U.S. Senate panel looks for ways to aid electric vehicle industry

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 2, 2024

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee discussed on Wednesday ways to boost U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing to be more competitive globally. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic chairman of the committee, began a hearing Wednesday by calling electric vehicle production “an economic, national security and climate imperative.” Whitehouse highlighted the expanding global market for electric vehicles, noting that in 2023, 20% of vehicles sold around the world were electric. “We want to be a part of that action,” Whitehouse said. Donald Trump opposes President Joe Biden’s support of electric vehicles. But Graham, a Trump ally and a staunchly conservative lawmaker, embraced the idea.

Letter: Is Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad on the right track with climate change?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 1, 2024

How is it that the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, located on the east end of Commercial Street, is allowed to operate either their 2-stroke engine or the coal-fired one within a yard of a public walkway? I have been told that the 2-stroke engine is grandfathered in and the coal-fired one is under the authority of the Railroad Administration and neither the City of Portland’s sustainability office nor the state environmental agency has the power to do anything about it. I have watched the rail operation fire up the coal engine, with black smoke coming out of the stack, to take riders on the less-than-a-mile long “amusement” ride while allowing the engine to run at idle in excess of eight hours. ~ Dan Milligan, Portland

What to know about the 3 rabies cases in Bath this summer

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 2, 2024

Though Bath has seen three cases of rabies in wildlife this summer, officials say there is no reason for residents to be alarmed. Bath is a population center surrounded by wooded areas that many animals call home, so the likelihood of people bumping into the wildlife is higher. The midcoast city saw an outbreak of rabies among wildlife in 2019, with 16 animals testing positive for the virus that year. The city partnered with the USDA to trap, euthanize and test animals to curb the spread of the disease. The entire state of Maine saw 66 cases of rabies in animals in 2023. Bath last registered a rabies case in 2020, and it was in a gray fox. Aside from that and the outbreak the year before, the city has only seen three other cases of rabies going back to 2015.

We paddled 17 miles to see puffins on a Maine island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

Eastern Egg Rock, a tiny, seemingly nondescript, barren atoll located in outer Muscongus Bay, is one of a handful of locations along the Maine coast where Atlantic puffins come to nest. But it hasn’t always been that way. The colorful seabirds stopped returning to the rock around 1890. A variety of circumstances had driven them from their natural roosting habitat. In 1973, a team led by Stephen Kress began a painstaking effort to bring puffins back. For more than a decade, Project Puffin relocated chicks from Newfoundland and raised them on Eastern Egg Rock. The goal was to instill an instinctive desire to return to breed. Despite their diligent efforts, 12 years passed before puffin pairs returned. Today, around 150 puffin parents raise their chicks on the rock each year.

Column: Baby birds are everywhere and they’re tough to identify

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

Bird identification is challenging, and never more than it is right now. August is the height of misidentification season. In many species, young birds don’t resemble their parents. Their streaky, less colorful markings are intentional. Young birds are more vulnerable to predation and need all the camouflage they can get. Camouflage wouldn’t help larger birds. Predators could spot a juvenile crow no matter what color it was. Hence, youngsters look like their parents. ~ Bob Duchesne

Sen. King proposes tax breaks to strengthen working waterfronts

MAINE PUBLIC • August 1, 2024

Working waterfront businesses could get a 30% tax credit to protect properties from storm damage under a bill proposed by Maine Sen. Angus King. The incentive would have a one million dollar investment cap on improvements that support commercial fishing, boat yards and other marine businesses. Businesses would be expected to make investments that help prevent major damage from natural disasters. King introduced the measure with Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana. Funding to lessen storm impacts is cheaper than paying for recovery, King said.

Death Valley just recorded the hottest month ever observed on the planet

WASHINGTON POST • August 1, 2024

The hottest place on Earth just observed its hottest month. Death Valley, Calif., registered an average July temperature of 108.5 degrees, the highest monthly value ever recorded among thousands of weather stations around the globe. The scorching month in Death Valley came as the planet’s average temperature reached its highest level on two straight days. The Earth has set high-temperature records over the past 13 months. Scientists say the warmth is linked to decades of global heating from human emissions of greenhouse gases.

Opinion: Investments in renewable energy are strengthening Maine farms

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

What’s been happening inside and around Maine farms has been a quiet, yet profound transformation. Supported by strategic investments from the U.S.D.A. made possible by the historic Inflation Reduction Act, agricultural producers and small businesses are embracing renewable energy systems and efficiency improvements. This shift will not only allow them to be economically viable today, but sustainable for the years to come. Maine Conservation Voters has championed the need for these exact investments. Embedding climate-smart agricultural practices increases the resiliency of our farmers, communities, food supply and economy. ~ Kathleen Meil, Maine Conservation Voters

Letter: Vote like Earth depends on it

CENTRAL MAINE • August 1, 2024

The majority of us want effective climate solutions and environmental protections. We need to elect officials who prioritize these issues. Our lawmakers have a responsibility to step up to solve the problem. All candidates running for office should take this issue seriously and have a viable plan to address heat-trapping pollution. Let your representatives and candidates seeking election know that you care about climate action. Find out what their positions and plans are around these issues and vote accordingly. Vote like the Earth depends on it! ~ Bonnie Sammons, Belgrade

Opinion: We must make Maine’s economy resilient to climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

We should expect to see more extreme storms as the effects of climate change become more prevalent. For the sake of Maine’s economy, we must develop partnerships among governments at all levels and business sectors to identify strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and create the resilient infrastructure to withstand them. Making our infrastructure more resilient means elevating roads, ensuring culverts that run beneath roads and bridges have capacity sufficient to handle significantly greater water volumes and constructing wharves to withstand sea level rise and storm surges. There is no retreat for what remains of Maine’s working waterfront. Businesses can also tell government leaders what they need to succeed. Failure to act with a sense of urgency is not an option. ~ Linda Nelson, Governor’s Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission

The 36 Best State Parks in America: Baxter

THRILL LIST • August 1, 2024

The country's more than 10,000 state parks span more than 18 million acres across the US. These spaces have always been invaluable, but have become even more important during recent years as stressed-out Americans scrambled to sate their wanderlust and rediscover their love of the great outdoors. Not only is the sprawling 200,000-acre Baxter State Park home to Northern Maine's beloved Mount Katahdin (the state's highest peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail), it's also the domain of a killer variety of wildlife, from hawks to black bears who make their home amid the park's peaceful lakes and waterfalls. The park is void of paved roads, running water, and electricity, so this is your chance for the full Thoreau experience.

