Commentary: Democracy and climate politics are set to collide next year

BLOOMBERG • December 26, 2023

As the dust settles on the COP28 climate summit that concluded last week in Dubai, a sobering reality is looming. The dirty business of political maneuvering is going to consume the world’s democracies over the next 12 months. In 2024, climate will be on the ballot in a way we’ve rarely seen. Voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population — and roughly the same share of emissions — will go to the polls. In places, that offers the prospect to break gridlocks on climate and energy policies. In others, it may offer an opportunity for a climate-denying backlash. Far too few places show a decent chance of accelerating the transition to clean energy in the way advocated by the COP28 agreement. ~ David Fickling

Letter: Ban on lead ammo unnecessary

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2023

A ban on traditional ammunition not only penalizes Maine hunters but would also be detrimental to the Pine Tree State’s wildlife management and conservation efforts. Alternative ammunition made of alloys is significantly more expensive than traditional ammunition. Removing lead shot as an ammunition choice will discourage hunters from purchasing Maine hunting licenses. Hunters have used traditional ammunition for centuries and studies have demonstrated no compelling data showing negative impacts on human health. America’s wildlife populations are healthier and more numerous today than ever before. ~ Lawrence G. Keane, National Shooting Sports Foundation

Federal government holds off on plans for a High Peaks refuge

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 25, 2023

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has paused its plan to designate part of the High Peaks region in western Maine as a national wildlife refuge, after hearing from concerned local residents and some of Maine’s federal lawmakers who have argued that the region is already well managed locally. The federal government had been considering making between 5,000 and 15,000 acres in the High Peaks into a refuge since the spring. In August, U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden sent a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service outlining their concerns about the plan for the refuge, citing local opposition.

Genetic engineering was meant to save chestnut trees. Then there was a mistake.

WASHINGTON POST • December 25, 2023

The American Chestnut Foundation has poured years of work into a line of chestnuts genetically engineered to endure a deadly disease infecting them, an effort meant to be one of the best hopes for its survival. Then in October came a blow to that vision. Ek Han Tan, a geneticist at the University of Maine, found a gene inserted into the wrong spot, driving the American Chestnut Foundation to pull its support this month for the Darling line. It has sent a rift through the passionate community and left still-unanswered questions about the fate of a long-standing, high-tech effort. The disagreement threatens to derail plans for restoring the trees. But Andrew Newhouse, director of chestnut restoration at SUNY ESF, said his team is moving forward with seeking federal approval to begin distributing seeds to the public without the 5,000-member foundation as its longtime partner and financial backer.

Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust awarded $10,000 grant to complete Cathance River trail project

TIMES RECORD • December 25, 2023

A set of 40 stairs carved into a steep embankment along the Cathance River will now be completed thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Maine Land Trust Grant Program. The steps are a key connecting piece of a project that the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust began five years ago: rerouting a trail that wends along the river to avoid a new expansion to the adjacent Highland Green retirement community. The BTLT owns or holds easements on 3,200 acres spread across Brunswick, Topsham and Bowdoin. Two hundred thirty-one of those are along the Cathance River, a waterway that’s a popular destination for hikers, birdwatchers and whitewater paddlers. Since 2004, L.L. Bean has given over $400,000 to nearly 60 local land trusts through the program.

Residents in Augusta had a moose on the loose in their backyard

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • December 24, 2023

Residents on Murray Street in Augusta got quite the surprise Saturday night when a moose came trotting through their neighborhood. Chris Martinez received a frantic call that night from his neighbor who was out of town at the time — her house’s camera detected a motion, but little did Martinez know that it would be a moose that visited his neighbor’s home.

Maine land trusts using grant funds to upgrade trail systems around the state

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2023

Land trusts around Maine have received $65,000 for upgrades to their trail systems and other improvements. The projects, which recently received funding through the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program administered by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, include the design and planning of a new parking area at the popular Robinson Woods Preserve in Cape Elizabeth. There’s also a planned trail reroute and the installation of steps at the Cathance River Nature Preserve in Topsham and the installation of new solar-powered lights on a ski loop at Roberts Farm Preserve in Norway, along with seven other projects.

