Currently in Boston— April 21st, 2022
The weather, currently.
Winds died down earlier today and that will set us up for an April frost overnight. Temperatures will be at or just below freezing across much of the region. If you don't have a frost advisory for your area, it's mainly because we're not at the date where Frost is unusual. However, in Boston and along the coastline there is a frost advisory because typically we don't see one this time of the year.
Sunshine will abound for Thursday, with temperatures in the lower 60s. It gets even milder for Friday, with readings in the mid 60s. Over the weekend Saturday is likely to be the mildest day, because on Sunday I expect sea breezes to keep it very chilly at the coast.
—Dave Epstein
What you need to know, currently.
Happy 4/20! If you’re with it enough, this is a great day to call your representatives and encourage them to support the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act.The legislation would legalize weed nationwide, expunge the records of those arrested on cannabis offenses, and set up a trust to fund services for communities that have been impacted by over policing.
Were it to pass, it’s also likely to make the marijuana industry more sustainable. States that have legalized weed are better able to regulate its production (ensuring that pesticides and fertilizer used in growing cannabis don’t pollute local waterways, for example) as well as regulate its carbon footprint.
Because weed is often harvested in growhouses, it uses up an enormous amount of electricity. Colorado—with harsh winters—was the first state to legalize weed, but its carbon footprint there is substantial. A study published in Nature Sustainability last year showed that the state’s cannabis industry produced more emissions than its coal mines.
“The emissions that come from growing 1 ounce, depending on where it’s grown in the US, is about the same as burning 7 to 16 gallons of gasoline,” Hailey Summers, one of the study’s authors, told New Scientist. Legalizing weed nationwide and creating incentives to grow it outdoors could reduce its expanding carbon footprint.