Latest Environmental News

Commonwealth Fusion Systems' magnet test container and support systems, at MIT. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

A Massachusetts company leads as the race for fusion energy heats up

Commonwealth Fusion predicts it will have the world’s first net-energy fusion device by 2025 and is already building a factory in Devens to make the machine.

Environment

07:27Dec 2, 2021

Entries in the log book of the brig Thomas Winslow from 1846-1847 at the Providence Public Library, which owns one of the five largest collections of whaling log books in the country. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

19th century New England whaling logs offer clues to 21st century climate change

Environment

04:43Nov 29, 2021

The salt water marsh at the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge in Wells, Maine is showing signs of climate-related stress. (Rebecca Conley/Maine Public)

Salt marshes soak up carbon. Restoring them is key to fighting climate change

Environment

06:15Nov 18, 2021

Chelsea's 911 dispatch center and city hall on Washington Ave. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Chelsea and Chinatown are building microgrids to solve big energy, climate challenges

Environment

08:03Nov 24, 2021

Angela Sirois-Pitel, stewardship manager for The Nature Conservancy, holds a male bog turtle she pulled out from beneath a hummock in a wetland area in the Berkshires. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Inside the effort to save a tiny, endangered turtle in western Mass.

Environment

04:51Nov 1, 2021

Power Shift: The Future of Offshore Wind

Technicians of the Block Island Wind Farm Support Team repair a crack in the blade of one of the wind turbines. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

We asked big questions about the offshore wind industry. Here’s what we uncovered

Environment

Oct 15, 2021

Offshore wind is America's new industry. Who will build it?

Environment

06:41Oct 13, 2021

Fisherman Jamey McGroarty hurls a dogfish overboard to begin separating the squid from the bycatch from his haul. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose

Environment

06:44Oct 14, 2021

The five turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Big Oil wants to be Big Wind. Can fossil fuel companies be trusted?

Environment

06:13Oct 15, 2021

Series: Boston Under Water

A Blue Line train passes over a culvert next to the DCR Bennington Street Pump Station. Water from Suffolk Downs flows through the culvert into this pond. Water flowing in the opposite direction, from Belle Isle Marsh, is blocked by tide gates. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The Blue Line Was Named For Boston Harbor. Now The Sea Threatens The Service

Local Coverage

06:24Jun 15, 2021

The Vertex building by Fan Pier in the Boston Seaport. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The Seaport Cost Billions To Build. What Will It Take To Save It?

Local Coverage

07:13Jun 16, 2021

Flood waters cover Morrissey Boulevard in November 2020. (Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

As Sea Levels Rise in Boston, Stormwater May Have Nowhere To Go

Local Coverage

07:03Jun 17, 2021

Zy Baer's "Polarity" installation imagines how the Fort Point and Seaport neighborhoods could look if nothing is done to reverse the effects of climate change. (Courtesy Fort Point Arts Commission)

'Your Condo Is Going To Flood': A Sculptural Installation Predicts What Climate Change Could Bring

Local Coverage

03:13Jun 18, 2021

In a photo from the 1880s, men inspect sewer construction in Boston. (Courtesy Boston Public Library)

Boston’s Stormwater Problems Are Older Than The City Itself

Local Coverage

Jun 17, 2021

Test Your Boston And Climate Change Knowledge With Our Quiz

Local Coverage

Jun 16, 2021

A police car navigates through floodwaters on Central St. to reach Atlantic Ave. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The 1-2-3s Of Boston's Rising Sea Level

Local Coverage

Jun 15, 2021

Charles C. Perkins, "Boston for 100 years." (Courtesy Leventhal Map & Education Center)

8 Maps That Explain Boston's Changing Shoreline

Local Coverage

Jun 14, 2021

Environmental Justice

A 2019 protest in Springfield against the Palmer Plant. (Courtesy of Rene Theberge)

Mass. Revokes Air Permit For Controversial Biomass Facility In Springfield

Local Coverage

Apr 2, 2021

The Weymouth compressor station by the Fore River. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Why A Federal Order In The Weymouth Compressor Case Has The Natural Gas World Worried

Local Coverage

07:04Mar 19, 2021

The location of the proposed electrical substation in East Boston (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

In A Blow To Environmental Justice Advocates, State Regulators Approve Controversial East Boston Substation

Local Coverage

Feb 22, 2021

Shalanda Baker poses for a portrait in 2017. (Courtesy Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University)

'It's Not Inevitable That This Will Be Unjust': A Q&A With Shalanda Baker On Energy Justice

Local Coverage

Jan 20, 2021

Climate Change And Health

Patient Steve Kearns describes his experience after contracting West Nile Virus during a follow up appointment at CHA Somerville Hospital. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Teaching Doctors In Training To Connect Climate Change And Health Care

Local Coverage

04:24Sep 25, 2020

Morning traffic heading north on I-93 in Dorchester. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Study Finds Significant Racial Disparities In Vehicular Air Pollution Exposure Around Boston

Local Coverage

Jul 23, 2020

Mike Nichols, Tomas Cardoso and Romeo Gonzales place the tree in a hole at Prescott Sq. Park in East Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Dead And Dying Trees Have More Methane In Their Soil, Study Finds

Local Coverage

Jun 5, 2020

Some experts believe pandemics like the coronavirus are made worse as climate change effects increase. Climate change protesters demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London back in February. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

Climate Change Worsens Effects Of Global Outbreaks Like Coronavirus, Expert Says

Local Coverage

05:37Apr 22, 2020

Building Solutions

Gas streetlamps on Temple Street in the early evening. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Beacon Hill's Iconic Gas Lamps Are Going Green

Local Coverage

05:35Oct 27, 2020

On this site in Roxbury, developers are planning to build a five-story, mixed-use building out of a "revolutionary" type of timber. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

In A First, Boston Building Will Be Constructed With 'Revolutionary' Timber

Local Coverage

06:05Jul 21, 2020

Finch Cambridge is a 98-unit affordable housing development being built to "passive house" standards for energy efficiency. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Cambridge's 'Passive House' Is Built With Focus On Affordable Housing, Climate Change

Local Coverage

07:20Dec 13, 2019

A Gap Mountain Drilling truck at work in Brookline, Mass. (Bruce Gellerman/WBUR)

How A Climate Change Nonprofit Got Eversource Thinking About A Geothermal Future

Local Coverage

07:34Jan 13, 2020

Series: The Nuclear Option

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

To Combat Climate Change, Do We Need The Nuclear Option?

Local Coverage

07:31Sep 17, 2019

Floating nuclear power plant 'Akademik Lomonosov' is towed out of the St. Petersburg, Russia shipyard where it was constructed in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

Big Plans For Small Nuclear Plants

Local Coverage

08:41Sep 18, 2019

Martin Greenwald demonstrates how you can use a magnetic fields to contain and insulate a hot fusion plasma. Here the magnet pushes the bright plasma away from the wall of the glass tube. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

For Green Energy, MIT Aims To Build 'A Star On Earth'

Local Coverage

07:09Sep 19, 2019

Series: Closing Pilgrim

With climate on the mind, lawmakers pitch tree protection plans

The carbon storage power of forests will be key to actually realizing net-zero emissions in Massachusetts over the next three decades, but trees can also be important tools to address...

Environment

Dec 8, 2021

Joe Rogers, MassWildlife's Connecticut Valley District supervisor, holds an alligator captured Tuesday in the Westfield River by a "persistent kayaker." The duct tape on the gator's muzzle is to prevent bites while it is handled by people. (Courtesy MassWildlife]

Adventurous kayaker plucks 3-foot alligator from Westfield River

There is one fewer alligator in the Westfield River and the out-of-place reptile's rescue came just in the nick of time, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said Tuesday.

Local Coverage

Dec 8, 2021

ISO New Engalnd's control room is shown. (Courtesy of ISO New England)

Winter power supply adequate, but regional system outlines risks

Having come close to a major problem during a costly cold snap here four years ago and watching the recent struggles of power systems in California and Texas, ISO-New England...

Environment

Dec 7, 2021

A rescued sea turtle at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy. (Courtesy New England Aquarium)

Cape Cod sea turtle strandings are increasing

The turtles are treated for life-threatening conditions, including pneumonia and dehydration, a result of days or weeks of hypothermia and the inability to feed.

Environment

Nov 29, 2021

Frozen and salted menhaden sit in a barrel at a lobster bait warehouse, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Surge in baitfish catch is a boon to Maine's lobstermen

A surge in the catch of a small species of fish called menhaden off the Maine coast has helped stabilize a bait crunch that's plagued the state's lobster industry for...

Local Coverage

Nov 26, 2021

Heavy machinery is used to clear an existing Central Maine Power electricity corridor that has been widened to make way for new utility poles. (Robert F. Bukat/AP File)

Maine legislators urge Baker to walk away from transmission corridor

Fifty Maine lawmakers from both sides of the aisle sent a letter Tuesday to Gov. Charlie Baker calling on him to walk away from the controversial transmission corridor intended to...

