How can Notch Reservoir in North Adams be more resilient to climate change? You can weigh in on the plan

Greta Jochem | The Berkshire Eagle

"An increase in pests, disease and extreme rainfall. Those are some threats climate change is expected to bring to Massachusetts forests. A plan looking at how a forest around Notch Reservoir can be more climate-resilient is open to public comment until Friday. The Forest Stewardship Plan for Notch Reservoir outlines suggestions for a more than 1,000-acre property. 'I think the most important part is identifying those trees that may be impacted greater by climate change and how we can manage the property to establish a forest that is resilient,' said Gary Gouldrup, a forester with New England Forestry Consultants who wrote the plan. [...] The first priority: Protecting the city's water quality, the report says. 'I will add that the tree removal is also a revenue source for the City although this was not why I pursued this,' North Adams Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau said in an email to The Eagle. The plan suggests cutting and reforesting areas with tree species that will be more climate-resilient. White ash trees are susceptible to disease, while sugar maple and red oak are expected to be more resistant to climate change, the report says. 'If you're not managing your forest, you get a forest that is subject to insects and disease of one particular species,' Gouldrup said. 'You have a very big problem on your hands if you're not creating diversity.' The city has not determined what other recommendations it will pursue, Lescarbeau said. [...] A full copy of the plan can be found on the city website and comments can be submitted to Lescarbeau via email at tlescarbeau@northadams-ma.gov." Read More

Massachusetts program allows homeowners to share excess solar power

Sarah Shemkus | Energy News Network

"A Massachusetts renewable energy company hopes to help low-income consumers nationwide access the financial benefits of clean energy with a new platform that allows homeowners to share excess solar credits. The Solar Equity Platform, created by Boston-based Resonant Energy, encourages homeowners with sufficient space to install systems larger than their households need. Homeowners will receive state incentives for the power generated, while the credits generated by the additional energy production are passed on at no cost to low-income residents, who can use them to offset their electricity bills. [...] Even as solar power proliferates across the country — solar installations made up close to half of the new electric generation capacity added nationwide in 2021, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association — low-income households are often left out of this progress. The upfront costs of installing a system are often too high for a family struggling to pay the bills. Low-income consumers are also more likely to live in rental units or in houses with older roofs or outdated electrical systems that can’t support solar panels. In an attempt to narrow this gap, Massachusetts’ solar incentive plan, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program (SMART), offers additional money for systems on the homes of low-income families as well as those that allocate part or all of the clean energy produced to low-income households, allowing these residents to receive the benefit of stable, generally lower prices on their electricity." Read More

Oak Leaf Seed Galls Releasing Wasps

Mary Holland | Naturally Curious

"One of the most unusual looking insect galls, the Oak Leaf Seed Gall, is produced by a tiny gall wasp, Dryocosmus deciduus, on Black and Red Oaks. The leaves of these trees react to a wasp laying an egg on them by creating a unique swelling, or gall, around it. You can find clusters of up to 40 Oak Leaf Seed Galls at this time of year starting to burst open, releasing the adult wasps which have matured inside them. Few records exist of galls, many of which are homes for developing young insects, being used as food for humans or for domestic animals but Oak Leaf Seed Galls, known as “black oak wheat” in Missouri and Arkansas, have been used to fatten cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens due to their high starch content." Read More

Women lead marine restoration efforts in the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve

UN News

"Did you know that women represent just 38 percent of all ocean scientists? A women-led community organization in the Seaflower UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Caribbean is working to restore some of the most important marine ecosystems in the world and paving the way for bigger women's representation in ocean science. [...] Known as ‘the island in the Sea of the Seven Colors’, San Andres is the biggest island in the Seaflower, containing part of one of the richest coral reefs in the world. San Andres itself is a coral island, meaning it was geologically built by organic material derived from skeletons of corals and numerous other animals and plants associated with these colonial organisms. These types of islands are low land, being mostly only a few metres above sea level, surrounded by coconut palms and white coral sand beaches. It is no coincidence that this Colombian island is a world-class scuba diving destination with crystal clear waters, and a tourist hub visited by over a million people each year. But being so ‘in demand’ has a key downside: San Andres’ unique ecosystems and natural resources have been deeply impacted. This is something that biologist and professional diver Maria Fernanda Maya has witnessed first-hand." Read More

