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By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — Like many people, Michael Garjian believes global warming is a pressing issue of our times.Unlike most, he’s putting his ideas for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into practice — and at the same time bidding for a share of the $100...

By DOMENIC POLI

ASHFIELD — The town is seeking a “Climate Leader” designation from the state that would help it reduce emissions by increasing its use of equipment run on electricity rather than those requiring fossil fuels, and maximizing the efficiency of...

By JOSHUA ROSE

A few months ago, headlines flared that Peter Kaestner had seen his 10,000th bird species. This could have been anticlimactic, as Kaestner has been renowned for years among birders for traveling worldwide and seeing more species than anyone.However,...

By EMILEE KLEIN

GRANBY — David Trompke grew up walking and riding his bike down Bachelor Street back when five gravel pits were in operation.Now, at 75, the lifelong Granby resident whose family developed a subdivision off Trompke Avenue wants to lease 19 acres for a...

By RACHEL QUIMBY

One of my favorite books from childhood is P.D. Eastman’s “Big Dog, Little Dog,” the story of two bi-pedal pooches who are best friends. But Fred is tall, and Ted is short; Fred drives slowly and Ted drives fast; Ted plays the tuba, and Fred plays the...

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 EVAN HALPER

The Biden administration raised the stakes on its politically fraught bet on massive subsidies for nascent clean-energy technologies Friday, rolling out a plan for awarding billions of dollars in tax credits to the makers of ultrapowerful “green”...

By BILL DANIELSON

Dear Reader: I can’t believe that 2023 is almost over. Next week I am going to work on my traditional Year-In-Review column, but today I have decided to give myself permission to go back to one of my favorite photos of 2023. This is a photo that I...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Massachusetts will fail to hit a major emissions reduction requirement in 2030 unless Beacon Hill passes significant legislation to accelerate progress, leaders of a top advocacy group warned Wednesday.As plans begin to take shape for the...

We are midway through the month of December and I have started a new list. The current record for the number of birds observed in my yard in the month of Dec. is 31 species and that record was set just last year. On my first day of observations I...

By RODDY SCHEER and DOUG MOSS

Dear EarthTalk: What sort of environmental toll are the major military conflicts going on around the world now taking?— J.D., Salem, NHNo one questions the fact that war is horrible, and it is no less so for the environment. And recent major conflicts...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — Massachusetts Environmental Police arrested two brothers Saturday night after they allegedly shot a deer from their truck while in Colrain.Police arrested Colrain resident Seth Doull, 51, and Worthington resident Ira Doull, 46, on...

By SAM DRYSDALE

On the route to decarbonization, the state is so far on target with its goals, the Healey administration says, but there is more work to be done with the most intense period of rapid decarbonization quickly approaching.Gov. Maura Healey’s...

By BILL DANIELSON

As I write this column I am looking out my office window at a world that is enduring its first winter storm of the season. Back in October we saw the first flakes of snow, but that wasn’t really enough to describe as a storm. It was thrilling to see,...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

Massachusetts’ efforts to meet its net-zero goals and measure up to neighboring states may mean an overhaul of energy efficiency program Mass Save, according to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer’s recent report.The state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan...