MDI lab studying how PFAS spreads from rural schools to homes

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

Maine researchers are studying the role that rural schools could inadvertently play in spreading dangerous “forever chemicals” after those contaminants were found at high levels in the drinking water of some homes around Mount Desert Island High School. It’s not well understood how the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and other health threats, may spread from public institutions such as high schools into nearby drinking water supplies. But Jane Disney, an associate professor at the independent MDI Bio Lab in Bar Harbor, said one factor could be that rural institutions are more likely to use septic systems and leachfields to dispose of their wastewater, rather than public sewers.

Bangor parents frustrated that browntail moths are again infesting city parks

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

Browntail moth caterpillars are once again infesting a popular Bangor neighborhood park, even after the city has repeatedly used chemicals meant to control the itchy pests. Despite the city’s efforts, browntail moth caterpillars covered the playground equipment at Fairmount Park when Cassie Belka, who lives in Bangor’s Fairmount neighborhood, took her daughter there on Tuesday. Belka said she has seen browntail moth webs in trees in the neighborhood for years, but the problem seems to have gotten worse.

Lumbermen’s Trail and Storybook Lane grand opening on the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Scenic Byway

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 15, 2024

On May 18 at noon, at the Fiddlers and Fiddlehead Festival, Patten Area Outdoors will celebrate the grand opening of our Storybook Lane and non-motorized trail. Patten Area Outdoors is a volunteer group in the region focused on creating non-motorized, accessible outdoor options for our town and our region. Under the guidance of the Outdoor Sport Institute and in partnership with Katahdin Area Trails our first trail is ready to use.

Second year of Waldo County Conservation Initiative conserves additional 200 acres

REPUBLICAN JOURNAL • May 15, 2024

Coastal Mountains Land Trust recently announced the year two successes of the Waldo County Conservation Initiative — an effort launched in November 2022 with the goal of conserving open space in the 12 Waldo County towns served by the Land Trust in support of wildlife conservation, recreation, outdoor learning, and climate mitigation. According to the announcement, $265,000 was raised from grants, local businesses, and members of the community to support the acquisition and stewardship of four properties. The four projects and the 11 completed in the first year of the initiative total 693 acres across nine Waldo County towns.

3 dead coyotes have been tied to a midcoast buoy for almost a month

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 15, 2024

Anyone boating through Muscongus Bay in Bremen in recent weeks may have come across a morbid — and so far, mysterious — site. Three dead coyotes have been trussed and arranged around a navigational marker in the waterway. However, little other information was immediately available about the strange site, including who may have left the carcasses there, or why. The town and the Maine Marine Patrol both referred questions about them to the U.S. Coast Guard, which maintains the marker. Officials with the Coast Guard confirmed that they are looking into the site, as they would with any other problem with a buoy.

Portland jetport pitches new plan to expand surface parking

MAINE PUBLIC • May 15, 2024

The Portland International Jetport is proposing an expansion of parking to meet growing demand. The new plan would add a net total of 282 new surface parking spaces. Paul Bradbury said that adding parking that's walkable to the jetport would be more environmentally friendly than running shuttle buses to and from the airport and an offsite lot. The project has been scaled back slightly since jetport officials presented an initial proposal to nearby residents late last year. But many of their concerns, which include possible impacts on nearby wetlands and trees that provide a buffer between the airport and their neighborhood, remain and were echoed by members of the Portland planning board.

These unusual Maine materials can keep your soil healthy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 15, 2024

Here are some options from Maine to meet the needs of your soil. With permission to harvest, you can gather your own seaweed for composting or tilling into the soil. Many Maine companies also create prepared products like kelp meal and seaweed fertilizer, including North American Kelp in Waldoboro, Gulf of Maine in Pembroke, Living Acres in New Sharon and Coast of Maine in Portland. Waste wool from sheep shearing can be used in the garden as loose fleece or pellets to retain water and slowly release nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and iron over six months. Byproducts from shellfish processing are very rich and produce healthy plants. Peat retains water and releases it as needed, and can also hold onto nutrients, making it useful for sandy soils. It helps break up heavier soils and improve drainage. Ground oyster or clam shells are a source of calcium for soil, similar to eggshells. Using it has been shown to raise the pH levels of acidic soils, and could improve soil fertility for crops.

