Environment - Marblehead Current

Marblehead Light Dept. targets shortfalls with monthly rate increases

27Oct

By William J. Dowd2 Comments

Environment, Local News, Municipal Matters

Marblehead Light Dept. targets shortfalls with monthly rate increases

Increases to electricity rates are becoming a routine occurrence in Marblehead - with the average residential electricity bill to increase $23.83 in November. And ratepayers should expect monthly hikes though at least March, the Marblehead Municipal Light Department General Manager Joseph Kowalick recently told the Marblehead Municipal Light Commission. Forecasts and actual costs are not balancing from month to month, he continued. Marblehead electricity ratepayers should expect monthly hikes though at least March, the Marblehead Municipal Light Department General Manager Joseph Kowalick recently told the Marblehead Municipal Light Commission. [MARBLEHEAD NEWS PHOTO / WILLIAM J. DOWD] When the MMLD raised rates in October to tackle the near $800,000 deficit, like a game of Wh...

Joe Brown’s Puddle? Are droughts speeding up the disappearance of Marblehead’s ponds

24Oct

By William J. Dowd1 Comment

Environment, Local News, Science, Top Stories

Joe Brown’s Puddle? Are droughts speeding up the disappearance of Marblehead’s ponds

Marblehead resident Bette Keva walks her neighbor's dogs a lot through the town's conservation lands. Over the past couple of months (especially during the summer), she noticed the shallow water levels in Marblehead ponds and bodies of water. Photos from resident Bette Keva depicting Joe Brown’s Pond, showing just how low water reached during the summertime drought. To convey just how bad the water level had gotten, she once suggested Joe Brown's Pond should be renamed “Joe Brown's Puddle.” She shared photos depicting the pond's water level from the Barry Road entrance and from the Browns' home and tavern. “From the view, you can see just how dried up the pond is,” she said. “The ground was showing from the middle of it.” Keva said she saw similar conditions...

Sustainable Marblehead, UU Church to educate public on ways to save energy, money

21Oct

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Environment, Local News, Municipal Matters, Press releases

Sustainable Marblehead, UU Church to educate public on ways to save energy, money

As winter approaches, please join Sustainable Marblehead and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. for a Meetinghouse Series program on ways to save energy and reduce your home energy costs. This will be conducted both in person at the Unitarian Church at 28 Mugford St. and on Zoom (https://tinyurl.com/SaveEnergyTalk ). The program is free and open to all. Marblehead Light Commissioner Lisa Wolf and Mark Adam the winter – while also reducing your home’s carbon emissions. The program will be moderated by Sustainable Marblehead Board Member Lynn Bryant, and there will be ample opportunity to ask questions at the end. Wolf will describe how to reduce your energy costs by shifting your electricity use to off-peak hours. This is an immediate ...

‘The planet is on fire.’ Learn about Marblehead’s sole net-negative home

20Oct

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Community resources, Environment, Life Style, Local News, Municipal Matters, Science, Top Stories

‘The planet is on fire.’ Learn about Marblehead’s sole net-negative home

Lisa Wolf outside her net negative home PHOTO: Leigh Blander Walk past Lisa and Steve Wolf’s home on Pitman Road and you might notice a peace sign, four feet in diameter and outlined in lights, on the front slope of their roof. What’s harder to notice, surprisingly, are the 44 solar panels lining the roof’s southeast side. The panels deliver enough power to make the home the only net-negative residence in town, according to the Wolfs. Net negative means the Wolfs produce more electricity than they use. An aerial view of the Wolfs' roof with 44 solar panels In fact, the couple sells extra energy back to the Marblehead Municipal Light Department (MMLD). “We have a $600 credit with MMLD right now,” Lisa Wolf said. Lisa grew up in Marblehead and earned a mast...

Marblehead Museum exhibit pivots spotlight on bygone shipyard era

14Oct

By Linda WerbnerNo Comments

Community resources, Culture, Environment, Local History, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Marblehead Museum exhibit pivots spotlight on bygone shipyard era

“Marblehead is a place that is full of lore,” said amateur historian, fine artist and proud Marbleheader Kristen Nyberg, who singlehandedly curated the Marblehead Museum’s new exhibit, "Growing Up in the Shipyard," opening Friday, Oct. 14. This multi-media show will introduce viewers to the once-vibrant Shipyard neighborhood seen through the eyes of the Nybergs, a family of Swedish immigrants who came to America in the early 20th century. “There’s rich history in this small neighborhood and I don’t want it to be forgotten,” she stresses. “This show represents a time and a place that is gone.” The inspiration for the exhibit literally came from a box, or rather, many boxes Nyberg explains, as she takes a few moments away from editing a video that will accompany the show. ...

