Opinion: This summer’s heat waves ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2023

The life-threatening heat waves that have baked U.S. southern states and caused scorching European wildfires in recent weeks would be “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-caused climate change, the World Weather Attribution Initiative reported recently. Global warming, they said, also made China’s recent record-setting heat wave 50 times more likely. A new study shows that 94 percent live in the cities where summertime peak heat stress exposure disproportionately burdens the poor. ~ Rev. Richard Killmer, retired Presbyterian minister, Yarmouth; Anders Corey, his grandson, senior at Bates College

Commentary: The pandemic that coronavirus uncovered

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2023

Summer means more fun outside. But it also means more ticks, and with them greater – and growing – risk of Lyme disease. Over the last decade, Maine has had higher rates of Lyme disease than any other state. Of these, 10-15% may develop post-Lyme or “Long Lyme,” with persistent symptoms, leaving a growing number of patients without the support and help they need. A much-needed effort is underway to define Long COVID, but more effort is needed to define Long Lyme. ~ Bruce Patterson, M.D., CEO, HealthBio Therapeutics

Commentary: Biosolids facility is a stopgap to Maine’s PFAS crisis, not a solution

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2023

The biosolids facility planned for Norridgewock will help alleviate the immediate concern of biosolids disposal. However, the biosolids disposal crisis is driven primarily by PFAS contamination. We have a biosolids disposal crisis because we have a PFAS crisis. This new facility may buy us a little more time, but it does not solve either problem. When will the state invest in technology to remove PFAS from the cycle? The technology exists to effectively destroy common PFAS compounds and use the waste product of that destruction process to capture more PFAS; small municipal plants cannot afford that. We need investments in these technologies to bring them into Maine, optimize them and make them more affordable and accessible to our communities. ~ Jeanee Dudley, Woodard & Curran consultants and producer of “Disrupting PFAS” podcast about emerging technologies that detect, sequester and destroy PFAS

Letter: To make a difference, belief in climate crisis requires action

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2023

I know many of us in Maine care about climate change, but simply saying or feeling it isn’t enough. We need to turn our belief and care into action. Reducing emissions in our personal lives is great, but we also need broader change. For that, the best actions we can take are telling our representatives in Congress that addressing climate change is important to us, and to vote for those who will listen and support climate change initiatives. Then keep doing that. It’s not an exaggeration to say that our lives are on the line. Let’s care and act accordingly. ~ Erica Bartlett, Portland

Public will get to weigh in on controversial mining project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2023

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission will hold a three-day public hearing on a Canadian junior mining company’s rezoning application for the Pickett Mountain Mining Project, despite objections from intervening parties. The LUPC scheduled public hearings on the Wolfden mining project for Oct. 16, 17 and 18, at Stearns Jr./Sr. High School,199 State St., Millinocket. The proposed mining project is the first real test of Maine’s strict mining law passed in 2017 meant to protect the state’s environment.

Guilford 14-year-old harvests 5th bear

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2023

Chase Lander, an honor student, has just started his freshman year at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford. However, the 14-year-old also is able to squeeze in some time for one of his favorite hobbies: hunting. Lander “harvested” his fifth black bear on Youth Bear Hunting Day. This year’s bear, which he shot, weighed 283 pounds. In Maine, hunters are allowed to take two bears per year, one by hunting and one by trapping. Lander, his dad and his mom Kristen are avid bear hunters and they share that passion with a large group of friends who share the baiting workload and costs.

Presque Isle company hired to work on $100M biofuel project

THE COUNTY • August 30, 2023

A Presque Isle firm will design and lead construction on a Louisiana company’s $100 million renewable fuel plant. Delta Biofuel of Jeanerette, Louisiana, has chosen Player Design Inc. to help engineer and supply a facility that will turn sugarcane residue — called bagasse — into fuel pellets that will be used to produce electricity. The Louisiana plant is expected to be the first in North America to use bagasse to create this type of fuel for industry. When complete, Delta’s plant will turn out an estimated 340,000 metric tons of bagasse pellets a year. Maine’s four wood pellet plants produce about 232,000 tons annually.

