Opinion: Maine should not move toward eliminating gas-powered vehicles

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 12, 2023

I can’t believe that Maine is on the verge of moving toward the phase out of gas-powered cars. If the unelected Board of Environmental Protection votes to adopt a proposed California rule mandating the sale of electric vehicles (EV) at its Dec. 21 meeting, it could put Maine on the path toward elimination of gas-powered vehicles by making them artificially expensive. I hope that, if the BEP votes to impose this on us, the Legislature will act to require legislative approval before this takes effect. If necessary, I will submit legislation to repeal the rules for EV sales as an emergency measure for immediate action. ~ Rep. Dick Campbell, House Republican lead on the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resource Committee

Making oil is more profitable than saving the planet. These numbers tell the story

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • December 12, 2023

Oil companies have long been under pressure to invest more money into renewable energy to help fight climate change. Here's one simple reason why that's not happening: Right now, oil makes a lot more money. Energy companies spend a lot of money every year. Picture a giant Scrooge McDuck-style mountain of cash, to the tune of $800 billion. According to the International Energy Agency, the oil industry would need to spend 50% of that on clean energy by 2030 to be on track to meet global climate targets. But right now, oil companies are spending just 2.5% of their capital, collectively, on green power.

Editorial: Airport parking lot proposal drags us backward

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 12, 2023

The Portland International Jetport needs to vastly improve access for an increasing number of travelers. Yet attempts to soften the effects of its parking “crunch” – using an offsite overflow lot and a shuttle bus – have received a lukewarm reception. So it wants to pave six acres of green space and build a large new parking lot. Why act as if something as commonplace as a five-minute shuttle bus journey places an unreasonable burden on passengers or the environment? The problem is not the bus. It’s the cars. A vast expanse of disused parking space at the Maine Mall is ripe for exploitation by airport management. Or shift the onsite employee car park or the space used by rental car companies to the pink lot. Measures like these are successfully used by airports the world over.

Opinion: No, Virginia, your Christmas tree is not a climate crime

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 12, 2023

Trees are good. So it might seem that chopping down one of these precious planet-savers and dragging it to your living room to festoon with lights and ornaments, only to toss it on the curb later, would be bad for the climate. In fact, you may be doing the planet a favor. Cutting trees down, digging up the soil to plant new ones and hauling the harvest to a local parking lot for sale does generate carbon emissions. But this pollution is nothing compared with what’s involved in producing artificial trees. Just be sure your real tree is sourced and recycled responsibly. Make whatever lifestyle changes you can afford, sure. But the impact of talking to your friends, loved ones and enemies about climate, advocating for action and voting for politicians who want to make a difference will last longer than any Christmas decoration. ~ Mark Gongloff

Letter: Congress should pass ‘Big Wires’ act

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 12, 2023

Last July, Gov. Mills signed into law “An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind Resources,” officially putting Maine on the way to becoming a major player in clean energy production for the entire Northeast region. However, for this opportunity to become a reality, there must be a national energy grid that has the capacity to effectively conduct clean electricity within Maine and beyond. A foundational step toward this end is outlined in the “Big Wires” act in Congress, which would establish requirements for inter-regional transmission of electricity. I encourage Sens. King and Collins, and Reps. Pingree and Golden to sign on as co-sponsors of this important measure. ~ Tom Berry, Kennebunk

This Maine 13-year-old successfully hunted more than 100 game animals

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 12, 2023

Laurelai Winslow, 13, of Damariscotta has hunted and killed more than 100 animals, including at least 35 considered big game. Big game breaks down to nine deer, three bears, a moose, a caribou, an elk and 20 turkeys, plus lots of smaller game such as rabbits, woodcock and grouse. She killed her first white tail doe deer at 6 years old. Laurelai got her hunting grand slam — a moose, a bear, a deer and a turkey — in 2021 when she was 11. She wants to do that again.

