Of these 26 former industrial cities, 17 do not have state-operated air quality monitors. At a time when environmental justice communities are even more at risk due to federal rollbacks to clean air protections, the lack of monitors has some advocates speaking out as climate change continues to lay the groundwork for the dangerously hot and dry conditions that fuel wildfires.
Category: Environment
The draft plan is set to act as a roadmap for how New England’s largest city can navigate the more than four feet of sea level rise the Army Corps projects will hit Boston by 2090.
EPA cuts in Springfield and Hampden County affect programs sending trained staff into homes to help families manage asthma triggers like mold, dust, old carpeting, and poor ventilation.
“If the city wants to make real progress on climate goals, the building sector is where the biggest changes have to happen.”
The Senate on Wednesday takes up a sweeping energy bill aimed at affordability, one that boosters say will save ratepayers more than $14 billion over a decade. But first, senators have more than 180 ideas to reshape it.
The loss of funds has disrupted a network of heat-related initiatives across Massachusetts, many supported through EPA environmental justice grants.
The House Ways and Means Committee slimmed the Senate’s bond authorizations (S 3064) down by more than 20 percent, advancing a new draft Tuesday that would authorize $3.078 billion in borrowing compared to the Senate-supported $3.94 billion.
Authorizing a pilot program like this is inviting a larger debate about how Massachusetts should weigh the complicated tradeoffs associated with reaching ambitious climate targets, especially for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like air travel.
While Massachusetts ranks fourth in the country for charging ports per capita after a sharp increase in installments over the past few years, the state is still about 2,000 charging ports short of what it estimates it needs.
The proposed hangar expansion has roiled activists and officials alike. Critics fear that a spike in air traffic will bring extra noise and emissions, as private flights are widely considered to be the most polluting source of transportation.