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INTO THE RED

Climate and the fight of our lives

The climate crisis is now an emergency. We believe solutions must begin here, in our communities, state, and region. Globe journalism will shine light on obstacles to decisive action, illuminate paths toward solutions, and hold to account elected leaders responsible for guiding us to a better future.

Latest climate stories

California moves to ban natural gas furnaces and heaters by 2030

California is committing to a plan that will make it the first US state to phase out gas-fueled furnaces and water heaters in homes, a move environmentalists are betting will provide a template for other states.

Kids born right after a natural disaster more likely to have mental health issues, new research shows

Witnessing a natural disaster can take a serious toll on a person’s mental health. New research suggests that’s also true for fetuses who experience those disasters in utero.

Supply chain issues slow development of major Mass. offshore wind farm

Avangrid's move underscores the challenges New England faces as policymakers try to transition the electric grid to rely more heavily on renewable sources.

Manchin’s permitting reform legislation would be a climate disaster, environmental advocates say

The long-awaited bill text, released on Wednesday, has environmental activists and many Democratic representatives heated.

North Attleborough, Plainville residents ordered to boil tap water due to E. coli

Residents of North Attleborough and Plainville have been ordered to boil their tap water before using it after a water sample tested positive for E. coli, according to an advisory from the Town of North Attleborough’s Board of Public Works.

Featured projects

As Earth’s temperature rises, Massachusetts residents’ sense of urgency on climate change declines

Despite increasingly urgent international warnings, fewer Massachusetts residents see the climate crisis as a very serious concern than they did in 2019, a new poll from MassINC and the Boston Globe shows.
The Lobster Trap: Part 1

The lobster trap

The plentiful catch that brought wealth to fishing families is at risk, as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine. A way of life is on the line, but lobstermen can't, or won't, imagine another.
Climate change on Cape Cod

At the edge of a warming world

The flexed arm of Cape Cod has challenged the power of the sea for centuries, but the contest has escalated. Climate change is altering our vacation paradise in myriad ways, perhaps forever. The message in the sand is clear — if only we will look.

Accountability

Climate change could worsen supply chain turmoil

In addition to the toll of human injury and death, increasing natural disasters are likely to wreak sporadic havoc on global supply chains, exacerbating the shortages, delayed deliveries, and higher prices that have frustrated businesses and consumers.
RI POLITICS

Green Report Card gives R.I. Assembly high grades on environment

Two years after giving legislature an “incomplete,” the Environment Council hails “the best two years of environmental policymaking in R.I. history.”

Climate disasters are unfolding all over the planet. Here’s a look at some of them.

Torrential downpours in Texas. Historic heat in China. Europe’s worst drought in 500 years. Glacial melting in Antarctica. Each of these events bear the fingerprints of climate change, providing yet more evidence that this crisis isn’t some far-off threat.

McGovern calls on Biden to pardon embattled attorney Steven Donziger

A group of lawmakers is urging President Biden to pardon Steven Donziger, the embattled human rights lawyer who won a groundbreaking multibillion-dollar case against Chevron over pollution in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

Climate Science

Kids born right after a natural disaster more likely to have mental health issues, new research shows
Witnessing a natural disaster can take a serious toll on a person’s mental health. New research suggests that’s also true for fetuses who experience those disasters in utero.

These maps show how sea level rise could put the South Coast underwater

Boston wants to convert all its electric lighting to efficient LED fixtures

Politics and Policy

Manchin’s permitting reform legislation would be a climate disaster, environmental advocates say

The long-awaited bill text, released on Wednesday, has environmental activists and many Democratic representatives heated.

Climate change protesters close one side of Seaport Blvd. bridge before dispersing; 15 arrested

Environmental activists who sought to block major intersections in Boston dialed back those plans and instead marched down several streets downtown and closed one side of the Seaport Boulevard bridge for about 30 minutes during the Wednesday morning commute.

