The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led organization set on stopping the climate crisis while creating millions of fair-paying and sustainable jobs in the process, recently launched a Green New Careers website. The site invites users to imagine not only a better future that tackles the climate crisis head on, but what role they would play in […]
An Unenforced Emissions Law Means Diesel Trucks Can Pollute at Will Your personal vehicle has to undergo an emissions check every two years, but Rhode Island doesn’t inspect long-haul trucks and heavy-duty vehicles for emissions at all, in spite of a 21-year-old law mandating such checks. In mid-July, 21 years ago, a law was passed […]
“I often think back, even to this day, what was the big fuss about this bill? It just made common sense, it was time to do it. Our constituents in Newport and Rhode Islanders all around the state want action on climate, that’s pretty much the bottom line,” shares Representative Lauren Carson. Last week, Rhode […]
More Good Beach Days, In Spite of Rain In the first decade of the 2000s, beach closures were trending in the wrong direction. In 2003, Rhode Island beaches were closed a staggering 503 times because high levels of bacteria, usually following a rainstorm, made them unsafe. Three years later, in 2006, Rhode Island lost a […]
Shellfishing in the Providence River? Sure! Years of work and millions of dollars in investment are paying off for the Providence River, and with it, fishing and shellfishing opportunities have increased. This spring, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) opened the lower third of the Providence River to quahogging on a conditional basis […]
Last Thursday, a vigil was held at the intersection between Allens Ave and Terminal Road in Providence. Hosted by the People’s Port Authority, the Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty, and Renew Rhode Island, the vigil had one clear goal: to oppose the expansion of the Sea 3 oil company in the Providence Port. For more […]
Rhode Island is heating up. Last year was the hottest on record, and locally, we’ve already seen days in the 80s and 90s. Heat waves and large, irregular temperature swings are pronounced effects of the accelerating global climate crisis. Temperature control in buildings – air conditioning – is globally becoming more necessary for survival during […]
Bridge Repairs Push Bikers Into Roadways Residents across Rhode Island’s East Bay are reeling over the extended closure of two East Bay Bike Path bridges, which many say signifies a loss of recreational opportunities, a blow to local business and a shift in the social fabric of their communities. More than 70 community members attended […]
Invasion of the Sacred Lotus When a Cranston resident planted a sacred lotus in the pond at Meshanticut State Park in memory of a family member in 2014, she didn’t realize the plant was an aggressive invasive species. The lotus, which features enormous floating leaves that shade out native plants, quickly took over a large […]
The bitterness brought an upside, greeted the attendant at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown: Fewer people on the trails meant more peace for the birds. But, besides an errant rustle underfoot or chirp overhead, the birds seemed to have sought other sanctuaries. As the temperature eked up to 24 degrees, I wandered in solitude. […]