Massachusetts

===Climate change===
{{Main|Climate change in Massachusetts}}
Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|
title=What climate change means for Massachusetts|author=EPA|url=https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-ma.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.massaudubon.org/our-conservation-work/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change|title=Effects of Climate Change in Massachusetts|website=Mass Audubon|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703180806/https://www.massaudubon.org/our-conservation-work/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="natlclimate">{{cite report|title=Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II|author1=Dupigny-Giroux, L.A.|author2=E.L. Mecray|publisher=U.S. Global Change Research Program|doi=10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH18|pages=669–742|author3=M.D. Lemcke-Stampone|author4=G.A. Hodgkins|author5=E.E. Lentz|author6=K.E. Mills|author7=E.D. Lane|author8=R. Miller|author9=D.Y. Hollinger|doi-access=free|author14=C. Caldwell|chapter=Northeast|author13=A.B. MacDonald|editor1=Reidmiller, D.R.|editor2=C.W. Avery|editor3=D.R. Easterling|editor4=K.E. Kunkel|editor5=K.L.M. Lewis|editor6=T.K. Maycock|editor7=B.C. Stewart|author12=P.E. Sheffield|place=Washington, DC, US|author11=G.A. Wellenius|author10=W.D. Solecki|year=2018}}</ref> The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, according to the U. S. Global Change Research Program, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era".<ref name="natlclimate"/>{{Update after|2035}} As of August 2016, the EPA reports that Massachusetts has warmed by over two degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.1 degrees Celsius.<ref name="EPA Climate Change for Massachusetts">{{cite report|url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-ma.pdf|title=What Climate Change Means for Massachusetts|publisher=United States Environmental Protection Agency|date=August 2016|format=PDF file|access-date=December 16, 2020}}</ref>

Shifting temperatures also result in the shifting of rainfall patterns and the intensification of precipitation events. To that end, average precipitation in the Northeast United States has risen by ten percent from 1895 to 2011, and the number of heavy precipitation events has increased by seventy percent during that time.<ref name="EPA Climate Change for Massachusetts" /> These increased precipitation patterns are focused in the winter and spring. Increasing temperatures coupled with increasing precipitation will result in earlier snow melts and subsequent drier soil in the summer months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate Change Made Summer Hotter and Drier Worldwide, Study Finds |url=https://www.carilec.org/climate-change-made-summer-hotter-and-drier-worldwide-study-finds/ |website=CARILEC |date=October 5, 2022 |access-date=December 4, 2022}}</ref>

The shifting climate in Massachusetts will result in a significant change to the state's built environment and ecosystems. In [[Boston]] alone, costs of climate change-related storms will result in $5 to $100 billion in damage.<ref name="EPA Climate Change for Massachusetts" />

Warmer temperatures will also disrupt bird migration and flora blooming. With these changes, deer populations are expected to increase, resulting in a decrease in underbrush which smaller fauna use as camouflage. Additionally, rising temperatures will increase the number of reported [[Lyme disease]] cases in the state. [[Tick]]s can transmit the disease once temperatures reach 45 degrees, so shorter winters will increase the window of transmission. These warmer temperatures will also increase the prevalence of [[Asian tiger mosquitoes]], which often carry the [[West Nile virus]].<ref name="EPA Climate Change for Massachusetts" />

To fight this change, the [[Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs]] has outlined a path to [[low-carbon economy|decarbonize]] the state's economy. On April 22, 2020, Kathleen A. Theoharides, the state's Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, released a Determination of Statewide Emissions limits for 2050. In her letter, Theoharides stresses that as of 2020, the Commonwealth has experienced property damage attributable to climate change of more than $60 billion. To ensure that the Commonwealth experiences warming no more than 1.5&nbsp;°C of pre-industrialization levels, the state will work towards two goals by 2050: to achieve [[net-zero emissions]], and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent overall.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Theoharides |first1=Kathleen |last2=Polito |first2=Karyn |last3=Baker |first3=Charles |title=Determination of Statewide Emissions Limit for 2050 |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/final-signed-letter-of-determination-for-2050-emissions-limit/download |website=Official websites of Massachusetts |access-date=May 20, 2022}}</ref>