Currently in Boston — June 8th, 2022

The weather, currently.

You likely noticed the cloud cover increasing during the afternoon and this is the foreunner of some showers which will arrive by morning. I expect a line of rainfall to move east of the region after the morning commute leaving us with mainly cloudy skies muggy conditions and highs in the 70s. They'll be another round of rain moving in for Thursday and this could bring about a few thunderstorms and some heavy downpours the first half of the day before tapering off to showers in the afternoon. Right now Friday looks like a really nice day with highs near 80°C and plenty of sunshine another weather system brings more showers at some point Saturday.

—Dave Epstein

What you need to know, currently.

Soil, the dirt beneath our feet, is not only holding life, but is alive itself.

And we’re running out of it. In fact, we’re in the middle of a soil crisis. According to the United Nations, by 2050, soil erosion could reduce up to 10 percent of crop yields, which is equivalent to taking away millions of acres of farmland.

And, due to climate change and improper farming practices, many places have already lost their topsoil — the surface soil where plants have a lot of their roots.

This loss of soil is significant; soil provides ecosystems, supports our food supply, carries biodiversity, and filters our drinking water. Soil also mitigates climate change, as it's one of the biggest absorbers of carbon dioxide, which combats global warming.

But there is work that can be done to save our soil, like incorporating regenerative agriculture practices — which has origins in Indigenous culture — rather than plowing.

For those of us who are not farmers, we can help by pushing for federal support of these more sustainable practices, from giving out soil subsidies to financially rewarding farmers who are using these regenerative techniques to keep the soil healthy.

— Aarohi Sheth