America on Two Feet: The ghost town district

DAILY BULLDOG • December 11, 2023

The American Discovery Trail crosses the Sierra Nevada mountain range over a relatively easy route that has a few obstacles. I hiked along the Tahoe Rim Trail and saw the spectacular lake below, mountains rising proudly around the majestic perimeter. The trees were giant. I finished the daunting range, said bye to my Tahoe friends and made my way (by car) back to Eureka, NV, with a holiday stop in the Reno area. It sounds confusing, but I’d skipped ahead 300 miles of Nevada to hike over the Sierras in a timely fashion. They tend to get a lot of snow. While Thanksgiving seems well in the past, walking into the Atlantic Ocean nearly two years ago seems like yesterday. ~ Briana DeSanctis, of Farmington, only has a few hundred miles to complete out her 6,800-mile hike across the USA on the American Discovery Trail

Maine is launching a new research program to collect more data about right whales' whereabouts

MAINE PUBLIC • December 11, 2023

With more than $17 million in hand, Maine has a new plan to search for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. State officials hope to the use the newly gathered data to advocate for Maine's fishing industry. State scientists will place 26 new passive acoustic monitors around the Gulf of Maine, in addition to the eight others that have been in the water for the last three years, to listen for right whales. And soon an outside company hired by the Department of Marine Resources will fly small planes over the Gulf in attempt to spot them.

The U.S. could remove 1 billion tons of carbon from the air – for $130 billion

BLOOMBERG • December 11, 2023

Forests, soil and manmade solutions could help get the U.S. to net zero, according to a report published Monday that lays out a roadmap to pull CO2 from the air. Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) accounts for about 70% of the U.S.’s carbon removal potential. BiCRS, which accounts for about 70% of the U.S.’s carbon removal potential, involves collecting municipal solid waste and forestry scraps that have pulled CO2 from the air and using them to make products like hydrogen, biogas and charcoal. What’s missing is the financing to build facilities capable of transforming the waste into new materials that effectively lock up the CO2. Reaching the capacity to remove 1 billion tons of carbon annually using BiCRS and other methods could cost $130 billion. Relying on biomass to help clean the atmosphere must ensure that only waste is used rather than chopping down a healthy forest.

Susan Collins and other lawmakers seek to expand health support for commercial fishermen

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 11, 2023

A federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder and worker fatigue, a group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska said. The lawmakers want to expand a federal commercial fishing occupational safety program that funds research and training. The program is designed to help the nation’s fishermen with the often hazardous conditions they face at sea. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is one of the lawmakers pushing for the change, said expanding the program would help fishermen access more safety training and mental health resources.

'Grinch' and 'Cindy Lou Who' climb New Hampshire's tallest peak

WMUR • December 11, 2023

It seems like the "Grinch" came out of his cave to hike New Hampshire's tallest mountain! "Cindy Lou Who" even joined the "Grinch" on his hike up Mount Washington. They took some photos and posed next to the summit sign. "Maybe these mountains, the Grinch thought, aren’t just about lists and a chore. Maybe these mountains, perhaps…mean a little bit more," David Perez wrote in a Facebook post of the photos.

Brunswick-Rockland Downeaster extension eyed with federal grant

TIMES RECORD • December 11, 2023

Amtrak’s Downeaster has been awarded a federal $500,000 grant to explore extending the passenger rail line from Brunswick to Rockland. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the money will create “faster, more reliable, expanded train service across the country.”

Editorial: LUPC should reject Pickett Mountain rezoning request

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023

Wolfden Resources Corporation is asking Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission to allow them to open a proposed mine to extract minerals such as zinc, lead and copper, which they can’t currently do on the parcel they are seeking to rezone. The LUPC has certain guidelines they must follow when considering this request, including an assessment of both potential positive and negative impacts, but ultimately the onus is on Wolfden as the applicant to convince the LUPC that their proposal merits this rezoning. We aren’t convinced that this proposal meets a critical part of the LUPC’s decision-making criteria for such a zone change.

