Stories

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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A passive house in the town of Hope into which Patrick McCunney and Madeleine Mackell recently moved.

This Maine home can stay 70 degrees without a furnace, even when it’s freezing outside

January 25, 2023

What if you could design a house that on a cold day in January would stay at 70 degrees inside — without running the furnace? Or even having a furnace? It’s already being done. In fact, what’s known as the passive house concept came to the United States in 2006, and is being used to…

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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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A 9-year-old female right whale (left) and a smaller right whale spotted earlier this month off the coast of Jekyll Island.

Federal officials shoot down emergency request aimed at protecting right whales from ship strikes

January 23, 2023

Federal officials have denied a request from conservationists to expedite the implementation of proposed ship speed reductions that might help protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering new rules aimed at stopping large vessels from colliding with right whales. A coalition of conservation groups asked that…

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Andrew Warner holding some of the supplies he gives out as part of his harm reduction work. Warner, then an outreach worker for the treatment provider Better Life Partners, is now Manchester's director of overdose prevention.

‘It’s kind of Russian Roulette’: How an animal tranquilizer is adding new risks to street drugs in New Hampshire

January 20, 2023

Nate Weddle has struggled with heroin addiction for years. He first came to Manchester, N.H., about four years ago to live in a sober house, and did well there. But moving out on his own was harder than he thought. Since then, he’s gone back and forth between relapse and recovery. “I’m typically proud to…

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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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Warm weather and rain bring tough snow season for NH skiers, snowshoers and others

January 9, 2023

Warm temperatures and rainy days have created difficult conditions this winter for Granite Staters who like to get out in the snow. With a snowstorm in mid-December, many local ski areas were able to establish a base coating on their slopes. At Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H., most trails have opened. But the recent conditions…

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Outdoor groups, park officials host First Day Hikes across New England

January 3, 2023

Thousands of outdoor enthusiasts around New England took part in First Day Hikes — a national New Year’s Day tradition that began in Massachusetts 30 years ago. A few dozen people made their way to the Chester-Blandford State Forest, where the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers joined representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation for a…

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Study: Improved forestry could boost carbon storage in New England by nearly half a billion tons

December 21, 2022

A new study published in an international forestry journal finds that better forest management could significantly grow New England’s carbon storage, improve wildlife habitat and provide a reliable timber supply. Published in the journal Forests, the study finds that improved forest practices including increased stocking of trees could bolster carbon storage by an estimated 488…

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