Monday’s powerful storm latest example of bad weather made worse by climate change

SUN JOURNAL • December 19, 2023

The deadly rain and windstorm that swept through Maine on Monday downing trees, cutting power to half the state, washing away roads and bridges, and flooding communities is the latest example of bad weather made worse by climate change. Although the damage was caused by wind and rain, it was the unseasonably warm weather that Maine is experiencing due to an increase in heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that gave the wet winter storm its powerful punch, scientists say.

Storm triggers catastrophic flooding; 330,000 customers still without power

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 19, 2023

Two major rivers in Maine are expected to experience 100-year floods between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, creating dangerous conditions for some communities that are still reeling from widespread power outages in the wake of Monday’s storm. Late Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of civil emergency for every Maine county except York and Cumberland, a distinction that allows her to marshal state resources and apply for federal funding.

Evacuation orders issued near Maine rivers as flooding continues

MAINE PUBLIC • December 19, 2023

The city of Lewiston is ordering residents of several streets to evacuate from this afternoon through midday tomorrow. In neighboring Auburn, officials have strongly recommended evacuating North River Road, Newbury Street, and Riverside Drive, among other low-lying areas. The city of Augusta has additionally closed streets and any city-owned property along the Kennebec River.

As climate warms, that perfect Christmas tree may depend on growers’ ability to adapt

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 19, 2023

Christmas tree growers and breeders have long prepared for a future of hotter weather that will change soil conditions, too. People buying trees may not have noticed a difference in availability this year and may not even in the next couple; the average Christmas tree takes eight to 10 years to reach marketable size. But that means the trees being grown right now are the beloved holiday traditions of tomorrow for millions of families. That’s why researchers have been working with breeders to see if species from other parts of the world – for instance, Turkish fir – are better adapted to conditions being wrought by climate change.

Letter: Adopt clean car standards to expand consumer choice and reduce costs

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2023

A Dec. 12 column opposing proposed clean cars standards for Maine includes several unsubstantiated claims. Adopting these standards is consistent with Maine’s long-standing practice of adopting strong fuel-efficiency and tailpipe pollution standards going back decades, and they are needed to meet Maine’s greenhouse gas reduction targets as required by law. Zero-emission vehicle drivers can save $20 to $30 every time they fill up, and the standards are designed to ensure Mainers can participate and benefit as the clean energy transition happens and not get left behind. There are no purchase requirements for individuals or businesses, and the standards don’t apply to used vehicles sales. ~ Josh Caldwell, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Augusta

Opinion: Maine needs to create its own future, not just let it happen

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2023

The Maine economy is based on three primary elements: tourism, fisheries and manufacturing. Our educational system reflects conventional organization and academic disciplines, and yet we face a pervasive decline in skilled personnel for the trades and other workforce specialties. We are experiencing a renewal of people, young and old coming to Maine for the quality of life. Are we strong enough to have a strategic plan that will provide and accelerate the values these new “immigrants” bring to our community? “The creative economy,” traditionally characterized as art and culture, must now include science and communication. The demographic predictions of climate consequence indicate that Maine is one of the most beneficial places to live in the U.S. The opportunity demands vision and leadership. Will we create our future, or just let it be? ~ Peter Neill, Sedgwick

Letter: Electric Vehicle standards would be a bad choice for Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2023

I run a bus business, and we contract with schools to transport students to school and to sporting events. We had the opportunity to use an electric bus, and I can say from that experience, it would never meet the needs of the school systems. There’s no way to transport kids without spending hours charging, the bus had to be heated with diesel because the battery could never support that high need for power, and the battery could catch on fire. ~ Wayne Luce, Hope

Lewiston, Auburn issue flood evacuation orders for areas of the cities

SUN JOURNAL • December 19, 2023

City officials issued flood evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon for sections of Auburn and Lewiston due to an expected “record level” of the Androscoggin River on Wednesday.

Frank J. Wood Bridge closed due to rising water levels

TIMES RECORD • December 19, 2023

Officials shut down the Frank J. Wood Bridge linking downtown Brunswick and Topsham late Tuesday morning due to high water levels stemming from Monday’s severe storm. The Maine Department of Transportation decided to close the bridge around 11 a.m., as the Androscoggin River was rushing just 6 feet below the bridge deck’s beams, according to MDOT spokesperson Paul Merrill. Water also closed in on the bottom of the adjacent bridge that is being built to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge.

‘Please, we gotta get out of here.’ Downtown Mexico flooded by swollen rivers

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • December 19, 2023

Two people remained missing Tuesday night after the vehicle they were in was swept off the Red Bridge by floodwaters from the Swift River on Monday night, officials said. Mexico police said that shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, a vehicle carrying four people was traveling Route 2 and the driver tried unsuccessfully to cross the Red Bridge into Rumford. As the driver tried to turn around the vehicle was swept into the river. Three people were able to get out of the car; two of them were rescued and taken to Rumford Hospital where they were treated for hypothermia. The the third person, along with the fourth person who was last seen in the car, remain missing.

