Why September’s record-warm temperatures have scientists so worried

WASHINGTON POST • September 23, 2023

After months of record planetary warmth, temperatures have become even more abnormal in recent weeks – briefly averaging close to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a global warming threshold leaders are seeking to avoid. The trend adds to near-certainty that 2023 will be Earth’s warmest on record, and heightens threats of the extreme conditions the heat could fuel around the world. The warmth is likely to be the fingerprint of a deepening El Niño climate pattern and a sign that temperatures will continue to accelerate beyond old norms in the year ahead.

Debating Maine’s energy future in Question 3

MAINE MONITOR • September 23, 2023

Many claims about the Pine Tree Power proposal were up for debate at a Question 3 forum hosted by the business network E2Tech in Augusta on Tuesday. The two sides did agree on one thing: This proposal presents a stark choice about Maine’s energy future. Should we move forward within the status quo or take a big leap into something new? Voters, according to both sides of the debate, can either trust CMP and Versant, and trust state lawmakers’ and regulators’ efforts to hold the utilities accountable for improving rates, reliability, service and climate readiness — or they can try to realize those improvements via an alternate model, one akin in many ways to a municipal power & light district or a rural electric cooperative. Seth Berry, the original architect of the Pine Tree Power proposal, said the new utility’s nonprofit structure would allow cheaper grid upgrades to respond to climate change.

Column: Ethical, and legal, hunting includes safe shooting

SUN JOURNAL • September 23, 2023

The ethical deer hunter, whether with bow or rifle, will weigh the odds of a clean kill before squeezing the trigger. There is a legal aspect as well. Maine has a target identification law, a state statute that defines the safe hunter. Boiled down, the law states that no deer hunter can take a shot legally in Maine at an animal unless he or she can “obtain an essentially unobstructed view of the head and torso of the potential target.” The implied imperative, of course, is that the safe and ethical hunter, who is not positive, will forego that shot rather than risk injury or death to another human being. Hunting safety has improved markedly over the years. As hunters we all need to be always mindful when it comes to target identification and, equally important, practice muzzle discipline whenever in the field and when loading and unloading firearms. ~ V. Paul Reynolds

Guide to leaf-peeping in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 23, 2023

This summer’s rainfall could lead to more vibrant foliage on Maine’s trees this fall, according to state agriculture officials. We’ll be following along with Maine’s official foliage report and updating this page weekly throughout the peak leaf-peeping season, so make sure to check back for more updates. Northern Maine tends to reach peak foliage in late September, while coastal Maine reaches peak in mid- to late October. This year, Acadia National Park is expected to see peak foliage later in the season than historic data would predict. Due to climate change, peak leaf-peeping is expected to come two weeks later than it did in the 1950s, according to new research. That means that peak foliage is expected around the third week in October.

Commentary: License to kill – Brookfield’s dams and Maine’s rivers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 23, 2023

On July 7, lighting knocked out McKay Station, the powerhouse serving Brookfield’s Ripogenus Dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot River. With the unstaffed station inoperable, Brookfield’s own SafeWaters website showed waterflows below Ripogenus collapsing to 100 cubic feet per second, a fraction of the normal 3,000 to 1,800 cfs range. Retired fisheries biologist Ed Spear, who worked for Great Northern Paper when it ran Ripogenus, said: “Essentially, the entire West Branch 2023 salmon year class was eliminated.” This event provided the latest example of Canada-based Brookfield’s careless disregard for the many Maine dams it owns and rivers it controls and why Mainers who care about our environment should be concerned as Brookfield seeks to renew its 30- to 50-year federal licenses to operate its dams. It must be made clear that a license to operate dams is not a license to kill. ~ Steve Heinz, Maine chapter of Trout Unlimited

Maine has spiders that can hiss and jump

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 23, 2023

Not every spider sits in the middle of its web or drops down from above on a string of silk. In Maine, there are spiders that also jump and spiders that make hissing-like sounds. While neither is poisonous, coming across either can be a bit startling. Among the spiders commonly found in Maine is the wolf spider, a rather athletic spider that is a ground dweller. Instead of catching flies in a web, the wolf spider hunts and runs down its prey, including small bugs and even other spiders. They have excellent night vision and because they make a hiss-like sound, they are among the so-called hissing spiders. Wolf spiders prefer to run away, but will rear up on their hind legs and wriggle their front ones at you if cornered. Jumping spiders are not aggressive and have even been described as friendly.

