Opinion: Government-owned electrical systems not as perfect as Pine Tree Power’s supporters want us to believe

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2023

With politicians in complete control of the region’s electric utility, any person or business able to make enough noise and grab the attention of elected officials would often get their issues resolved ahead of those with less influence. If it irritates you that average people get skipped in line by others more connected to a politician, consider that this could happen in Maine if the Pine Tree Power referendum passes in November. ~ Kurt Pullman, senior manager, Central Maine Power, Brunswick

Letter: Jobs in offshore wind require strong labor standards

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2023

Organized labor partnering with environmental groups like Maine Audubon and Maine Conservation Voters, has fought hard for LD 1895, An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind Resources. It is very important that these projects in Maine have strong labor standards. This will create safe job sites, career opportunities and secure good wages and benefits for all Mainers who work on these projects. The best way to generate power is by clean energy from offshore wind with strong labor standards. I am confident that this will put Mainers to work with good jobs while keeping our state clean and preserving the environment. ~ Jayme Skelton, Lisbon Falls

Living off the grid isn’t just walking into the woods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2023

In describing how the three family members found dead this month near a Colorado campground were living, national news outlets have repeatedly used the term “off-grid.” But the story should be seen as a cautionary tale of irresponsibility and unpreparedness. A year ago Rebecca Vance told friends and family she was heading into the wilderness with her son to escape what she described as a chaotic and dangerous world. Worried family members and friends with experience of successfully living off-grid failed to talk them out of it. Nothing about Vance’s plan was living an off-grid lifestyle. She essentially made herself homeless and took her son and sister along with her. With fatal results. Plenty of people live off-grid in Maine. Quite successfully. But they will be the first to tell you there is nothing simple about the so-called simple life.

Aroostook farmer says tainted broccoli could hurt whole industry

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2023

The discovery of an illegal pesticide used at an Aroostook County broccoli farm has at least one producer worried the action could taint the industry. Emerald Valley Ranches of Caribou was ordered Monday to destroy much of its crop after state laboratory tests discovered the presence of an illegal pesticide on produce samples. “We wouldn’t wish ill to anyone, but it’s disappointing and disheartening if someone would jeopardize Maine broccoli,” said Emily Smith of Smith’s Farm, which grows 4,000 acres of broccoli from Maine to Florida. “If people decide not to eat broccoli because [a farm] did that, then our crop is in jeopardy when we didn’t do that.”  Though potatoes remain Maine’s No. 1 food crop, followed by blueberries and hay, fresh broccoli has become a valuable product.

Editorial: ‘The era of global boiling has arrived’

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2023

As July comes to an end, scientists believe the month is likely to be the hottest month on Earth in more than 120,000 years. The record high temperatures, both during the day and at night, are yet another warning that should spur much more serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow the warming of our planet.

Letter: Pine Tree Power referendum’s passage would cost billions

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2023

Maine voters are faced with a huge decision this fall: the proposed Pine Tree Power referendum. If passed, Maine electric customers would be on the hook for the billions of dollars that would have to be paid to the owners of Central Maine Power and Versant for their property. For 35 years I served the people of Maine in the Maine House, two Maine governors and as the federal highway administrator. I believe that government can be a force for good. I also believe government should provide rigorous regulation over the private sector businesses that produce and distribute our power which is critical to growing our economy. There would be more than a few unforeseen complications that go with such a massive and unprecedented undertaking. ~ Gregory G. Nadeau, Lewiston

In Cape Elizabeth, climate change as seen though students’ lenses

FORECASTER • July 27, 2023

Jonathan Fisher is leading a student photography project, “My Climate Future,” at Cape Elizabeth High School, and he will write and direct a documentary based on the project. Sarah Plummer, Student Pathways coordinator at the high school and liaison for the pilot program, said it’s important for youth to have a voice in the conversation on climate change. The students’ photographs will be showcased at the Islip Arts Council on Long Island, New York, in September and in November they will be exhibited at Cape Elizabeth’s Thomas Memorial Library.

Maine plans to use offshore wind for half its energy needs by 2040

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 27, 2023

Maine will procure at least 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040 under a bill signed Thursday by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, enough to power about half of the state’s electricity load. Incentives to ensure wind power developers steer clear of lucrative lobster fishing grounds are included in the law, which puts Maine on a path to catch up with other states that already have offshore wind projects.

Auburn summer program aims to help new Mainers build relationship with the outdoors

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2023

A five-week summer program in Auburn is helping multilingual learners strengthen their English skills while building connections to the Maine outdoors. On Thursday, three educators and a dozen high school students traveled to Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal for their third field trip. Students have practiced outdoor survival skills, like navigation and building fires, in the summer program. They’ve also learned the words needed to talk about trees, animals and the natural environment. “We’re trying to give kids the opportunity to learn to love being outside,” said teacher Alice Crawford.

Down East fishways project could get nearly $8M from Congress

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2023

Efforts to restore access to the St. Croix River for several sea-run fishes moved a big step closer to reality on Thursday. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee voted 28-0 to approve nearly $7.8 million to replace a failing fishway located at the Woodland Dam, which was championed by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the panel. The appropriations bill. It is awaiting approval by the House. If approved, the new money will be added to a $2 million grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program that was announced in April for the restoration that would help restore heritage fish in the area.

