It’s not just hot. Climate anomalies are emerging around the globe.

WASHINGTON POST • July 31, 2023

A glimpse of a more tumultuous future seemed on full display throughout July, a month packed with weather anomalies that exceeded any definition of normal. For years, climate scientists have detailed again and again the many impacts that are likely as the world grows steadily hotter, such as more intense storms, more torrential rainfall, fast-rising seas and melting ice caps. As the sweltering summer of 2023 marches into August, scientists and environmental advocates are hoping the recent extremes somehow spur the kind of global, collective action that has been largely absent. David Armstrong McKay, a research impact fellow at the University of Exeter, said the lack of sufficient climate action in recent years amounts to a paucity of political will. António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, said, “Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy. No more excuses.”

Opinion: How the Farm Bill can help solve climate change

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2023

Farming of all sorts contributes to and suffers from climate change, but there is a lot that we can do to reverse that. Three sections of the Inflation Reduction Act provided billions of dollars over 10 years to the USDA to help farmers sequester CO2, destroy or convert methane and remove other greenhouse gases. Wouldn’t it make sense to require companies or farms benefiting from subsidies or price supports use that assistance to remove and reduce greenhouse gases? Or to pay a fee based on the greenhouse gases they do not eliminate? The Farm Bill could require that the administration impose, with a year’s notice, tariffs that could be used to fund low-interest loans for deep net negative greenhouse-gas removal, not just net-neutral offsets. ~ John Fitzgerald, Sedgwick

Boy became lost in Maine woods after late-night trip to the bathroom

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 30, 2023

Nathan Beckman, 15, of Scarsdale, New York, was on a backpacking trip with Overland Summers on the remote, 38-mile Grafton Loop Trail in western Maine. While at the Bull Run campsite, Beckman left his tent to go to the bathroom about 3:15 a.m. Saturday. The trip leaders heard the lost boy yelling in the distance, but were unable to find him or get him back to the campsite. When they could no longer hear him, trip leaders called 911 about 5 a.m. Game Warden Preston Pomerleau and his canine partner Gordon found Beckman, who was still moving through the woods on the steep mountainside, including over already-searched areas, in an attempt to get back to his tent, eluding rescuers. Beckman was uninjured and reunited with his group about 6:30 p.m.

Column: Sea kayak adventures continue on Muscongus Bay

TIMES RECORD • July 30, 2023

Four of us were sea kayaking back from remote Eastern Egg Rock in outer Muscongus Bay. We had just finished a successful visit with the colorful Atlantic puffins who had returned to the tiny atoll to breed. The next destination was Black Island where our intended campsite was located. Situated in the heart of Muscongus Bay, the 15-acre island is owned and preserved by Maine Coast Heritage Trust. When I peered out of my tent early the next morning, dense fog was an unwelcome intruder. Our paddling plans were in jeopardy. There truly is a silver lining in every cloud. While eating breakfast, an unusual fog bow developed in the west and lingered for about an hour. My first experience viewing the rare phenomenon. ~ Ron Chase

Opinion: By ignoring climate risks, GOP politicians cost their states and cities billions

BLOOMBERG • July 30, 2023

In the face of fires, record heat, floods and other extreme weather events across the country, House Republicans are using much of July to oppose financial transparency related to climate risks and to attack investor freedoms. Their reckless course endangers not just the planet but also the financial stability of Americans’ retirement savings and pensions. One Republican went so far as to say consideration of climate risk by asset managers is “Satan’s plan.” Asset managers have a fiduciary duty to their clients. It is irresponsible and dangerous for public officials to dictate which investments they must favor. Financial professionals must be able to factor in the huge risks of extreme weather events, and ordinary Americans cannot afford to have climate deniers gamble with their life savings. ~ Brian Frosh, former attorney general of Maryland

Kittery creek makes threatened watersheds list due to unhealthy bacteria levels

MAINE PUBLIC • July 30, 2023

The Spruce Creek Watershed in Kittery has unhealthy bacteria levels, and a new grassroots effort in the community aims to change that. Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper Melissa Paly has been studying the problem for years and says development is to blame. "It really comes down to a lot of development we've seen, a lot of homes — many of them on septic systems — and continued growth along Route 1 corridor without adequate stormwater management. So we're going to need to lean into stormwater management and septic systems changes," Paly said.

