Stories

Cows graze in a silvopasture area on April 19, 2023, on Wild Harmony Farm in Exeter, R.I.

For New England farmers, silvopasture could be a key adaptation to a changing climate

April 21, 2023

To understand silvopasture, imagine you’re a cow grazing under full sun on a hot August day. It’s 95 degrees and the humidity is brutal. “Do you want to be out there eating a full buffet?” asked Joe Orefice, a beef cattle farmer at Hidden Blossom Farm in northeastern Connecticut. “You don’t want to do that. As a…

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Lobstermen gather in Massachusetts to trade tales, confront an uncertain future

April 2, 2023

Lobstermen spend most of their professional lives on the water in a solitary pursuit, but once a year, hundreds from the North Shore to the Outer Cape gather to talk shop and to wrestle with the challenges of an uncertain future. The setting for the Massachusetts Lobstermen Association’s (MLA) annual weekend and trade show —…

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With more electric cars on the road, training programs aim to get technicians up to speed

March 7, 2023

In the automotive technology wing of White Mountains Community College in New Hampshire, instructor Troy LaChance and his students lean over the steel frame of a half-built electric car. Two students start to pull a cable, colored bright orange to indicate high-voltage, through the car’s floor. They’re building this car from a kit, designed by…

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Brian Lafoe, standing outside the cab of his forwarder, says the warm start to winter in Vermont has already taken a toll on his logging business this year.

A warm start to winter adds to challenges for Vermont’s logging industry

January 30, 2023

Recent snowfall has made it feel more like winter in Vermont. But warm temperatures through December into early January have already taken their toll on one industry: Logging. Loggers rely on frozen ground to access certain forested areas, but that’s been difficult so far this year. And the warming climate is just one of the…

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Visitors rest at the Mount Aery Baptist Church Cooling Center Bridgeport, Connecticut July 20, 2022.

New England sees record heat in 2022, as nation faces $165 billion in annual climate disaster damage

January 25, 2023

Five of the six New England states saw record warm temperatures last year – part of a larger regional trend driven by climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said earlier this month Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire recorded their 10th warmest years, with Rhode Island and Massachusetts seeing their fifth and sixth warmest years,…

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The LEGO Group announced Tuesday that it has selected Boston for its future head office in the Americas and will move its current office from Enfield, Connecticut, by the end of 2026.

Lego to leave Connecticut after nearly 50 years and move North American headquarters to Boston

January 24, 2023

Lego is taking its bricks and moving out of Connecticut. The Lego Group announced Tuesday that it’s relocating to Boston and moving its North American headquarters out of Enfield after nearly 50 years. The move is expected to happen by the end of 2026. The move will help support the business’s long-term growth ambitions, the…

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Peconic Bay scallop die-offs are ‘a cautionary tale’ for New England

January 20, 2023

Once one of the largest fisheries on the East Coast, Peconic Bay scallops have faced near complete die-offs on Long Island since 2019. A study by Stony Brook University shows this could be a cautionary tale for New England. Christopher Gobler, a co-author and endowed chair of coastal ecology and conservation in the School of…

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Harold Davis stands on his snow plow truck, which he bought this fall.

‘You can’t plow a puddle’: How warmer winters are changing snowplowing

January 18, 2023

This winter, Harold Davis decided to get into the snow plow business for himself, after about a decade of working for other removal companies. He bought a shiny, canary yellow snowplow a few months ago. It’s still pretty spotless. “It’s depressing. This time of the season, there should be snow banks,” he said, looking out…

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Dannie Kelly picks up a Christmas tree off the ground at his tree lot in Roxbury.

Christmas trees in short supply this season. Experts blame drought and Great Recession

December 19, 2022

If you’re just starting your Christmas decorating, you may have a harder time finding the perfect tree for your living room this year. Many places in Greater Boston have already sold out or have sparser supplies than usual. And even when you can find a tree, expect to pay more. Christmas tree seller Dannie Kelly…

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A turbine blade at The Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown, Mass.

Ever wonder how they build turbines at sea? Here’s what it takes to create an American wind farm

December 4, 2022

Today’s offshore wind turbines stand taller than the Boston skyline. Each blade is about the length of a football field, which means 50 feet have to be cut off to get one inside the state’s Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown. That’s where the blade for Vineyard Wind went through strength testing earlier this year.…

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