Stories
As Massachusetts heads into a weekend of sweltering temperatures, prison advocates worry that the more than 13,000 people incarcerated in the state’s prisons and county jails are especially in danger of heat-related illnesses. Massachusetts’ jails and prisons often don’t have air conditioning. Many incarcerated people are medically vulnerable, and advocates say they are particularly at…
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For decades, scientists from around the world have been visiting a mature forest just off the interstate, about 30 miles north of Bangor. They’ve undertaken groundbreaking studies on acid rain, forest ecology and soil health. NASA used it for a remote sensing project. And at one point the 550-acre Howland Research Forest was the most…
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Sometimes Gallagher launches from Mount Tom and flies to his house in Hadley, Mass., about 8 miles away. Sometimes he flies from Mount Tom all the way to Rhode Island or eastern Massachusetts (paragliders call that flying “cross-country”). But some days Gallagher doesn’t go anywhere, just soars above the mountain with the bald eagles and…
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The Barre, Massachusetts, Museum Association is photographing its collection of Native objects this week. This is a key step before returning items to Native tribes. Leola One Feather and Jeff Not Help Him from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are at the museum this week handling the items, and starting to identify them…
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The federal government has designated the deaths of nearly 160 seals since the start of June as an “unusual mortality event” along Maine’s coast. An investigation is now underway to determine the cause, the impact and the environmental factors surrounding it. The highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a large number of the…
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The sun is barely above the treeline as Chris Shea welcomes about 80 kids to a summer camp organized by the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston on a recent weekday morning, his voice bellowing through the trees. Each day, the campers scatter across 93 acres of woods and fields, with enough space for all of the classic summer camp…
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It’s peak season for cyanobacteria blooms: the blue-green algae that sprouts in bodies of water, which can be harmful for humans and animals. As of July 15, there are two active cyanobacteria advisories on New Hampshire waters, at Keyser Pond in Henniker and Silver Lake Beach in Hollis. As summers get warmer with a changing climate, those blooms have more of…
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New England’s electricity grid is in for major changes, according to a yearly report from ISO New England, the organization that manages the region’s grid. The report says decarbonization will become the way of life in New England, with heating and transportation becoming electrified through technology like heat pumps and electric vehicles. That will increase regional demand…
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