Opinion: California’s lawsuit against Big Oil could help end decades of climate lies

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • September 23, 2023

California’s lawsuit against some of the world’s largest oil companies is an important move by the world’s fifth-largest economy to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for decades of climate denial and deception. The state is also trying to prevent oil companies from continuing to make false or misleading statements about their role in overheating the planet. The fossil fuel industry’s disinformation tactics are ever-evolving, morphing from outright denial years ago to more sophisticated greenwashing today that misleads consumers by portraying oil companies and their products as environmentally sustainable. And its climate deception remains one of the biggest barriers to action to cut planet-warming emissions. ~ Los Angeles Times Editorial

Letter: Chamber event should have featured both sides

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 23, 2023

In the Sept. 15 story about the Portland Community Chamber of Commerce’s “forum” on Pine Tree Power (“Portland chamber slams public power proposal as activists demonstrate”), a key detail was buried in the middle of the piece: The event was sponsored by Central Maine Power. One side of the issue sponsored an event and didn’t even invite the opposition to participate. ~ Kevin Simowitz, Portland

Wet fields jeopardize some of Aroostook’s multimillion-dollar potato crop

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 23, 2023

Sodden fields are keeping potatoes in the ground and many farmers are worried about rot. Constant wet weather kept berry pickers away and hurt County hay production. Rain delayed planting season in Aroostook County, where about 90 percent of Maine’s potatoes are grown, and now it’s jeopardizing the multimillion-dollar crop. It’s been more than a decade since wet weather has plagued County farmers. Potatoes need healthy moisture to grow, but too much water can lead to rot — and you can’t sell rotten potatoes.

Augusta’s Viles Arboretum opens wetland boardwalk

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • September 22, 2023

The arboretum, on the east side of the state's capital city, used money from the Bureau of Parks and Lands as well as other fundraising to pay for a 520-foot-long boardwalk that allows easy access to the wetland area along the north edge of its 224-acre facility.

Nahmakanta Ecological Reserve: A Glimpse into Maine’s Ecological Reserve System

NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE • September 22, 2023

Maine’s Ecological Reserves, as their name implies, were created to protect a representative sample of Maine’s natural habitats with minimal interference from human activity, particularly timber harvesting. Some, like Nahmakanta, protect swathes of northern forest and wilderness ponds, while others, like Great Heath and Number Five Bog preserve pristine wetland and bog habitats. Still others, like the Bigelow Preserve and Big Spencer Mountain, encompass mountain ranges with a wide range of elevation-based plant communities, including gnarled and twisted subalpine fir and birch. Many of the Reserves don’t have rare plants or animals, but instead are meant to be refuges for species that require vulnerable habitats like old forests or alpine meadows. As of 2018, the Ecological Reserve System is made up of 50 locations with a total area of approximately 175,000 acres. The State of Maine owns 27 of these, and the other 23 are owned by The Nature Conservancy.

Borealis: Turtles in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • September 22, 2023

Learn about the different kinds of turtles in Maine, from the more common painted or snapping turtles, to the more threatened Blanding's and Eastern Box turtles. What research and conservation efforts are underway for these unique creatures, and how can people get involved? This program is part of Maine Public’s new, multi-media outdoors show Borealis, which highlights the nature of Maine. Panelists: Matthew Chatfield, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine; Derek Yorks, Reptile and Amphibian Biologist, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; VIP Caller: Linsday Ware, Founder, trainer and handler, Science Dogs of New England.

Environmental regulators want to further limit coastal development to protect fragile sand dunes

MAINE PUBLIC • September 22, 2023

State environmental regulators are seeking to further limit coastal development to protect sand dunes from rising sea levels. The new rule would require that planning be based on new dune maps created by Maine Geological Survey. At the Board of Environmental Protection's hearing Thursday Maine Audubon Wildlife Biologist Laura Minich Zitske spoke in support of the rule change. "Sea level is rising. Things are changing. It is imperative that we respond and can proactively protect our coastal communities and use the best available geology," Minich Zitske said. But land use attorney Sandra Guay warned that the rule change will affect buyers, realtors, and code officers that have relied on older maps to make decisions.

