Letter: The US pushes back against the EV at its peril

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 9, 2024

On average, a gas-powered passenger car will emit more than four metric tons of CO2 from its tailpipe each year. EVs don’t have tailpipes. Battery manufacturing and charging will create some emissions, but those will shrink as clean-energy use continues to rise. The global warming impact of greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes is felt by all inhabitants of our planet. Chinese companies must smile when they hear, “drill, baby, drill.” ~ Fred Egan, York Harbor

Transformer makes slow move from Auburn to Lewiston

SUN JOURNAL • August 8, 2024

The first of four giant transformers destined for an electricity converter station off outer Main Street in Lewiston was slowly moved Thursday night from Rodman Road to its new location. The transformer and three more destined for the Main Street site will be used at the New England Clean Energy Connect converter station to convert direct current coming from Canada to alternating current and send it on its way to Massachusetts.

Sunken fishing vessel recovered from Harpswell waters after 7 months

TIMES RECORD • August 8, 2024

In a 20-hour operation, the Coast Guard raised the battered Jacob Pike from the bottom of the New Meadows River in Harpswell on Wednesday, more than seven months after the fishing vessel sank during a brutal winter storm. Maine Department of Environmental Protection was on scene throughout the process to monitor the intermittent dispersal of the oil sheen. “The plan was a comprehensive effort to ensure the protection of the local fishery and environment,” said Christopher Hopper, DEP Division of Response Services director, noting there were no reports of impact on local oyster beds or marine wildlife.

Sea glass fanatics scour Maine beaches and craft with treasures they find

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 8, 2024

Maine’s coastline is ideal for the weathering and collection of sea glass, said Richard LaMotte, who has written books on the subject. As shards of glass zigzag down the rocky shores and in and out of rugged coves, the turbulent waves create an “abrasive environment” that produces that sought-after frosted texture, he said. Finding sea glass has become a national hobby in the past two decades, LaMotte said.

Maine home of Frances Perkins, first female Cabinet member, seeks national monument designation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 8, 2024

The Newcastle home of Frances Perkins – a chief architect of Social Security and other programs that helped transform the country during the Great Depression – soon could become Maine’s second national monument. The nonprofit Frances Perkins Center is asking President Biden to declare Perkins’ longtime family home on River Road in Newcastle a national monument, to be run by the National Park Service. It would become Maine’s second national monument, along with Katahdin Woods and Waters, which received the designation in 2016.

August heat wave stresses New England electric grid

MAINE PUBLIC • August 7, 2024

New England’s electric grid operator issued a rare energy emergency last week when power generation unexpectedly dropped off during a heat wave. ISO New England said it had to call in reserve power resources for a few hours on August 1 to meet surging electricity demand as the region sweltered in temperatures over 90 degrees. The grid operator said that increased energy use in the early evening surpassed morning forecasts. And there were unplanned power plant outages including the loss of a 350 megawatt resource. That created a capacity deficiency that prompted a power caution alert signaling the grid was under stress and tapping reserve power, said ISO New England spokesperson Matt Kakley.

Death toll for birds hitting buildings may be over 1 billion a year in US – report

THE GUARDIAN • August 7, 2023

Less than half of stunned or injured birds survive a collision with a window, research has found, pushing up estimates that more than 1 billion birds may die each year from flying into buildings in the US. In a new study published on Wednesday in Plos One, researchers examined how many birds recovered in rehabilitative care after a building collision. Older estimates had assumed that most stunned birds would recover, but researchers found about 60% died, meaning the number killed by building strikes may be far higher than previously thought.

In the classic sci-fi flick “Silent Running” all forests on Earth have become extinct

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 7, 2024

Silent Running (1972) is first time director Douglas Trumbull’s environmental themed science fiction classic starring Bruce Dern and Dewey, Huey and Louie, his three drone helpers. Set in the not to distant future, all forests on Earth have become extinct and the only surviving species are on eight space craft in Saturn’s orbit in specially designed enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes. Freeman Lowell (Dern) is the botanist aboard ‘Valley Forge’. When the ships are ordered to destroy the domes and return to Earth, he takes things into his own hands.

Column: Phases of climate change denial

CENTRAL MAINE • August 7, 2024

It is well-known that climates are changing worldwide; and that human activities are primarily responsible for it. Nonetheless, there is still a sizable number of people who deny that any such thing as human-induced environmental trouble even exists. Planet-wide pollution and habitat destruction have led directly to environmental disasters, climate change and mass extinction of species. There is no doubt about this, according to the climate scientists. But the denial — which is the denial of reality itself — has been persistent and discouraging. Climate change denial has to be a finalist for a lifetime-achievement Darwin Award. ~ Dana Wilde

Educational Hike at Quabbin Reservoir, August 24

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 7, 2024

If you live in Massachusetts or will be visiting nearby, RESTORE, the Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter, and Save Massachusetts Forests are holding an educational walk through an undisturbed forest and a recent logging site on the Quabbin Watershed public lands. August 24, 2024, 10 am - 3:30 pm. Learn about the Quabbin Reservoir, its history, fauna, and climate action as well as the campaign to end logging on the state lands of the Quabbin, Ware, and Wachusett watersheds.