New MREA executive director will advance the future of renewable energy in Maine and beyond

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 30, 2023

The Maine Renewable Energy Association, a non-profit association for renewable energy producers, suppliers of goods and services to those producers, and other supporters of the renewable energy industry, welcomes Eliza Donoghue as its new executive director. Previously, Donoghue was the director of advocacy and staff attorney for the Maine Audubon, and the forests and wildlife policy advocate and outreach coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The Maine Renewable Energy Association is a not-for-profit association of renewable energy producers, suppliers of goods and service to those producers and other supporter of the industry.

Section of Whistle Stop Trail in Jay closed for the year

SUN JOURNAL • August 30, 2023

A section of the Whistle Stop Trail between Steve’s Family Market in Wilton and the McDonald’s restaurant in Jay Plaza will most likely remain closed for the rest of the year, Brian Bronson, supervisor of the state’s Off Road Recreational Vehicle Program, said Wednesday. The section, which is owned by the state, was heavily damaged by a flash flood June 29. It’s estimated to cost about $860,000 to fix it.

Special Premiere of Maine Public's Borealis Series, Sep 7

MAINE PUBLIC • August 30, 2023

Join Maine Public at Hannaford Hall on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Campus on September 7 for a special screening of the first episode of BOREALIS before it airs on Maine Public Television. On hand will be Borealis host Aislinn Sarnacki and members of Maine Public’s staff who were instrumental in bringing Borealis to life, including Maine Public’s President and CEO Rick Schneider, producer Jennifer Rooks, and videographer Brian Bechard. The Oshima Brothers will perform a short set (including the Borealis theme song) to kick off the evening. At USM, Portland, Sep 7, 7-9 pm, free, preregister.

Judge dismisses challenge to Jonesport fish farm approval

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 30, 2023

A Superior Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge to the state’s approval of a fish farm planned for Jonesport, but the company behind the farm won’t begin construction just yet. In a ruling last week, Justice Michaela Murphy determined that the state Board of Environmental Protection did not err when it upheld the state’s approval of Kingfish Maine’s application to discharge treated wastewater from the planned land-based fish farm into Chandler Bay. There still is a pending court appeal in Washington County of the town’s approval of the project. Kingfish officials have said they will wait until the legal challenges are resolved before they start work on the $110 million project, which is expected to result in the creation of roughly 70 full-time jobs at the fish farm.

Maine environmental, labor groups urge better partnership between state and tribes on climate

MAINE PUBLIC • August 30, 2023

A coalition of a dozen Maine environmental and labor organizations is urging Gov. Janet Mills to improve collaboration with the Wabanaki Nations on green power projects. In a letter to Mills, the groups say they fully support her goal of transitioning the state to 100% renewable energy by 2040, but want the administration to more fully collaborate with tribal representatives on the big developments that will be needed to achieve that goal. The letter cites the lack of meaningful tribal representation on the Maine Offshore Wind Port Advisory group. And it notes the concerns that tribal leaders have raised about the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which they say has not sufficiently consulted with them about offshore wind scoping and permitting. The letter is signed by representatives of Maine's largest environmental groups, and the Maine AFL-CIO and other labor organizations.

Report: Acadia National Park tourism brought $479M to local economy in 2022

NEWS CENTER MAINE • August 30, 2023

A new report from the National Park Service has estimated that tourism from Acadia National Park brought nearly $480 million to the local Maine economy in 2022. The park saw 3.97 million visits in 2022, which provided $479 million in visitor spending, according to the report. That spending supported around 6,700 jobs in the area and had a cumulative benefit of $691 million. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally; 314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $50.3 billion.

6 hikers rescued after 21-hour stay atop Katahdin

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 30, 2023

Six hikers were rescued over the weekend after 21 hours on Katahdin. Two Baxter State Park rangers and three members of North Search and Rescue began ascending Katahdin at 10 p.m. Saturday to reach the distressed hikers, according to North Search and Rescue. But as they made their way up Dudley and Helon Taylor trails, respectively, to converge at the Knife Edge, the weather began to deteriorate. Temperatures began falling and wind speeds gusted up to 30 mph. At 2 a.m., the rescuers made the call to shelter in place on Katahdin, North Search and Rescue said. Once daylight broke Sunday, the rescuers continued to the group of hikers on the other side of the Knife Edge. A Maine National Guard helicopter evacuated one of the hikers about 7:50 a.m., and the rescuers on the ground assisted the other five hikers down Katahdin over 11 hours.

