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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

As Boston heat records fall, scientists see climate change’s fingerprints

The relentless heat of this summer — the heavy curtain that has hung over Boston, making the air thick and the going slow — has been made more likely to happen thanks to climate change, according to scientists. And while these seemingly endless strings of scorching temperatures feel terrible, these experts say they are just a taste of what’s to come.

Oliver Sellers-Garcia named Green New Deal senior adviser to Mayor Michelle Wu

He takes on a brand-new role that promises to be one of city government’s most challenging.

‘Monday’s storm was remarkable’: Giant hailstones batter cars in Canada

One giant hailstone, tipping the scales at nearly two-thirds of a pound, was recovered after a severe storm in Canada on Monday. The stone set a new national record, according to officials.
ENVIRONMENT

Are sharks coming closer to Massachusetts shores? Here’s what scientists say.

According to experts, these close encounters are signs of a slowly unfolding climate crisis.

Boston could see up to 18 days of high-tide flooding next year, NOAA says

Boston this year could have more than three times the number of days with high-tide flooding than the city experienced in 2000, according to a new report by federal scientists.

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

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.

MWRA fails to protect water quality in Boston Harbor, lawsuit alleges

The agency has failed to enforce requirements that industrial facilities pretreat waste water containing elevated levels of toxic substances that were ultimately discharged, the suit claims.

Municipal electric companies slow to incorporate clean energy, often rely on nuclear power

The state’s 40 municipal light plants make up 14 percent of the state’s energy grid. According to a new report from the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, they may represent some of the dirtiest energy in the state.

Biden restores parts of environmental protection law, reverses Trump policy

The Biden administration will announce Tuesday that it is restoring parts of a bedrock environmental law, once again requiring that climate impacts be considered and local communities have input before federal agencies approve highways, pipelines and other major projects.

Climate Science

As Boston heat records fall, scientists see climate change’s fingerprints
The relentless heat of this summer — the heavy curtain that has hung over Boston, making the air thick and the going slow — has been made more likely to happen thanks to climate change, according to scientists. And while these seemingly endless strings of scorching temperatures feel terrible, these experts say they are just a taste of what’s to come.

‘Monday’s storm was remarkable’: Giant hailstones batter cars in Canada

Boston could see up to 18 days of high-tide flooding next year, NOAA says

Politics and Policy

Oliver Sellers-Garcia named Green New Deal senior adviser to Mayor Michelle Wu

He takes on a brand-new role that promises to be one of city government’s most challenging.

Massachusetts is getting hotter. Our electricity system is not prepared.

The networks of wires and substations that bring electricity to homes and businesses are already stressed as housing density increases, and many parts of them will likely need upgrading or expanding.

Legislature amends climate bill, leaving its fate in Governor Baker’s hands

The Massachusetts Legislature sent a major climate bill back to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk on Sunday — the last day of the session — incorporating some, but not all, of his proposed amendments.

Mass. climate legislation in limbo as Baker files amendments

Governor Baker sent the Massachusetts Legislature several amendments on a new climate bill on Friday afternoon, leaving the future of the legislation uncertain.

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

Massachusetts is getting hotter. Our electricity system is not prepared.

The networks of wires and substations that bring electricity to homes and businesses are already stressed as housing density increases, and many parts of them will likely need upgrading or expanding.

Manchin won a pledge from Democrats to finish a contested pipeline

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has secured a promise from Democratic leaders and the White House to complete a highly contested 304-mile gas pipeline in his state, his office said, a major concession won as part of negotiations over a climate and tax bill.

Legislature amends climate bill, leaving its fate in Governor Baker’s hands

The Massachusetts Legislature sent a major climate bill back to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk on Sunday — the last day of the session — incorporating some, but not all, of his proposed amendments.

In Mattapan, bike lanes divide the community: ‘They’re just trying to push us out’

Cycling advocates say bike lanes are long overdue in Mattapan, whose large Black and Latino communities have often felt overlooked by City Hall. But some residents see them as a subtle, yet powerful, agent of gentrification that will only aggravate traffic congestion.

A bellwether of climate change, puffins are struggling to survive in a warming Gulf of Maine

“There are real red flags — warning signs — right now for these puffins,” said Donald Lyons, director of conservation science at the National Audubon Society’s Seabird Institute in Bremen, Maine.

Mass. environmental justice advisory council convenes after years of anticipation

The state's environmental justice advisory council met for the first time on Thursday — just three days before the group’s first official report is due.

Mass. climate legislation in limbo as Baker files amendments

Governor Baker sent the Massachusetts Legislature several amendments on a new climate bill on Friday afternoon, leaving the future of the legislation uncertain.

Study: Climate change made UK heat wave hotter, more likely

Human-caused climate change made last week’s deadly heat wave in England and Wales at least 10 times more likely and added a few degrees to how brutally hot it got, a study said.

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