The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
MAINE PUBLIC • November 29, 2023
Maine has turned into a mountain biking destination, and the Moosehead Lake region is no exception. Progress has already been made on dozens of miles of trails in the Greenville area, and with more on the way, there's no doubt that the mountain biking scene will continue to grow.
MAINE PUBLIC • November 29, 2023
The annual Measures of Growth report was released Wednesday, a compilation of more than 30 performance indicators in Maine. The Maine Development Foundation says the state earned six gold stars including for environmental stewardship. Eight red flags include high energy costs.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 29, 2023
In 2018-19, NextEra tried to stop the New England Clean Energy Connect corridor because it was at risk of losing tens of millions of dollars a year if a competing source of lower-cost Canadian hydropower came into New England. NextEra was the primary donor to the Stop the Corridor campaign, pitching in $20 million. Stop the Corridor agreed to a $50,000 fine. Alpine Initiatives, a front, agreed to a $160,000 fine for failing to register as a political action committee and not filing a campaign finance report. Alpine funneled $150,000 from NextEra to the Democratic Party just before the 2018 election. NextEra consultants and the Bernstein Shur law firm, which worked for NextEra to stop the corridor, hoped Democratic officials would oppose the NECEC. However, Gov. Janet Mills, the Democratic candidate for governor, never dropped her public support for the corridor project.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 29, 2023
The climate crisis threatens the natural resources that define our state’s shared identity. The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is moving forward with a standard for cars — Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) — that would bring more zero-emission cars to Maine. It put off action on a similar rule for trucks — Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT). Adopting these standards could help drive down the cost of zero-emission vehicles for Maine people and businesses. They would also reduce toxic air pollution that harms public health, and save money for drivers and fleet owners on fuel and maintenance costs. Join us in calling on our leaders to implement these important standards now. ~ Sen. Stacy Brenner, co-chair, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Lynne Williams, co-chair Transportation Committee
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 29, 2023
The standard-offer rate for Central Maine Power customers will decrease by 35%; Versant Power customers will see a 24% drop. The decreases are the result of a big drop in natural gas prices.
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 29, 2023
Since 1994, the Maine Development Foundation’s annual Measures of Growth has tracked 25+ indicators that provide a comprehensive snapshot of how Maine’s economy is faring. For 2023, the Council assigned Gold Stars for significant progress, including on air and water quality, and sustainable forestlands. Red flags included the cost of energy.
CENTRAL MAINE • November 29, 2023
Maine can take a cue from the past and give a nod to the future by acknowledging when a modern technology is rising, and grab hold. Modern EVs get hundreds of miles of range to get you from here to there in comfort. They are the safest, most reliable, most pleasurable and the best bang for your buck. Nobody expects them to replace every work truck and skidder in the state, but for the majority of hard-working people, an EV is the right choice for their daily driver, year-round. ~ Travis Ritchie, Mechanic Falls
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 28, 2023
A St. Louis, Missouri couple with property in Camden will pay more than $215,200 after violating shoreland zoning laws by cutting down trees and applying herbicides on a neighbor’s property that’s near a local beach. Under a consent agreement with the town, Arthur and Amelia Bond must pay $180,000 as a penalty for the violations, as well as an estimated $30,700 for environmental testing and monitoring. They’ll also be liable for the costs of potential contamination found on town property. They have an additional settlement with the neighbor whose land they worked on, Lisa Gorman, and a consent agreement with the state Board of Pesticide Control. The latter agreement requires them to pay $4,500 for unlawful application of the herbicide Tebuthiuron.
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 28, 2023
Giving Tuesday is not about Giving Up. We don’t and we hope you won’t. Today and everyday, we at RESTORE: The North Woods are not letting up on our efforts to create parks, save forests, and protect the wildlife that are vital to a livable Earth. And we provide this fee-free news clipping service. Please make a special gift of $30, $300, $3,000 — or whatever you can afford.
TIMES RECORD • November 28, 2023
Brunswick’s Climate Action Task Force next week will request the Town Council approve emission reduction targets to mitigate the effect of climate change. The task force, created earlier this year after the state received a $50,000 state grant to formulate a Climate Action Plan, is recommending the council approve emission reduction targets of 65% by 2030 and net zero by 2050 for the entire community. The task force is also recommending a net-zero reduction target for municipal operations, including schools, by 2040.
