Reporter's note: Snow! Finally a white winter! I have to say that it's been lovely to wake up a couple of times this year already to the quietness and beauty that an overnight snow brings. I hope that readers have been enjoying it after several years of low-accumulation and mostly rainy winters. If you've seen anything cool (pun intended) while out and about, let us know! — Colleen Cronin
State energy officials quietly announced last week that some of its programs would be temporarily halted due to recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.
These bivalves, sometimes called “livers of the river,” are sensitive to changes in the environment, which puts them at substantial risk. Since they are sedentary filter feeders, they are unable to flee from degraded environments.
One bill would increase the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s share of the gas tax from 24% to 30%. The other would change how the gas tax is impacted by inflation.
The legislation, advocates argue, is needed because Rhode Island lacks a clear pathway to meeting the net-zero emission goals outlined in Act on Climate law.
How would food consumption have to change to make the best use of regional food? The report creates two scenarios: Unchanged Eating, in which everything stays the same, and Resilient Eating, a pattern that hews more closely to U.S. dietary guidelines.
A peer-reviewed study has found that microplasticscontamination is widespread in seafood, adding to growing evidence of the plastics' omnipresence in the nation’s food system. The study found microplastics in 99%, or 180 out of 182, samples of seafood on the West Coast either bought at a store or obtained from a fishing boat in Oregon. The highest levels were found in shrimp. Researchers found that the most common type of microplastic were fibers from clothing or textiles, which represented about 80% of the substances detected.
Survey Will Inform Region-Wide Climate Action Plan
The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) is preparing next steps in its Providence-Warwick Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) initiative. The Providence-Warwick MSA encompasses 27 municipalities within southeastern Massachusetts and the entire state of Rhode Island. This cross-state collaboration aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the region. To ensure aligned goals across the planning area, SRPEDD has created a public survey to get feedback from stakeholders. This survey will give SRPEDD's team an idea of the most important issues for residents, the biggest obstacles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and it will help identify actionable measures, programs, and policies that residents will support. The survey is open through mid-March. You can take the survey by clicking here.
A juvenile owl with head trauma receives an exam at Congress of the Birds after campus security at Bryant University called it in. The owl had been struck by a car and was hiding in a thorn bush. Photo by Emma Sheridan.
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