Latest Environmental News

Massachusetts moves to phase out PFAS from firefighter gear

Gov. Maura Healey signed a new law that will ban the sale of any firefighting jackets, pants, shoes, gloves and helmets that contain the cancer-linked chemicals, beginning in 2027.

(Photo Illustration by ProPublica. Source Image: Max Guther, special to ProPublica)

Is this ancient process the future of plastics recycling?

The unexpected cause of increased marine mammal interactions

Quiz: How much do you know about Massachusetts' sharks?

PFAS Series

PFAS expert tips: How to reduce your exposure to harmful ‘forever chemicals’

Toxic 'forever chemicals' force Mass. towns to face 'true cost of water'

Private well owners stuck with costs to treat 'forever chemicals'

Tracing the path of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ inside the body

Power Shift: The Future of Offshore Wind

Technicians of the Block Island Wind Farm Support Team repair a crack in the blade of one of the wind turbines. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

We asked big questions about the offshore wind industry. Here’s what we uncovered

Offshore wind is America's new industry. Who will build it?

As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose

Big Oil wants to be Big Wind. Can fossil fuel companies be trusted?

More Environmental News

A lobster is measured to see if it is legal sized, on a boat off Mount Desert, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Lobster fishermen say change in legal sizes meant to protect species could disrupt industry

Work begins to remove broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade

What a Trump or Harris presidency could mean for the EPA in New England

Mountain lions in N.H.? Some locals believe the big cats still roam the Granite State

Solar panel installers under scrutiny for sales tactics

Nike's carbon emissions are up, due in part to their liberal use of private jets

'Our History is the Future' explores lessons from Indigenous resistance for today's water crises

Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast and strands residents in Savannah, Georgia

On Point Environment Stories

The big promise of advanced recycling

The unexpected increase in marine mammal interactions

Week of wonder: Author Amy Tan's 'backyard bird chronicles'

The wonder of backyard birds

Boston should expect 12 to 19 days of high-tide flooding next year, per NOAA

Boston had 19 days of high-tide flooding last year and can expect 12 to 19 days next year, more than any other city in the Northeast, according to an annual...

A pilot program wants to make it easier for N.H. doctors to talk about climate change

For the past year, one team of Dartmouth Health pediatricians in Lebanon has helped inform patients about five local climate concerns: air quality, extreme heat, extreme weather, ticks, mosquitos and...

Local Coverage

Aug 8, 2024

A veterinarian holds an endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which was rescued in New England and rehabilitated before being released into the Gulf of Mexico, in 2015. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

Sea turtles strandings have increased dramatically. Congress might create a fund to bail them out

Sea turtle strandings have ticked up at an alarming rate in New England. Congress is nearing passage of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, which would create a...

Environment

Aug 7, 2024

Transmission lines and an electrical substation at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts. (Miriam Wasser/WBUR)

New England wins $389 million to upgrade electric grid for wind power

The Department of Energy will help fund upgrades at two electrical substations and a multi-day battery storage project.

Local Coverage

Aug 6, 2024

Sarah Leiter, who leads the visual survey program for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, scans the water for signs of North Atlantic right whales and other marine life during a recent research cruise in July. (Courtesy of Jeff Nichols, Maine Department of Marine Resources via Maine Public)

Researchers are on a summer mission to learn more about right whales in the Gulf of Maine

This summer, the state of Maine launched a research program to learn more about the whereabouts of North Atlantic right whales. The findings could be critical for the future of...

Environment

05:02Aug 6, 2024

A car drives through flood water by the Chart House on Boston's Long Wharf during a November king tide. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Boston announces a new climate resilience office

The Office of Climate Resilience will focus on rising sea levels, inland flooding and extreme heat.

Environment

Aug 5, 2024

Climate protesters held up signs outside the Senate chamber as the branch adjourned on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Alison Kuznitz/SHNS)

Climate activists 'furious' at Beacon Hill's climate bill failure

A small crowd of climate activists marched through the State House Thursday morning, chanting about lawmakers' failure to strike a deal on a clean energy bill deemed urgent and essential...

Environment

Aug 1, 2024

A Vineyard Wind turbine. (Courtesy Vineyard Wind)

The fallout from Vineyard Wind's broken turbine blade

Within hours of fiberglass from a broken offshore wind turbine washing ashore on Nantucket, clean energy and anti-wind advocates jumped on the story, and two competing narratives took hold.

Environment

Aug 1, 2024

Massachusetts moves to phase out PFAS from firefighter gear

Is this ancient process the future of plastics recycling?

The unexpected cause of increased marine mammal interactions

Quiz: How much do you know about Massachusetts' sharks?

PFAS expert tips: How to reduce your exposure to harmful ‘forever chemicals’

Toxic 'forever chemicals' force Mass. towns to face 'true cost of water'

Private well owners stuck with costs to treat 'forever chemicals'

Tracing the path of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ inside the body

Climate Reality

We asked big questions about the offshore wind industry. Here’s what we uncovered

Offshore wind is America's new industry. Who will build it?

As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose

Big Oil wants to be Big Wind. Can fossil fuel companies be trusted?

Lobster fishermen say change in legal sizes meant to protect species could disrupt industry

Work begins to remove broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade

What a Trump or Harris presidency could mean for the EPA in New England

Mountain lions in N.H.? Some locals believe the big cats still roam the Granite State

Solar panel installers under scrutiny for sales tactics

Nike's carbon emissions are up, due in part to their liberal use of private jets

'Our History is the Future' explores lessons from Indigenous resistance for today's water crises

Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast and strands residents in Savannah, Georgia

The big promise of advanced recycling

The unexpected increase in marine mammal interactions

Week of wonder: Author Amy Tan's 'backyard bird chronicles'

The wonder of backyard birds

A climate Q&A: Why it's hard for human brains to understand climate risk and other conundrums

Boston should expect 12 to 19 days of high-tide flooding next year, per NOAA

A pilot program wants to make it easier for N.H. doctors to talk about climate change

Sea turtles strandings have increased dramatically. Congress might create a fund to bail them out

New England wins $389 million to upgrade electric grid for wind power

Researchers are on a summer mission to learn more about right whales in the Gulf of Maine

Boston announces a new climate resilience office

Climate activists 'furious' at Beacon Hill's climate bill failure

The fallout from Vineyard Wind's broken turbine blade