New subsidies in 2024 could boost already-prevalent heat pumps in Maine

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 24, 2023

Maine already has become a leader in heat pump installation, and the trend seems certain to continue as units become more versatile and as subsidies help defray upfront costs. Three months ago, Gov. Janet Mills announced that the state has surpassed its goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025, two years ahead of schedule. She has set an updated target of installing 175,000 more heat pumps in Maine by 2027, and the state soon will have a new source of federal funding to help reach that goal.

Letter: Don’t mine in the heart of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 22, 2023

I know Maine’s people and government have always worked together to preserve the natural resources of our state: forests for the air we breathe, the wildlife, and sustenance of our spirit and waters to quench our thirst and to nurture our unique and precious ecosystems. I know we need minerals, but not if they must be dredged from the very heart of Maine. I implore the LUPC to reject Wolfden’s request. There are times we have sold too much timber, too much water and too many fields to industrial or corporate entities, but we must be cognizant of the limits. Too big a bite, from the very center of our state, to feed the glutinous appetites of a corporate meal would be at the expense of Maine’s land and people. ~ Jayne Lello, Sebec

Opinion: Give the fisheries back to the people

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 22, 2023

The fishing fleet is facing more stress than ever from overregulation, offshore wind development and a generally difficult business environment. In general, Congress has been responsive to our concerns. It’s the regulators who are utterly indifferent to fishing families and fishing communities. The “whale protection” plan directed lobstermen to reduce the risk of entanglements by 98%. Compliance meant the demise of the industry. Building wind turbines in Lobster Management Area 1 would decimate maritime communities. ~ Dustin Delano

PFAS found on former Loring base could delay $4B biomass jet fuel plant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2023

One of the chemicals categorized as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, has been found in an old airport hangar at the former Loring Air Force Base, which could delay the base’s largest redevelopment project in years. Washington D.C.-based DG Fuels plans to construct a $4 billion sustainable aviation fuel production facility on the former base. The company intends to lease 1,240 acres for the project which is being funded through the U.S. Department of Energy and commercial equity, DG Fuels CEO Michael Darcy said. The PFAS discovery raises legal questions about cleanup responsibilities if hazardous materials are found in the future. Data from the U.S. Air Force’s ongoing investigation of the site won’t be compiled before the start of construction on the DG Fuels facility in late 2024 or early 2025, creating uncertainty about the timing of the project.

How a Category 5 atmospheric river supercharged deadly East Coast storm

WASHINGTON POST • December 21, 2023

Atmospheric rivers – jets of intense precipitation that curl around powerful ocean storms – are generally considered a West Coast phenomenon. But it turns out a top tier atmospheric river – rated Category 5 on scale of 1 to 5 – was part of the East Coast storm that killed at least five people and cut power to more than 800,000 customers this week. The storm unleashed at least 4 inches of rain and wind gusts over 50 mph in every Eastern Seaboard state from Florida to Maine. Boosted by the atmospheric river, the storm generated exceptional rainfall that caused creeks, streams and rivers to overflow. The river in the sky drew record-setting warmth from the tropics northward, melting snow in the mountains of the Northeast, which made the flooding even worse.

Letter: Millinocket area needs jobs, but not from the mining proposal

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2023

I am 80 years old, born in Millinocket, where my husband and I have lived and worked. We grew up here during the “glory days” when Great Northern Paper Co.’s mills were world-renowned and when millworkers made good money and their children were able to find jobs in the area or could afford to attend college and tech schools. We were also here when Great Northern was nibbled away at by outside investors with empty promises. We need jobs here, but not the kinds of jobs that could destroy wildlife habitat and poison our waters, not now and not for our future generations to have to clean up. ~ Marian Hale Fowler, Indian Purchase Township

Regulators kill deal for wind power line from northern Maine to New England grid

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 21, 2023

State utility regulators, citing differences over cost, have terminated an agreement for a proposed transmission line that would have brought wind power from northern Maine to the New England grid. Philip L. Bartlett II, chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, said at the agency’s meeting Thursday that the developer, LS Power, informed regulators that it “can no longer hold to its price” for the transmission line that would extend up to 160 miles. “This is a nonstarter,” Bartlett said. The PUC will terminate the procurement and initiate a new one.

