OIL & GAS: Public health and environmental advocates call for a fracking ban in Pennsylvania — or at least stronger regulations — after new studies link asthma, lymphoma and low birth weights to proximity to fracking operations. (Capital & Main)
ALSO:
• Massachusetts’ business community seems to be signaling a willingness to decarbonize the economy following leadership and policy changes at several business and lobbying groups. (Boston Globe)
• A Pennsylvania think tank says shale gas never brought its touted prosperity to Appalachia, with a study showing production and industry jobs have collapsed since 2008 in the counties responsible for most of the region’s gas production. (Ohio Capital Journal)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Rhode Island coastal regulators approve the 924 MW Sunrise wind farm but tack on several conditions aimed at environmental and fisheries preservation; the project still requires additional approvals. (Rhode Island Current)
• Massachusetts utility regulators allow the power purchase agreement between Eversource and Commonwealth Wind to be terminated after the developer said it was no longer a financially viable project. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Although steps are being taken to open Delaware up to the offshore wind industry, longstanding cost concerns linger. (E&E News)
CARBON CAPTURE: A Coca-Cola soda bottler in New York’s Westchester County plans to use the gas from an under-construction carbon capture system to fizz up its drinks. (GreenBiz)
CLIMATE:
• Heavy rains and warming Gulf of Maine temperatures may have contributed to a long-lasting, widespread algae bloom between Maine and Massachusetts that could significantly lower oxygen levels. (WMTW, Portland Press Herald)
• New England farmers undertake climate resiliency measures, like planting hardier crops and reconfiguring structures to mirror designs popular in traditionally hot weather states. (NHPR)
• Extremely hot temperatures are sending more Mainers to hospitals and emergency rooms, with July 6 in particular sending dozens to seek medical treatment. (Bangor Daily News)
• Poison ivy is thriving amid environmental conditions worsened by climate change, and shows signs of becoming bigger and itchier in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. (WBUR)
FLOODS:
• Vermont’s July floods contributed to over 200 hazardous material spills, a problem that one official says will wash away with time even if nutrient and sediment pollution remain an issue. (Vermont Public Radio)
• A Vermont support organization forms a rapid-response team to financially and emotionally support vulnerable residents whose lives have been upended by the floods. (Seven Days)
• Federal scientists say the mid-Atlantic could notch some of the largest number of high-tide flooding days across the country this year. (WHYY)
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