Species Specific Nests

Mary Holland | Naturally Curious

"Snow falling on abandoned bird nests forms distinctive white caps that are easy to detect. Because the builders of these nurseries are long gone, most with no intention of re-using their nest, we are afforded a unique opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of them. There are many clues that help to identify the builder of a nest — habitat, size, and material used being the most obvious. A given species of bird builds a nest that greatly resembles the nest of every other member of that species, and builds it in a similar habitat. Thus, every American Goldfinch nest bears a strong resemblance to every other American Goldfinch nest, every Gray Catbird nest looks like every other Gray Catbird nest, etc. The two American Goldfinch nests pictured were both located in overgrown fields, they are both roughly three inches wide and a little over that in depth, and both are made of fine fibers and lined with thistle and cattail down." Read More

Baker administration fleshes out 2050 climate plan

Bruce Mohl | Common Wealth Magazine

"The Baker Administration . . . released a 168-page climate plan for 2050 that follows the same general playbook that’s been outlined in the past – increase production of clean electricity; use that electricity to electrify the energy-intensive transportation, building, and industrial sectors; and achieve net-zero emissions by removing additional carbon from the atmosphere using natural and engineered approaches. The state’s goal for 2050 is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent compared to 1990 levels, and achieve the net-zero target by removing additional emissions from the atmosphere. [...] As the transportation and building sectors shift from fossil fuels to clean electricity, the plan estimates demand for power will more than double from 50 terrawatt hours in 2020 to more than 120 in 2050. To meet that demand, the plan projects the state will need massive amounts of solar (27 gigawatts, compared to 3.3 in 2020, according to a new state climate dashboard) and wind resources (24 gigawatts, compared to 3.7 in 2020). [...] While Gov.-elect Maura Healey has called for a grid powered by 100 percent clean energy by 2030, the Baker administration’s climate plan says the grid will still rely on power generated using natural gas in 2050." Read More

Report: Loopholes, Injustice, & the "Advanced Recycling" Myth

Kevin Budris | Just Zero

"Plastic. It’s everywhere. In our homes, our cars, our schools, and our offices. It’s wrapped around our food. It’s wrapped around our bodies – up to 60% of our clothes are made from plastic. It’s in our bodies – most of us eat up to a credit card’s worth of plastic every week. In fact, a recent study detected microplastics in the blood of almost 80% of test subjects. And it’s choking our oceans and damaging our climate. [...] The billion-dollar corporations – and the lobbyists – that profit off the production of all these plastics . . . claim to have a 'better' solution: 'advanced recycling' – sometimes called 'chemical recycling,' or even 'molecular recycling.'[1] These companies and their lobbyists insist that advanced recycling can miraculously solve our plastic woes. That it can create a 'circular economy' for plastics where all plastic is reused and recycled, and where no plastic ends up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment. [...] Here’s the truth about advanced recycling: Advanced recycling is a public relations campaign for plastic; [...] The fossil fuel industry pushes for loopholes in state laws to make advanced recycling cheaper, easier, and less transparent; [...] The fossil fuel industry also wants loopholes in state recycling laws that incentivize and financially support the advanced recycling industry; [...] Advanced recycling perpetuates injustice and environmental racism; [...] We can stop advanced recycling in its tracks." Read the Report

Developer sues to build biomass power plant in Springfield

Miriam Wasser | WBUR

"A nearly 15-year-battle over plans to build a wood-burning power plant in Springfield has entered a new stage. The owner of a proposed biomass facility in Springfield is suing the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for revoking the project's air quality permit and asking a judge to reinstate the license. In the lawsuit, which was filed in Suffolk Superior Court this week, the Palmer Renewable Energy company said the state exceeded its statutory authority and acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner when it rescinded the permit. [...] The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection originally issued an air quality permit for the biomass facility in 2012. But in 2021, it revoked it, citing construction delays and new concerns about how the project would exacerbate existing health disparities in Springfield. A state board upheld that decision in November. The state declined comment on this latest lawsuit." Read More

Spots Still Available for Local Winter Tracking Intensive

Tamakoce Wilderness Programs

"Three consecutive Saturdays of intensive tracking study, mentoring and field time. Learn to unlock the stories held in the tracks and trails of animals. Taken to a variety of habitats spread out through Rensselaer, Columbia and Berkshire counties, the participants will have the opportunity to see the tracks and sign of most of the mammalian residents of this area written in the snow covered landscape. [...] Participants will come away with a good basic understanding of foot morphology; body movements and locamotion; habitat preferences and uses; life cycles; animal behavior; in-depth discussion on animal behavior and natural history and how the animals and their environment shape each other; and how to combine all of these to interpret the sign we find. [...] This course offers something for most skill levels from novice to intermediate. [...] Tracking is an excellent way to have fun in winter while getting more connected to the natural world." Learn More & Register

Study: Higher Concentrations of Arsenic, Uranium in Drinking Water in Black, Latino, Indigenous Communities

Victoria St. Martin & Aydali Campa | Grist

"There are greater concentrations of arsenic and uranium in the drinking water of communities nationwide that have a high proportion of Black, Latino or Indigenous residents, compared to the levels in other locales, according to a team of researchers at Columbia University. The findings, part of a study published in Nature Communications, noted that arsenic and uranium levels in drinking water were higher for Indigenous and Latino communities across the country. Among Black Americans, areas in the West and Midwest showed higher levels of those toxins. Researchers attributed the water quality disparity to multiple factors, including utility systems that are unevenly regulated or that have fallen into disrepair as a byproduct of structural racism that typically leads to a poorer quality of life in communities of color. 'It’s not typically one mechanism that’s at fault, but it’s multiple ways in which structural racism is acting upon water, utilities and regulators that result in these types of inequities,' said Anne Nigra, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the university. 'It’s rarely one person making a racist decision.' Nigra said that when planning the study, she and her colleagues wondered whether the arsenic and uranium concentrations in regulated public drinking water could be associated with the racial and ethnic makeup of a community. The work by Nigra and her co-researchers is one of the first studies that evaluates this association between race and metal concentrations in water on a national scale." Read More