A group of climate action advocates in Newton, led by Mothers Out Front/Newton, is asking the City Council’s Public Facilities Committee for more transparency about National Grid’s gas-pipeline-replacement projects and for gas-leak repairs that are less disruptive, trenchless, lower-cost, yet as-safe. The group is concerned that Committee has been permitting…
Posts published in “Environment”
Mothers Out Front/Newton will meet online on Tuesday, December 6, 7:30PM-9PM to discuss climate vulnerability in Newton with Emily Norton, City Councilor and Executive Director of the Charles River Watershed Association. RSVP here. Climate change action involves both mitigation (prevention by reducing and eventually eliminating the burning of fossil fuels) and adaptation…
In October, the Newton Cemetery & Arboretum (NC&A) sent a letter to the City Council’s Programs & Services Committee requesting exemption from Newton’s Tree Preservation Ordinance (TPO) – both in the current form of the ordinance and under either of two proposed revisions to it (one by the City Council…
Last week, Fig City News reported that State Representative Ruth Balser’s nearly quarter-of-a-century effort to protect public lands came to fruition when the Legislature voted in favor of her Public Lands Preservation Act. Governor Charlie Baker has signed the bill and made it the law of the Commonwealth. Under the…
Just after the 2022 midterm elections, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-CD4) hosted a climate summit at Needham’s Olin College of Engineering with experts in climate and energy. (See video.) Opening the summit, Olin College President Gilda Barabino highlighted the current climate emergency and noted that Olin students are taught to…
On November 10th, the Massachusetts Legislature voted to pass the Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA, H.5381), designed to preserve open space in the Commonwealth. For Rep. Ruth Balser (D, Newton) it was the successful culmination of a twenty-four-year legislative journey, with roots in her service on the Newton Board of…
The Newton Free Library will host a virtual presentation, Dispatch from the Gas Transition Allies: Green Newton Series, on November 17, 7PM-8PM. Nathan Phillips, Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University, and Dr. Dorie Seavey, a Boston-based applied research economist, will discuss organizations and individuals…
Rep. Jake Auchincloss will hold a Climate Summit in Needham on November 10, 8:30AM-Noon to discuss climate change and the clean energy transition. RSVP here by November 1 to get the address. Space may be limited. For more information, call 617-332-3333. The summit will feature opening remarks by Olin College…
The proposal to replace turf fields at the two high schools — beginning with Newton South High School — is moving forward. The Parks, Recreation, and Culture Department appeared before the Conservation Commission in October with a short presentation regarding the need to replace Newton South’s field and discussed the…
Last Saturday, Newton’s annual Pumpkin Smash recycled hundreds of holiday pumpkins into future compost. The LigerBots brought their latest robot and their custom-designed contraptions to smash pumpkins in remarkable ways. Also on hand were Newton DPW’s pumpkin catapult, as well as Newton’s Energy Coach and exhibitors from Green Newton, Black…