The intense downpours causing more street flooding in the region in recent years reflect the impact of climate change. At the other end of the weather spectrum, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee this week issued a statewide drought advisory.
But there’s some good news when it comes to the health of Narragansett Bay. Water quality has improved so much that Crescent Park Beach in East Providence will be reopened as a swimmable beach in 2026, after more than a century of non-use.
Jed Thorp is on the frontlines of these issues as director of advocacy for Save The Bay. The nonprofit environmental organization was founded in 1970 to protect Narragansett Bay. More than a half-century later, Rhode Island continues to wrestle with myriad environmental issues. So how does Thorp see the outlook, and is Rhode Island prepared for the environmental future? Political reporter Ian Donnis goes in-depth with Thorp on this week’s episode of Political Roundtable.
Interview Highlights
On how Rhode Island will be affected by climate change over the next 10 years
Jed Thorp: Rhode Island is already being affected by climate change. We’re already seeing the impacts in the bay and throughout the watershed. We’re already seeing measurable sea level rise. We have coastal habitats that are being drowned out as a result of that. We’re seeing coastal erosion, warming water. So climate change is here. It’s happening. It’s, frankly, the biggest existential threat facing Narragansett Bay, and it’ll probably be the central focus of Save the Bay’s work for the next, frankly, 100 years.
On the local environmental effects of the incoming Trump administration
Thorp: I don’t think anybody expects that the Trump administration is going to be great on the environment. Thankfully, we have a federal system of government in this country, and a lot of the most important work on the environment is happening at the state and local level. And here in Rhode Island, we have pretty good state leadership. We have environmental laws and rules that, in many cases, go way beyond what’s required at the federal level. So we’re confident that we can continue to make progress on environmental issues during the Trump administration, because again, a lot of that work is happening here at the state and local level.
On Save the Bay’s priorities for the next General Assembly session
Thorp: Our top priorities are reforming the Coastal Resources Management Council, getting rid of the politically appointed council. That’s priority number one for us. The bottle bill is another big priority and something that we’ve been putting a lot of work into. You know, the General Assembly in the past few years has been a place where you can get good environmental legislation passed. That was after a fairly dark period of several years under previous leadership where no environmental bills were passed. So we’re optimistic there’s a lot of work that has to be done on climate change and meeting the goals of the Act on Climate. So we have to figure out how to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, from buildings and heating.
On the illegal sea wall at North Kingstown’s Quidnessett Country Club
Thorp: The country club knew that that wall was illegal. They went ahead and did it anyway, presumably because they thought they could just get forgiveness after the fact. … It’s been 465 days since they were issued a cease and desist order, and that wall is still in place. And at the same time, the politically appointed council is considering changing the rules after the fact to allow that wall to remain in place. That is a dangerous precedent. Why would anybody go through the proper process of getting permission and seeking permits in the future if they know that they can just do whatever they want and beg forgiveness later? So this has pretty serious implications for the future of environmental regulations in the state.
On Rhode Island’s recycling program
Thorp: Recycling, not just here, but globally, has in some ways been an abysmal failure. Recycling is important. We need to be doing it, but we can’t kid ourselves and think that we’re going to recycle our way out of the plastic problem. We have thousands of tons of microplastic in the bottom of Narragansett Bay. You know, we need to get a handle on that problem. Recycling and improving recycling is a piece of that puzzle. A bottle bill, for example, is probably the biggest improvement that we can make to recycling, because a lot of the stuff that goes out to the recycling facility right now is either not recycled at all or not effectively recycled, and having a bottle bill will significantly improve our recycling system.
Political Roundtable is a production of The Public’s Radio. Our host is Ian Donnis. Our producers this week are Mareva Lindo and Joe Tasca. Our editor is Alex Nunes.
