Repurposed Lincoln paper mill could become world’s largest energy storage system

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

A one-time paper mill in Lincoln is slated to become the world’s largest energy storage system after the project won a $147 million federal grant, Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday. Mateo Jaramillo, chief executive officer and co-founder of Form Energy, a Somerville, Mass., energy storage technology and manufacturing company that’s a partner in the project, said the 85-megawatt multi-day battery system would have the most energy capacity of any battery system announced yet. Energy storage is increasingly important as wind and solar power projects replace fossil fuels.

South Portland surfing startup cuts back on waste by turning fishing nets into boards

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

Mike Ballin, 25, and business partner Luke Diehl, 34, are on a quest to turn old fishing nets into surfboards that last longer and are better for the environment than traditional ones. They founded the startup, Blueprint Surf Co., with three targets in mind for their boards: a minimal carbon footprint, high durability and a strong structure that will help surfers cruise the waves for years to come.

Failure of wind turbine blade off Cape Cod raises questions for Maine officials

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

The collapse of a wind energy turbine blade off Massachusetts in mid-July exposed a weakness in communications about environmental and mechanical hazards, raising an issue that Maine may have to address as it plans its own wind power presence in the Gulf of Maine. Debris from the broken turbine blade, about 350 feet long and manufactured by GE Vernova, washed up on Nantucket beaches. Residents posted photos of fiberglass and foam littering the tony island’s beaches. The online images sparked a tug-of-war between environmentalists who said the incident should not set back efforts to promote zero-carbon energy and skeptics who said the incident proves that wind energy can pollute the environment.

Maine’s emerging chemical threat in our home appliances

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2024

An environmental threat is emerging in Maine and throughout the world from the refrigeration chemicals that replaced ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons after they were banned in 1987. The toxic compound, trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, is a byproduct of the chemicals now widely used in aerosol products and to cool refrigerators, air conditioners and heat pumps. It is produced when those chemicals, known as hydrofluorocarbons, degrade. TFA is widespread and has been increasingly found in drinking water and rain worldwide in recent decades, causing environmental experts to worry about possible undetected health risks. So far, Maine and the federal government are not regulating or testing for TFA, which is considered by many to be a forever chemical.

Whale carcass washes up on Kennebunk shore

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2024

A humpback whale carcass washed up on the shore of Kennebunk over the weekend, after it floated for weeks from the coast of Massachusetts to Wells. The whale, a female officials called “Lollipop,” washed up on Strawberry Island – off the Kennebunk coast – overnight Friday into Saturday, News Center Maine reported. From there, the body was floated into the bay and toward Libbys Point, where crews loaded it up and brought it to a composting facility. Lollipop was at least the third dead whale found in Maine waters in as many months.

Algae blooms, fueled by climate change, are threatening Maine's fresh water

NEWS CENTER MAINE • August 5, 2024

More lakes in Maine are being impacted by potentially toxic algae blooms, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. "There are about 30 lakes in the state that routinely support algae blooms," state lake biologist Linda Bacon said. "Over the last 10 or so years, a few new ones have popped up, and we attribute those new bloomers for the most part to climate change."

Researchers are on a mission this summer to learn more about right whales in the Gulf of Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • August 5, 2024

Every spring, North Atlantic right whales were once known to migrate northward from their calving grounds off the southeastern United States to feed in the Gulf of Maine. But that all started to change 15 years ago when the endangered whales were seen in the Gulf less frequently, and researchers shifted their focus to the areas where larger aggregations were known to be in Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Gulf of Maine has lacked consistent survey effort since then. This summer, the Maine Department of Marine Resources is launching its own research program, an initiative that includes the acoustic monitoring, these boat surveys and now monthly flights over the Gulf of Maine to search for right whales. Eventually, researchers will also monitor and sample for copepods, a type of zooplankton, that serve as a critical food source for right whales.

