Seeking Light: Plants from Shoreline to Canopy in the Arts & Sciences

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 24, 2023

This two-part exhibition, taking place at both the Portland and Biddeford UNE Art Galleries, highlights the role of plants in the environment and in the creative imagination. Plants are a primary source of subject matter for many artists, providing a rich and varied visual stimulus paired with a narrative of growth, ascension, and decay. Scientists hone their understanding of ecosystems and environmental interdependence through close study of plants and trees. Meet artists Rebecca Goodale, Gretchen Halpert, and Raquel P. Miller, and student-cartographer Matthew Pittsley November 27, 12:30-1:30 pm in the Ketchum Library UNE Art Gallery, Biddeford. The exhibit is on view at the UNE Art Gallery, Biddeford, through January 7, 2024.  

Opinion: Fishing and wind can share the water

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

The process for designating areas suitable for offshore wind generation in the Gulf of Maine is advancing with the goal of awarding the first lease contracts in late 2024. Some see this as a golden opportunity. Others see it as a tragic loss. Whatever your point of view, in the near future massive industrial activity will be introduced into what has always been a wild, unfettered ecology. Lobster Management Area 1 is arguably the most prolific and valuable fishing ground in the U.S, perhaps the world. In October, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its latest draft of a potential “Wind Energy Area” where leasing would occur. Most of Lobster Management Area 1 is now excluded from the lease process, not just for its value to fisheries, but because of its unique ecological character and diversity. As offshore wind development unfolds, it will occupy thousands of square nautical miles of ocean. In the future, the fishing industry and the wind industry will be sharing space on the water and on the waterfront. Both of these industries could benefit from working together. ~ John Williamson

Developers of Maine wind transmission line stymied by pace of negotiations with regulators

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2023

New York-based LS Power wants to build up to 160 miles of transmission line across northern and central Maine, but differences over terms of the service and power purchase agreement have emerged, as has some community opposition.

Darling’s sues Versant after power company disconnected solar facility

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

Darling’s car dealerships built a 987 kilowatt solar facility in Brewer that came online Aug. 22, 2022. Darling’s spent more than $400,000 for studies, line protection work, metering and engineering, according to a lawsuit filed by the company Nov. 21 in Penobscot County Superior Court. It accuses Versant of violating an interconnection agreement between the companies when Versant took the solar facility offline for three months. Darling’s wants a judge to find Versant breached the contract and order Versant to pay damages and attorney fees.

U.S. electric vehicle sales to hit record this year, but still lag China and Germany

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 23, 2023

This year will be the first time more than 1 million EVs are sold in the U.S. in one calendar year, probably reaching between 1.3 million and 1.4 million cars. Although the numbers show significant progress in electrification, the nation is lagging behind countries like China, Germany, and Norway. EVs reached 33% of sales in China, 35% in Germany, and 90% in Norway for the first six months of 2023.

The pandemic could have eased the impacts of flying. Here’s why it didn’t.

WASHINGTON POST • November 23, 2023

In the spring of 2020, as the coronavirus swept over the globe, air travel disappeared. But now, 3 1/2 years on, Americans’ love of flying has fully returned. Flying is responsible for approximately 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions but about 3.5% of human-caused warming every year – because of the way planes affect the chemical composition of the sky. That might seem like a small amount, but by 2050, aviation emissions could triple. Some people passionate about climate change and the environment – including some climate scientists – have signed pledges to cut back. But in the United States, there are few easy alternatives. If the country invested in high-speed rail, 54% of domestic flights could be replaced by train travel.

Column: Crows have a surprisingly complex family life

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 23, 2023

Crow society is built around strong family bonds. Crows mate for life, and their offspring hang around for several years to help take care of successive broods. You often see groups of crows foraging together. There are brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles in the mix. Crows guard each other, often posting a sentry while the group forages. Crows groom each other and tend to sick relatives. Crows defend family territories year-round, though they will sometimes allow “outsiders” into their family circles. Crows have always gathered in big winter roosts, but it’s only recently that they began moving into cities. After federal protections were extended to crows in the early 1980s, they started to become more comfortable around humans. ~ Bob Duchesne

Albany man has lived off the grid for 50 years

BETHEL CITIZEN • November 22, 2023

With ingenuity and determination, Paul Hausman has worked hard to make his own way on a rural hillside in Albany Township. He has never relied on public utilities in his 50 years off the grid.

Maine ski areas get boost from storm

MAINE PUBLIC • November 22, 2023

Wednesday's storm disrupted travel and cloaked southern Maine in rain, but it brought a welcome blanket of snow to Maine's ski areas. Sugarloaf's Charli Sayward said the mountain opened last weekend, thanks to a lot of early season snowmaking. And she said at least 5 inches of fresh snow had fallen by Wednesday morning.

Bangor residents continue to clash over proposed housing development

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 22, 2023

The Bangor Planning Board held a public comment on a proposed development that would build 30 two-story duplexes with a total of 60 housing units, but the neighbors who surround the potential development remain fierce in their opposition of the housing. While the project would bring new housing to a city that has repeatedly listed increasing its housing stock as a priority, the idea has faced months of opposition from neighbors who fear it would increase traffic, dilute water pressure and erase habitats for wildlife, among other concerns.

