Environment
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Mass. Fiscal Alliance Launches Referendum to Overturn Key Climate Policy
Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office certified a ballot question that, if it's approved by voters in 2022, would "prohibit Massachusetts from imposing any tax, fee, revenue-generating measure, or market-based compliance measure if it would reduce or restrict the supply of gasoline."
September 2, 2021
Federal Infrastructure Bill Could Buy Big Projects, But Not Long-Term Fiscal Stability
A massive influx of federal funds (and the looming possibility of a major federal infrastructure bill) is shoring up budgets at the state's major transit agencies in spite of the past year's dip in ridership and fare collections, and opening up possibilities for funding major projects, like the electrification of the regional rail network and a new link between the Red and Blue lines in downtown Boston.
August 25, 2021
MBTA Flood Resiliency Projects Face Major Test As Henri Approaches
Forecasters say that Henri could bring up to 8 inches of rainfall to parts of the state, plus sustained high winds and storm surges that could flood low-lying areas along the coast.
August 20, 2021
Mayor Janey Is Missing From Vision Zero Candidate Survey
Mayor Walsh adopted ambitious goals to reduce tailpipe pollution, but made little progress on implementing policies that could reduce traffic and pollution. The next Mayor will likely feel more heat – literally and politically – to take bolder action.
August 10, 2021
Where Boston Mayoral Candidates Stand On City Climate Policy
Whether Boston meets its 2030 climate goals will largely depend on the city’s next mayor, whose administration will have broad control over some of the city’s biggest sources of pollution: energy-inefficient buildings, and traffic on city streets.
August 4, 2021
Environmental Justice Advocates Want More From Transportation and Climate Plan
July 6, 2021
MassDOT Ghosts Somerville Critics At I-93 Virtual Public Meeting
"People started to realize they’re not hear to hear us," says Somerville resident Melissa McCue-McGrath. "They’re here to say they had a meeting, but they’re not going to do anything for the people who live here and are dying here... It wasn’t that they didn’t hear us; they were just choosing not to."
June 10, 2021
Autonomous Taxis Could Speed Up Climate Change
Autonomous vehicles may make our skies dirtier, even if they’re shared and electric, a new study finds.
June 4, 2021
Guest Column: Electric Cars Won’t Save Us
To meet its climate goals, Massachusetts will need to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles from the state’s roadways within the next 25 years. But the Commonwealth’s new decarbonization roadmap aims to accomplish this not with improvements to transit and safer streets, but with widespread subsidies for new electric vehicles.
April 23, 2021
Logan Airport Invites Travelers to Honor Earth Day By Incinerating Gasoline
The airport argues that driving to the airport and paying for their on-site parking is "good" for the environment because it's only half as bad as driving there twice for a pickup and drop-off.
April 19, 2021