New commuter bus between Lewiston, Auburn, Portland gets mixed reviews so far

SUN JOURNAL • August 5, 2024

The Maine Department of Transportation’s new commuter bus service linking Lewiston, Auburn and Portland, called LAP, is in its third week of operation, with several daily trips between the three cities. The pilot bus service is set to run for at least two years. In June, Concord Coach Lines stopped service out of Lewiston. Almost a month later, LAP came along to attract some of the hundreds of workers who commute between Lewiston, Auburn and Portland daily. The pilot service has already left some passengers feeling frustrated with buses running behind schedule and sometimes not showing up at all. As of Monday, the times on the website were not accurate and not updated, the buses do not have GPS trackers on them, at least four of the six stops on the LAP’s route were unmarked.

Acadia deciding how to punish hikers who used trail closed for falcons

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2024

Acadia National Park has identified three hikers who violated a trail closure last month but is still weighing its options as the case remains under investigation. The names of the hikers are not being released at this time, Amanda Pollock, spokesperson for the park, said Monday. The trio hiked up Precipice Trail in Acadia — and were photographed while doing so — despite the trail being closed to hikers for months in order to protect nesting peregrine falcons. The birds, which are protected under state and federal law, return each spring to nesting sites in the park on the steep sides of Champlain, Penobscot and St. Sauveur mountains.

Fecal contamination fears shut down shellfish harvesting in Southern Maine after rainfall

MAINE PUBLIC • August 5, 2024

Shellfish harvesting has been shut down for 7,500 acres of Southern Maine’s coast after this weekend’s rainfall for fear of fecal contamination. The closure extends from Freeport to Harpswell and affects commercial and recreational fishermen. Maine’s Department of Marine Resources issued the order on Sunday as a precautionary measure. Bryant Lewis, a scientist for Maine DMR, said heavy storm runoff picks up feces from wildlife on land and washes them into parts of the ocean where shellfish feed. The closure lasts until the department lifts the order, which Lewis said should be in three or four days

Column: Summer in three movements — a small story of rediscovery

TIMES RECORD • August 5, 2024

On the early July day when I took my first short walk, I was struck by the welling of emotion I felt when I reboarded the familiar, short connector trail that links my life to the Town Commons. A few days later, in the early afternoon on one of this summer’s blue-sky days, I was propped outside at work in a chair that was angled toward that sky. Motion in my peripheral vision drew me down; the gray fox appeared as if conjured. It’s a mild summer evening: long twilight, zephyr breeze, anticipation of music at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. I recall thinking, “what we hear is being made, it is of vibrating air. And then gone. I have a seat fully in the present.” So many ways to travel in a local summer. ~ Sandy Stott

Fireflies are fading from Maine’s night skies

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2024

Where have all the fireflies gone? That’s the most common question that Don Salvatore, of Scarborough, the retired co-founder of Firefly Watch, fields on his guided walks. But is that true? Scientists don’t have enough information to know for sure. “People know three things about fireflies,” said Salvatore. “They come out at night, they flash, and people love them. And only one of those is exclusively true. The public doesn’t realize some come out during the day and not all of them flash.” Since they are neither pollinators nor pests, scientists don’t know much more about them, either. After 17 years of citizen censuses and a slowly growing body of independent research, scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature agree that fireflies appear to be in decline, with 14 species in North America and 14% of all global species believed to be on the verge of extinction. But this number could be much higher. Maine is believed to have 15 species of fireflies, including 11 flashers. The state doesn’t have any species on IUCN’s red list, but it’s home to five species that researchers don’t know enough about to classify as safe or not.

Opinion: Protect Maine’s trees; join the fight against invasive species

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2024

As we enter the peak season for invasive insect activity, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the United States Department of Agriculture call on everyone to help protect our beloved trees. Throughout August, we encourage everyone to spend just a few minutes checking the trees in their communities and forests for signs of invasive species. Invasive species, which include nonnative plants, animals and diseases, can cause significant harm to our environment, economy and even human health. These invaders can wreak havoc without natural predators or diseases to keep them in check. ~ Karen Coluzzi, entomologist, and State Pest Survey Coordinator

Flying over Sears Island puts the offshore wind debate in context

MAINE MONITOR • August 4, 2024

I got bird’s-eye view of part of Penobscot Bay last week. We flew out over Sears Island, which is mostly undeveloped but still accessible by road. We could see where the state wants to build the wind port. We saw the industrial development that surrounds the island, including Sprague Energy’s Mack Point cargo and fuel terminal to the southwest. Mack Point is where opponents of the Sears Island project want the port built. It was considered by the state’s Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group. But the state has said Mack Point would be prohibitively expensive, complicated and restrictive for the kind of port they want. This is about priorities. It challenges environmental values, putting them in perceived conflict with one another.

