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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 EMILY THURLOW

BOSTON — When 15-year-old Ollie Perrault found herself on the basketball court at the TD Garden, she seized an opportunity she’d never thought she’d have, and she took her shot.And though the Easthampton climate activist wasn’t trying to score any...

By JACOB NELSON

WORTHINGTON — “Agriculture is going to have to look different,” says Lincoln Fishman of Sawyer Farm in Worthington, given the climate crisis. “And I’m just not interested in farming the old way.”Well-read and well-spoken, Fishman has a keen ability to...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — A several-month experiment aimed at reducing the growth of algae blooms at Nashawannuck Pond appears to be working and will be used again next year, according to officials with the pond’s steering committee.Since April, nearly 100 onion...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTHAMPTON — A 3.5-mile railroad corridor that has been inactive for more than 30 years is one step closer to seeing some movement along its rails. The town has secured a $300,000 MassTrails grant that enables it to begin the design, engineering and...

By BILL DANIELSON

Today’s column will discuss two separate events that illustrate the powerful ability of birds to bring joy to the lives of humans. The first event took place at my school last week, while the second happened in my brother-in-law’s front yard. Both...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTHAMPTON — Fish will soon be able to swim through a portion of the Manhan River in Southampton that’s been blocked by a dam for nearly 300 years.Throughout last week, workers from Witch Enterprises of Agawam cut portions of the Lyman Mill Pond Dam...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTHAMPTON — When Ted Hendrick wanders around the woods along Cold Spring Road, he’s reminded of a “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” The song, released by singer Burl Ives in the 1940s, speaks of the “buzzin’ of the bees in the cigarette trees,” which...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — Lakes and ponds around the world are experiencing an increased occurrence of algae blooms as a result of warmer temperatures.This has had a particularly significant impact on water bodies that are shallow, stagnant and rich in nutrients...

By FRAN RYAN

EASTHAMPTON — As the world tries to combat global climate change and find workable clean alternatives to energy production, a small Easthampton company says it has a patented new way of creating electricity, one that could revolutionize how power is...

By JACQUELYN VOGHEL

EASTHAMPTON — Once a controversial project in Easthampton beset by delays and unanticipated expenses, the city’s fish ladder, which allows fish to pass through the dam on the Manhan River off Northampton Street, quietly entered its seventh season in...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

WILLIAMSBURG — Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a Pennsylvania developer alleging “irreparable harm” caused by polluting of the West Branch Mill River and damage to more than two acres of protected wetlands.The lawsuit...

By VALERIE REISS

When Cat Thomson and Steve McDonough moved onto their ¾-acre lot in Leeds, the landscaping consisted of dirt, dirt, and more dirt.“It was a blank slate,” said Thomson, a freelance writer and editor. They built their house on developed land that was...

By DAVID SPECTOR

If you sit on a city park bench you’re likely to see birds, especially house sparrows. This species, native to Europe and Asia, was first introduced into North America in 1851 and is now common where farms or cities provide both grain on the ground...