Dropping Names

SLATE • January 25, 2024

Last November, the American Ornithological Society, or AOS, announcedthat it would change the common names of all American birds named after people. There are 152 such “eponymic” names (that is, birds that are named after a specific person, like Bicknell’s Thrush) on the AOS’ official checklist. A growing number of ornithologists and nonscientist birders are questioning why we’re stuck with names decided on a whim hundreds of years ago, especially when the names aren’t very good. It’s going to be hard to come up with new names we can all agree on, and it’s not clear how the AOS will embark upon doing so. The group has said it will “conduct an open, inclusive, and scientifically rigorous pilot program in 2024 to develop its new approach to English bird names in the U.S. and Canada”—but there are few specifics yet, and no easy way to organize the public and whittle down suggestions in the lawless and nonsensical world of bird names. ~ Nicholas Lund

Letter: Try to make climate friendly choices

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 25, 2024

Climate change happens — it is the extremes that challenge ecosystems and infrastructures, such as beaches, homes, property insurance rates, commercial fishing gear, roads and bridges, and wild bird migration dates. All I know is that I have control over my choices: how to set the thermostat for my furnace (I wear a sweater so I can lower my thermostat); how much and how fast to drive; what kind of vehicle to purchase/lease; closing my blinds or curtains when cold outside. I combine my trips. I specifically think about making climate friendly choices. Please try to make climate friendly choices. Thank you. ~ Pam Person, Orland

Letter: Welcome the bird name changes from American Ornithological Union

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 25, 2024

I am a lifelong avid birder and have spent more than 50 years learning birds’ names the hard way, just like Reynolds. I welcome the coming changes. The names we have assigned to birds over the years were chosen selectively and with great prejudice. Bird names in the future will be more interesting, inclusively chosen, educational and inviting to new enthusiasts than our present roster.~ Craig Kesselheim, Southwest Harbor

Deer is set free after squeezing through a basement window in Westbrook

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 24, 2024

An 80-pound doe smashed a 9-inch by 12-inch pane of glass in a ground-level cellar window basement in Westbrook and somehow squeezed its way through, dropping about 6 feet to the concrete floor. Scott Lindsay, a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Warden Steve Milton used a dart to sedate the animal before he and Milton loaded it onto a tarp, carried it up the stairs and through Cadigan’s living room to his truck. Lindsay drove the deer to a nearby farm – he had asked the owner, whom he knows, for permission – and placed it on a blanket to keep it warm until it woke up. When Lindsay returned to the farm Wednesday morning to check on the deer, it was standing about 100 yards away. It stared at him for a few moments before turning and entering a wooded area off Stroudwater Street.

Letter: Trail easement is a win-win for Penobscot Nation and local stakeholders

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

Thanks for the BDN’s  coverage of the partnerships involving lands Trust for Public Land (TPL) currently owns south of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The intent from the outset has been to transfer the trail easement to the state – an approach fully supported by the Penobscot Nation and local stakeholders – as an integral part of the broader strategy to restore ancestral homelands to the Penobscot people, address local recreation and economic needs, and provide much-needed access to the monument. ~ Betsy Cook, Trust for Public Land, and Chuck Loring, Penobscot Nation

Letter: Limiting natural gas and propane makes no sense

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

Having a variety of fuel options is important to our way of life, especially with the cold climate that we have. Now a bill has been introduced that would limit any future expansion of natural gas into Maine. LD 2077, if passed, would prevent businesses and consumers from choosing natural gas moving forward. We Mainers cherish our freedom and limited government, and this bill would continue to allow government to yet again decrease our freedom of choice.I will be voting ought not to pass. ~ Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R), Milford

Maine eyes rule change to make it easier to grow food in urban areas

SUN JOURNAL • January 24, 2024

Hoping to help more people grow food, Maine officials are weighing a change in the state building code to allow flimsy, low-cost hoop houses that don’t meet current structural standards in place for most towns and cities. Changing the language in the state code “in a very small way, we will allow more of our citizens to grow their own foods, become more self-sufficient and to do so in a manner that will not break the bank,” said state Rep. Kathy Shaw, an Auburn Democrat and a farmer.

FEMA takes closer look at storm devastation in Maine as part disaster declaration process

WGME-TV13 • January 24, 2024

FEMA personnel are surveying the damage caused by storms earlier this month. This is part of the process required by law to request a Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden. Officials with FEMA and the Maine Emergency Management Agency met with state park officials in Georgetown on Wednesday morning. Reid State Park has been closed because of the destruction caused by waves pounding the shore and infrastructure. At the direction of Governor Janet Mills, MEMA asked FEMA to conduct damage assessments for both the Jan. 10 and 13 storms at the same time.

Column: Jellyfish are strangers in a strange land

CENTRAL MAINE • January 24, 2024

In the Gulf of Maine, two species of jellyfish are seen most commonly. The moon jellies look round from the top and are generally a foot or so in diameter. Lined around the edge of their bells are short, fine tentacles they use to catch food. They sting, but normally it’s practically unnoticeable to humans. The lion’s mane jellyfish is generally larger — 5 and 6 feet in diameter. Dangling underneath are up to a thousand tentacles. The sting is reportedly extremely painful for humans. A well-known — if less often seen — jellyfish in the Gulf of Maine is the Portuguese man-of-war, which also can inflict dangerous stings. Dr. Nick Record, a senior research scientist with the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, likened jellyfish to space aliens in a magazine article a few years ago. There is more in heaven and on Earth — and in the sea — than is dreamt of in our philosophy. ~ Dana Wilde

Hunters will have to wait to enter the 2024 Maine moose permit lottery

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

The 2024 Maine moose permit lottery has a new opening date that shortens the application period but allows hunters to know how many permits will be issued in each hunting zone before they apply. In 2023, the the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife received 72,446 applications and issued 4,106 permits, reflecting an increase of 26 from 2022. There were 1,460 antlerless permits issued. Resident applicants totaled 46,242 and were issued 3,712 permits. Non-resident applicants totaled 26,204 and were issued 394 permits.

