Thousands of honey bees invaded the Washington County Sheriff’s Office

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

Between 40,000 to 50,000 honey bees set up a home for themselves inside an old vent from the jail, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. This was a problem deputies, corrections officers and maintenance staff couldn’t handle on their own. the sheriff’s office recruited beekeepers Bill Case and Jim Lenke to handle the stinging bugs. Case and Lenke had to be lifted more than 30 feet in the air to reach the vent, where the bees had nested. The bees were removed and relocated to a local farm.

To decarbonize, New England is betting big on offshore wind. Can it deliver?

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 24, 2024

Governors across New England are banking big on mammoth turbines being installed off the coast to not only keep the lights on as the region moves toward cleaner electricity, but also to meet a surge in power demand from electric vehicles and a shift to electrified home heating. The push into offshore wind comes amid longstanding apprehension over New England’s dependence on natural gas power generation. In 2023, about 49% of New England’s electricity was supplied by natural gas power plants. Nuclear plants accounted for 20% and renewables made up 10%, with hydropower, oil and imports from other regions comprising the rest. Coal was just 0.2%. The last coal plant in New England near Concord, New Hampshire, is scheduled to close in 2028 and will host solar and battery storage. At the moment, there are about 1,400 megawatts of wind power on the system. Developers are proposing nearly 18,000 megawatts, most of it offshore wind.

Opinion: How Mainers can best protect against storm damage, flooding

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 24, 2024

Extreme weather events in Maine and across the country have fueled rising property insurance rates. First, talk to your insurance agent to see if there are more affordable options. Second, your agent can also check for discounts, such as “bundling” opportunities (using the same insurer to cover your home and auto) and certain upgrades to your home. You may also consider increasing your deductible. Third, check to see if your homeowner’s policy contains a water damage exclusion. Consider buying flood insurance. Finally, you should be proactive about removing rotten trees or other hazards that may cause a loss during a storm. ~ Bob Carey, superintendent, Maine Bureau of Insurance

Aroostook-born hiker sets time on International Appalachian Trail in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

An Aroostook County native is working to put Maine’s portion of the International Appalachian Trail in more people’s sights. Robert Greenier, 33, was born in Fort Kent and lived near Presque Isle as a child. Now a Colorado resident, he hiked all 138 miles of the Maine leg in just under 67 hours, finishing in the wee hours of Sunday in Fort Fairfield. His trek will give other competitive hikers something to beat. But more than that, he aims to draw attention to this route that traverses parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe and could potentially bring more tourists to Aroostook County.

Why deer flies are plentiful in parts of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

Deer flies, horse flies or black flies slash their way into human skin with scissor-like mouthparts looking for a meal, leaving painful bites behind. There are dozens of species of black flies and hundreds of deer and horse flies with different regional distributions. How many will bite you this year probably depends on the number of short, intense rain events that happen where you live. This precipitation pattern is becoming more common in Maine, replacing longer storms that leave less standing water, according to Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with the UMaine Cooperative Extension. There are unusual deterrents to try. You could make a baby oil-covered helmet trap, fill a spray bottle with repellent of Epsom salts, mouthwash and stale beer, or rub your clothes with a dryer sheet.

Cleaning up Brewer’s toxic Getchell Brothers site could cost $330K

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

Removing asbestos and lead paint from the old Getchell Brothers ice plant in Brewer could cost up to $330,000. An assessment of the site found materials with asbestos and lead-based paint within the building, as well as drains that connect directly to the Penobscot River. In some areas, the surface soil has lead and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which come from burning materials like coal and oil and can cause various health problems.

Rockland goes through the expensive work of closing its landfill

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

Rockland is the latest Maine community that’s going through the laborious and expensive work of closing a municipal landfill, with plans to complete the job this fall. In addition to paying a few million dollars to cap the 4-acre dump — much of which will be reimbursed by the state — the city will also have to continuously collect and remove the liquid leachate and gas that are produced there. Because of state regulations and the structure of the landfill, officials also say that plot will likely have to remain vacant forever. Brunswick closed its municipal landfill in 2021. Other Maine municipalities that have active landfills include Augusta, Bath, Lewiston, Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield.

