Maine coastal dunes experienced 15-30 feet of erosion during January storms

MAINE PUBLIC • March 8, 2024

Coastal communities are looking for ways to restore their beaches and make them more resilient after two January storms eroded shorelines and demolished seawalls and piers. Dunes up and down Maine's coast experienced anywhere from 15-to-30 feet of erosion, Peter Slovinksy, a marine geologist for the state's Geological Survey said Friday. Coastal muncipalities should consider helping private property owners with dune restoration projects, he added. "Fifteen, 20 homeowners need to get together and restore their dune. Dune is what is going to be protecting those properties.”

Plywood manufacturing coming to former Androscoggin Mill

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 8, 2024

Godfrey Forest Products has started the process of building an oriented strand board manufacturing facility at the Androscoggin Mill property in Jay. Oriented strand board, known as OSB, is a common type of composite plywood made from wood chips. John Godfrey, of Godfrey Forest Products, is a Bangor native, who has started other successful OSB manufacturing facilities in North America, including the LP Building Solutions’ LP Houlton plant in New Limerick. Other developers are exploring potential projects on the mill site. The Androscoggin Mill most recently produced paper under the ownership of Pixelle Specialty Solutions. The company shut down the mill in March 2023

Where did winter go? Spring starts early as U.S. winter was warmest on record

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 8, 2024

Across much of America and especially in the normally chilly north, the country went through the winter months without, well, winter. In parka stronghold Portland, Maine, the thermometer never plunged below zero. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that the winter of 2023-2024 was the warmest in nearly 130 years of record-keeping for the United States. This is just the latest in a drumbeat of broken temperature records, national and global, that scientists say is mostly from human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. It was the warmest U.S. winter by a wide margin.

Maine Senate approves proposal to reduce food waste

MAINE PUBLIC • March 8, 2024

A bill that aims to reduce food waste in Maine was approved by the state Senate this week. It would initially require commercial and industrial businesses located within 20 miles of an organics recycler and that generate two or more tons of food waste a week to divert it from landfills. Options include donating to food banks, agricultural use, composting and anaerobic digestion. All other New England states have enacted laws to reduce food waste, which is a contributor to climate change. Maine's proposal has already passed in the House. It would cost roughly $500,000 a year, and now goes to the Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola offers to buy rest of CMP parent company for $2.5 billion

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 8, 2024

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, which owns Central Maine Power Co.’s parent company, Avangrid Inc., is making a nearly $2.5 billion play for full control of its U.S. subsidiary and its extensive gas and electricity utilities in the Northeast. Avangrid said Thursday it received a nonbinding proposal, but not an offer, from Iberdrola to buy the more than 18% of shares not already owned by the Spanish company. Iberdrola offered $34.25 a share in cash, 10% above the weighted average price over the last 30 days. Iberdrola, which owns about 81.6% of Avangrid stock, pegged the value of the deal at $2.48 billion.

A Maine scientist helped discover four new species of deep-sea octopus

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 8, 2024

Dr. Beth Orcutt, a geomicrobiologist and vice president for research at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science in East Boothbay, co-led research expeditions last June and December that resulted in the discovery of at least four new species of deep-sea octopus, two of which brood their eggs in hydrothermal springs on the seafloor.

Letter: Maine’s energy transition must include and respect Wabanaki tribes

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 8, 2024

Maine tribes must have a real voice in discussions about offshore wind projects, lease conditions, port development, and community benefit agreements. The Maine Labor Climate Council supports the Wabanaki Nations’ right to self-determination. We urge our state legislators to vote “ought to pass” for LD 2007. ~ Francis Eanes, Maine Labor Climate Council, Auburn

Opinion: Support for Maine Trails Bond

BRIDGTON NEWS • March 8, 2024

I am writing today to express my support for Maine’s first-ever Trails Bond. If passed, the bond would invest a much needed $30 million to support our state’s outdoor recreation industry. Maine trails play a vital role in our economy, generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The situation is no different here in the Lake Region. At Loon Echo Land Trust, the organization I work for, we annually host over 50,000 users on our trail networks alone. The real number of trail users in the Lake Region is likely double that. ~ Matt Markot, Loon Echo Land Trust

Heavy snow and rain forecast prompts flood watch issued for interior Maine

SUN JOURNAL • March 8, 2024

The National Weather Service reported that the Androscoggin River reached flood stage, 13 feet, at 4:30 a.m. Friday and issued a flood watch through Sunday afternoon. A complex storm system will bring heavy precipitation Sunday to the interior areas of Maine. Heavy, wet snow is expected to start Saturday night in the foothills and mountain regions, then transition to heavy rain Sunday morning. Heavy rain falling on already saturated ground will result in small stream and flash flooding.

