Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Ben Hellerstein
February 19 is deadline for new climate change law - CommonWealth Magazine
IN THE WANING hours of the 2019–2020 legislative session, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed a climate bill that would have taken important steps toward a cleaner, healthier, safer future. This bill would have set efficiency standards for appliances, required at least 40 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, and increased our offshore wind capacity by 2,400 megawatts. Faced with a decision between signing the bill and letting it die, Gov.
OPINION/LETTER: Passing energy efficiency standards for appliances
In the last few months, we've learned more about the ways that dirty energy is harming our health and changing our climate. Research from the Harvard School of Public Health shows a link between higher levels of air pollution (from the burning of oil and gas as well as other sources) and a higher death rate from COVID-19. Massachusetts can take a big step toward a cleaner, healthier future by passing energy efficiency standards for appliances and plumbing fixtures.
How Massachusetts can move toward zero-carbon transportation
MBTA Green Line B, Wikimedia/Adam E. Moreira, CC 3.0 We can transition to a clean, efficient, low-carbon transportation system. That’s the message of Destination: Zero Carbon, a report released this week by Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. Today, transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the United States, with light-duty vehicles (like cars, pickups, and SUVs) contributing the greatest share of those emissions.
This Earth Day, let’s put wildlife over waste
By Ben Hellerstein and Kara Dodge Monday Apr 22, 2019 at 5:49 AM In the years since Americans celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970, we’ve learned a lot about the rich array of animals, plants, and microorganisms that inhabit our oceans. We’ve also gained some troubling knowledge about the ways in which human activity can have profound and often unintended consequences for our wildlife. Case in point: the devastating impact of plastic pollution in our oceans.
Game of Thrones & Climate Change?
BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - House Budget Chair Michlewitz Advances 'Green' Budget: Members of the state's Green Budget Coalition are celebrating the release of the House Ways & Means (HW&M) proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year. Between the Governor's increase to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which HW&M kept, and the increases to certain line-items by HW&M, the coalition has currently achieved 3 of their 4 goals.
As I See It: Solar on all new homes would help protect Massachusetts’ air and water
By Ben Hellerstein and Mark Sylvia Saturday Apr 6, 2019 at 3:01 AM Just a few years ago, it was rare to see solar panels on the roof of a home or business. Now, it seems like solar panels are popping up everywhere.
Commentary: Let's go 100 percent renewable to protect the North Shore - Itemlive
By Ben Hellerstein, Estrella Diaz, and Carol Oldham Last November, the federal government released the 2018 update to the National Climate Assessment, summarizing the predicted impacts of global warming and climate change. The Northeast is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the report shows.
In polarized times, clean energy is what unites us - The Martha's Vineyard Times
With today’s political climate in Washington, D.C., so polarized, it may seem like liberals and conservatives have hardly anything in common. But there’s at least one point on which the overwhelming majority of residents and businesses in Massachusetts agree: We should accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. Massachusetts residents from all walks of life overwhelmingly support increasing the use of renewable energy like solar and wind.
YOUR VIEW: South Coast can lead the way to 100 percent renewable energy
By Meagan Greene and Ben Hellerstein Last month, when leaders of nearly 200 nations gathered in Germany for the latest round of climate negotiations, the Trump administration took the opportunity to push for the increased use of coal and other fossil fuels.But President Trump’s officials weren’t the only American voices at the conference.
Baker all talk on regional carbon limits
AS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP moves forward with his efforts to dismantle the Clean Power Plan and accelerate the extraction of coal, oil, and gas on federal lands, it's worth taking a look at our own record here in Massachusetts. While state officials speak the language of "climate leadership," their actions have often fallen short. Case in point: Last August, officials in Gov.
Ben Hellerstein and Jane Winn: Berkshire drought attests to global warming's impact
PITTSFIELD >> With three months to go, 2016 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record — and according to NASA, July was the hottest month ever measured on our planet. It's hard to ignore the ways that climate change, driven by carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, is affecting our communities and our way of life. As global temperatures rise, extreme storms, dangerous heat waves, and droughts are becoming more frequent and severe.
Barnstable leads the way on renewable energy
Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox.
Your View: The clock is ticking on offshore wind
Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox.
Ben Hellerstein: For climate's sake, keep oil export ban
BOSTON >> The need for urgent action to curb global warming pollution is clear. We've already seen a rise in extreme weather events, like last winter's record snowstorms and this fall's heavy flooding, that are linked to climate change. So why is Congress considering a proposal that would increase the pollution fueling global warming? The House voted earlier this fall to lift the long-standing ban on crude oil exports.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Ben
Contact Ben, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack