Why many storm-damaged coastal Maine homes won’t be eligible for relief

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 18, 2024

Maine has more second homes than any other state in the country, and a large chunk of them are in the coastal towns damaged by last week’s historic flooding. This has major implications, since second homes are ineligible for a major relief program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that only supports the repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes that serve as primary residences. People do not regularly live in more than one-fifth of the homes across Maine, according to 2020 Census data.

Acadia National Park receives $1 million grant to install solar panels and EV chargers

MAINE PUBLIC • January 17, 2024

Acadia National Park is receiving a $1 million dollar federal grant to install rooftop solar panels and a dozen electric vehicle charging stations at its McFarland Hill headquarters campus in Bar Harbor. The National Park Service is in the midst of constructing a new 32,000 square foot LEED silver facility at the site. The solar panels are expected to move Acadia toward net-zero emissions by generating more than 50% of the new facility's energy use.

With fishermen’s case, the Supreme Court wrestles with the power of federal regulators

ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 17, 2024

Conservative Supreme Court justices on Wednesday voiced support for weakening the power of federal regulators, but it was not clear whether a majority would overturn a major 40-year-old decision. The court heard three and a half hours of arguments in two challenges brought by commercial fishermen to a fee requirement, though the facts of their cases were barely discussed in the courtroom. Instead, the focus was on whether the court should overturn the 1984 case colloquially known as Chevron, which courts have relied on to uphold a wide range of regulations, including on the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections.

State lawmakers push passenger rail service for central Maine

SUN JOURNAL • January 17, 2024

There’s a new push among state lawmakers to extend passenger rail service to Lewiston, Waterville and Bangor. Two state senators, Democrats Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston and Joe Baldacci of Bangor, filed a joint proposal this week with the Legislature’s Transportation Committee to create an all-encompassing plan for passenger rail service to the region.

Opinion: Going solar is not only possible, but essential to Maine’s energy future

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 17, 2024

Maine has an opportunity to implement new policies to make it easier for people to go solar. Interconnecting solar to the grid can be difficult, but it yields immense benefits, including helping our state reach its climate and decarbonization goals, allowing Mainers control over their long-term energy costs and creating tangible economic and environmental benefits for all Mainers, such as reducing energy supply and transmission costs. I believe our current grid has ample opportunity to interconnect distributed energy resources like solar. To do this work, we need predictable and transparent utility processes, enforcement of the rules on the books and new requirements that enable us to utilize batteries to increase interconnection capacity. ~ John Luft, ReVision Energy

Letter: More is needed to save climate

CENTRAL MAINE • January 17, 2024

Economists agree on few things, but one near-consensus view among top economists is that attaching a pollution fee to the price of carbon fuels will supply the necessary economic incentive to shift our economy away from CO2-emitting fuels to green renewables, and thus reduce carbon emissions sufficiently to avoid a catastrophic future. ~ Cynthia Stancioff, Camden

Twin storms flattened many of Maine’s sand dunes, leaving towns more vulnerable

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 17, 2024

Some beaches in southern Maine lost up to 30 feet of dunes from the twin storms that wreaked havoc on the coast last week, according to early estimates. The two storms that hit Maine on Wednesday and Saturday caused massive flooding to low-lying areas that damaged homes, docks, roads and boats. The storms also dramatically eroded some of the natural and human-made barriers that protect those areas from the ocean, leaving them more vulnerable to the second of the two storms on Saturday and to future weather events.

9 lovely trails for a snowy walk in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 17 2024

There’s no more beautiful time to go walking in the Maine woods than after snowfall, when everything is covered in a blanket of white. The tracks of woodland creatures, pressed into the frozen carpet, tell stories of their travels, and the smallest breeze sends snowflakes into the air, where they sparkle in the sun. Here are nine trails in Maine that are great for enjoying the snow.
• Unity College Forest in Unity
• Moose Point State Park in Searsport
• Kebo Mountain in Acadia National Park
• Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson
• Good Will-Hinckley Trails in Fairfield
• Rolland F. Perry City Forest in Bangor
• Trenton Community Trail in Trenton
• Birdsacre in Ellsworth
• Dead River Trail in Orland

Challenging whitewater isn’t Cathance River’s only attraction

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 16, 2024

Well-known in paddling circles for its Class III through V creeking, the Cathance River in Topsham is one of the more popular and challenging whitewater rivers in Maine. The Cathance River Trails provide a stimulating hiking alternative. The Cathance River Trails are located in the Cathance River Nature Preserve and Head of Tide Park. Developed and managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust in concert with the town of Topsham and Highland Green Retirement Community, more than nine miles of trails weave along the river and through the surrounding area.

Janet Mills asks President Joe Biden for formal disaster declaration for December storm

MAINE PUBLIC • January 16, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills is asking President Joe Biden to issue a major disaster declaration in Maine for the Dec. 18 storm that caused severe flooding. It left behind an estimated $20 million in damage to public infrastructure, which Mills says is an amount beyond Maine's ability to address. If Biden approves the request, Maine would receive federal funds to help repair roads, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure across 10 counties. In a separate request, Mills is asking for individual assistance for families in central and western counties who experienced property damage from the storm.