What's worse for disease spread: animal loss, climate change or urbanization?

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • May 15, 2024

Human-caused climate change can push disease-carrying mosquitoes or ticks into new places as temperatures rise, and deforestation can expose humans to viruses circulating in once-isolated species. But despite hundreds of studies investigating human influence on infectious diseases, scientists weren't sure whether certain activities matter more than others for increasing risk. Now, new research clarifies that picture – and suggests that humanity's reshaping of the planet is stoking the spread of dangerous infectious diseases not just for people but also for other animals and plants.

Should York put restrictions on short-term rentals? Voters will decide this week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 15, 2024

No one in York questions the town’s longstanding tradition of welcoming summer visitors to stay in rented seaside homes. But whether those properties should be licensed and inspected is being debated as residents prepare to vote Saturday on new regulations. The town is considering an ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals for the first time. Opponents say York’s proposal would amount to government overreach in a town that has had very few documented problems. But supporters say the short-term rental properties have become increasingly disruptive to residential neighborhoods and should be licensed like any other business. “We are a tourist community, and we thrive on that. We just need a few rules in place so everyone can benefit,” said Lee-Anne Leverone, of York Beach.

Opinion: PMA expansion bid threatens Portland’s growth

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 15, 2024

In my 34-year career directing Portland’s planning division, I had direct experience in the creation of the original historic preservation ordinance in 1990 and its subsequent amendments through 2015. A formal agreement was signed between the National Park Service and the City that stipulates any changes to the ordinance must be approved by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the National Park Service to maintain certification. Portland has benefited greatly from federal funding available to CLG communities, including 58 grants totaling $919,876. The Portland Museum of Art can argue that its proposed expansion deserves special consideration, but the fact remains that what it wants to do is against the law in Portland and threatens Portland’s CLG status – and all the good work that has been accomplished because of it. It’s not worth the risk. ~ Alexander Jaegerman served Portland as a senior planner, chief planner and planning division director (1981-2015)

Letter: Prioritize the planet in elections

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 15, 2024

Targets were set to avoid the most disastrous impacts of climate warming. If we elect candidates who are beholden to the fossil fuel industry and their allies, U.S. progress will be reversed and we will lose four crucial years in a process that has been stalled by disinformation and fossil fuel lobbies for over 35 years. We must prioritize a livable world when we vote. ~ Dorothy Jones, Brunswick

Letter: ‘The road to authoritarianism is paved with good intentions’

SUN JOURNAL • May 15, 2024

Years ago, swayed by incessant media reports about the environment, I was card-carrying Sierra Club member urging the government to “do something” to steer society toward “green” energy. An older brother heard me out, and politely disagreed. He had done his homework and countered my claims with hard data. Not wanting to admit I was wrong, I did my own research. To my surprise, I learned that he was right; regardless of how good its intentions might be, the government’s push to mothball nuclear and hydrocarbon fuels in favor of solar and wind would be catastrophic both in terms of environmental impact and human suffering. ~ Anthony Shostak, Greene

Kennebec Land Trust launches effort to make Augusta trail with view of the State House accessible to all

SPECTRUM NEWS • May 14, 2024

As she walked on a trail in Augusta’s Howard Hill Historical Park, Theresa Kerchner pointed out the tree roots that crisscrossed the path. There were rocks too. And deep ruts good for turning an ankle. “This is really hard for a lot of people to walk on,” said Kerchner, executive director of the Kennebec Land Trust. “It will just be much nicer when it’s level.” Kerchner is working with the cities of Augusta and Hallowell on a plan to turn the path into a universal access trail that can be used by those in wheelchairs or others with mobility challenges. The plan is to raise $1 million to convert a roughly one-mile trail into a wide and level path, build a parking lot near the entrance on Ganneston Drive and set aside some funds for future needs.

