Erin Douglas

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Erin Douglas

WEARE, N.H. — In a parallel universe, wildlife biologist Allison Keating sees herself boxing up keepsakes and shopping for homes closer to the US Fish and Wildlife office in Western Massachusetts to avoid the two-hour commute each direction. She’d been hired there six months ago and was ready to settle in. . In reality, Keating’s days are filled with calls to the state’s unemployment office and to her lawyers.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Erin Douglas

For at least eight years, residents of this small town in Western Massachusetts have dealt with bouts of brown water flowing from their taps. From approximately Memorial Day to Labor Day, hundreds of residents in Housatonic, a village in Great Barrington with a population of just over 1,000, aren’t sure what color their water will be. Sometimes it’s like tea, other days, coffee. Clothes come out of the wash with stains.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Erin Douglas |Ken Mahan

This more classic New England winter is thanks to a weak La Niña weather pattern that tends to draw in more cold air and help whip up storms. Even so, this winter doesn’t come close to the hallmark bitter cold winters of Boston: Temperatures trended below average but were generally well within what’s considered normal. And the snowfall in Boston was actually below average between December and late February.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Erin Douglas

Drinking water quality, environmental disaster responses, and river pollution cleanups could be compromised, former environmental regulators warn, if the Trump Administration’s goal to slash the nation’s environmental agency by more than half is successful. President Trump said earlier this week that the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency, which is charged with ensuring the US has clean water, clean air, and a safe environment, could be cut by 65 percent.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Erin Douglas |Sabrina Shankman

An EPA spokesperson declined to say how many employees have been reinstated, and repeated a comment the agency provided Feb. 14. “President Trump was elected with a mandate to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans, and we are doing just that,” an unnamed agency spokesperson wrote. The EPA, which ensures the nation’s water is clean to drink and that air is safe to breathe, laid off almost 400 employees across the nation last week.