Maple trees turn golden along the Hoosic River in Williamstown in November. Photo by Kate Abbott

Nature

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about nature, listed from newest to oldest. In the country, the living world of our forests, mountains and lakes influence our communities and our daily lives. The Hull Country Observer explores stories of the environment and the landscape in a changing climate.

  • Issue:

    Foam-free zone expands to Pittsfield

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    By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.   Polystyrene foam cups like these will be prohibited in Pittsfield, Mass., beginning in July under a local law adopted in October. The city joins Great Barrington, Williamstown and six other Massachusetts towns in restricting the use of foam coffee cups and clamshell takeout containers. Susan Sabino photo There read more

    Foam-free zone expands to Pittsfield
  • Issue:

    Choreographing a night of stargazing

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    Artist guides massive quilt-making project in northern Berkshires By JOHN SEVENContributing writer WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.   The choreographer Emily Johnson, an artist in residence at Williams College, conducts a visioning session with students at Williamstown Elementary School in preparation for “Stargazing,” a nightlong community event planned for the spring of 2017. Courtesy photo/Maggie Thompson Some artists read more

    Choreographing a night of stargazing
  • Issue:

    Fracked gas for New England?

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    In debate over new pipeline, clashing visions of region’s energy future By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   Members of the group Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline protest outside a compressor station for a natural gas pipeline in Malden Bridge, N.Y. The same company that owns that pipeline is proposing another, larger one that would cross Rensselaer read more

    Fracked gas for New England?
  • Issue:

    In court case, it’s sunlight vs. parking

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    Protecting solar-energy installation becomes issue for garage By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.   Solar collectors atop the Mouzon House restaurant would be overshadowed by a proposed five-story parking garage in downtown Saratoga Springs; the restaurant’s owners have sued to block the project. Thomas Dimopoulos photo A dispute over access to sunlight has become read more

    In court case, it’s sunlight vs. parking
  • Issue:

    Changing a college’s energy equation

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    At Green Mountain, students pursue goal of ‘net-zero’ campus By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer POULTNEY, Vt.   Steven Letendre, a professor of business, economics and environmental studies at Green Mountain College, has been working with students on a project aimed at getting the campus to “net-zero” energy status, meaning its annual power production and consumption would read more

    Changing a college’s energy equation
  • Issue:

    Hives of controversy

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    As bees vanish, critics build a case against a class of pesticides By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   Ross Conrad, a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, works with his bees at Dancing Bee Gardens in the town of Cornwall. Conrad is among the beekeepers in the Northeast who’ve become convinced that honeybees are being read more

    Hives of controversy
  • Issue:

    Banding together for solar power

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    Program helps homes, farms with details of financing and installation By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   Dozens of households in Rensselaer and Saratoga counties are going solar this summer with the help of a program that cuts costs and takes the guesswork out of installing a solar system.The Solarize program, developed by the U.S. Department of read more

    Banding together for solar power
  • Issue:

    Reviving the Corkscrew route

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    Newly opened rail trail feeds dreams of a wider hiking network By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer STEPHENTOWN, N.Y.   A sign welcomes visitors the newly opened Corkscrew Rail Trail in Stephentown. The trail extends along 2.5 miles of a long-defunct railroad route that once stretched nearly 60 miles from Chatham to Bennington, Vt. John Townes photo read more

    Reviving the Corkscrew route
  • Issue:

    State caps could stall solar power in Mass.

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    Environmentalists push to raise utility limits on net-metering program By DANA DRUGMANDThe Berkshire Edge PITTSFIELD, Mass. New solar energy projects have been stalled in parts of western Massachusetts since March because of state limits on the solar incentive program known as net metering. So in recent weeks environmental advocates and representatives of the state’s growing read more

    State caps could stall solar power in Mass.
  • Issue:

    In Rutland, solar power’s next step

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    High-tech storage battery set for debut this fall By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer RUTLAND, Vt.   Photovoltaic panels collect the sun’s energy at the Borkowski family’s home in Rutland, which Green Mountain Power has dubbed the “energy home of the future.” This fall, the utility will begin offering a new high-tech battery that will allow homeowners read more

    In Rutland, solar power’s next step