Eric Bender

ebender00@mastodon.social

Retired science writer. Follow the climate crisis, museums and research on type 1 diabetes.Enjoy kayaking on Boston Harbor and blogging about the waterfront at <a href="https://ericbender.co/safe-harbor/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no">https://ericbender.co/safe-harbor/</a>. Occasionally update a printed color scrapbook about the harbor, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/safe-harbor-wandering-the-boston-waterfront-as-the-sea-rises-eric-bender/d956312bf0dd6db1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no">https://bookshop.org/p/books/safe-harbor-wandering-the-boston-waterfront-

Posts

Post #4071242
RE: https://mastodon.social/@ebender00/116957501286709341 Update: Corps of Engineers draft plan for Boston coastal defense is now out: https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2026/07/00-Boston%20CSRM%20IFR_PEA%20DRAFT%20Final.pdf (PDF) @universalhub@mastodon.online
Post #4043410
My annual pilgrimage to Rainsford Island. #Boston #harbor #island #kayak
Post #3988187
Boston and the Army Corps of Engineers start to unveil $10 billion coastal defense plan (Draft plan not actually released until Friday.) https://www.boston.gov/news/plan-summary-boston-csrm Boston Globe story (behind paywall, sorry): https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/20/science/army-corps-boston-coastline-flooding-climate/ "Rachael Boyce [of] Better Future Project said there has been a lack of appetite from the governor and State House leadership for funding streams that could realist...
Post #3843482
What a fabulous fleet of tall and semi-tall ships that gathered in Boston on Saturday and is now scattering around the globe! Here are two sisterships, Germany's Gorch Fock and Portugal's Sagres. More pix: https://ericbender.co/safe-harbor #sailing #tallships #maritime #Boston
Post #3837251
Figureheads of four tall ships in Boston this morning. Clockwise from top left, Argentina's Libertad, Portugal's Sagres, Peru's BAP Unión and Chile's Esmeralda. #tallships #Boston #sailing #maritime
Post #3565295
Chelsea Creek Sanctuary The almost unstoppable Roseann Bongiovanni is winning her almost impossible battle to turn a long-abandoned waterfront industrial campus into a public park with affordable housing and a wildlife sanctuary. https://ericbender.co/safe-harbor/ #Boston #Chelsea #history #harbor #environment #environmentaljustice #climatechange #climatecrisis #sealevelrise
Post #3096187
My Family’s American Secret One fateful decision 100 years ago created parallel lives. How does a family broken by the bizarre rules of racism heal itself after three generations apart? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/us/degrange-family-history-race.html?unlocked_article_code=1.jFA._LPH.RLvlzfqydiCn&amp;smid=url-share (shared) #racism #family
Post #3096186
RE: https://mastodon.social/@ebender00/116589438327104036 A reminder that the NY Times still can produce outstanding journalism:
Post #3096185
Spectacle Island, the wonderfully reclaimed and terraformed Boston Harbor island, was in full bloom this morning. Still not sure why ferries to the island may not be running this summer. #Boston #park #harbor
Post #3096184
MBTA launches a “Harbor Loop” ferry route, providing year-round weekday service connecting North Station, Central Wharf, the Seaport and Logan Airport, starting June 29. https://www.mbta.com/news/2026-05-19/mbta-announces-new-weekday-harbor-loop-ferry-service-beginning-june-29 #Boston #ferry #harbor #publictransportation
Post #3096183
Floating wetlands bring back Boston&#39;s natural landscape lost to development https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/05/20/floating-wetland-habitat-fort-point-climate #Boston #Seaport #harbor #ecosystem
Post #3096182
Canadian arctic patrol vessel Margaret Brooke in South Boston&#39;s Reserved Channel this morning. #Boston #harbor
Post #3096181
Boston&#39;s new Martin Pierce fireboat, sistership to the John Damrell, nicely described along its delivery voyage: https://thedailypost.digital/bound-for-boston-7-million-fireboat-stops-in-little-falls-on-historic-canal-journey/ #Boston #harbor
Post #3096180
An Artist Revisits the Ghosts of Her Waterfront Childhood Joana Avillez took six years to illustrate a new edition of Joseph Mitchell’s “The Bottom of the Harbor,” which captures the salty New York neighborhood of her youth. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/style/joana-avillez-joseph-mitchell-illustration-new-york-waterfront.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m1A.itjH.MaiTd9k3S652&amp;smid=url-share #NYC #NewYork #harbor #waterfront
Post #2424679
Resistance in the reeds: What scientists found in 17 city wetlands Antibiotic-resistance genes turned up at 9X the levels in natural lakes. Researchers say &quot;sponge city” infrastructure requires smarter stormwater engineering. https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/resistance-in-the-reeds-what-scientists-found-in-17-city-wetlands/ #climatechange #climatecrisis #flood #ecosystem #environment
Post #1801585
Here&#39;s the John S. Damrell, Boston&#39;s flagship fireboat, tied up at her berth downtown. The Damrell looks clumsy trundling around the harbor at normal harbor speeds, but she can hit 40 knots on her jet drives and shoot water up to 450 feet. #Boston #harbor
Post #955728
#silentSunday #Boston #rowing
Post #880681
#silentSunday #sailing #history