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Latest climate stories

Rare sighting: sperm whale spotted off the coast of Cape Cod

For the first time in six years, scientists from the New England Aquarium. spotted an endangered sperm whale calf about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. They were conducting an aerial survey over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

In Boston speech, Exxon Mobil CEO says he’s still betting big on oil

Darren Woods made it clear to the Boston crowd that he doesn’t believe electricity generation fits with Exxon’s core business strengths.
FOOD & DINING NEWSLETTER

Coffee has a serious carbon footprint. One R.I. brand is trying to do things differently.

The Lil’ Rhody Coffee Company is working to accelerate the industry’s adoption of sustainable energy, and cutting out fossil fuels when roasting.

Feds give big boost to northern New England power line

The funding is part of a new gusher of money from Washington to upgrade America’s electric grids so they can handle more wind and solar power and better tolerate extreme weather.

Climate scientist Saleemul Huq, who emphasized helping poor nations adapt to warming, dies at 71

The pioneering scientist from Bangladesh pushed to get the world to understand, pay for, and adapt to worsening warming impacts on poorer nations.

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

FOOD & DINING NEWSLETTER

Coffee has a serious carbon footprint. One R.I. brand is trying to do things differently.

The Lil’ Rhody Coffee Company is working to accelerate the industry’s adoption of sustainable energy, and cutting out fossil fuels when roasting.

Bangladeshi artists urge General Electric to halt involvement in natural gas project

Bangladeshi artists oppose fossil fuel projects built by Boston-based General Electric. Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, and protestors don't want projects that emit more greenhouse gasses built in their nation.

The trees arrived with Polynesian voyagers. After Maui wildfire, there’s a chance to restore them

As Maui recovers from the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, one that left at least 98 people dead, a band of arborists, farmers and landscapers has set about trying to save Lahaina’s ulu, kukui nut and other culturally important trees.
INNOVATOR Q&A

RISD joins effort started by King Charles to put climate, people at center of business

The Rhode Island School of Design has joined the Terra Carta Design Lab, which provides a practical roadmap toward a more sustainable future for people and the planet.

Climate Science

Climate scientist Saleemul Huq, who emphasized helping poor nations adapt to warming, dies at 71
The pioneering scientist from Bangladesh pushed to get the world to understand, pay for, and adapt to worsening warming impacts on poorer nations.

RISD joins effort started by King Charles to put climate, people at center of business

Could a wave ‘speed bump’ protect coastal communities from storm surge?

Politics and Policy

As Mass. becomes a greener state, can gas utilities keep up?

How transitioning to a fossil-fuel-free world will force gas utilities to adapt — and what that means for your utility bill.

US announces $3.5 billion for projects nationwide to strengthen electric grid, bolster resilience

The investment comes as extreme weather events such as the deadly Maui and California wildfires continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems.
RI ENERGY

R.I. electric rates to increase 24% starting Oct. 1

On Tuesday, state regulators approved a pricing proposal from Rhode Island Energy, the state’s dominant electric utility, that will raise electric bills by 24 percent this winter.

Twenty arrested after climate activists briefly halt traffic outside South Station during busy morning commute, police say

Around 7:50 a.m., demonstrators in neon safety vests stopped traffic at a busy intersection outside the train station, causing backups along Summer Street and several roads in the area.

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

FOOD & DINING NEWSLETTER

Coffee has a serious carbon footprint. One R.I. brand is trying to do things differently.

INNOVATOR Q&A

In Pawtucket, a refill station for beauty and cleaning products helps the planet

No Mow May: What to know about the campaign to help your garden become a pollinator’s paradise

More Climate stories

Bangladeshi artists urge General Electric to halt involvement in natural gas project

Bangladeshi artists oppose fossil fuel projects built by Boston-based General Electric. Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, and protestors don't want projects that emit more greenhouse gasses built in their nation.

ENVIRONMENT

In Rhode Island, a hunt is on to understand the decline of the state’s iconic quahog clam

A legislative commission is looking at possible factors, from oxygen deficiency to changing aquatic life and climate change.

Massachusetts state climate chief lays out plan for big reforms, including changes to Mass Save

In a sweeping report issued Wednesday, Mass. Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer called for a host of changes across state government to align state investments with its ambitious climate goals.

As Mass. becomes a greener state, can gas utilities keep up?

How transitioning to a fossil-fuel-free world will force gas utilities to adapt — and what that means for your utility bill.

Tropical cyclones have erupted in nearly all of the world’s ocean basins

Six cyclones are spinning through the tropics right now, churning over the ocean and sometimes over land in both hemispheres. Most are bringing serious impacts to populated areas, and one has set a record.

Speeding vessels ignoring rules, putting endangered whales at risk

The right whale population is evening out. But right whales still face threats of human-caused injuries that affect their ability to reproduce, putting them at continued risk.

Lanternfly infestation reported in Wellesley

Wellesley’s Natural Resources Commission reported that the infestation was found near Carisbrooke Reservation, by the Weston-Wellesley town line.

The trees arrived with Polynesian voyagers. After Maui wildfire, there’s a chance to restore them

As Maui recovers from the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, one that left at least 98 people dead, a band of arborists, farmers and landscapers has set about trying to save Lahaina’s ulu, kukui nut and other culturally important trees.

Opinion

IDEAS | JENNIFER NASH

A flock of birds gripped my hand — and pulled me back into the fight against climate change

After devoting my career to the environment, I began to hide from bad news about it. I had to learn to feel all over again.
Leila Philip

Let beavers get busy fighting fires — and climate change

Carroll Muffett

The world can’t recycle its way out of the plastics crisis

Michael E. Mann and Wanjira Mathai

UN IPCC report can lead governments to the climate action door, but they must walk through

Ko Barrett

Humans are responsible for climate change and humans have the capacity to solve it