Maine PUC approves siting renewable power on contaminated farms

MAINE PUBLIC • July 23, 2024

Maine regulators have approved new rules advocates said could offer a financial lifeline to Maine farms contaminated with toxic chemicals. Under a measure authorized by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the state will open a competitive bidding process to develop nearly 600,000 megawatts of new clean power, equal to 5% of Maine retail electricity sales in 2021. The process will prioritized proposed developments sited on agricultural land tainted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. More than 50 Maine farms have been found to have unsafe levels of PFAS in water and soil. Some farms have had to stop selling produce, milk, eggs and meat from their land.

Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, scientists say

WASHINGTON POST • July 23, 2024

Global temperatures hit the highest levels in recorded history on Sunday, according to preliminary data from Europe’s top climate monitor – another worrying sign of how human-caused climate change is pushing the planet into dangerous new territory. The results from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show the planet’s average temperature on July 21 was 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit – breaking a record set only last year. The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the hottest year scientists have ever seen.

Firm that helped overturn Chevron involved with lawsuit over Maine public beach access

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 23, 2024

A public interest law firm that helped get the Chevron doctrine overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court is part of the legal battle over public access to shorelines in Maine. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which typically champions conservative and libertarian causes, is representing a defendant in a case involving public access to intertidal land in the town of Wells. The firm, which represents clients for free in cases nationwide involving individual and property rights, like the one in Wells, brought in more than $25 million in 2023. Meanwhile, those fighting for public access rely on donations to cover their legal fees. Donna M. Cummings, who has lived one street back from Moody Beach for 25 years, says it feels like an “agenda” that pushes private ownership over public access. 

As New England forests are razed for solar power, experts urge smarter siting

MONGABAY • July 23, 2024

Journalist and author Judith Schwartz lives near a forest in New England where a company plans to install an 85-acre solar power project and export the resulting energy to Connecticut, 100 miles to the south. She discusses why these types of projects are ecologically inappropriate for developing atop natural forests and how they can make adapting to climate change harder for local residents. Massachusetts offers a snapshot of the kind of damage that can occur without a policy preventing it: clearing forests and using natural working lands, such as farmland, has already converted more than 5,000 acres for solar energy production.

Maine spends $6.6 million to strengthen independent electric grids

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 23, 2024

The state is spending $6.6 million from Washington to strengthen independently operated electric grids that, along with Maine’s two dominant investor-owned utilities, face increasing threats from destructive storms. Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative at Vinalhaven and North Haven, Van Buren Light and Power and three power projects will benefit from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. When combined with matching funds provided by the recipients, more than $11 million will improve the resiliency of Maine’s electrical infrastructure, Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday.

Opinion: Climate crisis should be a priority in November’s election

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

It’s hard to believe that the U.S. electorate would vote for someone who, using the terminology of the UN secretary general, is steering us “on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” It’s even harder to believe that the Republican Party’s platform is devoid of any mention of addressing the climate crisis, which is beginning to devastate our planet. Their goal most closely related to climate is to become the world’s dominant energy (aka oil and gas) producer, which is only adding (fossil) fuel to the fire. The absence of the inclusion of the climate crisis in the Republican platform presents an imminent danger to our country and planet. ~ Tony Ferrara, Brooksville, retired associate professor and coordinator of Climate Action Net

Maine organic farming group sues EPA over forever chemicals

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 23, 2024

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association joined a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to regulate the amount of forever chemicals allowed in sewage sludge. “MOFGA has had to divert significant staff time and financial resources to assisting farmers dealing with PFAS contamination from land-applied sewage sludge,” the lawsuit alleges. “The organization responded with nearly all staff hands on deck to provide affected farmers.” MOFGA is country’s biggest state organic farming group. It created a PFAS Emergency Relief Fund that has handed out more than $1.5 million in direct support to more than 50 affected farm families.