Freshwater Marshes Are Biodiversity Hotspots 

Susan Shea | Northern Woodlands

"...Marshes are open wetlands with soft-stemmed vegetation, where saturated soils or standing water prevent most shrubs and trees from growing. These wetlands are rich in biodiversity. Marsh plants have special adaptations that enable them to survive the wet conditions. For example, cattails and arrowhead can exchange gases between their emergent leaves and submerged roots. The type of vegetation that grows in a particular marsh depends on hydrology and soil. In shallow marshes, the water level varies from just a few inches to a foot deep. The soil may be always saturated, or it may be flooded periodically. Deeper marshes are permanently flooded, with large areas of open water. Marsh soils range from decomposed muck to high-organic mineral soil. Along the edges of lakes, ponds, and rivers, marsh vegetation often grows in distinct bands, influenced by water depth and exposure. Sedges, for example, will grow in moist to saturated soil. Cattails and pickerelweed, with its distinctive stems of purple flowers, prefer standing water through most of the growing season. Aquatic bulrush and wild rice are found in deeper water. [...] In addition to providing outstanding wildlife habitat, freshwater marshes perform several vital ecological functions. Marsh plants capture sediments running off the land from roads, development, and farm fields and filter out excess nutrients that would otherwise degrade water quality. These wetlands store floodwaters, control erosion, and recharge groundwater supplies. Marshes also offer recreational value and are popular places for paddling, birdwatching, hunting, and fishing." Read More

America's electric utilities spent decades spreading climate misinformation

Zoya Teirstein | Grist

"America’s electric utilities were aware as early as the 1960s that the burning of fossil fuels was warming the planet, but, two decades later, worked hand in hand with oil and gas companies to “promote doubt around climate change for the sake of continued … profits,” finds a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The research adds utility companies and their affiliated groups to the growing list of actors that spent years misleading the American public about the threat of climate change. Over the past half decade, oil companies like BP and ExxonMobil have had to defend themselves in court against cities, state attorneys general, youth activists, and other entities who allege the world’s fossil fuel giants knew about the existence of climate change as far back as 1968, yet chose to ignore the information and launch disinformation campaigns. Recent investigations show the coal industry did something similar, as did fossil fuel-funded economists. But while the role Big Oil played in misleading the public has been widely publicized, utilities’ culpability has largely flown under the radar. So researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara began collecting and analyzing public and private records kept by organizations within the utility industry." Read More

Texas Is Now the Nation's Biggest Emitter of Toxic Substances Into Stream, Rivers, and Lakes

Dylan Baddour | Inside Climate News

"Texas is a notably easy place to set up shop for industrial projects with lots of liquid waste and nowhere good to put it. The state’s waterways are open for business, an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data shows, to send large volumes of discarded chemicals and industrial discharge downstream and out to sea. In a new report by Environment America, a Denver-based nonprofit, Texas ranks first among U.S. states for toxic discharges into streams, rivers and lakes, a title held by Indiana since the organization began analyzing nationwide water pollution in 2009, when Texas ranked fourth. The report drew from data that was self-reported by industrial facilities and logged with the EPA. It tallied 16.7 million pounds of toxic substances released into Texas water in 2020, up from 13.2 million in 2007. “Texas has a pretty lax regulatory environment where it’s very easy to permit new polluting facilities and very difficult to get fined for violations,” said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, the local affiliate of Environment America. 'They know they’ll likely get away with it.'" Read More

Indigenous leaders urge businesses and banks to stop supporting deforestation

Oliver Milman | The Guardian

"Indigenous leaders from the Amazon have implored major western brands and banks to stop supporting the ongoing destruction of the vital rainforest through mining, oil drilling and logging, warning that the ecosystem is on the brink of a disastrous collapse. Representatives of Indigenous peoples from across the Amazon region have descended upon New York this week to press governments and businesses, gathered in the city for climate and United Nations gatherings, to stem the flow of finance to activities that are polluting and deforesting large areas of the rainforest. A new report by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB) alleges that brands such as Apple, Microsoft and Tesla all have products that may be tainted by gold illegally mined in Amazon Indigenous territories. These companies are supplied by two refineries – Chimet and Marsam – that are under investigation by Brazilian authorities for their ties to illegal mining. The total area occupied by illegal mining in the Amazon has increased drastically in the past decade, according to the APIB report, growing 495% to 2,409 hectares in 2021. Illegal gold mining has soared in Brazil since the election of President Jair Bolsonaro, whose allies are currently attempting to push a bill through the country’s congress that would allow mineral extraction in Indigenous lands. The mining is blamed for mercury poisoning of water, deforestation, and conflicts with local Indigenous people." Read More