Letter: Getting outdoors a surefire cure for teen apathy

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 6, 2024

Jonathan Haidt’s recent bestselling book, “The Anxious Generation,” calls out the downsides of a phone-based life for young people. The book has led many communities to initiate phone-free schools. While taking away a young person’s phone may remove the culprit, it does not provide a cure. This is why Teens to Trails encourages schools to offer playful outdoor time during and after school, or start an outdoor club. The results are students who are more engaged in their learning. Teachers have witnessed this time and again during our Life Happens Outside Challenge. ~ Alicia Heyburn, Executive Director, Teens to Trails, Brunswick

West Quoddy Head is not the easternmost point in the US

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2024

Bad news: Maine’s beloved, candy-striped lighthouse at West Quoddy Head is not the easternmost point in the United States, as it’s so often called. In 1884, when the International Date Line) was drawn, an uninhabited, volcanically volatile, 85-square-mile outlying island in the Aleutian Archipelago in Alaska is the easternmost point in the United States. But even though Alaska’s Semisopochnoi Island is technically the easternmost point in the U.S., Mainers can still boast. Since that island is uninhabited, we’ve still got the easternmost lighthouse, town, state park and gift shop.

Column: This migratory shorebird surprised me 20 miles offshore

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2024

We were 20 miles offshore on a whale watch boat. when a least sandpiper fluttered within three feet of my head. Most birds are reluctant to fly over water, but some find they have little choice. Migrants from across Maritime Canada flow through Nova Scotia until crossing the Gulf of Maine is their only option. Islands are migration traps. Birds caught over the ocean seek landfall wherever they can find it. Monhegan is such a migrant trap that eBird lists 317 species that have been seen on the island. That’s 32 species more than any other location in Maine. Maine Audubon’s East Point Sanctuary at Biddeford Pool in southern Maine is the runner-up, having recorded 285 species. Although it is not an island, it juts out into Saco Bay far enough to act like one. Another island — Stratton Island off Old Orchard Beach — holds the third spot, with a list of 279 recorded species. ~ Bob Duchesne

Leonard Leo is making bigger plays in Maine politics

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2024

Leonard Leo has owned a home on Maine’s Mount Desert Island for years. The conservative legal titan’s recent donations show he is becoming a boon to Republicans here. His advocacy group gave $375,000 to For Our Future, a political action committee tied to state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn. Libby’s The Dinner Table is focused on state-level races in Maine. Leo’s fund has also been helping groups opposing lobstering regulations while working closely with legislative Republicans who are critical of offshore wind.

Grassroots group’s report sharply criticizes Gorham Connector proposal

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Opposition to the proposed Gorham Connector has reached fever pitch, with a grassroots group issuing a report outlining its preferred alternatives to a project more than 30 years in the making. At the same time, town councilors in Scarborough, one of four communities that would be impacted by the connector, are poised to take a stand against the Maine Turnpike Authority’s project unless the proposal is altered substantially to address growing public concerns.

A Maine town’s largest elm comes down at 158 years old

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

After various delays due to rain, lightning and a truck breakdown carrying a crane, the largest elm in Blue Hill was taken down on Aug. 29, along with another elm next to it. The two elms, located on Tenney Hill between the First Congregational Church and George Stevens Academy’s Hinkley House property, had been infected with Dutch elm disease. A third tree, 75 years old, was removed elsewhere on GSA’s main campus the previous week. Blue Hill tree warden Phil Norris counted the rings on the larger tree’s stump and determined it was 158 years old, which means it was planted in 1866.

Maine dams receive $34 million for upgrades

MAINE PUBLIC • September 5, 2024

A $34 million cash infusion from the federal government will support repairs and upgrades for Maine’s aging hydroelectric dams. Twenty dam projects across the state will receive federal incentive payments to strengthen the electric grid and improve safety and environmental quality. Updates include installing new equipment to generate power and adding fish passages. Selected projects include Kennebec River dams in Skowhegan, Fairfield and Waterville. Conservation groups have campaigned to remove those structures. The U.S. Department of Energy says it provided $430 million to nearly 300 projects across the country. Maine received the third biggest share out of 33 states after California and Washington.