Opinion: There’s still time to grab control of the global thermostat

BLOOMBERG • January 16, 2024

In 2015, in what seemed at the time like a triumph for humanity, the world’s leaders set a stretch goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages. Not even nine years later, you could be forgiven for thinking they’ve failed. The good news is that they haven’t failed just yet. The bad news is that they’re rapidly running out of time. We must act with far more urgency. The world has less than a decade of emissions left in its “carbon budget” before the chance of holding at 1.5C is lost forever. Not one country is doing enough to avoid this fate, according to the nonprofit-backed Climate Action Tracker. Your typical corporate leader wouldn’t stand for such lackadaisical efforts to meet stretch goals, and neither should we. ~ Mark Gongloff

Editorial: The dramatic realities of climate change are crashing into Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 16, 2024

While scientists were warning about dangerous consequences of climate change, many Mainers are living it. A storm last Sunday brought snow across the state. Then, on Wednesday, a wind and rain storm was coupled with an extremely high tide. Homes, restaurants and other buildings were flooded with seawater. Docks were destroyed. Roads were flooded. Scientists warn that these types of events will become more commonplace as the world continues to warm, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels. For far too many Mainers, the realities of climate change literally hit home last week.

The History and Future of Maine Land Conservation, Jan 17

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • January 16, 2024

This talk will explore the future challenges Maine faces from climate change and potential climate-driven immigration as it impacts the future of land conservation. Tim Glidden has had a long career in many aspects of Maine conservation and recently retired as President of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. He has degrees in Environmental Studies from Colby College and Forestry Science from Yale University. At Curtis Memorial Library, Morrell Meeting Room, Brunswick, January 17, 1 p.m.

Bike advocacy group wants to broaden process for new Maine e-bike rebate program

MAINE PUBLIC • January 16, 2024

A bicycle advocacy group from Maine is disappointed about the limited scope and accessibility of a new state program offering rebates for the purchase of electric bikes (e-bikes). The pilot program run by Efficiency Maine takes an organizational approach to the rebates, issuing them to public housing agencies and other organizations that serve low-to moderate-income people. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine issued a statement saying the program should also offer the rebates directly to eligible individuals. $50,000 has been made available for the pilot program.

Maine schools get funding to boost climate education

MAINE PUBLIC • January 16, 2024

Maine schools are receiving their first round of funding from a new state law to expand climate education. According to the Maine Department of Education, the new grants will go toward creating partnerships between more than half a dozen school districts and community organizations, with a focus on the outdoors and the effects of climate change. The organizations will offer professional development to the districts, and help them to bring climate education into their classrooms. Funding for the project comes from a law passed by the legislature two years ago. More grants are expected to be announced later this year.

Maine fishermen look to rebuild higher after harbors took ‘a real beating’

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 16, 2024

Last week’s back-to-back storms inflicted some of their worst damage on Maine’s fishing industry, and the extent of the devastation has some fishing communities considering how to be more prepared for it next time. Working waterfront property owners along the entire Maine coast witnessed destruction as extreme winds and storm surge flooded buildings, set some adrift and tore docks apart. Some already are planning to rebuild — with sturdier and maybe higher piers in mind as they consider the future — but it’s too early to tell how long it will take and how much it might cost.

Letter: Keeping track of rainfall totals

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 15, 2024

Every year, the Press Herald shifts from reporting rainfall totals to snow, starting around the middle or end of November. Given the amount of rain that now occurs throughout our winter months, isn’t there a way that the newspaper can find the space to report both snow and rain totals throughout the winter? Clearly with global warming our current weather trend of rain 12 months of the year is not going to change. ~ Andrew Stickney, South Portland

Illegal rockweed harvesting cases dismissed in court

MAINE MONITOR • January 13, 2024

Four charges brought against an Eastport man for illegally harvesting rockweed in Cobscook Bay were dismissed in Machias District Court on December 4. James Young had faced two charges of harvesting rockweed in closed conservation areas and two charges of theft for harvesting rockweed without the permission of the upland landowner. While the court charges that were dismissed could have resulted in license suspension and a $1,000 fine for each charge, Young’s license was suspended for a year by the commissioner of marine resources. The dismissal of the cases is not expected to affect the controversy over access to the intertidal zone for rockweed harvesting, and state officials say they will continue to enforce Maine’s rockweed harvesting laws.

Column: Animals, birds doing their best to prepare for and survive winter

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 14, 2024

Another Maine winter has settled in. Most hunting seasons are over. While we’re huddled in front of the wood stove, the game animals we pursue are still out there, surviving. Some, like bears have settled in for a long winter’s nap. Waterfowl migrate. Upland game birds like grouse and turkeys stay home for the winter, though they may shift their range slightly. Deer and moose are still out there, though they too may shift their range to find more favorable conditions. Snowshoe hare change color. For the furbearing predators that pursue them – like bobcats, lynx, coyotes and foxes – it’s pretty much business as usual. Some two-legged predators fly south where they can dip their toes into soft, sandy soil. Some enter their dens and a state of reduced activity and metabolism. Others brave the cold, donning a coat of white, brown, red or blue and venturing forth into the outdoors. ~ Bob Humphrey