Massachusetts gas providers' controversial decarbonization solution
Bay State utility giants are pushing nascent alternative fuels as key avenues of decarbonization, while environmentalists argue that this strategy will only keep the state hooked on fossil fuels
I’ll keep it short in this week’s newsletter — I’ve been working on a story for the last few weeks (published today) for Inside Climate News about how gas companies have been promoting hydrogen and renewable natural gas as key avenues for decarbonization. A reliance on these gases would keep the state’s gas system in use indefinitely, which would be a boon for the gas utilities that own and operate it.
Meanwhile, researchers and environmental advocates have opposed these plans, pointing out serious issues with using these fuels to replace natural gas in homes and businesses. So far, gas providers have been given major power in the planning process for decarbonizing the gas system. But with a new administration incoming this winter, this dynamic could change. Check it out the full story here!
On a similar topic, Sabrina Shankman of the Boston Globe released a major investigative story on Wednesday about how the state’s gas providers secretively funded and collaborated on a peer-reviewed University of Massachusetts Lowell study that promoted hydrogen fuel for home purposes.
It’s a revealing piece that relates to a lot of what I found in my own reporting, and a great read:
With all that out of the way, check out this week’s roundup of climate stories — some good news, more bad news. So it goes in the land of climate reporting.
It’s the news:
Connecticut
Gov. Net Lamont has called on state lawmakers to meet for a special legislative session to extend the suspension of the state gas tax and free bus service (Matt Dwyer — Connecticut Public Radio)
Maine
A look at the potential for floating wind farms off of the Gulf of Maine (David Abel — Boston Globe)
Maine lobster has lost its sustainable label from the Marine Stewardship Council due to threats to critically endangered right whales (Dino Grandoni — The Washington Post)
Maine ratepayers will see a big spike in their electricity bills next year due to high natural gas prices (Murray Carpenter — Maine Public)
A few weeks old but important to mention — public power advocates have reached enough signatures to trigger a 2023 referendum over a consumer takeover of Maine’s investor-owned electric utilities (Evan Popp — Maine Beacon)
Massachusetts
Inflation threatens two major offshore wind projects in the state (Miriam Wasser — WBUR)
New Hampshire
Control of the New Hampshire House of Representatives is still undecided — Republicans currently lead by one seat, but the recount for the last remaining seat ended in a tie. If Democrats ultimately win this seat, the house itself would be an even split (Amanda Gokee — New Hampshire Bulletin)
Rhode Island
Poaching threatens rare turtle species in Rhode Island, on top of other threats like habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation (Frank Carini — ecoRI)
Vermont
As University of Vermont researchers work to revive the American chestnut, they’re simultaneously looking at how to help it respond to increasing climate pressures (Paula Moura — WBUR)
Environmental advocates are calling on the state’s Public Utility Commission to reject a proposed biomethane contract with a New York landfill (VTDigger)
The whole planet?
Wealthy nations including the United States — in spite of their massive historical responsibility for global greenhouse gas emissions — continue to drag their feet on providing the necessary funds for vulnerable countries to cope with the climate crisis (Kate Aronoff — The New Republic)