MORNING SENTINEL • November 28, 2023
The Kennebec Water District on Tuesday lifted a boil-water noticethat was issued after a ruptured water main left nearly 100 residents without water. The main ruptured late Sunday near the intersection of Bay and Halifax streets, causing people to have no water coming from their taps and others to have water that appeared yellow. Water district officials issued the boil-water notice Monday morning. Authorities later deemed the water safe to drink after water samples sent to a lab tested negative for coliform bacteria.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 28, 2023
Public utilities are providing a public good and they should be publicly-owned. That is the only way that my future, your future – our future – will be prioritized over shareholder profits. Election results can’t change the reality. The fact remains that the investor-owned utility system, with corporate shareholders and captured regulators, was designed to enrich the few. By definition, it cannot prioritize people or our planet. Full stop. Nevertheless, the facts are also that our movement for public power has a lot of work to do. We lost. However, as someone who had more conversations with voters than most, I’m worried people have the wrong idea. ~ The real takeaway is that we were outspent by 37 to 1. ~ Lucy Hochschartner, deputy campaign manager, Pine Tree Power
BLOOMBERG • November 28, 2023
Humans are very likely the only species that can imagine very distant futures. Unfortunately, our brains aren’t wired to behave in a way that optimizes those futures. Most of us don’t even save enough for retirement. Society as a whole is also prone to toxic short-termism. Take climate change. Burning fossil fuels, clear-cutting forests and mass-producing cows serve our immediate needs for lights, farmland and cheeseburgers, but at the cost of ruining the climate for many future generations. Even if we stop burning fossil fuels in the decades to come, most of the human-caused heating would likely stick around for another 100,000 years. At the moment, we are choosing very unwisely. The good news is that none of this is a mystery. And all the tools we need are at hand. “This is not a science problem; it’s a political problem.” ~ Mark Gongloff
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • November 28, 2023
Cutting back on our consumption of meat is one of the easiest and most important things each of us can do to help lessen climate change. Growing crops to feed livestock is the leading cause of global deforestation. Please consider this possibility to support the future of humans (and all life) on this Earth. ~ Marty Soule, Readfield
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 28, 2023
The utilities opposed to Pine Tree Power reportedly spent $37 million to win this battle, while Pine Tree Power spent about $1 million. We all know that CMP will be asking for more rate increases in the future. We can only hope that the PUC deducts the cost of this wasteful advertising before approving any increases. Are our electric bills paying more for advertising and pocket lining than electricity? ~ Regi Robnett, Portland
ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 27, 2023
President Biden plans to skip the annual climate talks in Dubai this week, an event that is expected to draw heads of state and diplomats from roughly 200 nations and the Vatican. He has attended twice before. The White House said it was sending a climate team, including Special Envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adviser John Podesta.
MAINE PUBLIC • November 27, 2023
Maine has received more than $5 million from the National fish and Wildlife Foundation to expand the testing of alternative lobster fishing gear. State officials see the work as a way to get more Maine feedback into the hands of federal regulators, who are looking for ways to further reduce the risk of entanglement and injury to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 27, 2023
How we address concerns related to PFAS will have a huge impact in our state — on our economy, the health of our people and our climate and energy goals. The Maine Legislature passed a law two years ago to do this. The proposal probably could have taken a more targeted approach. The reporting requirement and the ban on products containing intentionally added PFAS could make it impossible for companies to operate in Maine. A ban on all PFAS could could jeopardize access to life-saving medical procedures, medical and veterinary testing, and prescription medicines. It could hinder progress on our climate action plan. It could threaten future job creation by Maine businesses, and result in some of them moving elsewhere. We can succeed in exposing and eliminating unnecessary PFAS, and we should take a thoughtful, science-based approach when doing so. ~ Sen. Joe Baldacci and Chris Kilgour, C&L Aviation
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 27, 2023
When Tanbark Molded Fiber Products began producing wood pulp-based packaging for Luke’s Lobster shacks in October, the Saco startup took Maine’s centuries-old pulp and paper industry into innovative and uncharted territory. But Tanbark co-founder and CEO Melissa LaCasse had an inkling early on that she was heading in the right direction, becoming one of the newest players in a struggling legacy industry that continues to reinvent itself as technology and markets evolve. Her instincts were affirmed as she raised $3.2 million in seed funding.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 26, 2023
A young whale measuring nearly 50 feet long washed up on a Steuben beach in a rare event that attracted onlookers through the weekend. The female fin whale beached herself by 9 a.m. on Thursday, showing no obvious signs of trauma or entanglement before dying around 11:30 a.m. Allied Whale planned to conduct a necropsy.
