ecoRI News

ecoRI News focuses on covering environmental and social justice topics in southern New England. Our journalism aims to educate the community and empower individuals with the knowledge they need to take care of their surroundings effectively.

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CRMC Names New Fisheries Advisory Board

1 week ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — A year and a half after all nine members of the Fisheries Advisory Board resigned in protest, coastal regulators have approved a new roster of people to serve on the state panel.
Stumpgate: RIDOT Says Trees Off I-95 Were Cleared Without Permission

1 week ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — Contractors hired by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation cleared more trees in an area near routes 1 and 10 than originally intended, according to the agency. Some residents complained in early March when a field of stumps appeared where RIDOT is working on a bridge and street project, saying the number of cut trees seemed excessive.
Study Commission Recommends R.I. Implement Both Bottle Bill and Extended Producer Responsibility Program

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Rob Smith |Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — After 18 months of study, more than a dozen meetings, and hundreds of pieces of testimony, evidence, and presentations, Rhode Island’s joint study commission on plastic waste released its report, which revealed, unsurprisingly, that legislation in support of a bottle bill faces steep opposition. The bottle bill is one of those pieces of environmental legislation that remain stuck in a state of political limbo.
Transit Night at Statehouse: Plenty of Talk, Not Much Action

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Colleen Cronin |Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — Armed with buttons, stickers, T-shirts, and lists of bill numbers and sponsors, dozens of transit advocates split into two groups to tackle the Senate and House chambers Tuesday afternoon. It was 3:30 p.m., and the group was ready for a long night. Providence Streets Coalition operations manager Dylan Giles, while handing out transit-themed merch, told advocates pizza would be ordered.
Salve Regina Students Look at Newport's Almy Pond Problem from New Angle

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

NEWPORT, R.I. — Student researchers at Salve Regina University are trying to tackle persistent water quality issues at Almy Pond by exploring the waterbody from a new vantage point, a little less than 5 miles down the road. Kelly Schafer and Colleen Brown have been testing Almy Pond in Newport and its healthier counterpart, Nelson Pond in Middletown, in an attempt to understand how the former could become more like the latter.
Working Group's Solid Waste Management Plan Will Lay Out Future of Trash Disposal in Rhode Island

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

CRANSTON, R.I. — For most Rhode Islanders, trash and recycling is something that epitomizes the idiom “out of sight, out of mind.” Many residents just don’t think about what happens to their waste once it’s put out for curbside pickup or taken to the local transfer station. But those days of blissful ignorance could be coming to a close in 20 years.
Lawmakers, Advocates Urge State to Move Forward with Offshore Wind Projects

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — Offshore wind projects have faced blustery headwinds this year, but lawmakers and environmental groups are pushing the state to double down on the renewable energy resource instead of giving up. A bill (H5816) introduced this year by Rep. Art Handy, D-Cranston, would greatly expand Rhode Island’s procurement of renewable energy generated by offshore wind. Handy’s bill would require the state to enter into contracts for another 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind by March 30, 2029.
RIPTA Narrows Down Sites for New Bus Hub As Efficiency Study Looms

2 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority has recommended, after several delays, two sites near the train station for the development of a new bus hub to its board of directors. Both plots sit next to the Providence Train Station and across from the Statehouse, with one proposed 4.4-acre lot on Francis Street and another, smaller 1.5-acre lot off Park Row.
Rings of Time: Woonsocket Museum Exhibit Traces History Through a Tree's Life

3 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The rings of a tree can tell us many things about that tree: how old it is, whether it survived a drought or a flood, and what type of environmental conditions it lived in. And a tree can connect us to what was going on in the world in which it lived. An exhibit in the Museum of Work & Culture, 42 South Main St., brings this idea to life: a “tree cookie,” a slice from a 148-year-old oak tree that was cut down in 2023 in Cass Park.
Warming Climate Extends, Intensifies Allergy Season

3 weeks ago | ecori.org | Bonnie Phillips

Allergy experts and meteorologists alike are predicting a longer, more intense allergy season this year, thanks in part to global heating and the climate crisis. Climate change is leading to higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was 20% more pollen in 2024, and the season is roughly three weeks longer, than in 1990, according to the CDC.