Maine’s sea stars: Down but not out

MAINE MONITOR • January 7, 2024

What is killing sea stars (starfish)? Besides waters that are warming and becoming more acidic, possible stressors include low oxygen levels (due to increases in bacteria in the water using up the oxygen), and perhaps a virus. Maine’s sea stars are considered keystone species, meaning “they have a disproportionately large effect on their community,” said Melina Giakoumis, associate director of the Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History. “It’s important to protect them because they help keep other species in check, which increases stability and resilience in the entire ecosystem.”

Flooding’s on the rise in Maine, but just 1% of homeowners have insurance

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 7, 2024

Maine has a startlingly low rate of flood insurance – less than 1% by some estimates. Nationally, the rate is about 4%, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Experts say that as climate change progresses, there are likely to be more extreme weather events like last month’s that left thousands of Mainers stranded. A medium-sized snowstorm this weekend, which is expected to be followed by heavy rain midweek, could increase flooding risks in some areas. Yet even as flooding has become a bigger concern across the state, officials say the number of people purchasing flood insurance has fallen in the last decade.

Column: He knew about the shoreland zoning laws in theory

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 7, 2024

In the 20 years or so I’ve been writing a gardening column, I’ve written about shoreland zoning many times. This year, I dealt with the laws on a personal level. Members of my family own a camp on the West Branch of the Pleasant River in Mason Township. Someone suggested we remove some trees to prevent disastrous blowdowns. Because I have contacts in Maine’s landscape community, the task fell to me. The Land Use Planning Commission emailed us approval to remove all six trees, and said that we didn’t need a building permit. We would not be allowed to remove the stumps, however, because the tree roots would prevent erosion. That was fine with us. The commission stipulated that in addition to letting seedlings sprout beneath the cut trees (in other words, no mowing) we must plant six native, non-invasive trees. If the state wants us to do even more, we happily will. Buying plants is always fun. ~ Tom Atwell

Letter: Pine Tree Power would not have stopped storm damage

MORNING SENTINEL • January 7, 2024

Do Pine Tree Power backers really think that things would have been different with a consumer-owned utility? How would Pine Tree Power have prevented all the trees from falling and snapping power lines during a hurricane force wind and rain storm? I think I have figured out how they would have accomplished this. Prior to the storm at their headquarters, they would have pushed a button and an invisible shield would have sprung up and covered the whole state of Maine until the storm passed over, thus preventing the massive power outages that occurred. We live in a state covered by trees. Trees are going to fall. Power is going to go out. Think about the people right now in the Middle East and Ukraine and what they are going through. Three to five days without power? Not a big deal. ~ Donald Fournier, Waterville

Letter: Transmission lines must consider farmland

MORNING SENTINEL • January 7, 2024

Since I, too, want to see a decrease in fossil fuel use, I followed Longroad Energy’s process of meetings in Aroostook County. It seemed the company held many meetings with residents to discuss the least-impactful location to site the wind installation. However, Longroad Energy failed to be as considerate when deciding how best to transmit the power from the source to the grid. None of its meetings considered the loss of farmland associated with massive cutting to transmit that power downstate. Given the increase in population that Marks mentions, farmland needs to be protected. Hopefully the PUC’s decision to terminate Longroad Energy’s original proposal will allow time to evaluate the many ramifications of this important renewable energy project. ~ Linda Woods, Waterville

Maine lumber company fined after employee hurt in fall

MAINE MONITOR • January 6, 2024

Stratton Lumber, a family-owned business in the northern Franklin County town of Stratton, was fined more than $71,000 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after an employee working in the chipper room fell 13 feet and was hospitalized in June.

New head of breeding program wants to save Maine potatoes from climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 6, 2024

DNA science is gaining ground in agriculture, and researchers are using it to develop potatoes that will thrive in Maine’s changing climate. It’s all part of the University of Maine’s potato breeding program headed by Mario Andrade, assistant professor of potato breeding and genetics. Andrade recently took over running the program from Gregory Porter, who retired at the end of 2023 after 38 years at UMaine.

Opinion: Hydrogen isn’t clean if it adds to climate pollution. Biden’s rules are a good start.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 5, 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act is a game-changing law that invests hundreds of billions of dollars to fight climate change and boost renewable energy. It includes lucrative tax credits aimed at making it cheaper to produce clean hydrogen, which are expected to funnel more than $100 billion in taxpayer funds toward this nascent technology. As a fuel that releases only water vapor when burned, hydrogen is a promising tool to slash emissions from industries that will be harder to clean up through electrification, such as steel, cement, aviation and long-distance trucking. But the climate benefits of hydrogen evaporate if they are made with fossil fuels. That’s why it’s important that federal officials ensure the most valuable incentives only support truly “green” hydrogen projects.

Land for Maine's Future Program Calls for Conservation and Recreation Proposals

MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • January 4, 2024

The Land for Maine's Future Program (LMF) announced its next call for Conservation and Recreation proposals. The latest requests are for Projects of Statewide Significance and Community Conservation Projects. Inquiry Forms are due by January 19, 2024, 5:00 p.m. Final Proposals are due by March 22, 2024, 5:00 p.m.

Opinion: This year, take care of yourself – and the Earth

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 4, 2024

I am not a climate expert, but my memory is sharp and my eyes don’t lie. Weather has become different and too often, extreme. Though we are quick to judge big industry, it is a hot climatological bed that we continue to make for ourselves, myself included, for we are dependent upon, and support said industry in myriad ways. I am no longer a blind and naïve child who is ignorant of his role in climatic impact. Though smaller now, my carbon footprint is still formidable – I use electricity, consume goods, create garbage, bring it to the transfer station and burn gas delivering it there. So, I try to think hard before I get in my car for an unnecessary errand, or a long-distance trip taken alone. Make 2024 a thoughtful, purposeful, empathic and healing year for yourself, those whom you love, and the only world that so selflessly sustains our unique species. ~ Tony Everett, Otisfield

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