Don't Environmentalists Vote?

We can’t expect environmental leadership, writes Nathaniel Stinnett, when so few voters demand it.

Cognoscenti

Dec 27, 2016

Frack, Baby, Frack? Looking For Middle Ground Between Donald Trump And The Environment

Meeting Donald Trump halfway on fracking would be a partial win for the environment, writes Rich Barlow.

Cognoscenti

Dec 12, 2016

Former Vice President Al Gore walks to microphones to speak to members of the media after meeting with Ivanka Trump and President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, in New York. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Speaking Donald Trump's Language On Climate Change

Could framing global warming as an economic issue prove to be a useful starting point for a conversation between Trump and climate hawks?

Cognoscenti

Dec 8, 2016

A Model Of Resistance: The Broad Coalition Against The Dakota Access Pipeline

In these times, writes Frederick Hewett, social justice groups need to seek out linkages between their respective missions...even if it means other causes may momentarily overshadow their own.

Cognoscenti

Nov 18, 2016

FILE - In this June 25, 2014 file photo, Johnnie Seitz moves a marijuana plant growing under lights at Sea of Green Farms, a recreational pot grower in Seattle. As more marijuana producers move their plants indoors over the next two decades, the grow operations in Washington state are expected to need as much electricity each year as what a small Northwest city consumes, according to an energy forecast by regional power planners. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

The Potential Environmental Consequences Of Legalizing Pot In Massachusetts

In light of all the efforts the state has recently made to limit greenhouse gases, writes Frederick Hewett, anything that might move us in the wrong direction deserves a closer...

Cognoscenti

Oct 13, 2016

The Gas Tax Is So 20th Century. Here Are Two New Ones That Should Replace It

New problems call for new ideas, writes Frederick Hewett, and new taxes make sense when they replace those that no longer work.

Cognoscenti

Sep 19, 2016

7.4 Billion And Counting: Could Curbing World Population Help Cool The Planet?

It’s time to make well-informed reproductive choice a central part of our climate change agenda, writes Philip Warburg.

Cognoscenti

Sep 6, 2016

Balancing Act: What The State's New Energy Bill Does And Doesn't Legislate

The state's new energy bill recognizes the importance of energy efficiency, writes Frederick Hewitt, but it asks us neither to rethink our habits as consumers nor to shrink our personal...

Cognoscenti

Aug 4, 2016

The Ethical And Environmental Implications Of A Driverless Future

Before ejecting drivers from our vehicles, Philip Warburg writes, we should pause and take a serious look at what would be gained and lost if we do.

Cognoscenti

Jul 15, 2016

Could Climate Change Be The Issue To Bring Down Donald Trump?

He’ll soon realize that he can’t afford to maintain his “it’s just the weather” stance.

Cognoscenti

Jun 1, 2016

John Constable created his ominous oil painting, 'Weymouth Bay' in 1816. The dark skies were inspired by 'The Year Without a Summer,' the same meteorological change that influenced the novel 'Frankenstein.' (Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

What 'Frankenstein' Can Tell Us About Climate Change

As presidential candidates drag issues of climate change into the political arena, Clinton and Trump both evoke the 1816 climate drama 'Frankenstein,' but to very different ends.

Cognoscenti

May 4, 2016

Wade Roush: The gridlock in many areas of science and technology policy is not a sign that we disagree about the fundamental nature of reality. Mostly, I think we’re just avoiding difficult conversations about our core values. (Daria Nepriakhina/Unsplash)

Beyond The Science Wars: Stories Of A Shared Future

Maybe the problem is that people on opposing sides aren’t having the right conversations.

Cognoscenti

Apr 27, 2016

Ten Bucks, Unlimited Vistas: A Golden Time To Visit America's National Parks

The Senior Pass, for those 62 and older, costs a one-time $10 fee and offers access to 400 national parks and monuments.

Cognoscenti

Apr 22, 2016

Standing Up By Sitting In: Student Activists Move The Needle On Fossil Fuel Divestment

The students at UMass remind us that sustaining our democracy requires active participation.

Cognoscenti

Apr 21, 2016

For ExxonMobil, An Inconvenient Truth

Did the oil giant lie to shareholders about business risks stemming from climate change? And how far did the corporation's efforts to sway scientific opinion go?

Cognoscenti

Apr 5, 2016

Thomas J. Fitzgerald: "What if you could bypass flying and rail and instead use a ground-based form of transit that’s not only faster and cleaner, but cheaper?" Pictured: Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of Hyperloop Transportations, speaks at the Austin Convention Center during the South by Southwest Interactive Festival on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Austin, Texas. (Jack Plunkett/AP)

People-Filled Pods Propelled Through A Tube? Hype, Hope And The Hyperloop

What if you could bypass flying and rail and instead use a ground-based form of transit that’s not only faster and cleaner, but cheaper?

Cognoscenti

Mar 31, 2016

BBC Newsday

Should We Stop Spraying For Mosquitos During The Pandemic?

Big Banks Shouldn't Underwrite Environmental Ruin

Mass. Should Act Now To Curb Rising Recycling Costs

Is Climate Change The Swan Song Of The Black-Capped Chickadee?

Why Don't Environmentalists Vote?

Frack, Baby, Frack? Looking For Middle Ground Between Donald Trump And The Environment

Speaking Donald Trump's Language On Climate Change

A Model Of Resistance: The Broad Coalition Against The Dakota Access Pipeline

The Potential Environmental Consequences Of Legalizing Pot In Massachusetts

The Gas Tax Is So 20th Century. Here Are Two New Ones That Should Replace It

7.4 Billion And Counting: Could Curbing World Population Help Cool The Planet?

Balancing Act: What The State's New Energy Bill Does And Doesn't Legislate

The Ethical And Environmental Implications Of A Driverless Future

Could Climate Change Be The Issue To Bring Down Donald Trump?

What 'Frankenstein' Can Tell Us About Climate Change

Beyond The Science Wars: Stories Of A Shared Future

Ten Bucks, Unlimited Vistas: A Golden Time To Visit America's National Parks

Standing Up By Sitting In: Student Activists Move The Needle On Fossil Fuel Divestment

For ExxonMobil, An Inconvenient Truth

People-Filled Pods Propelled Through A Tube? Hype, Hope And The Hyperloop