Column: Study shows population growth among birds in North Maine Woods

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 30, 2023

John Hagan, a research biologist at the Manomet Bird Observatory, was one of the organizers of an international symposium in 1989 to examine the decline of the neotropical migrants. He was inspired to undertake a study in the North Maine Woods from 1992 through 1994 to examine the impact of forestry on bird diversity and abundance. Hagan decided that repeating the earlier study 30 years later would have value. The 2021-22 data provided some positive news. Forest management practices have improved the population trajectory of many birds. Forty-two species are more abundant now than they were in 1992-94 and only 19 species show a decline. ~ Herb Wilson

State ends ferry service between Richmond and Swan Island after more than 6 decades

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 29, 2023

A year after the U.S. Coast Guard halted ferry service between Swan Island and Richmond over safety concerns, state wildlife officials say the service won’t be restarted. Requirements dictated by the Coast Guard proved too expensive to meet, ending the practice of carrying school groups and others across the Kennebec River to spend a day or a night camping on the island that sits at the head of Merrymeeting Bay. Swan Island will remain open to the public, but visitors will now have to get there under their own power. Once they arrive, they’ll no longer have to pay to use the island, nor will they be able to reserve a campsite. The 4-mile-long Swan Island is on the National Register of Historic Places, with evidence of human use and habitation going back thousands of years.

Bottled water bill to be watered down

MAINE MONITOR • July 29, 2023

For most of human history, the proximity of freshwater has dictated where humans have settled and thrived, while too much of it or too little has led to the collapse of numerous civilizations throughout the world. In Maine, our problem often seems to be too much water (this summer’s damp June being a fresh example) rather than too little. But as the Northeast becomes wetter and warmer with a changing climate, there may be increasing periods of imbalance, and shifts in the time of year when the water table is highest. A bill that would have dramatically changed groundwater regulation and given municipalities more control over contracts with bottled water companies will be carried over to next session and looks likely to be watered down.

Cobscook Shores park to expand with 38-acre purchase

MAINE MONITOR • July 29, 2023

The Cobscook Shores Park System recently purchased about 38 acres in Wesley along the East Machias River that will be used for a canoe and kayak launch next year. It’s the latest acquisition for the waterfront park, which was created by the Butler Conservation Fund, a nonprofit started by New York philanthropist Gilbert Butler. Cobscook Shores, opened in 2020, comprises 20 park lands. Its holdings total roughly 1,300 acres in Washington County. The park lands are free and open to the public from mid May to October. In addition, the park system runs youth programs for area kids. 

Road to a popular Western Maine hiking spot falls into a jurisdictional limbo

MAINE MONITOR • July 29, 2023

After a torrent of late-June rain, the road to the popular Tumbledown Mountain hiking destination has taken on the rough look of a mountain trail — not a paved road meant for cars and trucks. Though remedial repairs have already been made to this 2.5-mile stretch of Byron Road in central Franklin County, county officials and the state Bureau of Parks and Lands are grappling with a $70,000 to $100,000 question of who will pay for the rest.

Editorial: Attorneys general right to oppose proposed PFAS settlement, for now

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 29, 2023

As Maine, other states and the federal government increasingly understand and wrestle with the costs of PFAS contamination, there should be little doubt that the manufacturers of these so-called “forever chemicals” need to bear the burden of these costs. So we were encouraged when our state, though the Maine attorney general, joined the legal fight against multiple chemical companies. The Maine AG’s office, along with 21 other attorneys general across the country, are also making the right call in opposing a potential multi-billion dollar settlement with manufacturer 3M related to PFAS contamination of public drinking water. While some sort of settlement is the likely and necessary vehicle to help deal with the impacts of these chemicals, which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may lead to a wide range of health issues, the currently proposed agreement is flawed.

