BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 7, 2026
The devastating storms of the winter of 2023-2024 inflicted an estimated $90 million in damage to Maine’s public infrastructure. Rising temperatures contribute to increasingly intense storms. Even the U.S. Geological Survey — an agency of a federal administration now openly contemptuous of climate action — observes that “with increasing global surface temperatures the possibility of…increased intensity of storms will likely occur.” The Maine Climate Council says that “rising sea levels have caused recent increases in coastal flooding, such as the record-breaking storm events of January 2024.” The Legislature has the opportunity to pass LD 1870, which would establish a Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund, funded by fees assessed to any “entity that was engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil between Jan. 1, 1995 and Dec. 31, 2024.” The fund would pay for “climate change adaptation projects in the State. The times call for courage. ~ Nate Davis, Rockland city councilor