Aroostook is Maine’s biggest creator of farm food waste, study finds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 14, 2024

Maine wastes nearly 362,000 tons of food a year and the largest single contributor of waste generated by farms and commercial agriculture is Aroostook County. In total food waste from 15 categories, Aroostook is second only to Cumberland County, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s newly released 2024 Food Loss and Waste Generation Study. “Food waste placed in landfills generates significant greenhouse gas emissions, so the Maine Climate Council’s Materials Management Task Force will make recommendations to the climate council on ways to reduce food loss and waste,” said David Madore, deputy DEP commissioner.

New industry readies for launch as researchers hone offshore wind turbines that float

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 14, 2024

The University of Maine is home to the nation's largest team of engineers dedicated to floating offshore wind. In the next decade, UMaine researchers envision turbine platforms floating in the ocean beyond the horizon, stretching more than 700 feet skyward and anchored with mooring lines. “These structures are massive,” said Anthony Viselli, chief engineer for offshore wind technology at the university’s Advanced Composites Center. “These would be some of the largest moving structures that humankind has endeavored to create. And there would be many of them.” Floating turbines are the only way U.S. states can capture offshore wind energy on a large scale. In the U.S. alone, 2.8 terawatts of wind energy potential blows over ocean waters too deep for traditional turbines that affix to the ocean floor. That’s enough to power 350 million homes.

Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs, solar cells, steel, aluminum

ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 14, 2024

President Biden slapped major new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment on Tuesday, taking potshots at Donald Trump along the way as he embraced a strategy that’s increasing friction between the world’s two largest economies. The Democratic president said that Chinese government subsidies ensure the nation’s companies don’t have to turn a profit, giving them an unfair advantage in global trade. The Chinese government was quick to push back against the tariffs, saying they “will seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation.” “Joe Biden’s economic plan is to make China rich and America poor,” Trump said.

Kennebunk firefighters simulate rain to calm honeybees after turnpike crash

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 14, 2024

A passenger vehicle rear-ended a tractor-trailer hauling honeybees north on the Maine Turnpike between the Kennebunk and Biddeford exits on Tuesday. The car was burning when crews arrived, but there were no serious injuries to anyone. Firefighters simulated a rainstorm to calm the agitated bees and get them to return to the hive. “No honeybees were harmed by our response.” Last Thursday, a tractor-trailer carrying 15 million bees rolled over on Interstate 95 in Clinton, injuring the driver of the truck but leaving the bees largely unharmed and contained.

Maine organic farmers to sue EPA over forever chemicals in sludge

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 14, 2024

A Maine-based organic farming group announced Monday that it plans to join a lawsuit contending that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to regulate harmful forever chemicals found in the sludge that Maine farmers used as an agricultural fertilizer for years. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, or MOFGA, claims that federal law requires the EPA to regulate toxic pollutants in sludge and take steps to prevent them from harming humans and the environment. Its failure to do so has put us all at risk, said MOFGA Director Sarah Alexander.

Scientists puzzling over colder deep water temperatures in Gulf of Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • May 14, 2024

About a dozen years ago, the Gulf of Maine experienced an ocean heatwave unlike any other. Today, scientists are puzzling over new data that suggest the Gulf may be experiencing another kind of climate shock. Data collected from buoys placed in the Gulf of Maine show that over the last six months, deep water temperatures are noticeably lower than the long-term average. "It's not just cold in the deep waters right now, it's really cold," said Nick Record, a senior scientist with Bigelow Laboratory. The Gulf of Maine is still one of the fastest warming oceans on the planet, Record said. The ocean heatwave that hit the Gulf of Maine in 2012 served as a prime example of the kind of surface temperature warming that much of the Atlantic has been experiencing. But climate change creates more unpredictable conditions, and Record said the Gulf may be experiencing another kind of climate shock.

Maine utility regulators are restarting the process of building renewable energy in northern Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • May 14, 2024

Last year, the Public Utilities Commission terminated an agreement on the construction of a 1,000 megawatt wind farm in Aroostook County, and a high-voltage transmission line that would connect the wind project to the New England power grid. The deal was killed after months of negotiations, with a dispute over pricing with transmission line developer LS Power serving as one of the primary points of disagreement. But last week, the commission issued an order asking developers to share their interest and provide information on potential new bids related to the Northern Maine project.