Letter: A green proposal that is a good idea

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 4, 2024

Not all proposals by the green lobby are bad. However, global and astronomic forces combined with world industry make it certain that even a total ban of gasoline and diesel vehicles in Maine would not move the needle one tiny bit. To disrupt our economy without any good effect just to make some of us feel better is a bad idea. However, Tom Bradley’s call in a Bangor Daily News column to install plenty of charging stations to encourage those who may buy electric vehicles to come enjoy our ski slopes, forests, lakes, and shores is a good idea. They will speed up the trend for voluntary change to electric vehicles as they improve and become more common. Let’s find more ways to improve the situation without wasting time and money that are needed for things that will work. ~ John Ashby Morton, Little Deer Isle

Maine lobstermen sue state over requirement to track boats

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 2, 2024

Five lobstermen are suing the Maine Department of Marine Resources over a new regulation that requires tracking devices on boats that fish in federal waters, saying the devices violate their privacy rights. The trackers had to be installed by Dec. 15 under a new regulation from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. According to the department, the trackers periodically monitor the locations of a lobstering or crabbing vessel to help identify fishing patterns, which are then used to help grow the fishing stock and better protect the endangered North American right whale population.

Maine DEP highlights decades-old program for oil cleanup

SUN JOURNAL • January 3, 2024

State departments and county emergency management agencies are imploring residents and businesses whose oil systems suffered flooding damage to reach out to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Maine DEP has a response division which helps homeowners and businesses secure systems at risk of leaking and to clean up spills after weather events. The division has 24 responders staged across the state to assist those affected by the Dec. 18 storm flooding. The program was launched in 1993 and covered spills retroactively to 1990.

PFAS found in almost 1,000 products sold in Maine, so far

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 3, 2024

National companies have conceded that they use of dozens of different so-called forever chemicals in a thousand consumer products sold in Maine, from swimsuits to cameras to eyeshadow, according to Defend Our Health, a Portland-based environmental watchdog group. Defend Our Health cites these incomplete results as proof that Maine’s PFAS reporting law will work. “Industry reporting has begun to identify brand-name products containing ‘forever chemicals’ that could expose you and your family in your home, or be washed down the drain or tossed in the trash, harming our health and the environment,” said Sarah Woodbury, vice president of programs and policy for Defend Our Health.

Skowhegan whitewater River Park plans roll along with a final design on horizon

MORNING SENTINEL • January 3, 2024

A Skowhegan whitewater park 20 years in the making is one step closer to becoming reality. The town will open bids for the park’s final design, pending expected approval from the town’s selectmen next week. That means that construction could begin this summer. Even so, a complicated permitting process involving several agencies continues to inch along. And although organizers have completed most of the fundraising needed to start construction, they say that they still need more to complete the multi-million-dollar project.

Human evolution may prevent us from solving climate change, UMaine study finds

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 3, 2024

A new study led by an evolutionary biologist at the University of Maine has come to a grim conclusion: The very traits that have allowed humans to dominate the globe might prevent us from solving global environmental threats like climate change. When a resource starts to run low, or a method threatens our health or home, humans have a track record of moving to the next resource-rich area or fighting on the battlefield or boardroom over the scraps that remain rather than coming together to solve the problem. “We’re entering a new era of the human relationship to the environment,” UMaine Associate Professor Tim Waring said. “Climate change is a global crisis. We can’t just move on or fight amongst ourselves. If we do that, it won’t go well for us. The nature of human evolution has to change.”

New book of Maine’s landscape reveals nature’s ‘remarkable designs’

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 2, 2024

Margie Patlak’s new book “Wild and Wondrous: Nature’s Artistry on the Coast of Maine” is a journey amidst the natural world of wonder that is here in Maine every day, presented in stunning color photographs. The full breadth of Maine’s majestic land and seascapes is captured — the sea, the clouds, the light and land as they play together and sometimes come into conflict; the flora and fauna, islands, forests, rocks and yes, my favorite, fog. How can one not capture the majesty we here in Maine experience more often than most, our fog-bound world of wrapped gray splendor? ~ RJ Heller

2023 was warmer and wetter. December snow in Portland? Forget about it!

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 1, 2024

Pretty much the only snowflakes seen in Portland last month were Christmas decorations, as the city experienced its second-least snowiest December on record, receiving less than an inch of snow to trail only December 1999, when a trace fell. The average snowfall for December, as measured at the Portland International Jetport, is 14.6 inches, said Stephen Baron, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gray. For all of 2023, Portland received 51.8 inches of snow compared to the historical average of 68.7 inches.

Nordic reaffirms commitment to $500 million Belfast fish farm

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 1, 2024

The rumor mill has been churning with speculation about the viability of Nordic Aquafarms, a proposed $500 million fish farm in Belfast facing relentless pushback. Is Nordic, the land-based aquaculture developer, planning to abandon the project? Is the company redesigning the project altogether to avoid future hurdles? Despite the speculation and doubts, Nordic has reaffirmed its commitment to seeing the project through.

