Environment
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New 100% Clean Electricity Contract Will Save MBTA $3 Million a Year In Electric Bills
The switch to all-renewable electricity, which would take effect on January 1, 2021, will immediately slash the T's carbon footprint by 36 percent.
October 6, 2020
Melnea Cass Project Spotlights Value of Street Trees
Because the project is already under contract between MassDOT and Newport, the City of Boston has limited influence. But city officials say that they are working with MassDOT to pursue possible "change orders" to the agreement.
September 28, 2020
Electric Trucks and Buses Are Coming… Just Not Fast Enough to Save the Climate
Massachusetts has signed a multi-state pact to make zero-emission vehicles at least 30 percent of new bus and truck sales by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050 – but there’s considerable uncertainty about whether the pledge is ambitious enough to help Massachusetts meet its latest climate goals.
August 31, 2020
City Councilor Michelle Wu Pitches ‘Green New Deal’ for Boston
"The climate crisis and our current public health crises are intertwined, and wrapped in a political system that relies on structural racism and injustice," says Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu. "We need to tackle all of these problems together in this moment: climate justice is racial and economic justice, and cities can lead the charge."
August 18, 2020
New Climate Bill Commits to Reduced Tailpipe Emissions
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a significant new climate bill on Friday night that commits the state to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by "at least 50 percent below the 1990 level" within the next decade.
August 3, 2020
COVID-19 Exacerbates Food Insecurity for Greater Boston’s Car-Free Households
“Communities like Chelsea wouldn’t have been so vulnerable had we not had structural injustices in place, like compromised public health, poorer air quality, and industrial impacts,” said Rosann Bongiovanni, the executive director of GreenRoots.
July 21, 2020
Sen. Markey Blasts Fed for Potential Big Oil Bailouts
Oil companies "are going to take money that was meant to help businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic in order to bail themselves out of $200 billion in existing debt,” alleges Sen. Ed Markey.
May 1, 2020
Eyes on the Street: Room to Breathe on DCR Parkways
This weekend, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) closed off segments of several Boston-area park roads to give people more room to recreate with safe physical distancing in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 13, 2020
Study: Highway Pollution Contributes to Higher COVID-19 Death Rates
The study's results are especially concerning for many of communities of color in Massachusetts, where the legacies of racist planning policies expose Asian, Latinx and Black neighborhoods to higher levels of tailpipe pollution.
April 7, 2020
Fuel Efficiency Rollbacks Will Put More Deadly Cars on the Streets
The Trump administration plans to scrap Obama-era legislation that required auto manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency by five percent every year until 2026.
April 2, 2020
