Yale Researcher to Speak at MCLA

11:36AM / Wednesday, April 08, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will welcome Sam King, Researcher with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, as part of its Green Living Seminar Series on Wednesday, April 15, at 5:30 p.m. in the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121.

King will present "The Call of the Ecozoic: Religions Enter Their Planetary Phase."

According to a press release:

His talk explores how the world's religious traditions are entering a new phase of planetary responsibility and imagination amid ecological breakdown, drawing on the work of cultural historian Thomas Berry and his concept of the Ecozoic Era, a period of mutually enhancing human and Earth relations. The presentation examines the need for religions to integrate contemporary scientific understandings of Earth systems and evolutionary time, while recovering their ecological wisdom, and concludes with examples of engaged religious environmentalism across traditions, highlighting the work of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.

King serves as Project Manager for the Emmy Award-winning Journey of the Universe project and is Advisor to the Ecological Leadership and Ministry certificate program at Yale Divinity School. He has been a Teaching Fellow at the Yale School of the Environment and worked with leading scholars to develop six online courses on the ecological dimensions of the world's religions, available through Yale/Coursera.

As an educator, King has taught courses on Journey of the Universe and the worldview of Thomas Berry, and has led retreats and workshops in schools, universities, religious communities, and retreat centers around the world.

All presentations take place Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121 and will be recorded as podcasts available at mcla.edu/greenliving. The event is free and open to the public.

MCLA's Green Living Seminar Series brings environmental experts, scholars, and practitioners to campus throughout the academic year to engage students and community members in conversations about sustainability, ecology, and our relationship with the natural world.

For more information, contact Elena Traister at elena.traister@mcla.edu or 413-662-5303.

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Four Pets Lost in North Adams Fire

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
11:03PM / Saturday, September 26, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A cat may be the cause of a fire that forced a woman to flee her home on Saturday night and lose four of her five pets.

The occupant of the small home at 1561 Massachusetts Ave. called 911 to report a fire on her kitchen stove at about 9:10 p.m.

"Looked like the fire started in the kitchen area. Best guess at this point is that it an animal turned the stove on," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre, repeating what the woman had reported.

"Basically, the occupant was alerted to the sound of the stove igniting, the electronic ignition. She came downstairs and witnessed the cat on the stove. Unfortunately, there was a box on top of the stove, and that lit, and that got the cabinets going."

One cat was saved but firefighters were unable to rescue two other cats and two dogs.

The chief said he hadn't completed his investigation but was going by what the resident had reported at this point.

Firefighters were able to swiftly douse the blaze on arrival and were rolling up hose about an hour later. Mass Ave was closed at Ashton Avenue on the city side.

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