Change is coming to the Ocean State’s coast and property owners must prepare by knowing their risk and planning for the future. (Watershed Counts)
This year’s Watershed Counts report again describes a bay and shoreline under duress and facing an uncertain future. The causes aren't new, but the overarching threat to the Narragansett Bay region is climate change. To illustrate the current and future perils, the report analyzes three topics.
Biodiversity Creates Natural Classroom
The school’s gardens are filled with native plants. (Regina DeAngelo/ecoRI News)
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — Lori Silvia arrived at St. George’s School in 2008, to rejuvenate its surroundings and bring to life the gardens that weren’t yet there but for her vision of them. “At first,” she says, “it was just a few shrubs and a lot of mulch.”
Siting Board Denies Latest Appeal to Halt Proposed Power Plant
WARWICK, R.I. — Several motions to dismiss or delay the proposed Burrillville fossil-fuel power plant were denied by the Energy Facilities Siting Board. The town of Burrillville argued that Invenergy failed to submit blueprints and renderings for 52 structures it wants to build on a 67-acre wooded site.
Rhode Island has No Idea What's Being Sprayed Where
To find out how prevalent the application of herbicides and pesticides is in Rhode Island, ecoRI News reached out to DEM, DOT and DOH, the New England district of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office.
Small concentrations of orange-striped oakworm caterpillars have begun defoliating trees in areas of western Rhode Island. (Michigan State University)
As solar panels gain acceptance and reach more rooftops across Rhode Island, it helps to again weigh the costs and benefits. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News)
The new Providence store is being built on a remediated brownfield. (Joanna Detz/ecoRI News)
R.I. Intensifies Climate Planning with Chief Officer
PROVIDENCE — Shaun O’Rourke has been named the state’s first chief resiliency officer.
At-Risk Homes Being Bought to Reduce Flooding Costs
WARWICK, R.I. — As an unprecedented series of hurricanes pummel the southern U.S. coast and Caribbean, Rhode Island is taking steps to prepare for its next hurricane or flood.