At Clinton Foundation summit, Governor Baker is a rare Republican voice on climate

As Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker enters the home stretch of his term in office, some observers say his achievements on climate change rival that of states considered leaders, like New York and California.

Governor Baker talks Mass. climate efforts at start of New York City Climate Week

Governor Baker discussed a new climate law he signed last month, as well as the state’s earlier efforts to prioritize growing the offshore wind industry, such as a 2016 law aimed at boost renewable energy.

An interactive look into climate change

How Massachusetts feels about climate change in 12 graphics

The percentage of Massachusetts residents who believe climate change is as a very serious concern has decreased since 2019. That’s just one finding from a new poll conducted by MassINC Polling Group for the Boston Globe.

Maps: These parts of Boston, Revere, and Quincy are vulnerable to rising sea levels

One measure of a warming planet and human-caused climate change is rising sea levels, which Massachusetts’ coastal towns are increasingly grappling with.

Boston’s ‘heat islands’ turn lower-income neighborhoods from hot to insufferable

In a recent city report, officials noted that temperatures in leafier neighborhoods are often significantly lower than in more densely populated areas.

Into the Red: How the Globe will cover climate change

To report on the most pressing issue of our time, the Globe’s climate team is expanding and rethinking its coverage.

The Globe's climate team wants to hear from you

Share your thoughts and questions about the impact of climate change in your community.

How-Tos

Northeastern researchers have a plan to protect Boston from rising sea levels: floating vegetation mats they call the ‘Emerald Tutu’

ENVIRONMENT

DEM: ‘Substantial’ solid waste from Woonsocket sewage plant released into Blackstone River daily

As war rages, a struggle to balance energy crunch and climate crisis

More Climate stories

These maps show how sea level rise could put the South Coast underwater

As climate change pushes sea levels up, Massachusetts’ southern coast will more regularly be pummeled by storms and face catastrophic flooding and increased erosion. Check out these maps to learn more.

Boston wants to convert all its electric lighting to efficient LED fixtures

The city has some 80,000 street lights, and not all of them have the same carbon impact.

Your electric bill may go up by more than 60 percent this winter. Here’s why.

Natural gas-fired power plants still provide at least half of New England’s electricity, and costs for obtaining gas have skyrocketed this year following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and the subsequent natural gas shortage in Europe.

Sea level rise threatens New Bedford’s fishing port and could put South Coast towns under water, new report finds

Rising seas along the South Coast are projected to have catastrophic effects, inundating towns around Buzzards Bay and Narraganset Bay, flooding out roads and wiping away salt marshes that store vast amounts of carbon, according to a new report.

Senate ratifies international climate deal on refrigerants

In a major action to address climate change, the Senate on Wednesday ratified an international agreement that compels the United States and other countries to limit use of hydrofluorocarbons.

Climate change protesters close one side of Seaport Blvd. bridge before dispersing; 15 arrested

Environmental activists who sought to block major intersections in Boston dialed back those plans and instead marched down several streets downtown and closed one side of the Seaport Boulevard bridge for about 30 minutes during the Wednesday morning commute.

At Clinton Foundation summit, Governor Baker is a rare Republican voice on climate

As Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker enters the home stretch of his term in office, some observers say his achievements on climate change rival that of states considered leaders, like New York and California.

First public global database of fossil fuels launches

The Global Registry of Fossil Fuels includes data from over 50,000 oil, gas and coal fields in 89 countries, and is available for public use.

Opinion

Michael E. Mann and Wanjira Mathai

UN IPCC report can lead governments to the climate action door, but they must walk through

We have the technology to achieve the necessary reductions in carbon emissions. The obstacles that remain aren’t technological, they’re political.
Ko Barrett

Humans are responsible for climate change and humans have the capacity to solve it

Bill McKibben

Heat pumps could help ease the climate crisis — and the war in Ukraine

Tim Fitzgerald

We can eat our way out of climate change

Sharon E. Burke and Bram Govaerts

Multiple breadbasket failures: Nations must address looming food emergencies