Sunday, February 16, 2025

Climate & Environment

Climate Change Connections: The past is the prologue

We are an Island that threatened to secede from Massachusetts over reduced representation in the legislature. We even created our own flag! It is clear that we are a feisty lot. The beauty of...

Climate Change Connections: All hands on deck

When my friend Liz Durkee and I first met, it was pure curiosity that drew us to each other. Who is this woman who knows so much about climate change? I wondered. I want...

Woodland wonders

If you worry about climate change, hearing Bob Perschel, Chilmark resident and executive director of the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF), share about the organization’s work is a comfort. NEFF’s exciting forest restoration initiative,...

West Tisbury looks toward renewable future

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The West Tisbury energy committee introduced three main strategies toward attaining the town’s goal of being powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 — support West Tisbury’s transition toward having all electric vehicles and...

Climate Solutions: Moving toward a circular economy — a regenerative approach

Linear vs. Circular — What does it Mean? We have designed a linear, extractive economy: we take resources, make them into products, use them, and discard them. The focus is not on making things durable,...

‘Our Island is shrinking’

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The natural erosional processes that inevitably shape Martha’s Vineyard are being sped up by increased climate change and sea level rise. With significant amounts of beach being taken back by the sea each year, and...

Nature Conservancy restores sandplain grasslands

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The sandplain grasslands of Martha’s Vineyard are a rare and imperiled ecosystem that exist almost exclusively on islands in Massachusetts, and some of the most outstanding examples of these unique systems are right here...

Climate Solutions: Regenerating soil — a key strategy

A Climate Solutions series would be remiss not talking about the importance of soil: its role as a carbon sink, and how caring for it helps both the planet and our species. Food, agriculture,...

Three towns to vote on climate action article

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Voters in Edgartown, Chilmark, and Tisbury will be asked to adopt the 100 Percent Renewable Martha's Vineyard warrant at upcoming town meetings, an article that supports the Island's goal of becoming powered by 100...

Climate Solutions: Plastics and recycling — we can do better!

We are drowning in plastics, and the oil industry is doing its best to keep it that way. Plastics, which are made from oil, support production even when the demand for heating oil is...

VTA unveils solar canopies

  Updated May 17 The Vineyard Transportation Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for a series of solar canopies it erected at its facility at the Airport Business Park.  The event was also a celebration of the...

Exploring the Vineyard’s future

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In mid-April, Island Innovation hosted the first Island Finance Forum, a virtual event where members of island communities across the world could exchange solutions for sustainable economic recovery in the post-pandemic world. The event...

Climate Solutions: Food waste

Food waste is 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions … more than the carbon footprint of the airline industry. According to Project Drawdown, one-third of the food produced in farms and factories never makes it...

Going out on a limb

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Martha’s Vineyard Airport is distributing 2,500 tree seedlings to Island schools, to be given out to children. According to airport director Geoff Freeman, the airport is working on a number of green initiatives, and the...

Lone star ticks emerge early this year

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With the unexpectedly premature arrival of lone star ticks on Martha’s Vineyard, boards of health are considering what the future of mitigation and prevention of vector-borne illnesses might look like. Richard Johnson, Island entomologist and...

Deadwood sparks concern over forest fires

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Dukes County commissioners are concerned about drier weather and large amounts of deadwood increasing the potential for forest fires on Martha’s Vineyard.  For the past several years, dry plant detritus has been identified as a...

Climate Solutions: Taking care of ourselves and our species

In our state, wind and solar are our greatest resources. What does solar do for us? Even though Massachusetts is not the sunniest, we are getting 7 percent of our power from the sun. We...

Keeping the Island clean, one beach at a time

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People on Martha’s Vineyard are more conscious about the impact of human activity on the natural environment than ever before. With the economy of the Vineyard’s coastal community relying so heavily on the health of...

Climate Solutions: Going solar when you can’t do it at home

Part of the vision of a 100 percent renewable energy Island includes large, community solar arrays around the Island. What is community solar? Most important, it is a way that you can get your electricity...

The Times welcomes Bluedot Living

The Martha’s Vineyard Times Company will launch Bluedot Living, a sustainable lifestyle magazine, in late May.  Bluedot, published in a partnership with Bluedot, LLC, an organization founded by Victoria Riskin of West Tisbury, will be...