Maine's first dairy digester turns cow manure into renewable natural gas

MAINE PUBLIC • September 22, 2023

Maine's first dairy digester is up and running in Clinton, capturing the methane gas that's normally released into the atmosphere from manure. "The manure goes into the facility," said Angus King, president of Peaks Renewables under Summit Utilities which operates the plant. "It then gets processed for 20 to 25 days. The gas gets extracted and then what's left is a liquid that goes back to the farms. And the farms are able to use that to fertilize their fields just they do using manure today."

Four Piscataquis County farm animals die from mosquito-borne virus

MAINE PUBLIC • September 22, 2023

Four non-commercial farm animals in Maine have died from Eastern Equine Encephalitis. The animals were located in Piscataquis County, and are the first animals to test positive for EEE since 2019. Livestock owners should talk to their veterinarians about vaccinations and other precautions. EEE is transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes and can also cause illness, and even death, in humans. The Maine CDC announced earlier this week that mosquitoes in York County tested positive for the virus.

Unconventional high school course has Newport-area students hooked

MORNING SENTINEL • September 22, 2023

Nokomis Regional High School has a philosophy of 'doing high school differently,' and it's doing that with a new English elective in which students learn the art of fly-fishing. “Fly-fishing is interdisciplinary,” English teacher Nick Miller, said. “There’s the kinesthetics of learning a new physical skill, but then there’s so much learning about your environment. There’s all kinds of ecology to learn, we study the natural history of the area, and then, of course, the writing goes along with it.”

I’m kicking myself for not visiting this Holden trail network sooner

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2023

The lovely trails at Hart Farm in Holden are a fairly recent development. In 2016, Holden Land Trust purchased the 157-acre property to protect it from being subdivided and developed. Working with Maine Farmland Trust, HLT established an easement that required the land be used for agriculture. In 2018, it officially became a “Forever Farm.” In 2020, a young couple purchased the farm from the Holden Land Trust and got to work on renovations, planting produce and raising livestock. As part of the deal, HLT retained an easement that allowed for a trail network on the property. The network comprises about three miles of trails and a connector leads to the neighboring Fields Pond Audubon Center, with just under four miles of trails.

Why Democrats are at the center of Maine’s utility takeover campaign

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2023

With less than two months before Election Day, it looks like many Mainers are undecided on the utility takeover referendum that is the most sweeping one of the eight questions on the ballot. There have been no public or independent polls released so far on these questions. On Thursday, we got the first survey, although it was paid for by a political group run by Versant Power, one of the two utilities along with Central Maine Power Co. that is fighting Question 3. The main lesson is that Democrats are the key battleground here, which is one reason why you see both sides focusing on them.

Seaweed could be added to Maine’s blue carbon stock

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2023

Maine is one of the first states to consider the carbon storage potential of seaweed in its carbon budget, a biennial accounting of the balance between locally produced greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of carbon being safely stored in the environment. The carbon budget already considers the storage capacity of Maine forests and traditional blue carbon sources like salt marshes and eelgrass beds. The impact of blue carbon could grow, however, if the board that oversees rule changes at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection grants the agency’s request to add seaweed.

Commentary: State advisory group reached no consensus on Maine offshore wind port site

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2023

Decisions about developing renewable energy in Maine require accurate information. The Alliance for Sears Island, a coalition of individuals and organizations, supports developing an offshore wind port at Mack Point and opposes doing so on Sears Island, if any such facility is to be built in Penobscot Bay. Port construction costs are essentially equal, but statutorily required mitigation costs to construct the port on Sears Island are expected to be enormous. Mack Point, an industrial port for more than 100 years, is not a pristine natural place that will incur even slightly comparable mitigation costs. The 2007 Sears Island Planning Initiative agreement clearly stipulated that “Mack Point shall be given preference as an alternative to port development on Sears Island.” ~ Rolf Olsen, Steve Miller, and Scott Dickerson, Alliance for Sears Island