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association to host pop-up shop in Brunswick

TIMES RECORD • December 11, 2023

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, a nonprofit focused on rebuilding the fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and sustaining Maine’s fishing communities for future generations, is hosting a holiday pop-up shop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at its office at 93 Pleasant St. in Brunswick, featuring a number of products made in in partnership with local businesses and artists.

Endangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 11, 2023

Atlantic salmon isn’t yet threatened with extinction, but its population dropped by nearly a quarter from 2006 to 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which tracks biodiversity around the globe, said on Monday. It’s now considered near threatened. They live in fewer places and face human-created hazards like dams and water pollution. Climate change is making it harder for the fish to find food and easier for alien species to compete, according to the group. Although there are some signs of hope: their numbers ticked up in Maine this past year. The news was announced at the United Nations climate conference in the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Leaders of the IUCN updated their Red List of Threatened Species, a tracker of biodiversity around the globe. It was mainly bad news. The list includes information on 157,000 species, about 7,000 more than last year’s update.

Skier triggers avalanche on Mount Washington, suffers life-threatening injury

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 11, 2023

A skier suffered a life-threatening leg injury after triggering an avalanche while skiing down Mount Washington. Dominic Torro, 30, of Bow, New Hampshire, was coming down Airplane Gully in a wilderness area with a friend Saturday morning. Torro’s friend and another skier went to Torro and called 911. While waiting for the helicopter, the skiers shoveled out an area on the slope so that a paramedic and litter basket could be lowered down from the helicopter and have enough room to load Torro and hoist him back up.

Cheaper Canadian potatoes hurt Maine farmers’ bottom line

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023

Seeing Canadian potatoes cross the border bound for U.S. markets makes Aroostook County farmers edgy. Canada is sending more fresh potatoes to U.S. markets, according to Canadian officials. Between 2020 and 2022, Canadian potato exports to the U.S. increased by 20.8 percent due to a decline in U.S. potato production. Canada’s weaker dollar helps exporters. Potatoes are Maine’s No. 1 food crop. In 2022, the state produced 1.8 billion pounds of potatoes, valued at $247 million.

Letter: Wind port would bring good jobs to the local economy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023

Our once-thriving industries have consistently shrunk or closed over the last 50 years, taking thousands of good jobs with them. We need new opportunities to steer our working families and communities toward prosperity. The offshore wind industry promises to do just that. By investing locally in a state-of-the-art port to support the assembly and maintenance of offshore wind turbines, we could reinvigorate local economies and provide our residents with stable, high-quality employment opportunities leading to lifelong careers. ~ Chad Ward, Thorndike

Lawmakers consider bill to limit water extraction contracts

MAINE PUBLIC • December 11, 2023

State legislators continue to debate a bill that would limit the length of contracts between local water districts and water extractors like Poland Spring. Although there are only a few water extraction contracts in Maine, those agreements are often negotiated for periods of more than 20 years. And some residents argue the practice is a threat to Maine's aquifers, prompting state legislators to consider limiting the length of contracts. Members of the committee on energy, utilities and technology debated LD 1111 again last week. Several lawmakers emphasized the impact that climate change could have on Maine water supplies, and said water districts shouldn't be locked into long contracts. But others, like committee chair senator Mark Lawrence, say the proposal restricts water districts, and isn't the best way to preserve aquifers.

Portland jetport plan to cut trees, add surface parking draws opposition

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 11, 2023

A plan to build a 734-space parking lot at the Portland International Jetport is facing mounting criticism from residents who say it contradicts the city’s ongoing efforts to promote sustainable development, reduce surface parking and encourage tree growth. The controversy comes as newly elected Mayor Mark Dion has identified fighting climate change and expanding Portland’s tree canopy as priorities of his administration. The nearly 6-acre parking area would be built near the airport’s existing garage and would include about 3 acres of wooded wetlands that currently shield part of the Stroudwater neighborhood from noise, light and air pollution generated by the jetport.