A midcoast man is sailing to a theater near you with his new film

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2024

Belfast filmmaker Jim Merkel and his family are venturing out on a tour of movie theaters along Maine’s coast for showings of his new documentary, “Saving Walden’s World.” They’ll use a sailboat as their main means of transportation, to eliminate the need for fossil fuels. “Saving Walden’s World” is a documentary that explores how communities in Cuba, Slovenia and India have learned to reduce their carbon footprints in the face of climate change and make other advances in health care and education — well ahead of a 2030 target that the United Nations has established for all its members to meet a set of sustainable development goals. The documentary has been selected for showings at 10 film festivals so far, including the Maine Outdoor Film Festival that took place July 28 in Portland. Other stops on the Maine leg of the tour will include Rockland this coming Sunday, followed by Biddeford, Yarmouth, Boothbay Harbor, Bucksport, and Bar Harbor.

Obituary: Marion Cameron Barrow

BOSTON GLOBE • August 4, 2024

Marion Cameron "Camie" Barrow passed away unexpectedly on July 21, 2024 of natural causes. An avid conservationist and sporting dog enthusiast known for her kindness, she lived in Brunswick, Maine with her best friend and husband, David Huntress; and their four beloved English Springer Spaniels. Camie grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts and graduated from Noble and Greenough School and Williams College. Her love of the outdoors soon drew her to Maine, where she met David. She was a longtime board member of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, served on the board of Maine Council Atlantic Salmon Federation and was active in a variety of other causes, including the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust.

Storms, ospreys cause 6,000 CMP power outages Sunday

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 4, 2024

On Sunday morning about 6,000 Central Maine Power customers across eight counties woke up to power outages as storms swept parts of southern and central Maine, but it wasn’t all because of the rain. A nesting osprey disturbed electrical wires in Camden, which caused a large outage in Knox County, while other parts of the state lost power because of storms.

Column: I look forward to loon calls in April. Come August I wish they would just pipe down at night.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2024

I live on a lake. I have summer guests. They love the loons calling at night. All night. Sometimes the loons won’t shut up. I know I should be grateful. A lot of tourists long for this experience. In fact, Mainers should be universally proud of their loons. The population has nearly doubled over the southern half of the state. Half of Maine’s loon population had disappeared. Threats contributed to the decline: lakeshore development, harassment by watercraft, boat wakes, poisoning by ingesting lead sinkers. Today, not only has harassment decreased, but people are more eager to report violators. Maine has phased out the smaller lead sinkers. Anglers are more careful when discarding spent fishing line. However, some threats have increased: bald eagle and snapping turtle predation, the illegal introduction of non-native fish. Maine is doing its part to restore the species, so I guess I’ll have to live with occasionally interrupted sleep. ~ Bob Duchesne

Flooding shuts down roads, harness racing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2024

Flooding during heavy rainstorms has shut down roads in Westbrook. Harness racing events at the Topsham Fair were canceled today because the paddocks had flooded. The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning for southern Cumberland and northern York counties on Sunday.

Assessing Acadia National Park’s future climate: Warm or hot?

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 4, 2024

A new report from the National Park Service directs Acadia to plan for 2 different climate futures: warm and dry, or hot and sticky. Only one thing is certain, NPS climate scientists say: The park of the future will look very different. Abe Miller-Rushing, science director at Acadia, said, “One out of every six plant species here when Acadia was founded 100 years ago is gone.” “Climate change is no longer a year 2050 or 2100 issue. It is a ‘here and now,’” said Nick Fisichelli, president of Schoodic Institute, the nonprofit science division of Acadia.