'It's easy to avoid': Push for more boater education after recent close calls on Maine lakes

WGME-TV13 • July 14, 2023

Lakes across Maine have still been busy. It's been good news for businesses that rely on people flocking to the water, but there's been concerns this season about safety after a number of recent close calls. "It's a lot of carelessness," said Ian Scott, who owns IPS Surf & Water Sports on Long Lake. "They think summer is fun and they can just go hit the lakes like the old days and not really think about it too much, but here on the lake we've seen a lot of scenarios where boats have almost come colliding into us." While a license currently isn't required in Maine to operate a boat, a new state law will require anyone born after 1999 to take a boater education course starting in 2024.

Biden making $20 billion available from ‘green bank’ for clean energy projects

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 14, 2023

The Biden administration said Friday it is making available $20 billion from a federal “green bank” for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, and community cooling centers. Two programs, worth $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, will offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks, and other groups to invest in clean energy projects, with a focus on disadvantaged communities, the White House said. The investments follow a $7 billion Solar for All program launched last month for residential and community solar projects in low-income communities.

Brunswick firefighters rescue man stranded on island in Androscoggin River

TIMES RECORD • July 14, 2023

Brunswick firefighters on Thursday night rescued a man who became stranded on an island in the Androscoggin River amid raging waters resulting from recent storms. The man swam to the island near the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge around 8 p.m., holding onto a rope tied from the shore to the island. “However, the rope became dislodged once the male was on the island,” police said. “He was unable to return to shore due to the swift current and high-water level.” Brunswick firefighters launched a boat and retrieved the man, who was not hurt.

Mills signs law banning waste discharge licenses for the lower Presumpscot River

MAINE PUBLIC • July 14, 2023

The largest river that flows into Casco Bay is now protected from new sources of pollution. A new state law puts a four-year moratorium on new industrial or wastewater discharges into the Lower Presumpscot River. Historically, that section of the river from Saccarappa Falls in Westbrook to the tidewaters in Falmouth was heavily polluted by untreated industrial waste. Now, it is a thriving waterway due to years of restoration under the Clean Water Act that include the removal of two dams and installation fish passage for species to return to spawn. Michael Shaughnessy of Friends of the Prescumpscot River, said the 4-year moratorium is a win for the river and the communities that sit on its banks.

DEP says Maine beaches are safe, despite organization’s report

SPECTRUM NEWS • July 14, 2023

Environment Maine released a report on July 5 based on DEP data from 2022. The organization alleged as many as 36 beaches along the entire coast of Maine were “Beaches with potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria on at least one testing day in 2022.”  The Maine DEP has determined as of this week that only three beaches are showing problems. At issue is a value called the Most Probable Number, or MPN, based on the amount of bacteria found in samples taken in a certain area. DEP does not consider any MPN value below 104 to be unsafe, a standard set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. But Environment Maine is basing its assessment on the idea that any MPN value above 60 is dangerous.

Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife purchases over 700 acres in Rangeley for a wildlife management area

SUN JOURNAL • July 14, 2023

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife announced Friday that it has finalized the purchase of over 700 acres of undeveloped land, creating a wildlife management area and a fishery. The area features over 600 acres of prime deer wintering habitat, and shore frontage on Ross Pond, which contains a wild, self-sustaining brook trout fishery.

Report shows rapid warming continues in the Gulf of Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • July 14, 2023

As human-caused climate change causes ocean waters worldwide to warm, a recent report shows dramatic warming in the Gulf of Maine continuing. The waters of the Gulf of Maine hit record high monthly temperatures in March and April, and spring was the second warmest in a 40-year dataset, according to a seasonal update from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. According to the report, Gulf of Maine waters in March and April were more than 3 degrees warmer than the 40-year average.

Stand-up paddleboarding is a peaceful way to explore the Maine coast

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 14, 2023

Preparation is key for any outdoor adventure, and each activity comes with its own risks. Paddling on the ocean requires paying attention to Maine’s dramatic tides and currents. You also have to keep in mind how cold the water is, year round. rt out. Once you have the skills, knowledge and necessary gear, you could gain more experience by paddling around sheltered coves and sticking close to shore before tackling more open water. Per Maine law, you must carry a sound-producing device like a whistle, navigation lights such as a headlamp or flashlight, and a personal floatation device — a life jacket — for each person aboard.

Celebrate Real Maine agriculture at the Maine Open Farm Day, July 23

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 14, 2023

Maine Open Farm Day is a special day to explore the variety of agriculture and meet local farmers across Maine. Find itineraries including many of the more than 100 participating farms for all regions, grouped by county, throughout the state. Save, share, edit, and print the itinerary to customize your trip.

Pingree raises concerns over House budget bill, which she says slashes climate funding

MAINE PUBLIC • July 14, 2023

As the U.S. House of Representatives drafts its 2024 budget, Rep. Chellie Pingree says she's alarmed by dramatic cuts proposed for environmental programs. Pingree is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. In remarks during the bill markup hearing Thursday evening, Pingree called the funding bill one of the most harmful attacks on America's efforts to fight climate change.