First Lyme disease vaccine in 20 years tested at midcoast hospital

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

The midcoast has the highest rates of tick-borne illnesses in Maine, which is why the state’s biggest health care system chose its Rockport hospital — Pen Bay Medical Center — as the site for research on a proposed new vaccine for Lyme disease. If the vaccine is determined to be safe and effective, it would be a huge advance, as there has not been a Lyme disease vaccine on the U.S. market in more than two decades. As of July 15, there had been 135 cases of Lyme confirmed in Knox County so far this year, which translates to a rate of 328 cases per 100,000 people — the highest in Maine. Several other coastal counties also lead the state in Lyme disease rates for this year, with 251 cases per 100,000 in Lincoln, 247 per 100,000 in Hancock and 216 per 100,000 in Waldo.

Opinion: We set out on the Appalachian Trail. Mistakes were made.

WASHINGTON POST • July 23, 2024

Mistakes were made, an instructive combination of inexperience and overconfidence. On June 30 we drove up to Baxter State Park and hiked the comically rocky 3.3 miles from Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond, perched halfway up the north side of Mt. Katahdin in a spectacular bowl of cliffs. My 19-year-old son, Mica, and I set off to climb Katahdin, because our Appalachian Trail starts at its summit. Katahdin is not especially big. But it is, out of all proportion to its height, a difficult mountain to climb. We ascended the Saddle Trail from Chimney. The last four-tenths of a mile is straight up a loose sand and gravel landslide scar, on a continuous forty-degree slope. Despite that, I’ve seen more than one person climb Katahdin in Crocs. Mistake Number One: Underestimating how much energy climbing Katahdin took out of me. ~ Rusty Foster

Opinion: The alternative to voting Democrat is hard to stomach

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 23, 2024

Not voting or, worse, switching sides because of the upcoming change, will have dire consequences for this country, its citizens and the world order. What is the potential danger? The answer: Project 2025. Authored and supported by hundreds of far-right Republican extremists and organizations, Project 2025 is a “cook book” for implementing authoritarian rule and MAGA ideology. A sample menu includes gutting laws protecting workers and the environment. Indigestion or “bon appétit?” ~ Sigrid R. E. Fischer-Mishler, Harpswell

Letter: Republican values leave other Americans behind

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 23, 2024

Republicans have turned into themselves to find agreement, and that agreement is one of denouncing the other party vs. coming up with ways to solve our many pressing issues of the day. Global warming is real. The Republican agreement is founded in hate and otherism, and that is not the American way. Or at least I hope it is not because if it is — and we will learn on Tuesday, Nov. 5 — no one will be safe when the party in power decides that our community, and what we believe in, are not welcome. ~ Tracy Floyd, Cape Elizabeth

Lawsuit shows divide between Janet Mills and Maine environmentalists

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

After multiple rounds of destructive flooding and storms dating back to December ravaged a vast chunk of Maine, environmentalists took the state to court and argued that Gov. Janet Mills is not acting with enough urgency to meet her own climate goals. The Conservation Law Foundation, Maine Youth Action and Sierra Club filed their lawsuit in April against the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Environmental Protection. The DEP released an update in June that showed emissions were 30% lower than 1990 levels as of 2021 and that Maine was 91% of the way to meeting the 2045 carbon neutrality goal, thanks largely to carbon storage in trees and wood products. But the environmental groups suing Maine argued the state has missed statutory deadlines. Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office has asked the court to dismiss the case.

More Atlantic salmon could be in the Penobscot watershed than you think

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

“In the 1990s the Atlantic Salmon Commission gave IFW some captive broodstock that they were not going to use any more for egg production. We then stocked a number of waters with these retired brood Atlantic salmon in late fall,” according to state fisheries biologist Greg Burr. How many of these Atlantics are actually getting up the Penobscot River tributaries and into Maine lakes? Historically regarded as an anomaly or a fluke, is this fisheries event more commonplace than we once thought? So far this year, a little more than 200 Atlantic salmon have been tallied at the fish passage counting station on the Penobscot River. Another question: “Will Atlantic salmon breed with landlocked salmon?” Why not? DNA wise, they are identical fish.