Commentary: Is public power impossible in Maine? Not so fast.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 22, 2023

Public power advocates cannot win over political leaders and editorial writers who seem to prefer the impossible – a fully developed proposal that answers all possible objections, including the real cost of the change. Without leadership in understanding the issues, voters left in doubt vote “no.” These factors discourage public power. But the vote could serve as the start of a longer-term effort. There is a way to try again while overcoming problems Pine Tree Power could not surmount. Take it in steps. Issues could be studied and decided locally in concrete terms. Changing just a few words in Maine law, leaving approval to the PUC but without a utility veto, would make it possible for Maine municipalities to make their own choices. Small local utilities work and have lower rates. The other way to keep public power moving forward is to form a non-governmental action group. ~ Gordon L. Weil

Letter: Zambia’s mining history makes me wonder about Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 22, 2023

Copper was mined sustainably in Zambia for millennia. Yet, while conducting a multi-year study in mining communities there, I saw how some modern industrial practices did long-term damage to towns and the countryside. Effects included stunted vegetation; large sludge pools; huge areas scoured of everything but crushed rock; and acrid air. What changed? An economic system that reduces air, water and land to monetary value now dominates. Supporters of the Wolfden proposal cite the need for jobs. Would Wolfden establish a training system for Mainers to learn necessary skills? ~ Elizabeth C. Parsons, Author, “What Price for Privatization?” Portland

Top Maine Democrat wants to rein in strict heat pump rebate rules

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 21, 2023

Lawmakers will consider rolling back strict new rules requiring Mainers to disconnect fossil fuel-burning furnaces and boilers to claim the largest heat pump incentives. A proposal from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, would “seek to find some middle ground” by removing some of the new rebate rules on installing whole-home heat pump systems in specific areas of the state based on temperatures.

EPA offers $2B to clean up pollution, develop clean energy in poor and minority communities

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 21, 2023

The Biden administration is making $2 billion available to community groups, states and tribes to clean up pollution and develop clean energy in disadvantaged communities in what officials called the largest-ever investment in environmental justice. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan called the grant program unprecedented and said it “has the promise to turn disadvantaged and overburdened areas into healthy, resilient and thriving communities for current and future generations.”

100 Mile Wilderness stream restoration will benefit salmon and trout

MAINE PUBLIC • November 21, 2023

A river restoration project in Maine's Pleasant River watershed will allow Atlantic salmon and brook trout to access several miles of a cold brook in the 100 Mile Wilderness. Marian Orlousky of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, says a culvert that prevented fish from swimming upstream has been removed. "So we took the culvert out and we built what is called a clear-span bridge and we restored the streambed underneath that bridge so that it facilitates fish movement upstream," she said. Orlousky said this will allow brook trout and juvenile Atlantic salmon to freely access more than three miles of Henderson Brook, a tributary of the West Branch of the Pleasant River that flows right next to the Appalachian Trail.

Malaga Island added to National Register of Historic Places

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 21, 2023

Malaga Island, a 42-acre island about a 40-mile drive up the coast from Portland, is these days a public preserve visited by hikers and nature lovers. More than a century ago, it was home to a small community that historians believe was settled by free Black Americans around the time of the Civil War. In late 1911, during the administration of Maine Gov. Frederick W. Plaisted, several islanders were committed to the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded. The state then bought Malaga Island from a local family and ordered the remaining residents to vacate. The island, located in the tiny town of Phippsburg, was formally listed on the national register on Sept. 19. The Maine Coast Heritage Trust acquired the island in 2001 and manages it as a preserve.

City council gives initial proposal to zoning changes in Lake Auburn watershed

MAINE PUBLIC • November 21, 2023

Several ordinance changes that would allow increased development in the Lake Auburn watershed received initial approval from the Auburn city council Monday night. One would shrink the watershed boundary, which is supported by Maine's Drinking Water program. Another would rezone 60 acres from an agriculture resource protection zone to general business. Councilor Richard Whiting was one of two councilors who voted against that proposal. Whiting said, “Suburban residential allows a developer a substantial opportunity to develop in a safe manner that is less intense. And given the public's horror and reaction to the rezoning we did in the past, and even with the line change, it's excessive and I won't support it."

State wants to raise roadways to prevent flooding on Route 1, Pine Point Road in Scarborough

FORECASTER • November 21, 2023

The state has preliminary plans to prevent flooding of Route 1 and Pine Point Road in Scarborough by raising sections of those roads by 4 feet. The low-lying sections abutting the Scarborough Marsh – about one mile of Route 1 from the Admiral Inn to Haigis Parkway and three-quarters of a mile of Pine Point Road/Route 9 from Primrose Lane past the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center – frequently flood and are sometimes impassable in heavy rain storms. The project remains a few years away. Other projects on the horizon include conserving more land so the marsh “has more room to move as sea levels rise” and identifying other vulnerable road crossings.

Commentary: Maine has a golden opportunity to raise the bar for mining

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 21, 2023

Here come the miners! To meet EV demand, worldwide lithium production must at least quadruple by 2030. Maine is among a half-dozen states with potentially large lithium reserves. One deposit in Newry is estimated at 11 million tons of ore. Scientists have found other rare elements in northern Maine. How can we move toward a low-carbon future without making life worse in low-income countries? We should stop exporting environmental and social problems. We also need to admit that there are places where mining can be done well. In Maine, we have a golden opportunity to raise the bar for mining. ~ Robert Wasserstrom, PhD, worked in the international energy industry for 35 years

Opinion: We need to focus on lower energy costs, not climate goals

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 21, 2023

it’s time to start looking at what is driving electricity costs. First, rather than focusing solely on affordability, the Legislature has put into law in the PUC’s statement of purpose arbitrary greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Instead of concentrating on what is best for Mainers’ pocketbooks, the utilities commission now has the added focus on politically driven climate goals. I introduced a bill last session that would remove the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the basic purpose of the state’s utility regulatory system. Next, the utilities commission should increase transparency by making the actual cost and source of energy clear on everyone’s electric bill. If we do not implement these changes, I fear the burden our energy costs will be more than Mainers can bear. ~ Rep. “Jack” E. Ducharme, III, R-Madison