PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 22, 2025
In my 75 years, I’ve witnessed serious loss of beach and estuary extent in Maine owing to rising sea level. Meanwhile, “100-year” storms seem to occur every few years, destroying our electric transmission infrastructure and roads. Utilities apply to the Public Utilities Commission for recovery funds in the form of rate increases for electric transmission, which have tripled in recent years. Localities find themselves in need of more tax revenue to repair and maintain public works in the face of such storms. Insurance companies make coverage for coastal properties unaffordable. Maine may be a largely rural state with a sparse population, but it is nevertheless profoundly affected by Earth and space phenomena. We can ask our congressional representatives to resist arbitrary and ill-considered budget cuts that interfere with essential research work being conducted by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, among others. ~ Thom Moore, retired NASA scientist