Environmental Writer
by Marina Schauffler · Published August 10, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
Massachusetts residents typically come up to enjoy Vacationland, but there’s one arena in which their home state holds more attractions: renewable energy. The clean-energy landscape in Massachusetts can prompt “green envy” among Mainers, with...
“A bold reworking of energy systems… is now necessary and much more affordable. That could make for a very different world.” –Bill McKibben, “Power to the People” in The New Yorker (June 29, 2015)...
Climate Change/Energy / Economics
by Marina Schauffler · Published June 28, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
Around the time NASA announced that Earth had just experienced the hottest first five months of any year on record, 300-plus business owners, civic leaders and scientists gathered at an Envision Maine event to...
Climate Change/Energy / Pollution/Waste / Transportation/Travel
by Marina Schauffler · Published June 14, 2015 · Last modified June 24, 2016
It seemed at first like a reasonable expectation. Looking to replace a 16-year-old car, I assumed that comparable vehicles–bought new or lightly used–would have markedly higher fuel efficiency. Technology had come a long way...
Climate Change/Energy / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 31, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
We have a tyrannosaurus in our laundry area. You may not realize it, but you probably do too. This voracious eater from another era sits in a white metal box perched atop the washing...
Climate Change/Energy / Economics / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published April 19, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
When Holly Zadra suggested that Pittsfield’s First Universalist Church divest its holdings in fossil-fuel corporations, she recalls that church councilors responded with awkward silence “as if I’d said something impolite.” People naturally resist discussing...
Climate Change/Energy / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices / Transportation/Travel
by Marina Schauffler · Published January 25, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
The easiest paths to sustainability offer multiple benefits – helping the environment while benefiting health and finances. Businesses refer to the “triple bottom line” when choosing options that simultaneously enhance people, profits and planet....
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values
by Marina Schauffler · Published November 16, 2014 · Last modified June 12, 2016
As I write these words, a wild card storm has just blown through the area, dumping a foot of heavy snow atop trees still holding their leaves. It was the second nor’easter in two...