Fluorescent lightbulbs, which contain mercury, are on their way out in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 14, 2023

Maine started giving the side-eye to the traditional fluorescent lightbulb back in 2009, when it became the first state in the country to require manufacturers to lower the amount of mercury in the bulbs and fund a retail-based recycling and disposal program. Last week, after years of trying to work out problems with recycling them, Maine finally broke up with the fluorescent bulb. Like Vermont and California, Maine adopted a law that will phase out the sale of the vast majority of these former environmental darlings by 2026.

Commentary: Farmers deserve to be able to control what they grow

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 14, 2023

Just four companies control two-thirds of seed and pesticide sales worldwide, but a new bill moving through Congress could help lower prices and increase competition. ~ Anthony Pahnke, Family Farm Defenders

Opinion: Federal permitting system reform crucial for Maine to achieve climate goals

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 14, 2023

Maine is one of the most promising states for wind energy in the Northeast. Yet onerous permitting rules have hamstrung the development of several offshore wind projects. Until we rein in permitting delays, clean energy projects in Maine and across the country will continue to struggle to get off the ground. The process needs to be faster, less complicated, and more predictable to enable clean energy projects to come to fruition. Mainers are ready and willing to accelerate the transition to green energy. We just need to pare back onerous permitting requirements to create new jobs and build the future of sustainability right here. It is critical that Congress prioritize passing permitting reform. Maine cannot wait. ~ Dana Connors, retired president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce

Here’s why electricity bills in Maine are getting more expensive this month

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 13, 2023

Over the course of May and June, the PUC approved settlements with Central Maine Power and Versant Power to increase the rates for electricity distributionand so-called stranded costs, and to slightly decrease the “standard offer” supply rates. With the rates finalized, CMP customers will now pay an average $5 more per month and Versant customers will pay $13 more in their next electricity bills than they did at the start of the month. CMP customers are set to pay an average $159 a month, $62.50 more than in 2021. The utilities need to spend more to improve reliability and to modernize the grid. Then there are stranded costs, which are largely to pay for long-term power purchase agreements approved by the state, and the net energy billing costs associated with renewable energy projects such as community solar farms.

After setting global heat record in June, 2023 on track to become the hottest year ever

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 13, 2023

An already warming Earth steamed to its hottest June on record, smashing the old global mark, with global oceans setting temperature records for the third straight month. Eleven of the first dozen days in July were hotter than ever on record, according to an unofficial and preliminary analysis by University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. “The recent record temperatures, as well as extreme fires, pollution and flooding we are seeing this year are what we expect to see in a warmer climate,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald. “We are just getting a small taste for the types of impacts that we expect to worsen under climate change.” It’s likely most of June’s warming is due to long-term human causes: long-term warming caused by heat-trapping gasses spewed by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

Offshore wind bills regain traction after Gov. Mills veto

MAINE PUBLIC • July 13, 2023

Legislation to support development of offshore wind appeared doomed last month after a veto from Gov. Janet Mills. But the Mills administration and labor groups have reached a compromise that could revive the effort when the Legislature convenes sometime in the next few weeks. A bill addressing Mill's concerns by clarifying the labor language won committee approval late Wednesday night. The bill will face votes in the Maine House and Senate when the legislature reconvenes briefly later this summer.

More electric vehicle chargers are coming to Lewiston and Auburn

SUN JOURNAL • July 13, 2023

Recharging electric vehicles in Maine is getting easier, with the number of public chargers expected to more than triple in the next few years. The Department of Energy, which tracks the number of charging sites in the country, shows 435 sites in Maine with 915 ports, or plugs available to the public. Efficiency Maine estimates that the new federal funds will result in 150 more direct current fast-charge ports at 60 sites around the state, that’s in addition to the 217 fast-charge stations already in operation. “We are expecting to supplement those high-speed chargers with approximately 1,300 new level 2 ports to facilitate community charging with the balance of the federal funds,” said Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine.

Committee endorses adjusted wind power bill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 13, 2023

A legislative committee endorsed a bill Wednesday that would lay the groundwork for developing offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, with votes expected soon in the House and Senate. The bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, would set up a schedule for Maine to procure 3 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040, an amount that could power nearly 900,000 homes. According to Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the legislation’s proposed path is one that has been carved responsibly and sustainably with environmental protections in mind. Still, some opponents feel offshore wind development will pose a threat to the dwindling North Atlantic right whale population and ecosystems on which the fishing and lobstering industries depend.

Much debated hydropower transmission corridor to be renegotiated because of cost increases

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 13, 2023

Partners on a $1 billion project aimed at bringing Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid are trying to sort out how cost increases during lengthy litigation will be shared, in hopes of getting the stalled project moving. A provision in a spending bill being considered Thursday by the Massachusetts House would open the door to a renegotiation of the transmission project between the developers and Massachusetts utilities. The original contract called for the project to be funded entirely by Massachusetts ratepayers; negotiations would determine how any additional costs would be shared. Supporters say the project will stabilize supply and reduce rates for all consumers in the region while representing a bold move in the battle against climate change.