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. […]
Loren Byrne is a professor of biology and environmental science at Roger Williams University, and he digs dirt. His expertise is in the ways in which urbanization affects soil health, particularly when it comes to lawn and garden management. He argues that the manicured, pesticide-laden monoculture that is a typical lawn negatively impacts soil health. […]
A lack of urgency and a deference to business interests by Rhode Island officials have allowed these three high-profile pollution problems to fester for more than a decade. Truk-Away Landfill. The Warwick landfill closed in 1978 and operated before strict regulations were in place. No one knows for sure what is buried beneath its 36 […]
Road to Renewables or Dead End? “The Road to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030 in Rhode Island” outlines how established incentives and power mandates can achieve the target through a mix of programs and energy sources, such as offshore wind and small solar arrays. The report, authored by The Brattle Group for the Rhode Island […]