2023's extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming fuels climate disasters

THE CONVERSATION • December 19, 2023

The year 2023 was marked by extraordinary heat, wildfires and weather disasters. Globally, 2023 was the warmest year on record, and it wreaked havoc around the world. El Niño played a role, but global warming is at the root of the world’s increasing extreme weather. So, how exactly is global warming linked to fires, storms and other disasters? I am an atmospheric scientist who studies the changing climate. In sum, a warmer world is a more violent world, with the additional heat fueling increasingly more extreme weather events. ~ Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton

Opinion: Of Seinfeld, Scrooge and climate change – a holiday parable

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 19, 2023

What is the carbon footprint of these Holidays and their many lights and candles? A Christmas tree: large incandescent lights, 13.15 kg of CO2; mini incandescent lights, 19.17 kg of CO2; and LED lights, 2.26 kg of CO2. The type of tree purchased to be lit by those lights matters, too – 3.1 kg/year of CO2 emissions for a natural tree versus 8 kg of CO2 per year over the course of the six-year life span of an artificial tree. How about the Menorah candles for Hanukkah? The standard paraffin candles many buy emit, over the eight nights, just 0.27 kg of CO2. Beeswax candles are deemed carbon neutral – they emit CO2 recently absorbed by plants and then transferred to beeswax. But don’t use olive oil lamps – those emit 10 times the CO2 of paraffin candles. And try digital cards instead of the 2.65 billion holiday cards sold each year in the U.S. Or there is a holiday you can substitute that has no energy use or emissions, Festivus, made famous in a 1997 Seinfeld episode. ~ Jeff Thaler, Yarmouth

Storm wipes out power across Midcoast, shuttering schools and blocking roads

TIMES RECORD • December 18, 2023

Power outages racked up across the Midcoast as gusty winds reaching 60 mph and heavy rain swept across the state Monday, hitting coastal communities especially hard. Several towns in the area were completely in the dark. In Brunswick, more than 9,000 of Central Maine Power’s 11,690 customers were in the dark as of 5:30 p.m. Brunswick schools closed their doors and sent students home shortly after noon Monday as outages became more widespread. The towns of Phippsburg, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Georgetown, Arrowsic and Woolwich didn’t have a single customer with power as of Monday evening. In Harpswell, all but 100 of CMP’s roughly 4,700 customers were in the dark.

Letter: Reject proposed electric vehicle standards

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 18, 2023

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is considering the adoption of a California-inspired policy, which will force car dealerships to replace about half their inventory with electric vehicles. Furthermore, it will mandate 43 percent of new car sales be electric vehicles by 2027. As a consumer, this greatly concerns me. Maine, like many states, lacks the comprehensive charging infrastructure. Furthermore, the performance of electric vehicle batteries in colder climates poses a significant challenge. I urge the Board of Environmental Protection to reject the adoption of this potentially harmful policy. ~ Kathleen Szostek, Dixfield

More climate disasters are forcing millions of Americans to move, researchers say

BLOOMBERG • December 18, 2023

3.2 million Americans moved away from high-flood-risk areas between 2000 and 2020. The full extent of the migration has been hidden, however, since most people didn’t move far. “There appear to be clear winners and losers in regard to the impact of flood risk on neighborhood-level population change,” Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street, said. “The downstream implications of this are massive and impact property values, neighborhood composition and commercial viability, both positively and negatively.” The analysis also extrapolates these trends 30 years into the future, predicting that vulnerable areas will continue to lose population.

Opinion: EVs need a detour

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 19, 2023

A new rule under consideration by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection subjects car dealers to new requirements regarding zero-emission electric vehicles. For the 2027 model year, 43% of new car sales must be EVs; that increases to 82% by the year 2032. The real question for Maine BEP is whether they should adopt it. As an economics professor who truly believes in our free-market economy, they absolutely should not. ~ Sen. James Libby (R)

Letter: Pickett Mountain mine would pollute

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 18, 2023

My grandfather worked for a mining company for 32 years until he died 2,000 feet below the surface at age 59, when I was 6 years old. His health was diminished by his life in the mines. I defy anyone to find a mining community where the air is clean and one can drink the water and eat the fish and game. Wolfden’s deceptive branding of “Environmental. Sustainable.” on their Patten office window is an insult to Mainers’ intelligence. There is no question their proposed Pickett Mountain mine would pollute. ~ Ed Spencer, West Old Town

Editorial: Remarkable population growth is a remarkable opportunity for Maine

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 17, 2023

Suddenly, Maine’s population growth is booming, outpacing the national average for the first time in decades. The reversal is the result of a once-in-a-century pandemic that led a lot of people to reconsider what they want out of life. It’s time for us to take advantage. Most of the growth has come from people searching for a safer, quieter, more community-centered place to live. No one moved to Maine in the last few years because taxes or welfare were cut, or because businesses were allowed to pollute or mistreat workers. As the climate crisis brings high heat and more frequent storms to other parts of the country, people may continue to look to Maine for respite. We need housing so that more people can live affordably. We need to improve and expand our public parks, trails and downtowns. We need to manage growth so that we’re not overwhelmed by traffic, or see our towns pulled apart by sprawl.

Letter: Leaders must act on climate, or let someone else lead

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2023

My message to the leaders who were at COP 28, the recent United Nations climate change conference: The time has come for you to do something. While the world burns, you do what you do best. Private jets, caviar, champagne — while us commoners will soon need to move, or literally starve and die. If those who are meant to lead us, lack the vision necessary to solve the hugely complex and severely consequential challenges we face, they must step aside — for those who can. ~ Carl Altomare, Machiasport

A major snowmobile trail with massive gaps likely won’t be fixed this season

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 15, 2023

The major snowmobile trail that connects Jay, Wilton and Farmington likely will not be fixed for this season of sledding, according to the head of the Maine Snowmobile Association. Two large gaps in the trail, each 40 feet deep by about 100 feet long, were caused by flooding and erosion in the rainy spring and summer. It looks like the two huge gaps may not get fixed before the season gets underway, which means that part of the trail system will either have to be rerouted or will dead-end on either end of the hole.