ecoRI News

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News staff July 16, 2026 It was too hot on the 10th anniversary of Shaw’s rescue for her to stand, as she had found a cool spot at the West Place Animal Sanctuary to chill, but … (Frank Carini/ecoRI News) TIVERTON, R.I. — At least six of the 1,100 animals rescued from hell a decade ago are still alive and kicking. It’s remarkable they even made it out of Westport, Mass., breathing.

Rhode Island, like much of the country, has an affordable housing problem. The Ocean State, like the rest of the world, also has a climate problem. A New England neighbor offers a solution the Ocean State could replicate. Vermont boasts an initiative that aims to tackle both crises at the same time. Canary Media recently reported a “nation-leading program that encourages superefficient manufactured homes” is underway in the Green Mountain State.

WARWICK, R.I. — The Rhode Island State Conservation Committee looks like countless other public bodies that meet under the state’s open meeting laws: representatives gathered around a conference table to discuss challenges facing the communities they serve. Tucked into the July 8 agenda was a piece of federal legislation with far-reaching implications: federal tools that could help Rhode Island protect its forests and support its farmers.

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News columnist July 13, 2026 Public transit is an equitable way to ensure everyone has the ability to move about the state. A system that was robust and efficient would also help Rhode Island meet its Act on Climate mandates. (Frank Carini/ecoRI News) The recently unveiled report makes too much sense for Rhode Island to adopt, or even consider. State power brokers prefer we travel in the breakdown lane.

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff July 13, 2026 Black-crowned night herons are one of several bird species that breed on Gould Island. (Ed Hughes) JAMESTOWN, R.I. — If Narragansett Bay can be thought to have recesses, Gould Island has to be counted among them. The 53-acre island hides in plain sight, visible from the Newport Pell Bridge and in the middle of the East Passage between Newport and Jamestown.

WARWICK, R.I. — Census Bureau data shows that about 92% of Rhode Island households have air-conditioning. But as temperatures climb, having an air conditioner doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford to use it. Recent reporting has highlighted different sides of that reality: inaccurate lists of places to cool off that included some places people might avoid; and the growing financial strain of extreme heat. United Way 211 is seeing that firsthand.

Picture the same person twice on the same 95-degree July afternoon. First in a Providence commercial kitchen, where the line runs hot past the point any thermostat would admit. Then eight hours later, asleep in a third-floor apartment with one window and no cross-breeze, the room still holding the day’s heat at midnight. Rhode Island is on the verge of deciding that the first situation is a legal hazard the state can act on. About the second, it has nothing to say at all.

MISQUAMICUT, R.I. — Sharon Saunders is encouraged by how well a pilot composting program is working at Misquamicut Beach. The program was launched June 1, after Saunders successfully pitched it to the board members of the Misquamicut Beach Foundation, on which she serves. “It’s been very exciting,” Saunders said. “We’ve already had 13 people sign up to participate in the program.

PROVIDENCE — Two East Side women have a concept of a plan to stop clothes, vacuums, furniture, and books from being buried in Johnston. After our publisher and my wife, Joanna Detz, and I spoke with the duo last week, at Coffee Exchange on Wickenden Street, ecoRI News agreed to work with them to find a solution. I volunteered to be a grunt. College move-out carelessness is a problem that mars the state capital every spring.

Earlier this month Rhode Island became the second state to pass legislation protecting wildlife against deadly blood-thinning rat poisons. Now, we just have to hope the state enforces the law. History has shown that is no guarantee. California, in 2024, passed the Poison-Free Wildlife Act, which placed tight restrictions on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides. Other New England states have introduced similar legislation, but Little Rhody was the first to do the right thing.