Environment

Nov 24, 2021

Maine environmental regulators weigh legality of power corridor license after ballot question vote

The hearing marks the first battleground over whether the vote 20 days ago will in fact cause the demise of the project, known as the New England Clean Energy Connect.

Environment

Nov 23, 2021

Mayor Michelle Wu announces her first city ordinance Monday to divest $65 million in city investments from companies that profit off fossil fuels. (Screengrab via City of Boston Youtube)

Mayor Wu signs Boston fossil fuel divestment ordinance

The new ordinance prohibits city funds from being invested in the stocks, securities, or other obligations of any company which derives more than 15% of its revenue from fossil fuels,...

Environment

Nov 22, 2021

Cars on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Massachusetts pulled out of a regional emissions pact. Here's what that means

The Massachusetts effort to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 has suffered a big setback. Last week, Gov. Baker took the state out of the Transportation Climate Initiative, a multi-state...

Environment

05:12Nov 21, 2021

Company stops work on $1B transmission line after Maine vote

A utility company is suspending construction on a $1 billion power line at the request of Maine’s governor after she certified election results Friday in which residents firmly opposed the...

Environment

Nov 19, 2021

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A Massachusetts company leads as the race for fusion energy heats up

19th century New England whaling logs offer clues to 21st century climate change

Salt marshes soak up carbon. Restoring them is key to fighting climate change

Chelsea and Chinatown are building microgrids to solve big energy, climate challenges

Inside the effort to save a tiny, endangered turtle in western Mass.

We asked big questions about the offshore wind industry. Here’s what we uncovered

Offshore wind is America's new industry. Who will build it?

As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose

Big Oil wants to be Big Wind. Can fossil fuel companies be trusted?

The Blue Line Was Named For Boston Harbor. Now The Sea Threatens The Service

The Seaport Cost Billions To Build. What Will It Take To Save It?

As Sea Levels Rise in Boston, Stormwater May Have Nowhere To Go

'Your Condo Is Going To Flood': A Sculptural Installation Predicts What Climate Change Could Bring

Boston’s Stormwater Problems Are Older Than The City Itself

Test Your Boston And Climate Change Knowledge With Our Quiz

The 1-2-3s Of Boston's Rising Sea Level

8 Maps That Explain Boston's Changing Shoreline

Mass. Revokes Air Permit For Controversial Biomass Facility In Springfield

Why A Federal Order In The Weymouth Compressor Case Has The Natural Gas World Worried

In A Blow To Environmental Justice Advocates, State Regulators Approve Controversial East Boston Substation

'It's Not Inevitable That This Will Be Unjust': A Q&A With Shalanda Baker On Energy Justice

Teaching Doctors In Training To Connect Climate Change And Health Care

Study Finds Significant Racial Disparities In Vehicular Air Pollution Exposure Around Boston

Dead And Dying Trees Have More Methane In Their Soil, Study Finds

Climate Change Worsens Effects Of Global Outbreaks Like Coronavirus, Expert Says

Beacon Hill's Iconic Gas Lamps Are Going Green

In A First, Boston Building Will Be Constructed With 'Revolutionary' Timber

Cambridge's 'Passive House' Is Built With Focus On Affordable Housing, Climate Change

How A Climate Change Nonprofit Got Eversource Thinking About A Geothermal Future

To Combat Climate Change, Do We Need The Nuclear Option?

Big Plans For Small Nuclear Plants

For Green Energy, MIT Aims To Build 'A Star On Earth'

Timeline: The 52-Year History Of The Pilgrim Nuclear Plant

Pilgrim Is Closing. So Then What Happens To The Radioactive Waste?

In An Identical Simulator, Pilgrim Operators Prep For Shutdown

You Asked, We Answered: Questions About The Pilgrim Shutdown

For 46 Years, Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Has Used Water From Cape Cod Bay. How Has It Impacted The Ecosystem?

As Pilgrim Powers Down, Some Worry It Will Leave Behind Too Much Radiation

This Vermont Town Took A Big Hit When Its Nuclear Plant Closed

Historic Plymouth Looks To A Future Without Pilgrim

With climate on the mind, lawmakers pitch tree protection plans

Adventurous kayaker plucks 3-foot alligator from Westfield River

Winter power supply adequate, but regional system outlines risks

Cape Cod sea turtle strandings are increasing

Surge in baitfish catch is a boon to Maine's lobstermen

Maine legislators urge Baker to walk away from transmission corridor

Maine environmental regulators weigh legality of power corridor license after ballot question vote

Mayor Wu signs Boston fossil fuel divestment ordinance

Massachusetts pulled out of a regional emissions pact. Here's what that means

Company stops work on $1B transmission line after Maine vote