Search Results

Keyword search: climate

By CHRIS LARABEEand ALEXA LEWIS

With Massachusetts experiencing its seventh-wettest year on record in 2023 as torrential rainstorms ravaged roads, farms and homes, the federal government, the state and those here in the Pioneer Valley are turning their eyes toward future flood...

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts professor has been appointed as the state’s fifth geologist, a position that involves directing the Massachusetts Geological Survey located on the Amherst campus.In this role, professor Brian Yellen will broaden...

By BILLY SPITZER

We are all experiencing the impacts of climate change more each day, in our own communities and around the world. Recent data from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication shows that 72% of Americans understand that climate change is real,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — Two local farms opened their doors to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer on Monday morning to talk about the challenges brought on by climate change, as well as opportunities for future investments in the industry.The state’s first-ever climate...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — More than 37% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass and other construction materials used in buildings and other infrastructure projects, according to U.S....

By EMILEE KLEIN

Morey Phippen and Brian Adams’ yard in Florence looks nothing like the traditional blanket of green grass associated with suburban lawns.Instead, bumblebees and butterflies bob and weave around her destined for the nearby foxglove, pink primrose, red...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — During a summer in which area farms dealt with significant rainfall and flooded fields, keeping agricultural drainage ditches cleared became essential to protecting crops by ensuring excess water could be removed.Often, though, farmers found...

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Before acclaimed environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers said one word about herself at the outset of a talk at UMass on Feb. 29, she expressed gratitude to marginalized communities across the country who trusted her to share their...

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Three faculty members at the University of Massachusetts are joining the state’s new Climate Science Advisory Panel, a group of 21 experts who will attempt to bridge the communication and knowledge gap between policymakers and scientists....

By CHRIS LARABEE

A trend of warm years was further cemented in 2023 as Massachusetts experienced, on average, its warmest year on record, according to new data from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.The average temperature around Massachusetts for the year...

By JACOB NELSON

“So much was just about to bloom,” recalls Suna Turgay of Flowerwork Farm in Northampton. “And then the flooding came.”Warmer, wetter, and less predictable weather are all on the rise in New England as our climate changes. The idea of normal is...

By JACOB NELSON

In many ways, farming is an act of faith. Faith that nature will provide for a harvest, and a farmer’s faith in themselves to figure out whatever challenges arise. Some years bring bumper crops, others disappointment, but with climate change fueling...

By MADDIE FABIAN

For farms across western Massachusetts, the effects of climate change were tangible during the 2023 growing season.At Red Fire Farm in Granby, co-owner Sarah Voiland said that after the May frost event, the farm’s full harvest on multiple acres of...

By JACOB NELSON

It’s hard to throw water on a burning house while trying to rebuild it at the same time, but that’s exactly what addressing climate change requires. Rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are already changing the planet. The choice is whether or...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

AMHERST — A new center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst aims to harness both Indigenous and Western environmental science to tackle issues relating to climate change, food insecurity and archeological preservation. The center, officially...

By CHRIS LARABEE

With last month marking the warmest January on record for Massachusetts and New England, updated data from the University of Massachusetts is also putting the region on pace for one of its warmest winters ever.The average temperature in Massachusetts...

By CHRIS LARABEE

While campaigning, one of Gov. Maura Healey’s climate priorities was to place a moratorium on commercial logging on state-owned forest land, a move that foresters and environmental advocates say would be detrimental to forest health, the state’s...

By CLAIRE MORENON

Many of us take a break from work and spend time gathering with loved ones at this time of year, providing an opportunity for reflection and contemplation alongside the merriment. As this year closes and we look ahead, we ask: What world will each of...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

WHATELY — While winter’s warmest days remind us that our climate’s future could be bleak, the future generation reminds us that it may not have to be.Stephanie Apanell’s fourth grade class at Whately Elementary School joined forces with Amherst’s...

By BOB FLAHERTY

For Sale: 200 Acres. Build to Suit. You see a lot of these enticements on the highways, and anyone with a wad of cash and a fleet of backhoes likely salivates at the sight of them.It’s estimated that 28,000 acres of New England forest each year are...