Stories
The fate of Central Maine Power’s controversial energy corridor through western Maine is now in the hands of the state’s highest court. Late last week a lower court judge halted his own consideration of a challenge to the law that state voters enacted last year to kill the project, and sent it on to the…
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How some Northeast organizations are trying to return land, decision-making power to people of color
On a windy but warm day earlier this year, Judy Dow walked between rows of corn, beans, squash and sunflowers at Vermont’s Shelburne Farms. A sign explained how the different plants nourish one another. The purpose of this plot is both to educate visitors, and to produce seeds to share with Indigenous gardens across New…
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Depending on several factors, New England’s regional electricity grid operator could ask residents to turn down the heat, do less laundry and minimize cooking this winter. While forecasts predict a mild winter, the grid could be in a precarious position, ISO-New England says. ISO coordinates the flow of electricity through the transmission system, and plans…
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Energy is essential to our lives. It keeps us warm, powers the ventilators in our hospitals, runs the machines that package our food and helps us see through the darkness of a winter night. But our energy system carries costs — costs that are driving climate change. The energy system is complicated. And as we…
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New research on the combined threat of rising sea levels and extreme weather focuses on coastal areas in New England. By simulating hazards like flooding with computer models, the researchers say their findings could help prepare communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. “We’re particularly interested in looking at close to the…
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Public transit in Connecticut maintained higher ridership and smaller revenue loss during the pandemic compared to the rest of New England, according to a study released this week by The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Riley Sullivan, the author of the study, said federal stimulus funding offset the loss of riders in Connecticut and the…
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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 Connecticut River after Tropical Storm Elsa looked like a chocolate milkshake. And the reason is pretty gross: rainwater runoff and raw sewage. This dirty water makes its way into rivers because of century-old infrastructure called “combined sewer systems,” which merge stormwater and household water into one big pipe. And when it rains a lot,…
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In May, the small town of Harrisville, N.H. started to write the next chapter for its energy future. Harrisville voters approved the second community power plan in the state (the neighboring city of Keene was first). With a community power plan, the town will purchase power on behalf of residents and businesses. Advocates say this…
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