Search Results

Keyword search: Environment

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With the execution of two separate conservation restrictions by Historic Deerfield and the Antonellis family, more than 200 acres of land in Deerfield will remain permanently accessible for agriculture.In early May, Historic Deerfield...

By EMILEE KLEIN

Regional planning groups and local municipalities remain wary of the looming implications on municipal jurisdiction should the state’s massive climate bill move ahead in the coming weeks with promises to reform the slow process of siting and...

By CHRISTINE HATCH

Swamps are great story villains. They are notoriously difficult to navigate due to their sinking sticky mud, spiked vines and dense vegetation; they are neither fully land nor water, negating boats and footwear as helpful vessels for traversing them;...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the legality of a makeshift riverbank and retaining wall using dozens of carefully arranged shopping carts alongside the Connecticut River behind a home on Honey Pot...

By TED WATT and HELEN ANN SEPHTON

This column honors Colleen Kelley, the education director at the Hitchcock Center, who will soon be leaving her post after 40 years.In the fall of 1984, Colleen walked into the Hitchcock Center — young, bright, idealistic, and fresh off a position as...

By DOMENIC POLI

ASHFIELD — The town is seeking a “Climate Leader” designation from the state that would help it reduce emissions by increasing its use of equipment run on electricity rather than those requiring fossil fuels, and maximizing the efficiency of...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — Like many people, Michael Garjian believes global warming is a pressing issue of our times.Unlike most, he’s putting his ideas for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into practice — and at the same time bidding for a share of the $100...

By JOSHUA ROSE

A few months ago, headlines flared that Peter Kaestner had seen his 10,000th bird species. This could have been anticlimactic, as Kaestner has been renowned for years among birders for traveling worldwide and seeing more species than anyone.However,...

By EMILEE KLEIN

GRANBY — David Trompke grew up walking and riding his bike down Bachelor Street back when five gravel pits were in operation.Now, at 75, the lifelong Granby resident whose family developed a subdivision off Trompke Avenue wants to lease 19 acres for a...

By RACHEL QUIMBY

One of my favorite books from childhood is P.D. Eastman’s “Big Dog, Little Dog,” the story of two bi-pedal pooches who are best friends. But Fred is tall, and Ted is short; Fred drives slowly and Ted drives fast; Ted plays the tuba, and Fred plays the...

By MARGAUX PAINE

As the world grapples with environmental challenges, the Fossil Free Zones initiative, championed by Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), takes inspiration from the transformative work at The Hitchcock Center for the Environment. The Center...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HATFIELD — If deer, bobcats or foxes are passing through their neighborhood, Hatfield Elementary School students have a new way of finding out.With the help of two Amherst College students and two Smith Academy eighth-graders, John Higuera and Ted...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was early in the morning.  I had a fresh cup of coffee and a little something to nibble on as I sat down at my computer and tried to make a decision.  What was I going to write about this week?  There were two ideas rattling around in my head but...

By PATRICK WHITTLE

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After back-to-back storms lashed the Northeast in January, rental properties Haim Levy owns in coastal Hampton, New Hampshire, were hammered by nearly two feet of water, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage...

Dear EarthTalk: Has the cruise industry cleaned up its act regarding its environmental footprint in recent years? – M.B., SeattleCruise ships are a big part of the marine shipping sector that is responsible for close to 3% of global greenhouse gas...

By TOM LITWIN

As I concentrated on the computer screen, the news played in the background. A story about the environment got my attention, causing me to sit back and listen more carefully. I played the piece again to be sure I heard it correctly.In summer 2023, the...

By CHAD CAIN

NORTHAMPTON — On a spring day in 2020 as he returned home from a morning of birding along the Mill River, James Lowenthal stopped to chat with a neighbor just a few doors from his Crescent Street home.As the neighbors talked, they noticed a mama...

By EVAN HALPER

The Biden administration raised the stakes on its politically fraught bet on massive subsidies for nascent clean-energy technologies Friday, rolling out a plan for awarding billions of dollars in tax credits to the makers of ultrapowerful “green”...

By BILL DANIELSON

Dear Reader: I can’t believe that 2023 is almost over. Next week I am going to work on my traditional Year-In-Review column, but today I have decided to give myself permission to go back to one of my favorite photos of 2023. This is a photo that I...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Massachusetts will fail to hit a major emissions reduction requirement in 2030 unless Beacon Hill passes significant legislation to accelerate progress, leaders of a top advocacy group warned Wednesday.As plans begin to take shape for the...