Opinion: For the sake of the planet, we need to say yes to some projects, like a wind port on Sears Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 8, 2024

I’ve spent a good part of my career saying no to bad ideas, and have no regrets. But we have reached a point where we must learn how to say yes. Maine is in the process of picking a location to build a new port that is necessary to develop new offshore wind energy in federal waters off the state’s beautiful coast. Sears Island is undoubtedly a treasured place for many people, and the development of a 100-acre port would undoubtedly transform the setting. Those of us who are serious about stopping climate change and mitigating its worst impacts must be willing to make hard decisions and to say yes to projects that are critical to reducing our carbon pollution and reinvesting in our local economies. Projects like the offshore wind port in Maine give us a fighting chance to stave off the existential crisis of climate change while creating high-quality union jobs, a winning combination. Let’s not miss our shot. ~ Bill McKibben

Opinion: Reducing Maine’s reliance on natural gas will benefit climate, consumers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 8, 2024

Methane gas (deceptively marketed as “natural” gas by fossil fuel companies) has slowly gained ground over the past 20 years as the fossil fuel industry sold this gas as a cleaner alternative to heating oil. This was a part of a decadeslong effort to mislead consumers. As my generation and others close in age look ahead to buying a home, the cost of maintaining methane gas pipeline infrastructure is one thing we don’t need. New gas pipes saddle existing gas customers with higher bills to pay for infrastructure that doesn’t have a place in our clean-energy future. L.D. 2077 asks gas regulators to scrutinize spending on the gas system to better protect gas customers from unending rate hikes. ~ Megan Sauberlich, Maine Youth Action and University of Maine student

Column: Birds are making it clear that spring has arrived

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 8, 2024

Spring has begun. Here are some early signs. Common grackles and red-winged blackbirds are moving in. Some of our eastern Maine vultures are starting to return. Wild turkey toms are fanning their tails and strutting their stuff for the ladies. The first pine warblers, common yellowthroats, swamp sparrows and chipping sparrows crossed the New Hampshire border a week ago. American goldfinches are beginning to molt into their bright summer colors. Crows are chasing hawks and eagles away from their nests. Northern cardinals are getting pretty noisy, as they turn to thoughts of love. Watch for eagles carrying sticks for a little nest repair. Ospreys will do likewise when they arrive in about four weeks. Every year, I try to guess when bears will come out of hibernation. I hope to bring my feeders indoors before they demolish them. The last two years, the bears have won. ~ Bob Duchesne

Proposed transmission line for renewable power from Canada to New England canceled

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 7, 2024

A major electrical transmission line proposal intended to carry power to New England from Canada through Vermont and New Hampshire has been canceled. Electric utility National Grid, one of the developers of the proposal, said in an emailed statement on Thursday that it “has determined that the project is not viable at this time.” The proposed 211-mile, $2 billion Twin State Clean Energy Link was one of three projects around the country selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive part of $1.3 billion in investment. National Grid did not say why the project is not viable.

Maine lawmakers opt to study natural gas use, regulations instead of limiting pipeline expansion

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 7, 2024

Lawmakers have scaled back an ambitious proposal to limit natural gas expansion in Maine, instead advancing a compromise that would require a trio of state studies about its use. The PUC would have a framework for its oversight of future investments by gas utilities. The Governor’s Energy Office would study the use of natural gas in meeting energy needs of the residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and power generation sectors and in employing Maine workers. And, if the measure passes, a commission of legislators, representatives of various industries, organized labor and others would be formed to establish a framework for a “just and equitable transition” for workers affected by state energy policies and goals.

Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power

WASHINGTON POST • March 7, 2024

Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid. A major factor behind the skyrocketing demand is the rapid innovation in artificial intelligence, which is driving the construction of large warehouses of computing infrastructure that require exponentially more power than traditional data centers. The proliferation of crypto mining, in which currencies like bitcoin are transacted and minted, is also driving data center growth. It threatens to stifle the transition to cleaner energy, as utility executives lobby to delay the retirement of fossil fuel plants and bring more online.

Founder of Madison wood fiber insulation company to be Golden’s guest at State of the Union Address

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 7, 2024

Joshua Henry, president and co-founder of TimberHP in Madison, becomes emotional while delivering remarks in July 2023 during a ceremony marking the launch of the company’s manufacturing operations at the mill in Madison. Henry will be U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s guest at this year’s State of the Union Address on Thursday night. Golden, D-2nd District, said he invited Henry to join him at the U.S. Capitol because the central Maine company’s innovative products have created new markets for one of Maine’s heritage industries and helped to revive the state’s industrial economy.

Opinion: Maine’s ban on PFAS is too broad

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 7, 2024

Maine’s leadership on banning PFAS may unintentionally stand in the way of the state’s climate progress. I support efforts to regulate and, where necessary, prohibit any PFAS chemicals found to be a cause for concern. But some substances defined as PFAS are non-problematic (non-persistent, non-bioaccumulative, and non-toxic) and they are used in ways that are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. I work for a company that manufactures some of those products. Maine’s lawmakers have an opportunity to improve upon the state’s PFAS law. By excluding products that do not negatively impact human health but strengthen Maine’s fight against climate change, we can continue to make progress on emissions reductions without creating unnecessary costs and unintended consequences. ~ Jeff Dormo, Honeywell Advanced Materials

Mainer becomes 1st American woman to complete solo sailing race around the globe

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 7, 2024

A sailor from Boothbay has become the first American woman to complete a solo race around the world. Cole Brauer, 29, arrived Thursday in Coruna, Spain, completing her four months alone at sea, according to CBS News. Brauer was among 10 sailors in the Global Solo Challenge, a grueling race that involves navigating the globe’s three capes: Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin and South America’s Cape Horn.

Opinion: Offshore wind port can be transformative for working Mainers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 7, 2024

Maine took control of the state’s energy and economic future when the Mills administration announced its decision to recommend Sears Island as the site of a new port to support offshore wind. A new offshore wind industry will support good union jobs in the Midcoast and across Maine, creating a path to the middle class for working men and women, helping to bolster our ability to determine our energy and climate future. While other locations, including Mack Point in Searsport, were considered, it became increasingly clear that Sears Island, which is owned by the state and was purchased with the intent of developing a new port, was the best site. ~ Cynthia Phinney, Maine AFL-CIO, and Jason J. Shedlock, Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council