Hotel development in Portland booming as city seeks to amp up winter tourism

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 7, 2024

An increase in leisure and business travel to Portland over the last decade has prompted a hotel building boom that promises to bring hundreds of hotel rooms to the region. Can the city absorb that many rooms? Industry experts say yes. About 1,250 new hotel rooms have come online in the last 10 years. Portland has at least 750 hotel rooms in various stages of the planning process, and there are more than 400 in the works in the surrounding area. About 15 million people came to the state in 2023. They spent about $9.1 billion, up from $8.6 billion the year before – and stayed for longer, according to the state Office of Tourism.

Shellfish harvesting ban in part of Casco Bay expected to end later this week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

A temporary ban on harvesting oysters, clams and other bivalve shellfish that went into effect Sunday is expected to last until Wednesday or Thursday, according to a scientist at the Department of Marine Resources. More than 2 inches of rain fell Sunday morning, causing runoff containing bacteria from fecal matter to enter Casco Bay, triggering the shellfish harvesting closure stretching from Freeport to Harpswell. It is the eighth rain-caused closure of 2024.

Downeaster reports record-setting ridership, revenue for 2024 fiscal year

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

The Amtrak Downeaster reported its highest ever ridership and revenue during the 2024 fiscal year, carrying nearly 600,000 riders between July 2023 and June 2024. The line broke ridership records in 10 out of 12 months. Ticket revenue over the fiscal year topped $13 million – $2.63 million more than the previous record, set in 2023.

Award-winning Crystal Spring Farmers Market turns 25

TIMES RECORD • August 6, 2024

The American Farmland Trust has voted the the Crystal Spring Farmers Market the “best in Maine” for the third year in a row. The tradition began in 1999. Tom Settlemire, then-president of Brunswick Topsham Land Trust, organized the inaugural market with the goal of supporting an environmentally sound food system. Nestled on 331 conserved acres, the event now boasts 40 vendors weekly from May through October. On a single day, thousands of visitors purchase goods, including food-insecure community members who can access local produce using Harvest Bucks and SNAP benefits. Most farmers markets are organized by farmers. Crystal Spring Farms, being run by a land trust, sets it apart.

Letter: American wildlife belongs to everyone, not just hunters

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 6, 2024

I totally disagree with V. Paul Reynolds’ outdoors column, “Let pros handle wildlife decisions.” He wrongly assumes only hunters can be “experts” in wildlife management. Allowing hunters to make “wildlife decisions,” is like appointing a coal lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Before you label me un-American, I graduated from West Point and served for 32 years as an infantry officer, including 28 months of combat in Iraq. I have shot more types of weapons than most people and learned that shooting is not as fun when your target can shoot back. ~ Charles Mitchell, Belfast

Herbicide used on Maine crops banned for harming unborn babies

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 6, 2024

An herbicide used to control weeds on a variety of crops for decades was banned Tuesday under an emergency order by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The risk to unborn babies was too high for the agency to wait, it said. The order to control Dacthal, or dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, is the first action of its kind the EPA has taken in nearly 40 years. Studies found pregnant mothers exposed to the chemical can have children with low birth weight, diminished brain development and IQs, and challenged motor skills from changes in fetal thyroid hormone levels, along with impaired thyroid development.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touts federal investments in Freeport visit

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2024

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited two bridge construction projects on Interstate 295 and participated in a panel discussing infrastructure in rural communities Tuesday during a stop in Maine to tout investments by the Biden administration. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden in 2021, invests $1.2 trillion in American infrastructure, about half designated for transportation needs. A total of $2.5 billion has been earmarked for 312 projects in Maine, $1.5 billion of it for transportation projects including roads and bridges, public transport, airports, ports and waterways.

Where Tim Walz stands on climate

WASHINGTON POST • August 6, 2024

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is now the second name on Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential ticket. A schoolteacher turned politician, Walz was first elected to public office in 2006, when he flipped Minnesota’s rural 1st Congressional District. He won reelection five times before becoming Minnesota governor in 2019. Minnesota must move to 100% clean energy by 2040, as required by a bill the governor signed in 2023. He campaigned on the issue twice. In July, the EPA awarded Minnesota a $200 million grant to reduce emissions by restoring peatland, supporting electric-powered vehicles and reducing food waste. Walz has long advocated for climate reform. Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous wrote Tuesday of Walz: “He has worked to protect clean air and water, grow our clean energy economy, and see to it that we do all we can to avoid the very worst of the climate crisis.”

Former mill town selected to house world’s largest duration energy storage project

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 6, 2024

A major investment may be on the horizon for a former mill town that is set to become home to the world’s largest multi-day energy storage system thanks to a nearly $150 million federal grant. Gov. Janet Mills and members of Maine’s congressional delegation announced a $147 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the energy storage system at the former Lincoln Pulp and Paper Mill. The system is designed to enhance grid resilience and optimize the delivery of renewable energy. According to the governor’s office, the sizable grant is part of a larger $389 million regional grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for New England states to strengthen the electric grid and advance the use of clean energy.

The case for bear hunting

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 6, 2024

Most people who have experienced the Maine bear hunts — even those who never tagged a bear — come away with a special memory that lingers long. Bear meat, contrary to the myth, is excellent table fare if properly handled and processed. Hunting bear over bait is not a slam dunk. It’s not too late. You can either contact a Maine bear guide, or you can undertake your own unguided bear hunt. You need to start baiting in early August. ~ V. Paul Reynolds