Opinion: Maine will not hit clean energy goals without transmission and delivery

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 1, 2024

In 2022, renewable resources fueled 64% of Maine’s total electricity net generation, with wind leading the largest share at 23% of the state’s total generation. Overall electricity use in New England is expected to grow 2.4% annually over the next 10 years. Where is all of this energy from the sun and wind going to go to meet higher demand for electricity? If recent history is any indication, the answer may be “nowhere fast.” We must improve the planning process necessary to build infrastructure to transmit clean, renewable energy and ensure that communities and ratepayers are not harmed. ~ Jeff Marks, ClimateWork Maine

National Park fee-free entrance days in 2024

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • January 1, 2024
There are many free national park entrance days in 2024:
• January 15: Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• April 20: First day of National Park Week
• June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
• August 4: Anniversary of Great American Outdoors Act
• September 28: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day

Editorial: Percival Baxter’s new year’s resolution resonates more than 100 years later

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 1, 2024

A little over 100 years ago — on Jan. 1, 1922 — then-Gov. Percival Baxter issued a resolution outlining a vision for a more charitable Maine. In Maine, timber and paper were economic drivers, but concerns had emerged about the rapid pace of timber harvesting. The advent of marine engines was changing the state’s fishing industry and the communities that relied upon it. Most Mainers in the early 1920s still lived in rural parts of the state, although the growth of manufacturing drew people to the state’s cities, as was happening around the world. “Rusticators” were welcomed for their economic contributions to the state, but also viewed unfavorably as being “from away.” Against this backdrop, Baxter’s words at the dawn of 1922 sounded a hopeful message of trust, cooperation and tolerance.

Two men rescued from bog in Steep Falls wildlife area in Standish

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 31, 2023

Joseph Caroto, 48, of Limington, and Stacey Gain, 55, of Baldwin, were hiking Saturday in a remote bog in Standish with another person when they got turned around and could not find their way back. The three hikers were forced to spend the night in the woods. On Sunday morning, the third hiker, shoeless and cold, left the group, found the way to a home and asked for help.

Editorial: In 2024, Maine has to act on the painful lessons of 2023

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 31, 2023

Local leadership will also be necessary to deal with the effects of the climate crisis, which is expected to bring regularly to Maine “100-year” weather events of the kind we saw just before Christmas. Maine has been a national leader in cutting carbon emissions, taking an important leading role in passing smart, responsible policy and showing the world it can work. Events of 2023 – including the extreme flooding in December – tell us there’s going to be much, much more of that work ahead.

Opinion: How to truly restore our power

MORNING SENTINEL • December 31, 2023

Cheers echoed everywhere as the lights flickered back to life in homes across Maine. It signaled the restoration of power for thousands who endured the storm on Dec. 18. This storm laid clear the need for advance weather warnings. Such warnings empower citizens to secure their safety and that of their loved ones proactively. To truly lessen this burden, how about a commitment to do better in the future? The state must acknowledge its role in promoting public safety by ensuring timely, efficient, and reliable dissemination of weather-related warnings. ~ Hilary Koch, Waterville

Letter: Future depends on offshore wind

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 31, 2023

Building offshore wind capacity – indeed, building all available renewable energy capacity as quickly as possible – is absolutely non-negotiable if we are to have any hope of maintaining both a stable civilization and a human-friendly climate. These projects will bring incredible benefits to Searsport and all of Maine, even without the utter necessity of undertaking them, which brings to mind the old activist joke, “But what if they’re wrong, and we’ve made a better world for nothing?” Anything less will willfully sacrifice our children on the altar of capital, and neither they nor history will ever forgive us. ~ Celine Kelley, Searsport

Opinion: Legislature must address new PFAS regulations

SUN JOURNAL • December 31, 2023

Maine’s current statute banning all PFAS is overly broad, creates confusion and could inadvertently limit access to federally regulated applications — like inhalers or refrigerants for organs and medicines — that are critical for health care. These compounds are pervasive in many other mission-critical applications (like electric vehicles, cooling and heating houses, hospitals and nursing homes) and the reality is the unintended consequences of a broad ban to human health have not been fully studied or understood by state policymakers. Rather than a sweeping ban on the entire PFAS class, Maine should narrow the law’s scope and prioritize compounds with high-risk profiles. ~ State Rep. Mike Lajoie, Lewiston

Opinion: Lead is a danger to us and wildlife

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2023

A shooting sports foundation lawyer (“Ban on lead ammo unnecessary,” Dec. 26) tells us not to worry about toxic lead bullets in our environment. Speaking in support of lead bullets, the lawyer suggests using lead ammunition is a healthy way to manage wildlife populations and poses no ill health effects on humans, which is reminiscent of what the tobacco lobby said about cigarettes. Lead has been proven again and again to show its deadly and debilitating health effects on humans – including slowing brain development in children – and wildlife. It’s why lead is removed from paint and children’s toys. To say otherwise would be deceitful to families who eat deer or elk, and a vast array of wildlife that deserves our best protection. ~ Julie Marshall, Center for a Humane Economy, Washington, D.C.

Letter: Stop supporting the fossil fuel industry

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2023

This flood is really the beginning of an era of such disasters because of climate change, not a once-in-a-lifetime event. Our government and other governments are massively subsiding the fossil fuel industry. American taxpayers each pay about $2,000 a year to subsidize fossil fuels. This is wrong. Individually we need to change to renewables, if possible, and more importantly, everyone should tell their legislators to stop supporting the fossil fuel industry and move quickly to renewables. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick

DEP official: Board to consider EV rules even as it urges Legislature to revise regulations

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 28, 2023

A Maine environmental official clarified on Thursday the state’s stance on a contentious proposal to expand electric vehicle use, saying that a regulatory board still will vote on the plan even as it asks the Legislature to consider revising state law so lawmakers can craft mandates in the future. The Board of Environmental Protection, a seven-member citizen board appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature, “intends to vote” on proposed standards that would eventually require 82% of new vehicles sold to be considered zero emissions by the 2032 model year. A vote will be scheduled after a public comment period ends Feb. 5.