$7.5 million grant to Passamaquoddy Tribe Indian Township to cut climate pollution and accelerate clean energy transition

EPA • September 5, 2024

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Passamaquoddy Tribe Indian Township has been selected to receive $7,427,323 in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funding for the first phase of the construction of a community microgrid in the Passamaquoddy Tribe Indian Township, including the installation of solar photovoltaic systems with battery backup and load management at residential and municipal buildings.

Opinion: With Sears Island offshore wind port plan, Maine is putting the cart before the horse

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

By selecting Sears Island as the site for its offshore wind manufacturing facility, Maine puts the proverbial cart before the horse. A full and objective alternative analysis comparing Sears Island with other possible offshore wind manufacturing sites does not exist. The PUC continues to struggle over cost issues and has not approved a power purchase agreement for the research array. Available site analysis and engineering shows that a robust offshore wind manufacturing, assembling and launching facility can be built at Mack Point to achieve Maine’s laudable offshore wind objectives. All of this suggests an enormous business and political component to the decision to develop Sears Island instead of Mack Point that overshadows the obvious environmental issues. Yet it is environmental and climate change issues that drive this offshore wind initiative. The need for open, transparent public communication could not be greater. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust

Community involvement essential for offshore wind development

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

With the federal government’s plans on track to issue the first-ever commercial offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine this fall, it’s clear that offshore wind is coming to Maine, where it could reduce price volatility and increase grid reliability while saving New Englanders money. Offshore wind could also be an economic gamechanger with high-quality union jobs in manufacturing, construction, logistics, maintenance, and maritime trades. Already, offshore wind investments are revitalizing ports in Connecticut and Massachusetts. But that won’t be enough to build out offshore wind to its full potential in the Gulf of Maine. That’s why we are excitedly watching the development of a port in Searsport. It’s not too early to begin organizing to identify priorities for a community benefit agreement. Maine Climate Action NOW! is helping to plan an informational session this month. ~ Amy Eshoo, Maine Climate Action NOW!; Jim Mulloy and Betsy Frederick, Salem Alliance for the Environment, Salem, Massachusetts

Column: Kennebec River salmon restoration faces complicated passage

CENTRAL MAINE • September 5, 2024

In western Maine, Perham Stream is a tributary of the Kennebec River and one of the most important wild Atlantic salmon spawning waters in the United States. In the early 1800s, boatloads of Kennebec River salmon were transported to markets in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Today, Maine supports the only wild Atlantic salmon spawning runs in the U.S. But even here, the “king of fish” is barely surviving as a federally endangered species. Known as “trap and truck,” the salmon taxi service is the only viable method of ensuring that wild salmon continue to spawn in Perham Stream and the South Branch of the Sandy River, a major tributary of the Kennebec. Among Maine’s few remaining salmon rivers, the Sandy may offer the best hope of rebuilding wild salmon populations. ~ Ron Joseph

The biggest problem facing offshore wind energy isn’t broken blades. It’s public opinion.

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 5, 2024

“There’sIn July, a wind turbine blade fractured above the Atlantic Ocean. “There’s a lot of concern out there that is valid, but there’s also a lot of disinformation and whack-a-doo theories,” said Jim Boyd, a commercial shellfisherman and retired Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council deputy director. “The only thing that’s going to help the wind industry at this point is to be as upfront and transparent as possible.” Which has not always been the case. Two days after the 300-foot-long blade broke off of the Eiffel Tower-sized turbine Vineyard Wind LLC offered no explanation. Experts agree that there is not enough information to fully understand how building and operating the powerful projects will affect the sensitive ecosystem. Not to mention the safety concerns for fishermen and emergency rescue crews trying to navigate around 200 acres of turbines in rough seas or poor visibility. Environmental activists backing offshore wind as a key way to reduce carbon emissions are waiting with bated breath for more turbines to start spinning. The blade incident was concerning, but not as worrisome as climate change.

