May 2022 Public Policy News

Photo by Andraz Lazic

Here’s the best of what we’ve read recently.

“After a century of science-based wildlife management, our backyards are booming with animals.”
— The new golden age of wildlife in New England (The Boston Globe)

“Not since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs — along with half of all other beings on Earth — has life in the ocean been so at risk. Warming waters are cooking creatures in their own habitats. Many species are slowly suffocating as oxygen leaches out of the seas. Even populations that have managed to withstand the ravages of overfishing, pollution and habitat loss are struggling to survive amid accelerating climate change.”
— Ocean animals face a mass extinction from climate change, study finds (The Washington Post)

“As they’re forced to confront the realities of overfishing and climate change, America’s sushi restaurants will need to redefine their practices to survive—and they’ll have to convince diners to get on board.”
— Sushi As We Know It Will Not Survive. Can the Restaurant Industry Reinvent It? (Bon Appétit)

“A city block just behind the industrial waterfront in Chelsea is typical for urban heat islands across the U.S. Nearly every foot is covered by a roof or pavement. There’s a Boys & Girls Club at one end and a vacant lot at the other. Ten multi-family buildings with parking lots for backyards fill out the middle. A few weeks ago, there were just five small trees. But this nondescript slice of the state’s smallest city is worth watching. It may become a template as municipalities struggle with longer, more intense warm seasons and heat waves.”
— In Chelsea, cooling an urban heat island one block at a time (WBUR)