As the state looks to harness Gulf of Maine winds, a big question looms: How much will utility customers pay?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 1, 2024

Maine’s offshore wind research project in the Gulf of Maine is the subject of negotiations that are picking up speed among state regulators, the project’s developers and the Public Advocate, who are trying to determine how much the zero-carbon energy will ultimately cost utility customers. The PUC on July 11 ordered that the price – or how it’s structured for the project in a contract between the developer, Pine Tree Offshore Wind, and CMP or Versant – should be “sufficiently defined and certain” to allow regulators to determine whether the cost to ratepayers is the lowest reasonable amount to finance, build and operate the project. The low-cost provision is required by state law, which mandated that the PUC execute a long-term offshore wind contract between a utility of no less than 20 years.

Column: Optimism for America’s future

TIMES RECORD • August 1, 2024

The motto of Donald Trump and the Republican Party he has captured is “Make America Great Again.” This is a backward-looking message based on the belief that if the country can return to its glorious past, reversing immigration, halting inflation, ending diversity efforts, limiting environmental protection and stymying the rise of women. This premise is almost entirely false. If corporate success is more important than human health, then the country could dismantle efforts to protect land, water and air. That would restore some version of “great again,” by trading future survival for short-term gain. Nations pass through difficult times without necessarily succumbing to them. ~ Gordon L. Weil

A new law should stop Old Town landfill expansion, opponents say

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

Maine is on the verge of a trash crisis, as overall waste sent to landfills increased by 34 percent from 2018 to 2022. Juniper Ridge, a state-owned landfill in Old Town, has a capacity of 10 million cubic yards and accepts trash from dozens of municipalities across the state, as well as 25,000 tons of waste from out-of-state. At the current rate Juniper Ridge is accepting trash, it will run out of room in 2028. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will decide by Aug. 23 if a proposed 11.9-million-cubic-yard expansion at Juniper Ridge will have a substantial public benefit. It is the first time environmental justice must be considered.

Buyers eager to live on Maine’s coast are scooping up homes to tear down

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 31, 2024

Many homes on the market right now demonstrate the price of admission to Maine’s desirable coastal enclaves, which has ballooned in recent years due to record low housing inventory coupled with sky-high demand for waterfront property. Midcoast properties were seeing price increases up to 40 and 50 percent each year, Julie Williams, broker-owner at ERA Dawson-Bradford Co., said. That led many to assume, years on from the pandemic-related real estate boom, that their property will sell for well over its market value. “Things have cooled off, we’re seeing increases in pricing closer to 3 to 6 percent, or even price decreases.”

#LoveMaineWaters: Coalition urges boaters to prevent marine debris

TIMES RECORD • July 31, 2024

The Maine Marine Trades Association has partnered with Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Island Trail Association and Friends of Casco Bay to bring awareness to boaters about keeping Maine waters free of debris. In addition to keeping debris out of the ocean, the coalition considered and discussed the need for better public information about responsible navigation around lobster gear and sea farms. Any vessel traveling with line cutters on their prop shaft has the potential to run over a buoy and accidentally cut a line attached to a trap or other gear. Sailboats also run a risk of snagging lobster gear lines in their rudders, keels, or props.

Jonesport fish farm makes headway after court denies appeal of the project's local permits

MAINE PUBLIC • July 31, 2024

A proposed land-based fish farm in Jonesport is closer to breaking ground after a court denied an appeal of the project’s local permits. Maine’s Business and Consumer Court rejected the appeal from project opponent Protect Downeast, which argued that the town’s Planning Board misinterpreted the local land use code when it approved the project. The group also claimed that the facility would degrade water quality. But Justice Thomas McKeon said that the Planning Board followed local ordinances and considered substantial evidence in its approval.

Maine CDC finds 6 cases of West Nile virus in birds; investigating 1 in a human

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2024

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting six cases of West Nile virus in birds, and also is investigating one case of the mosquito-borne disease in a person. The virus was detected in crows from Bangor, Bridgton, Fryeburg, Parsonsfield and Sidney. West Nile virus was also found in a hawk in Yarmouth. The last known human case of West Nile in Maine was in 2018.

Portland Adult Education to expand heat pump apprenticeship program

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2024

Portland Adult Education was awarded $416,179 to bolster its renewable energy pre-apprenticeship and bridge programs by adding heat-pump and thermal-focused trainings. The organization plans to use the funds to prepare up to 150 people for jobs in the clean energy industry.

New Leader Selected for Trust for Public Land

TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND • July 31, 2024

Carrie Besnette Hauser as the new president and CEO of Trust for Public Land (TPL). Dr. Hauser most recently served as president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, a public, undergraduate institution with eleven campuses spread across Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains. Dr. Hauser’s background also includes executive leadership roles at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Daniels Fund, and Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. She has served on numerous boards including the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Great Outdoors Colorado, and American Rivers. “We are thrilled to welcome Carrie as our next president and CEO,” said Lucas St. Clair, chair of TPL’s board of directors.