Latest Environmental News

Vascular surgeon Doug Jones and his team perform a carotid endarterectomy at Boston Medical Center. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Environment

Jul 1, 2022

Most Massachusetts hospitals pledge net-zero emissions by 2050

More than half of Massachusetts hospitals are joining a nationwide campaign calling for health care organizations to cut 50% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Roger Payne listening for whales on a boat. (Courtesy Ocean Alliance)

This biologist eavesdropped on humpback whales for decades. What he heard helped save the species

Environment

05:52Jul 1, 2022

In this July 27, 2018, file photo, the Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo. (J. David Ake/AP)

Environmental activists say states will have to do more to curb emissions in face of Supreme Court ruling

Local Coverage

05:11Jun 30, 2022

Solar panels on the roof of a building in Amesbury. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

State sets carbon targets for 2025, 2030

Environment

Jun 30, 2022

A shark is seen swimming across a sand bar on Aug. 13, 2021, from a shark watch with Dragonfly Sportfishing charters, off the Massachusetts' coast of Cape Cod. (Phil Marcelo/AP File)

Researchers caution beachgoers ahead of white shark season

Local Coverage

Jun 30, 2022

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

More Environmental News

A drilling crew drills a vertical system of geothermal wells on the site of the new Vassal Lane School in Cambridge. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Don't look up? Look down. Geothermal could help curb climate change

Environment

06:12Jun 30, 2022

Michelle Wu and Ed Markey speak at a Climate Canvass Kickoff in Moakley Park in Boston on Oct. 17, 2021. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Dorchester's Moakley Park will receive $2.2 million to mitigate climate change impacts

Environment

Jun 29, 2022

A gas-lit flame burns on a natural gas stove. (Thomas Kienzle/AP)

Unburned natural gas contains 21 toxic air pollutants, study finds

Local Coverage

Jun 28, 2022

Offshore wind turbines stand near Block Island, R.I. on Aug. 15, 2016. (Michael Dwyer/AP File)

Wind farm, environmentalists agree on ways to protect whales

Environment

Jun 27, 2022

Mass. abnormally dry heading into July

Environment

Jun 27, 2022

President Joe Biden shows a wind turbine size comparison chart during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 23, 2022, with governors, labor leaders, and private companies launching the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Biden teams with East Coast governors to boost offshore wind

Environment

Jun 24, 2022

Sunset over Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and the Sudbury River. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

New England's birdsong is getting quieter. A scientist is trying to reconstruct those lost soundscapes

Environment

06:08Jun 10, 2022

EPA crews begin work in the backyard of a single-family home in Dartmouth on Monday. (Ben Berke/The Public's Radio)

The trouble under Bliss Corner: EPA begins removing lead, toxic chemicals

Environment

Jun 8, 2022

Most Massachusetts hospitals pledge net-zero emissions by 2050

Environment

Jul 1, 2022

This biologist eavesdropped on humpback whales for decades. What he heard helped save the species

Environment

05:52Jul 1, 2022

Environmental activists say states will have to do more to curb emissions in face of Supreme Court ruling

Local Coverage

05:11Jun 30, 2022

State sets carbon targets for 2025, 2030

Environment

Jun 30, 2022

A North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod Bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., on March 28, 2018. This photo was taken by Michael Dwyer for The Associated Press.

Endangered whale numbers may be stabilizing after some bad years, but their future remains uncertain

Environment

Jun 8, 2022

Triple-deckers along Edgewood Street in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

$20 million is in sight for Boston three-decker energy pilot

Environment

Jun 7, 2022

A car drives through flood water by the Chart House on Boston's Long Wharf during a November king tide. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Heat, sewer problems and less lobster: New report details climate change's impact in Boston

Environment

Jun 1, 2022

Fireworks canceled at popular N.H. beach due to piping plovers

Piping plovers are endangered in New Hampshire and threatened nationally.

Environment

May 30, 2022

A child runs through the fountain at the Christian Science Plaza in Boston in the summer of 2021. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Prepare for a hot and wet summer, New England

What the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Summer 2022 outlook means for New England.

Local Coverage

May 30, 2022

Water nearly reaches the dune barrier at Ballston Beach in Truro, in a 2015 file photo. The Cape Cod town is among those extending free beach access to any Native American with proof of tribal affiliation. (Virginia Mayo/AP)

Seaside towns offer free beach passes to Native Americans

"It's definitely appreciated after 400 years of colonization and gentrification," said Brian Weeden, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod. But, he added, "we have a long way...

Local Coverage

May 29, 2022

Offshore wind turbines at sunset. (Getty Images)

Feds approve plan to delay scrapping a New England energy rule that harms renewables

Federal energy regulators approved the New England grid operator's controversial plan to keep an outdated energy rule in place for an extra two years.

Environment

May 28, 2022

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Most Massachusetts hospitals pledge net-zero emissions by 2050

This biologist eavesdropped on humpback whales for decades. What he heard helped save the species

Environmental activists say states will have to do more to curb emissions in face of Supreme Court ruling

State sets carbon targets for 2025, 2030

Researchers caution beachgoers ahead of white shark season

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

Don't look up? Look down. Geothermal could help curb climate change

Dorchester's Moakley Park will receive $2.2 million to mitigate climate change impacts

Unburned natural gas contains 21 toxic air pollutants, study finds

Wind farm, environmentalists agree on ways to protect whales

Mass. abnormally dry heading into July

Biden teams with East Coast governors to boost offshore wind

New England's birdsong is getting quieter. A scientist is trying to reconstruct those lost soundscapes

The trouble under Bliss Corner: EPA begins removing lead, toxic chemicals

Most Massachusetts hospitals pledge net-zero emissions by 2050

This biologist eavesdropped on humpback whales for decades. What he heard helped save the species

Environmental activists say states will have to do more to curb emissions in face of Supreme Court ruling

State sets carbon targets for 2025, 2030

Endangered whale numbers may be stabilizing after some bad years, but their future remains uncertain

$20 million is in sight for Boston three-decker energy pilot

Heat, sewer problems and less lobster: New report details climate change's impact in Boston

Fireworks canceled at popular N.H. beach due to piping plovers

Prepare for a hot and wet summer, New England

Seaside towns offer free beach passes to Native Americans

Feds approve plan to delay scrapping a New England energy rule that harms renewables