Maine utilities will be banned from spending ratepayer money on lobbying, advertising

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Years after utilities paid millions of [shareholder] dollars to influence voters about a power line through western Maine, Maine regulators announced Wednesday they will draft rules that prohibit utilities from billing ratepayers for spending on advertising, lobbying and political expenses and require spending disclosures to the state. The Public Utilities Commission voted 3-0 to launch a rule-making process seeking public comment on regulations called for in state legislation enacted last year.

Defend Our Health hires research

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Trisha Vaidyanathan has been hired as the new senior director of research at Defend Our Health. She has a bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California – Berkeley and a doctorate in neuroscience from University of California – San Francisco.

Maine cracks down on multiple businesses for contaminating the environment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

A Windham car wash that was owned by a former Westbrook police detective is facing a $239,000 fine for illegally dumping about 2 million gallons of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals such as lead, thallium and chromium down the drain and trying to hide it. It is one of several proposed Maine Department of Environmental Protection consent agreements that would resolve violations of environmental laws – some dating back five years – pending before the state Board of Environmental Protection, the agency’s enforcement arm. Other pending violations include a tanning salon chain that dumped spent or broken lamps containing mercury in an Augusta basement, an oil spill that closed Willard Beach in South Portland for four days in August 2021, and improperly stored hazardous waste at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

Opinion: Yard South project has untold potential for chaos

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Observations about the Yard South project in South Portland: PK Realty bought the property in 2018 for $7.7 million as a speculative investment. If rezoned for residential development, the return on investment on the purchase price of $7.7 million, with views of the Portland skyline, would be astronomical. It would be a mistake to grant a zoning change before the new comprehensive change is completed and adopted. New FEMA floodplain maps, which project future sea level rise floodplain elevations, show that a 3-foot sea level rise, possible in the next 30 years, would have this tax parcel half underwater during a storm event. Given this, wouldn’t it be sensible to retain the existing working waterfront designation? ~ Jeremy Doxsee, South Portland

Letter: Changing climate becoming the legacy we’ll leave

CENTRAL MAINE • September 5, 2024

Fossil fuels have made our lives easier in profound ways. We drive or fly here and there, much of what we buy comes from far away. We heat and cool our buildings, and benefit in so many ways with household and other conveniences. A changing climate is the legacy we are leaving. The Paris Agreement of 2015 correctly called for reductions in emissions of all greenhouse gases. Efforts have gone into replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy worldwide. But it’ll never be enough because those gases are still warming the Earth. We need to remove them. Sen. Collins has introduced the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act, to fund research and development of technologies to do just that. Thank her, and ask her to fit it into the Omnibus Bill that will close this Congress. ~ Peter Garrett, Winslow, Citizens Climate Lobby and Foundation for Climate Restoration

Letter: Disturbing silence on toxic Brunswick spill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

The player with the deepest pockets and ultimate responsibility, and their local representative, remained mum at the recent heated PFAS spill hearing in Brunswick. I’m referring to Sen. Angus King and what is likely the largest polluter in the world, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). How the DOD can poison us and claim sovereign immunity due to national security is a travesty for the common good. Sen. King should provide some clarification, please. ~ Stephen Musica Sr., Harpswell

Grocers react to the impending loss of Aroostook dairy’s milk

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

The full Houlton Farms milk display at Steaks N’ Stuff in Presque Isle is about to become history, and the brothers who own the store are feeling a loss. Houlton’s family-owned dairy, the only white milk processor and distributor north of the Portland area, will discontinue its milk line by the end of September. The Lincoln family, who’ve owned the company for 43 years, have seen dairy farms around them dwindle and are now only supplied by one farm. With mounting production costs and falling white milk sales, they could no longer suffer the losses. “It’s really hard to lose something local.”

Letter: Don’t appreciate the shock of hunting photos

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2024

I don’t appreciate the shock value of large color photos of hunters, including young children, proudly displaying the dead animals they just killed. I understand that hunting is part of the culture in Maine. Plus, I’m sure that showing photos of hunters with their latest kill helps to sell newspapers. Perhaps the BDN could put these photos farther back in section B (or in a separate section entitled “Dead Animals”) and make them smaller so people who find these photos to be unpleasant will be able to avoid them if they want to. That way, we can read the real and important news about Maine and not have someone’s trophy photo forced on us. ~ Steve Colburn, Orono