BBC Radio 5 drops Rhod Sharp’s epic new series: ‘The Song of the Right Whale’

5Oct

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Environment, Local News, Top Stories

BBC Radio 5 drops Rhod Sharp’s epic new series: ‘The Song of the Right Whale’

On Friday, BBC Radio 5 dropped a truly epic series - "The Song of the Right Whale," a longform journalism project that Marbleheader and British ex-pat Rhod Sharp produced, wrote and reported on over the last two years. Via BBC Sounds: North Atlantic Right Whales are no longer hunted but they still die because of human activity. Rhod Sharp finds out the threats, and talks to the scientists trying to save it. The six-hour series spans a half-dozen episodes as Sharp comprehensively covers the plight of the North Atlantic Right Whale, conflicting interests swirling around the 70-ton animal and the problem-solving efforts to save them. The mammal sits in the company of the world's most endangered large whale species - with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estim...

Marblehead fire chief briefs light commission on lithium-ion battery hazards

2Oct

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Environment, Local News, Public safety, Top Stories

Marblehead fire chief briefs light commission on lithium-ion battery hazards

Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous, powering everything form electric vehicles and electric toothbrushes to laptops and iPhones. Demand for lithium-ion energy storage systems is on the rise even in Marblehead. Many residential lithium-ion battery systems are installed in homes and store electrical energy generated by a household’s solar panels. These energy-storage systems' benefits include: Less dependency on the grid Long life and fast charging Mitigate a household’s carbon footprint Lower electric bills Store more power with less space and use it during peak periods “Battery storage technologies are essential to speeding up the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy,” writes National Grid in a lithium-ion fact page. “Battery sto...

Scenes from Sustainable Marblehead, SPUR’s beach cleanup

19Sep

By Submitted ContentNo Comments

Environment, Local News

Scenes from Sustainable Marblehead, SPUR’s beach cleanup

Sustainable Marblehead and SPUR volunteers were out in full force Saturday, cleaning Lynn, Marblehead, Salem and Swampscott beaches and parks. Sustainable Marblehead taught volunteers about the dangers of ocean plastics and actions that we can do to be environmental stewards. The day was capped with free ice cream from Scoop by Sea Salt. COURTESY PHOTOS / SIENA DAY

15Sep

By Submitted ContentNo Comments

Business, Community resources, Environment, Local News

The Marblehead Farmers’ Market Sept. 17

Late season crops are arriving at the market, while many summer crops continue at the Marblehead Farmers’ Market. Shoppers can expect to find winter squash, apples, carrots, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, beets, and brussels sprouts. Farms will also have mushrooms, eggs, beef, chicken, pork, eggs, cheese, cut flowers, maple products, a wide variety of salad and cooking greens, potted plants and much more. Farms this season are: Grant Family Farm will be offering fresh eggs, cut flowers, and vegetables. Bear Hill Farm will have pork, vegetables, and local fruit. Brookford Farm will have vegetables, meat, cheese, fermented products, and cured meats. Iron Ox farm will have vegetables. Anything Grows (Formerly The Herb Farmacy) will have vegetables, perennials, and ...

Google executive picked to fill Marblehead Light Commission vacancy

14Sep

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Environment, Local News, Municipal Matters, Politics, Top Stories

Google executive picked to fill Marblehead Light Commission vacancy

A Google business executive will fill a Marblehead Municipal Light Commission vacancy, members of the Marblehead Select Board and Light Commission decided on Wednesday night. Adam Smith's selection arrived around 8:45 p.m. after officials interviewed eight candidates. After Marblehead Town Clerk Robin Michaud swears him in, he will step into the vacancy created when Karl Johnson resigned, citing health reasons, two weeks after the 2022 municipal election in June. Marblehead Select Board and Municipal Light Commission selected Adam Smith, a Google business executive, on Wednesday night. [COURTESY PHOTO / WILL DOWD] Alexa Singer, who voted for Marblehead resident Christopher Hardy on the first voting round, switched to Smith, giving him the fifth vote needed to secure the requir...