While cutting our climate-damaging emissions remains critical to combatting climate change, we must also prepare for the impacts we know are coming. If we don’t, the consequences will become much more dire – and much more expensive – in the future.
As we continue to reckon with systemic racism in the United States, we must root out the quiet and insidious ways governments and decision-makers sustain racist policies.
When first built in 1976, New Hampshire’s Bethlehem Landfill was just a local dump – 400 x 400 feet in total. But thanks to large corporate waste companies with aggressive growth plans, the landfill has swelled in size. Today, it covers 50 acres and buries 175,000 tons of trash each year. The State of New… Continue reading Turning a Spotlight on New Hampshire’s Waste Crisis
The past year has shown us what we can accomplish when faced with unprecedented upheaval. Now we are focused on driving forward a future that is equitable and healthy for all – while also confronting the most urgent environmental threats in the here and now. The work we do together in the next five years… Continue reading Conservation Matters Summer 2021: Year in Review
With summer here, Manchester, New Hampshire, residents are spending more time outside, walking city streets or biking through their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, more needs to be done to make sure people across the city can safely enjoy this time outside their homes.
Extended heat waves, stronger nor’easters, more intense and frequent rainstorms – these are some of the climate impacts expected to affect New England. But they will hit some communities harder than others. Those living in urban areas with little tree cover, for example, suffer more when heat waves strike. The acres of buildings and pavement… Continue reading Here’s What Climate Action Led By and For the Community Looks Like
With climate impacts already affecting New England – from extended heat waves to heavier and more frequent rains – communities are turning their attention to protecting residents from ever-worsening climate fallout. These impacts will hit some communities harder than others, however. Those living in urban areas with little tree cover, for example, suffer more when heat… Continue reading This Community-led Project is Tackling Health and Climate Inequities
Neighbors of Eagle Hill in East Boston are opposing the construction of a new Eversource electrical substation. But the lack of accessibility for non-English speakers silenced many community members, shutting them out of a process that directly affects their lives and neighborhoods.
Like COVID-19, severe heat waves are not an equal opportunity health threat. The most disinvested neighborhoods — those dominated by buildings, pavement, and parking lots — are hit the hardest. The built environment of these places absorbs and traps heat, creating a “heat island effect” that makes them dangerously hotter than other neighborhoods while worsening their air quality.
Ensuring a just economic recovery from the pandemic means not following a business-as-usual model. Instead, we must prioritize people’s health, provide direct relief to families and individuals, and invest in the future of our communities.
