Stories
With less than a year to go before a major trash plant in Hartford is scheduled to close, officials are scrambling to figure out what to do with hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage a year. Katie Dykes, head of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said she’s optimistic that a new $5…
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For homeowners looking to put solar panels on their roofs, the main goal is usually pretty clear: saving money on electric bills. But installing solar can sometimes come with complications. On a corner lot in Enfield, Conn., George St. Amand has a two-story house with a pretty flat roof in the back. Not great…
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The effects of Hurricane Maria, a deadly Category 4 hurricane that swept Puerto Rico four years ago, left the island shaken. Some people are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and are slowly finding their way back to their Puerto Rico.
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Just before Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth is expected to reach a historic milestone. All the radioactive fuel that generated electricity — and controversy — for nearly half a century, will finally be removed from the reactor building. It will be stored outside in special steel and cement casks. The rare occasion will…
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A group representing commercial fishermen is asking the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review the federal government’s decision to approve the country’s first large-scale offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind 1. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance — known by its acronym, RODA — says the government agencies in charge of assessing and approving offshore…
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Heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused massive stress on the state’s wastewater infrastructure. The National Weather Service reported more than 8 inches of rain in Stamford, Clinton, Uncasville, North Madison and Seymour. Elsewhere in the state, totals ranged from 3 inches to more than 7 inches of rain. In many cities, stormwater…
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An historic district is at the epicenter of climate change in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One of the city’s most popular tourist destinations, the Strawbery Banke district is flooding more often due to seas and heavier rains. And the Strawbery Banke Museum is facing choices that might once have been unthinkable: filling the basements of historic…
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Opponents of a waste dump containing PCB sediment planned for Lee, Massachusetts, took their case before the federal Environmental Appeals Board on Thursday. The Housatonic River Initiative and the Housatonic Environmental Action League are appealing a permit the EPA’s New England office issued for cleanup of sections of the Housatonic River. The river was polluted…
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Very hungry caterpillars have been killing mighty oak trees across southern New England for years. The Northeast sees a lot of different insect invaders, says Audrey Barker Plotkin. She’s a scientist with Harvard Forest. Some trees will die because of insect defoliation, but Plotkin learned in her recent multiyear study why some oaks have more resilience. Click…
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There are many sugar maples along the banks of the Mill River in western Massachusetts. But this one is special, at least to Danielle Ignace. Its wide, green canopy keeps Ignace cool as she works or entertains friends, even on this hot summer day in Williamsburg. Its tens of thousands of leaves, rustling in…
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