June 10th Roundup: Vehicular Air Pollution Claimed Hundreds of Lives in MA in 2016

[Not a subscriber? Sign up here]

BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS

– “Watchdogs On Alert Ahead of Climate Law Implementation” (Colin A. Young, SHNS via WWLP): [read the article]

LOCAL IDEAS

– “Time to prioritize offshore wind supply chain” by Patricia Haddad, via Commonwealth Magazine

– “Solar gone wrong” by Margaret Sheehan, via Commonwealth Magazine

– “Enough Is Enough. It’s Time To Shut Down The Weymouth Compressor” by Caren Solomon and Philip Landrigan, via WBUR

– “Worcester, this is what the climate crisis feels like” by Andrew Ahern, via the Telegram and Gazette

OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

– “Boston Harbor Islands Named One Of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places” (Barbara Moran, Earthwhile): [read the article]

– “DEP Chief Calls For Broader Monitoring Of PFAS” (Chris Lisinski, State House News Service via Earthwhile): [read the article]

TRANSIT EMISSIONS

– Study: Vehicular Air Pollution Claimed Hundreds of Lives in MA (Christian Morris): A new report from researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and UNC Chapel Hills’ Institute for the Environment finds that, across 12 states and D.C., pollution from vehicle emissions claimed an approximate 7,100 lives. In Massachusetts alone, the research suggests that 620 deaths can be linked to vehicular air pollution. [read more]

– “Car pollution killed hundreds in Mass. and thousands across 12 states, researchers say” (Travis Anderson, Boston Globe): [read the article]

TALKING TCI

– Connecticut Drops Out of Regional Transportation and Climate Initiative (Christian Morris): This week, in an effort to finalize the state’s biennial budget, Connecticut lawmakers declined to opt in of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), for now. Policymakers did signal they may take up a measure to reconsider as soon as 2022. This leaves only Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. left to participate. Governor Baker of Massachusetts reaffirmed his commitment to implementing the program to reduce transportation emissions. [read more]

– “Connecticut Shelves Transportation Climate Initiative” (Christine Stuart, NBC CT): [read the article]

LOCAL CLIMATE POLITICS

– “Rep. Lori Trahan taking patient approach with move toward green energy” (Ed Harding and Janet Wu, WCVB): [read the article]

– “Peabody Power Plant Battle Heats Up As ‘Pause’ Nears 30 Days” (Scott Souza, Patch): [read the article]

– “[Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District] receives $78K+ grant for climate resiliency” (Courtesy of Senator Marc R. Pacheco): [read the article]

– “How Gen Z Is Taking over Boston Politics” (Tom McGrath, Boston Magazine): [read the article]

THE GREEN ECONOMY, STUPID

– “Wakefield solar firm acquires Boston energy storage systems company” (Colin A. Young, SHNS via MetroWest Daily): [read the article]

2021 CLIMATE

– “Ninety degree days occurring earlier and more often. A rising toll of health effects. What does this say about climate change?” (Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe): [read the article]

OFFSHORE WIND

– “Baker, Guvs Urge Biden to Keep Offshore Wind a Priority” (Colin A. Young, State House News Service): [read the article]

BUSINESS, CLIMATE

– “Greentown Labs Announces the Healthy Buildings Challenge with Saint-Gobain and MassCEC” (Greentown Labs): [read the press release]

CLIMATE SPOTLIGHT

– “Carrie Katan on Innovative Tactics to Make a Lasting Change” (Climate XChange): [read the article]

– “State “Green Team” award recognizes student efforts in environmental stewardship” (Amy Phillips, WWLP): [read the article]

CLIMATE TRANSITIONS

– Staci Rubin has been named Vice President of Environmental Justice at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). Rubin previously served as a senior attorney at CLF and has long been a champion for climate and environmental justice. [tweet]

BEYOND THE BAYSTATE

– “New Multi-State Initiative Seeks to Protect Coastal Environment” (Zoe Dym, Hawaii Public Radio): [read the article]

ROUNDUP REDUX

Missed the last CXC Roundup? Here are the top three climate headlines from the previous weeks:

  1. “New Report: Connecting Climate and Community Priorities”
  2. “Brookline again moves to restrict new fossil fuel use, this time hoping to sidestep legal objections”
  3. “Baker-Polito Administration announce new $2.1 million funding to reduce air pollution”

Read the full Roundup here from June 5th, 2021 here.


FOR MORE CONTENT from us subscribe to the Climate XChange Newsletter (Fridays, weekly) and check out the fourth season of the Cooler Earth Podcast.

Featured Image: Photo by Robbie Shade via Flickr