House sends two resolutions overturning endangered species rules to Biden’s desk

THE HILL • July 27, 2023

The House voted Thursday to overturn two Biden administration Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules, sending the resolutions to the president, who has vowed to veto them. The Senate voted in favor of both resolutions in May by a 51-49 margin in both cases. One resolution passed the House 220-208 with Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and a Democrat from Texas joining all Republicans but one. The Congressional Review Act allows a simple majority of both chambers of Congress to vote to overturn executive rulemaking. The Republicans’ House majority has frequently used the law to target the Biden administration’s environment regulations.

Why the famed Appalachian Trail keeps getting longer – and harder

WASHINGTON POST • July 27, 2023

Though fixed in the public imagination, the world-famous Appalachian Trail footpath, which stretches from Georgia to Maine, has been stretched, shrunk, rerouted, and redesigned since it was declared complete in 1937. As America has transformed, so, too, has the A.T. – changes that have inspired resistance, ridicule, and relief. Originally 2,050 miles, it is now almost 2,200 miles. And it continues to get longer.

Unity college will offer 2 new degrees to address climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2023

Unity Environmental University is starting two new degree programs focused on tackling long-term issues stemming from climate change. The new programs are an agroforestry undergraduate program and a master’s program in climate change adaptation and resilience. The school’s main campus is now at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester.

Column: What sparks a new birders interest is as varied as the birds here in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2023

Birds that spark interest come in all shapes and sizes. I bet the Steller’s sea-eagle turned more than a few casual wildlife-lovers into passionate birders. Sometimes, the spark comes from people, maybe a friend, a school teacher, or a bird walk leader. Smartphones are lighting a spark among new birders. Merlin is a free downloadable app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that helps users identify birds. When I was growing up, there were no apps and no smartphones. ~ Bob Duchesne

Bernie Sanders backs Pine Tree Power’s utility takeover campaign

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2023

The citizens group behind the campaign to take over Maine’s two electric utilities announced a major endorsement Thursday from U.S. senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. “This year, Mainers are facing price-gouging and immoral disconnection notices from multinational utility companies. Power belongs in the hands of the people, not greedy corporations,” Sanders said. The endorsement by Sanders, the independent from Vermont and longtime liberal icon, comes as Pine Tree Power is being outspent 17-1 by the utilities that are fighting for their survival. The parent companies of Central Maine Power and Versant Power – Avangrid and Enmax, respectively – have given more than $18 million so far to three ballot committees.

Biden says extreme heat costing U.S. $100 billion annually

BLOOMBERG • July 27, 2023

President Biden said extreme heat is costing the U.S. $100 billion a year and linked it directly to climate change as he detailed steps his administration is taking to protect Americans from record-high temperatures. “It’s threatening farms, fisheries, forests.” Biden said he asked the Labor Department to issue a hazard alert, reaffirming that workers have heat-related protections under federal law, and warned states that aren’t protecting workers. Today, some 170 million Americans are under excessive heat warnings and advisories, with the Northeast in for the hottest day of the year.

Wex will spend $100 million to charge up EV startups

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2023

Hoping to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, Wex Inc. will spend $100 million funding startups in the EV industry. A new division, Wex Venture Capital, will distribute funds over the next two years to early-stage businesses focused on fleet electrification, EV charging infrastructure, energy management and similar technologies. The company provides payment processing and information management services for commercial and government vehicle fleets. It’s been involved with electric vehicles and their users for as long as commercial EVs have been on the market, Melissa Smith, president and CEO, said.

Maine Passes Bill to Jumpstart State’s Offshore Wind Industry

OFFSHORE WIND BIZ • July 27, 2023

The Maine Legislature has passed a bill that would call for the state to procure 3 GW of offshore wind by 2040, which is now expected to be signed into law by Governor Janet Mills. The bill calls for Maine to procure 3 GW of offshore wind power generation by 2040, enough to power 900,000 homes and supply half of the state’s total electricity demand. The Department of the Interior plans to designate Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Maine in the fourth quarter of this year and hold an offshore wind auction in 2024. The bill also contains provisions to support a construction port to be used for turbine assembly, and provisions for lobster fishing in the Gulf of Maine and to prioritize jobs for Maine residents.

Opinion: Deadly heat shouldn’t be a curiosity. It’s a disaster and a tragedy.

TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY • July 27, 2023

This summer — even with extraordinary heat — is likely to be one of the coolest of the rest of your life. As climate scientist Michael Mann put it earlier this summer, “it’s a ‘new abnormal’ and it is now playing out in real time — the impacts of climate change are upon us in the form of unprecedented, dangerous extreme weather events.” It won’t begin to change until we stop burning fossil fuels. Until then, we’ll have no choice but to get used to heat that is at once frighteningly extreme and no longer so remarkable. ~ Tony Barboza

Editorial: Skepticism should improve, not unravel, Aroostook power line

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2023

A proposed wind power and transmission project in Aroostook County would be the largest land-based wind project east of the Mississippi. As state energy regulators, environmental advocates, the governor’s office, Maine’s public advocate and others have stressed, this renewable energy project can play an important role in meeting Maine’s climate goals. It also has the potential to lower energy costs in the long term. Skepticism, both in Aroostook County and along the potential path of the proposed power line, could unravel the project. This would be a familiar but unfortunate turn of events. If the answer is always “not in my backyard,” needed updates to our energy and other critical infrastructure will never get built in any part of the state. Instead, the current skepticism should improve the wind and transmission project. This should include increased local benefits and minimized local negative impacts.