South Mountain: Green technologies becoming ‘commonplace’
The overarching focus of South Mountain Co.’s work for the past 30 years has been on bolstering environmental sustainability on-Island, while making sure their building projects are positive and uplifting experiences for all participants.
South...
Climate Solutions: Make way for EV trucks – they’re coming and they’re cool!
2021 will see the beginning of electric pickup trucks being introduced into the market.
Governor Baker has mandated that by 2035, all "light-duty vehicles" sold in Massachusetts will need to be zero emissions. This means...
Stormtide study will map Island inundation pathways
The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) is working with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) and the town of Oak Bluffs to identify stormtide pathways on-Island caused by sea level rise and storm surge.
The project...
MVC provides climate resilience update
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) climate resilience committee (CRC) provided an update to the community about its current initiatives during a Zoom presentation hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was led by...
Climate Solutions: For your next car, buy or lease an EV!
The electric vehicle market is rapidly expanding as battery technology improves. The newer models have greater range, and there are more vehicle choices.
At the top of the line, Teslas get more than 300 miles...
Climate Solutions: Juicing up our transportation!
Forty-five percent of our energy use is for transportation. That’s higher than other communities because of the fuel used for ferry service.
In 2018, 22,191 automobiles and light trucks were registered on the Vineyard at the...
Climate Solutions: Make the switch to heat pump water heating
We all use hot water. One of the easiest ways to decrease your fossil-fuel use is to switch to a hybrid electric water heater. It's an easy switch because you already have a water...
Climate Solution: Air-Source Heat Pumps Are THE Way!
You have seen them: metal boxes sitting outside houses with a grill on the front, and "mini-splits" inside houses that deliver heat or cool. Now that there are cold-climate units available, this is the...
Climate Solutions: Air-Source Heat Pumps Are THE Way!
You have seen them: metal boxes sitting outside houses with a grill on the front, and "mini-splits" inside houses that deliver heat or cool. Now that there are cold-climate units available, this is the...
Climate Solutions: Make it tight, build it right!
We have 17,500 houses on the Island now. Some that were seasonal are now being used year-round. We have 1,100 nonresidential buildings.
Many of these buildings will still be around in 2050. If we are...
Climate Solutions: We need to switch to electricity for ALL our building energy needs
Currently, one-third of our buildings are heated with oil, and two-thirds with propane. All our buildings use electricity.
How does that fuel and electricity get here?
Our propane and oil come over on the boats or on...
Climate Solutions: The easiest switch to make … get your electricity from a renewable...
One of the simplest ways to help with the goal of a 100% Renewable MV by 2040 is to join the Cape Light Compact's Local Green.
You may not be ready to install solar at...
Climate Solutions: Now is the time for us to address climate change!
“ The decade ahead will be one of the most crucial breakdown or breakthrough moments in the history of our species.”
– Terry Tempest Williams, environmental thinker & advocate
RIGHT NOW, HERE IS HOW WE USE...
Climate Solutions: Our moonshot moment
Thomas Friedman, NY Times columnist, says "… as bad as this pandemic is, it’s just training wheels for the big, irreversible atmospheric pandemic: climate change."
We were not prepared for the pandemic but we can...
To adapt or retreat: Mitigating coastal erosion on M.V.
It wasn’t a hurricane or a nor’easter that caused part of a 30-ton seawall on Martha’s Vineyard to collapse in 2008. Instead, it was a minor rain event. On a gloomy day in February,...
A half-century of Earth Days: The world is ours for the changing
Fifty years ago today, 20 million Americans — 10 percent of the population — gathered in the streets of cities and towns large and small to mark the planet’s first Earth Day.
The event —...
Island receives $54,000 in climate change funding
Island towns have received $54,000 in state grants to use in developing an Island-wide adaptive strategy to combat climate change, according to a press release from the Baker-Polito administration.
Overall, $11.6 million in grants were...
How to lessen your home’s contribution to climate change
The ICAN Climate Solutions library series continued Tuesday with a talk led by South Mountain engineer Marc Rosenbaum: “Beyond fossil-fuel homes.”
Rosenhaum, armed with more than 30 years of experience, is committed to making homes...
Aquinnah on track for MVP designation
On Thursday night, about 30 Aquinnah residents put their heads together to continue a discussion about how to prioritize adaptation strategies in response to sea level rise, storm surge, flooding, and other principal hazards...
MVC adopts emergency climate resolutions
Physicist Philip Duffy, president and executive director of the Woods Hole Research Center, gave a talk about climate change data and realities Thursday night at the Katharine Cornell Theater. Before a full house, Duffy,...