The King Tide rolled into Boston on Saturday, Oct. 19, flushing harbor water through the concrete seawall at Long Wharf, where climate activists gathered to protest the state legislature’s inaction on a climate bill.
Although the bill passed in the senate in June, negotiations stalled around siting and permitting procedures for companies building electrical infrastructure. The two-year legislative session ended in July without any resolution to the bill, which promised to create an electric vehicle charging network across the state and impose some restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.
There’s still a chance the bill will pass during the legislature’s informal session, with Rep. Jeff Roy and Sen. Michael Barrett announcing earlier this month that their final proposal would go to a vote soon.
At Long Wharf, though, activists questioned whether the bill goes far enough to address the climate crisis, especially in the face of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
King Tides are created by the moon’s orbit and have been happening for millenia. But rising sea levels exacerbate flooding during these tidal events, and experts say that since the start of the industrial revolution ocean levels in Boston have already risen ten inches.
Listen to our reporting for The Scope Podcast at the Spotify link above.