Hurricane Franklin is causing strong rip currents in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 30, 2023

Swimmers and boaters be warned: Hurricane Franklin is causing dangerous rip currents on the southern coast and midcoast of Maine. The National Weather Service issued a warning for high rip current risk until Thursday evening in coastal York, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo and Cumberland counties. Rip currents are strong currents that pull water away from the shore, and in some cases, pull swimmers out to sea.

Dangerous rescue on Maine's tallest mountain takes nearly 24 hours

WMTW-TV8 • August 30, 2023

Rescue teams spent 21 hours working to rescue six people who got into trouble on Mount Katahdin. Late Saturday, Baxter State Park rangers climbed Dudley Trail and North Search and Rescue members climbed the Helon Taylor Trail and converged on Knife's Edge. North Search and Rescue says the situation was stabilized, but as winds gusted to 30 mph and temperatures dropped, the decision was made to shelter in place and hunker down on the mountain until daylight. Just before 8 a.m. Sunday, a Maine National Guard helicopter arrived and within minutes started helping to evacuate people while others started hiking down the Helon Taylor Trail. Rescuers say they spent the next 11 hours lifting, carrying and guiding the hikers down the mountain. Another rescue team member raced up the mountain with several bottles of water after learning supplies were running low and met the team halfway up the trail. The team finally arrived at Roaring Brook where the hikers were met by family and friends.

Column: Witness to a Mysterious and Marvelous Journey

BOOTHBAY REGISTER • August 30, 2023

It was a typical late-summer evening in Ogunquit, one of Maine’s popular seaside towns. We decided to get away from the beehive of activity by strolling the sidewalk around the corner to the oceanside pathway known as Marginal Way. Something caught our eye on the jumble of rocks some 30 feet below on the shore. It was a semipalmated plover. We counted 20 individuals roosting there, yards away from walkers by the dozen. Very few of our fellow human travelers relished the special experience. They felt no connection to the global odyssey of earth’s grand bird migration spectacle. Birds that had perhaps seen polar bears only days ago now stood only feet from all of us on that path on the coast of Maine. Within a few more weeks these same birds could well be sitting among the tangled roots of a steamy hot mangrove forest on the coast of some Central or South American or Caribbean nation. ~ Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells

With eye toward planned transmission project, Albion residents OK moratorium on utility lines, corridors

MORNING SENTINEL • August 30, 2023

Albion residents at a special town meeting this week voted to approve a moratorium on utility lines and corridors that town officials say is meant to send a signal to the Missouri-based power company that’s proposing a transmission corridor through the region extending from Aroostook County. About 50 people residents voted on the question Monday and all were in support of the measure. “The 90-day moratorium will give the town adequate time to work on an ordinance to mitigate the impact of any potential utility corridor,” said Thomas Bolen, chairman of the Albion Transmission Line Committee. Supporters tout the jobs the project would generate, but central Maine farmers say its construction could destroy farms that families have operated for generations by clearing productive agricultural land and driving down property values.

Maine’s most expensive land for sale is in tiny Aroostook town

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 29, 2023

A 3,900-acre parcel in the Aroostook County town of Crystal is the largest and most expensive piece of land for sale in Maine at $3.4 million. The property has brooks, ponds, streams and views of Katahdin, which is about a 90-minute drive away. It has 25 miles of interior roads and gated entrances near several local public maintained roads. It also has grid power at a public road so it is possible to develop it. Potential buyers could include people looking to use it as an investment, such as a buyer from Germany who previously bought large areas of land in Maine. A property in Carroll Plantation on a failed 5,400-acre wind farm in northern Penobscot County, sold for $3.25 million and is the largest and most expensive piece of land in Maine sold so far this year. The Carroll plot includes the ridgeline of Bowers Mountain and much of the terrain of Getchell Mountain. The new owner is a Maine logger who plans to log it for timber.