Midcoast town bans industrial mining to block Canadian company’s plans

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

The midcoast town of Hope voted to ban industrial mining Tuesday night in an effort to prevent mining around nearby Crawford Pond, after previously placing a moratorium on the industry for six months. It’s one of three towns that temporarily banned mining after Canadian company Exiro released plans early last year to mine for cobalt, nickel and copper near the pond that neighbors them. The moratoriums were meant to give Union, Warren and Hope time to plan permanent ordinance changes to prevent the mining. The ban passed in Hope with overwhelming support at a town meeting.

Opinion: Maine must develop healthy offshore wind energy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

We simply cannot wait any longer to take bold action to reduce carbon emissions and to transition away from fossil fuels, with our eyes open, recognizing that no matter what choices we make, there will be tradeoffs. Every path toward decarbonization requires hard choices. Developing new large-scale energy projects involves tradeoffs. But the most damaging impacts will result from inaction. the state is considering the best location for a new staging hub to support the development of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine. One site is Sears Island, which was purchased by the state as the location for a future port facility, and the other is Mack Point in Searsport. Regardless of the siting decision, we must move forward. ~ Gary Friedmann, vice chair, Bar Harbor Town Council and president, Maine Climate Action Now

Opinion: A Catholic perspective on evil, flooding and its aftermath

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 24, 2024

Catholic teaching holds that evil is a consequence of the brokenness of our world, a world that, while created good by God, is marred by human sin and its ensuing chaos. The floods in Maine are not seen as a wrathful act of God, but as a tragic consequence of our living in a fallen world. The Catholic approach to solving the problem of evil, as seen in the recent floods in Maine, challenges us to see beyond the immediate pain and loss, inspiring a response that encompasses practical aid, environmental stewardship, and a profound faith in the redemptive power of grace. ~ Ryan Bilodeau, communications associate, St. John Paul II parish, Scarborough

Letter: Saving rats is the least of our problems

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 24, 2024

An infestation of rats, whether domesticated or not, needs to be exterminated. Kudos to the Portland City Council, whose members had to listen, without laughing out loud, to the “rat savers.” We know the City Council has many more important things to resolve than rats. ~ Maureen George, Wells

ATVers seek a bigger piece of the gas tax

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024

How the gas tax money the state gives to the ATV, snowmobiling and boating communities toward upkeep of trails and boat facilities is distributed is the same proportions as it was in 2001, even though participation in the three motor sports has changed. ATVs get 0.045 percent of total excise tax. ATV Maine President John Raymond, various ATV clubs and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife aim to change that, beginning with a new study to look at how much each sector brings to the state’s economy if LD 977 is passed this session.

Maine faces daunting to-do list to recover from recent storms and prepare for more extremes

MAINE PUBLIC • January 23, 2024

State and municipal leaders say they're scrambling to learn as much as they can about the three winter storms that flooded riverfront communities and set high tide records along the coast within the span of one month. Those storms are what prompted an emergency meeting of the Maine Climate Council Tuesday in Augusta. The group gathered to discuss the impacts from the recent storms and share ideas on how Maine communities could better prepare. Some suggested that working waterfronts will need to be reinvented to handle anticipated sea level rise and storm surges.

Supreme Court set to seize EPA's authority

LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS • January 23, 2024

The Supreme Court just heard arguments in two critical cases — Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — that could gut the federal government's authority to enforce even the most basic environmental protections. In both cases, corporate interests backed by big oil are suing in order to hamstring federal agencies’ authority to protect people from powerful special interests. If these plaintiffs get their way, it would move authority over every area of public policy from public-interest agencies like the EPA to the MAGA-dominated federal courts.

Ocean scientist warns that Maine should expect more severe storms

SPECTRUM NEWS • January 23, 2024

An ocean scientist described Maine’s recent spate of severe storms as “the new normal,” saying that Mainers should not be surprised by surging seas and inland flooding sparked by climate change. “We are now living in a world of extremes, and this is the new normal,” Susie Arnold, director of the Center for Climate and Community at the Island Institute said Tuesday. Arnold’s comments came at a special meeting of the Maine Climate Council called by Gov. Janet Mills following three devastating storms between Dec. 18 and Jan. 13. The council is in the process of updating the state’s four-year climate action plan, which set the goal of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

Bill to halt natural gas expansion in Maine prompts energy and climate debate

MAINE PUBLIC • January 23, 2024

A bill that seeks to slow down expansion of natural gas infrastructure in Maine has sparked a robust debate over the energy and climate policy within the State House. Environmentalists insist the bill is a critical step toward a cleaner future but that the measure would not affect existing natural gas customers. But in the latest example of partisan divides over energy policy, Republicans dismiss the bill as government overreach that will only harm Maine residents and businesses.

Bill to scale back natural gas in Maine draws strong opposition at public hearing

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 23, 2024

Environmentalists seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Maine testified Tuesday in support of legislation meant to scale back natural gas expansion, while industry representatives and members of the business community countered that doing so would limit consumer choice and damage Maine’s economy.