Emily Norton
@emnorton.bsky.social
Charles River Watershed Association Executive Director. Former Newton MA City Councilor. Mom of 3 boys & 2 cats. Opinions expressed on this platform are mine mine mine. #WaterIsLife
This article makes a great point. Why are we calling it the "Civil War" rather than the "Slaveholder's Rebellion" which is what it actually was? Propaganda from enslavers, that's why. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...
Opinion | The ‘Civil War’ Is a Lie. Let’s Call It the ‘Slaveholders’ Rebellion’ Again. (Gift Article)
To face our history, we must be honest about it.
nytimes.com
I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.
Sir #DavidAttenborough “Things are going to get worse. This is the new extinction. We are in terrible, terrible trouble and the longer we wait to do something about it, the worse it is going to get." #ClimateEmergency
David Attenborough, the voice of Our Planet: “Things are going to get worse”
The voice of some of the most stunning nature documentaries ever made is pessimistic about the future of wildlife on earth.
vox.com
California becomes the second state to pass a ban on octopus farming and first state to prohibit farmed octopus sales
California Governor Signs Octopus Farming Ban into Law
aldf.org
Let’s get this boat on the water! www.masslive.com/news/2026/07...
A Red Sox fan got tired of surge pricing and built a $500,000 electric ferry instead
Watertown entrepreneur Drew Rollert has been laying the groundwork for a new electric ferry for three years. Some big questions still remain before he can launch the service.
masslive.com
“Canadians could challenge the hypocrisy of the MAGA position. The United States has had over 40,000 wildfires this year whereas Canada had 4,000. Canadian crews are engaged in numerous fires in the American northwest” open.substack.com/pub/charliea...
The Age of the Predator
How climate chaos is becoming a weapon against democracy.
open.substack.com
Fall 2025 poll found 64% of Americans somewhat or very worried about climate change. It should be 100%. environment.yale.edu/news/article...
Climate Worries Rise but Dialogue Fades
A Yale Program on Climate Change Communication survey reveals a gap between Americans’ increasing alarm about the impacts of climate change and news coverage of the issue.
environment.yale.edu
Dear FIFA Never have a halftime show ever again. Yours Football
Is desalinization the answer? Not so fast. “…the cost of building a desalination plant runs 30-50% higher than alternatives like recycling wastewater or capturing stormwater.” www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/19/o...
The world needs more fresh water. Why isn’t desalination the answer? - The Boston Globe
There is obvious demand for the technology. And solar power should be making it more economical. If only it were that simple.
bostonglobe.com
Smoky skies could become a routine part of summer in New England www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/s...
‘Expect more of this’: Smoky skies may now be part of summertime in New England, some scientists say - The Boston Globe
Scientists say climate change laid the groundwork for the Canadian wildfires that sent smoke spewing into New England.
bostonglobe.com
“…nation’s top scientific advisory body issued report …that could help governments hold oil, gas and coal companies responsible for the damage caused by extreme weather.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/c...
Top Science Panel Backs Research Linking Extreme Weather to Climate Change (Gift Article)
Attribution science is advancing quickly, researchers said. That could support lawsuits seeking damages for severe events worsened by global warming.
nytimes.com
“Reopening the river to swimming would give everyone, regardless of income, a way to escape the heat.” #CharlesRiver www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/17/m...
The Charles River once was a swimming hotspot. Today, it’s a once-a-year opportunity. - The Boston Globe
A look back on the history of swimming in the Charles River, and how the tide turned on its "Dirty Water" reputation.
bostonglobe.com
“Behind the clouds the sun is still shining.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Dems should learn this important lesson from McConnell: while the public may recoil at certain kinds of substantive radicalism, they will barely notice procedural radicalism.” open.substack.com/pub/aaronrup...
Mitch McConnell's legacy of destruction
He may have found Trump distasteful, but no one did more to protect him.
open.substack.com
MA doctors say “We see, every day, how the erosion of primary care undermines our ability to care for patients” 🩺 #mapoli commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/stro...
Stronger primary care means better specialty care
Every specialist depends on a healthy primary care system. It is the front door to health care and the foundation upon which the rest of medicine is built.
commonwealthbeacon.org
Thank you @cwbeacon.bsky.social for this important article. Very frustrating to see the utilities having to be dragged kicking and screaming every step of the way. Proud of #NewtonMA for being a leader. 🌎 #ClimateEmergency #NoPlanetB commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/ten-c...
Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there.
As these municipalities are quickly finding out, moving off gas for new buildings doesn’t preclude the utilities from needing to spend tens of millions of dollars each year upgrading the existing gas ...
commonwealthbeacon.org
SHOCK NYT REPORT: DHS now admits the man ICE killed in Houston wasn't even their target. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 35-year U.S. resident, was just driving to work when agents — with no body cameras — shot him dead searching for two other men who weren't even in the van. Gift link in reply.
“We cannot afford to have a society in which a significant fraction of our best young minds think that cheating is OK. That leads to a declining society, to a failed society … We cannot choose to become idiots.” www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Brown Professor Suspects Most of His Class Used AI to Cheat
Brown University leaders’ response to the alleged cheating incident has been “meek,” the professor said.
insidehighered.com
Great oped in @bostonglobe.com -- there was a collective (and justified) freakout over the Merrimack spill... where is the outrage over the millions of gallons of 💩 being dumped into other rivers across Mass every year - including the Charles. Let's fix them ALL. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/07/o...
Why is one sewage spill an emergency and another routine? - The Boston Globe
Massachusetts mobilized to stop the Haverhill leak. It should bring that same urgency to combined sewer overflows.
bostonglobe.com
newrepublic.com/article/2127...
Trump’s Vile New Birthright Stance Is So Toxic, Even Fox Admits It
Mike Johnson is now floating a “legislative fix” to birthright citizenship. That’s an assault on the Constitution—and a vote that vulnerable Republicans will hate, if recent polling from Fox News is a...
newrepublic.com