Column: Shocking shutdown on the West Branch below Ripogenus Dam

SUN JOURNAL • July 29, 2023

At 7 p.m. on July 7, there was an unexplained shutdown of the McKay Hydroelectric Station below Ripogenus Dam. The event lasted over 4 hours and left the fabled West Branch of the Penobscot River and the popular Big Eddy salmon and trout fishery virtually dry for that period, according to Trout Unlimited. TU said that this resulted in “devastating impacts to fish and aquatic communities, harmed the river system, and impacted boating and recreational activities.” “Essentially, the entire West Branch 2023 salmon year class was eliminated,” said Ed Spear, retired fisheries biologist. “The timing of this disastrous outage could not be worse, as it occurred during the peak fish and aquatic growing season.” The federal licensing of McKay Station expires in September of 2026. ~ V. Paul Reynolds

Commentary: Regulators must examine wind power’s potential damage to fisheries

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2023

State and federal authorities must rethink our renewable energy policy in light of a growing body of scientific research that indicates offshore wind farms pose a threat to marine life and ocean ecosystems. As a fourth-generation lobsterman, I’m proud that New England lobster stocks are robust and sustainable owing to our ethic of conservation and that of our forebears. But my optimism about our future is dimming because foreign green energy companies are on the verge of industrializing our ocean with thousands of wind turbines, sealing fisheries and harming lobster stocks. ~ Dustin Delano, Friendship, fourth-generation lobsterman and chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association

Letter: Keeping our waterways safe for swimming

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2023

In 2022, 36 Maine beaches were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one testing day, according to “Safe for Swimming?,” the latest analysis of bacteria testing by Environment Maine Research & Policy Center. To stop these health risks at our beaches, we need to prevent the runoff and sewage overflows that are often major sources of pathogen pollution. This includes projects that replace some of nature’s lost capacity to absorb stormwater – like rain gardens, tree trenches and permeable pavement. Fifty years ago, our nation passed the Clean Water Act and resolved that we would make all our waterways safe for swimming. It is time to realize that goal for all Maine beaches. ~ Lily Segal, Needham, Mass.

Letter: Exciting transition to electric vehicles

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 29, 2023

I love my car. It’s an electric vehicle (EV) and it goes about 300 miles on a charge. This means I can charge the car in my driveway in Northport and drive round trip without even recharging to places like Kennebunk, Rangeley, Millinocket, or the Cutler Coast. I just plug the car in at home overnight as needed, just like my cellphone. I never have to go to a gas station. I’m excited that Maine is considering adopting a clean car standard that is already in effect in some other states. It will make more EVs more available to more Mainers. ~ Judy Berk, Northport

Scarborough transfers four properties to the land trust

SCARBOROUGH LEADER • July 28, 2023

The Scarborough Town Council authorized the town manager to transfer four town-owned properties to the Scarborough Land Trust for permanent conservation at their July 19 meeting. The four properties border the Nonesuch River. They are mostly covered by the river’s floodplain and related wetlands. The properties are not suitable for future development and instead should be conserved as “forever wild,” which will help protect the Nonesuch River.

Rapid transit plan calls for 10-20 minute service through Portland, Westbrook and Gorham

MAINE PUBLIC • July 28, 2023

Local officials in Greater Portland are considering a system of rapid transit bus routes for the region. Under a draft proposal from the Greater Portland Council of Governments, dedicated bus lanes would provide express service through Portland, Westbrook and Gorham more quickly than traditional bus service, with stops along the way. The preferred route would start at the University of Southern Maine campus in Gorham, travel through downtown Westbrook and stop at the USM campus in Portland before heading down Congress Street and ending near the Eastern Promenade. The proposal envisions service every 10 minutes between Portland and Westbrook, and 20 minutes between Westbrook and Gorham.

What I learned by trail running on Maine mountains

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2023

When it comes to wilderness travel, people go at different speeds. I like to change it up. Sometimes, I creep along, pausing to inspect mushrooms and wildflowers. Other times, I pick up the pace. Trail running is a good way to cover ground and see more of a place than you would if you were leisurely walking. It’s also a great workout. And there’s something else about it that I enjoy. Dashing through the forest, leaping over rocks and weaving around trees, is freeing. One of the most important things I’ve learned about trail running in Maine is to watch my step. My top priority is to stay on my feet, uninjured — and to have fun. ~ Aislinn Sarnacki

Maine Voices: Joining Zero Foodprint has changed my life as a small-business owner

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 28, 2023

As a small-business owner, I am aware of how our business might be adding to the downward climate vortex. Our course correction is ongoing. What finally allowed me to turn toward the issue, rather than turning away, was stumbling upon a nonprofit group called Zero Foodprint. Their model is to pay farmers to practice regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon, which is both good for the soil and good for the climate. And being part of Zero Foodprint is easy. ~ Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean’s Sweets, Portland