Maine Public Utilities Commission nixes Aroostook powerline contract

MAINE PUBLIC • December 21, 2023

The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Thursday terminated its deal with LS Power, which had won a contract to build a billion-dollar powerline from southern Aroostook County to central Maine. The powerline was planned to run from Glenwood Plantation to Coopers Mills, connecting the proposed 1,000-megawatt King Pine wind farm to the central Maine electrical grid. Proponents said it would help Maine meet its renewable energy goals. The PUC awarded the contract to LS Power in October 2022, and Massachusetts committed to funding 40 percent of the project two months later. It also received Maine lawmakers' approval. But when LS Power published maps of its proposed route in July, opposition quickly emerged, especially among farmers and other affected landowners along the route. Now, the PUC says it's been unable to negotiate terms of the contract with LS Power, including the actual cost of the project.

Federal government pauses controversial plan for western Maine wildlife refuge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2023

The federal government has paused a plan to turn part of western Maine’s High Peaks region into a National Wildlife Refuge after pushback from residents and lawmakers who viewed the effort as encroaching on local autonomy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service floated the idea this past spring of using 5,000 to 15,000 acres of the High Peaks region around Rangeley for a new refuge after identifying the area that contains the largest expanse of high elevation in Maine as providing critical habitat for migratory birds and opportunities to research how species adapt to a changing climate. But a broad group of opponents (loggers, outdoors groups, Sugarloaf ski resort, Gov. Janet Mills, Maine’s congressional delegation, and state lawmakers from the region) worried they would lose access to and control of land, especially for ATV and snowmobile use.

Scarborough to preserve small but mighty 18 acres

FORECASTER • December 21, 2023

The Scarborough Town Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to help the Scarborough Land Trust acquire and conserve an 18-acre parcel on the west side of town. While relatively small, “the ‘wow’ factor of this property’s connectivity is perhaps the most important factor to positively affect wildlife outcomes,” the town’s Parks and Conservation Land Board said in its recommendation to the council. The parcel along Hanson Road, with more than 1,200 feet of Silver Brook frontage, abuts other conserved land. The acquisition will create over 730 acres of contiguous land conserved in Scarborough and Buxton.

Letter: Range anxiety with EVs is misplaced

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 21, 2023

In the debate over Maine’s proposed electric vehicle regulations, range anxiety is often the first thing drivers think of. They picture nightmare scenarios of long recharging times on a road trip. But that nightmare is highly unlikely. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average driver drives 29 miles per day, and 99.03% of driving trips are done at 100 miles or fewer, while 0.24 percent of all trips were over 250 miles. The median distance of a road trip in a personal vehicle was 194 miles. The average range of an EV in 2022, according to Bloomberg, was 291 miles. So for daily driving and over 99% of road trips, an EV can get you to your destination without you having to stop to recharge. ~ David Kuchta, Portland

This Acadia winter adventure includes a sand beach and crumbling tea house

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2023

One of the most popular destinations in Acadia National Park, Sand Beach is swarming with visitors in the summer. Its two parking lots fill up rapidly every day. But during the winter, even on a bluebird day, you might share the beach with a handful of locals and off-season tourists. Or you might have it entirely to yourself. Another perk? Dogs are permitted on the beach in the winter — but they’re not during the summer — if you keep them on leash and pick up after them.

Opinion: A wind port belongs at Mack Point, not on Sears Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 21, 2023

Most people are not familiar with the 2007 Sears Island Planning Initiative Consensus Agreement. It set the stage to divide Sears Island into the 601-acre conservation area (held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust), with the remaining 335 acres set aside “for a potential port development.” It’s clear that the reserved land is intended to serve “marine transportation” purposes. Based on the agreement, developing Sears Island for a wind port is inappropriate. The Maine Department of Transportation acknowledges that a proposed wind port could potentially be located on Mack Point, where the 100-acre land requirement could be met, and owner Sprague Energy welcomes the development. There is no clearly documented reason to destroy 100 or more acres of forest, flatten the west side of the island, and fill 20 acres of Penobscot Bay for a wind port. ~ Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island