New incentives spark demand for whole-home heat pumps in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • October 31, 2024

A new incentive program aimed at getting Maine homeowners to switch to high-efficiency heat pumps for all their heating and cooling has finally taken off, according to Efficiency Maine Trust. The quasi-state agency provided 1,814 standard rebates for whole-home heat pump systems between July and September, outpacing the 1,805 standard rebates it approved in the previous nine months. Efficiency Maine stopped offering financial incentives for most single-unit heat pumps last year, after research suggested most were used inefficiently for supplemental heat. Combined with rebates for low- and middle-income households, the agency gave out incentives for 3,530 whole-home systems since its fiscal year started in July, according to Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard. "It's working. It's taking off," Stoddard said.

Maine Climate Council skips green hydrogen, for now, and leans into EVs

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 31, 2024

The Maine Climate Council has concluded green hydrogen is unlikely to be a commercially viable market by 2030, so putting an additional 15,000 Mainers in electric vehicles by the decade’s end, for a total of 150,000, is the state’s best hope of meeting its emissions reduction targets. The swap-out took place Thursday as the council put the final touches on Maine Won’t Wait 2.0, the state’s second climate action plan, which will be submitted to Gov. Janet Mills on Nov. 21. The plan outlines ways for Maine to reduce emissions and adapt to its changing climate.

A warm day in Portland, but 77 degrees falls short of a record

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 31, 2024

Temperatures in Greater Portland hit 77 degrees Thursday, an unusual – but not unheard of – Halloween heatwave. Halloween 1946 saw a high of 80 degrees in Portland, and that record has held since. The average low Halloween temperature in Portland between 1981 and 2010 is 34.8 and the average high is 53.4 degrees. While Portland came just under its record, Augusta “climatologically shattered” its previous record high Thursday. There, the day’s high of 77 degrees was well above the previous record of 69 degrees set in 1956.

Central Maine sets record for hottest Halloween

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • October 31, 2024

Halloween was so hot in central Maine that it was spooky. A 68-year-old record for the warmest Oct. 31 recorded in central Maine was buried Thursday when temperatures reached 75 degrees in Augusta and Waterville. Thursday’s high temperature easily broke the area’s record for Halloween, set at 69 degrees in 1956 — one of the region’s longest-standing high-temperature records for October.

Land conservation, access organization open nearly 3,000 acres to public in Madrid Township area

SUN JOURNAL • October 31, 2024

The High Peaks Alliance announced Wednesday that members and volunteers removed signs which prohibited public access to the now-conserved Keystone project lands, according to a news release from the alliance. The 2,666 acres, acquired by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands in May, is now open to the public to enjoy for recreation, including fishing and hunting. The property was acquired to provide access to existing bureau lands adjacent to the Appalachian Trail and includes snowmobile and hiking trails.

Letter: Vote to protect our children’s climate future

CENTRAL MAINE • October 31, 2024

Trump asked the fossil fuel industry for a billion dollars in return for reversing all the laws that reduce climate change. He says more oil is needed to keep our economy growing. We do need some oil energy for our economy, but Trump’s plan would mostly benefit his reelection and his super-rich contributors. And unfortunately, boosting oil use would doom our children to lives of climate chaos. Harris would keep reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But she will allow continued fracking of natural gas until we can build as much green energy infrastructure as we’ll need. This is a compromise that would protect their economy now, and hopefully protect our children’s future. Vote to save them! ~ Richard Thomas, Waterville

Column: Central Maine’s sandhill cranes will make your heart soar

CENTRAL MAINE • October 31, 2024

In his seminal book, “Birds of Maine,” published in 2020, my late friend Peter Vickery describes sandhill cranes as “uncommon migrants and rare breeders in open wetlands in central Maine. As many wildlife species decline globally, Maine’s growing sandhill crane population is a wonderful anomaly. ~ Ron Joseph

Opinion: Finding it hard to forgive Trump voters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 31, 2024

I work hard to maintain some sense of respect and understanding for those with views that differ from mine. However, in this election, I have a great difficulty forgiving anyone who votes for Donald Trump. Despite all the talk of immigration and inflation, climate change is by far the biggest challenge facing our nation (and world). Trump thinks climate change is a hoax and wants to roll back every microstep that we’ve taken in the right direction in recent years. To me, these assertions amount to a crime against humanity, because his choices will literally lead to the deaths of millions of people in the next decades. ~ Willa Brown, Georgetown

Public Scoping Meetings for Bay of Fundy Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment Project Set for Nov. 13 and 14

MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • October 30, 2024

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the State of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries, and State of Maine Department of Marine Resources are sponsoring Public Scoping Meetings to discuss the proposed Bay of Fundy Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment project in Washington County. The first meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, YCC Building, 103 Headquarters Rd., Baring, Maine, at 6 p.m. The second meeting will be held Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the Cobscook Institute, 10 Commissary Point Rd., Township of Trescott, Maine, at 6 p.m.

Massachusetts ratepayers to pay extra $512 million for transmission line through Maine

ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 30, 2024

Three Massachusetts utilities and Central Maine Power’s parent company have agreed that Massachusetts ratepayers must shoulder $512 million in additional costs caused by delays in construction of a power transmission project in Maine that will allow Canadian hydropower to reach the New England power grid. The project’s cost grew from $1 billion to at least $1.5 billion because of inflation and delays caused by opponents. Supporters of the project say the 1,200 megawatts of electricity it provides would lower electric rates across the region, reduce carbon pollution and help Massachusetts to meet its clean energy goals.

Scarborough council set to revise piping plover restrictions

SCARBOROUGH LEADER • October 30, 2024

The Scarborough Town Council will consider revisions to the town’s piping plover ordinance next week. The amendments, expected to be up for a vote at the council’s Nov. 6 meeting, would expand protections for the birds and one other endangered species found on Scarborough’s beaches — least terns — between April 1 and Labor Day.

Experts focused on Maine’s resilience to extreme weather call for enhanced alerts, education

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 30, 2024

A state commission created in the wake of last winter’s severe storms is finalizing its first report on how Maine can prepare for and recover from extreme weather events made more frequent and more intense by climate change. On Wednesday, the Commission on Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience called for improved emergency communications, an online flood risk disclosure, streamlined rebuilding permitting, storm preparedness grants for homeowners and voluntary buyouts for oft-flooded properties.

Buckfield voters approve 180-day pause on solar projects

SUN JOURNAL • October 30, 2024

The six-month moratorium will allow the Planning Board to develop a policy on how to handle future commercial solar energy facilities in town. One project under construction in town will not be affected by the moratorium.

These divers are trying to make a dent in Maine's 'ghost gear' problem, one abandoned trap at a time

MAINE PUBLIC • October 30, 2024

Buzz Scott’s nonprofit, OceansWide, has been training scuba divers to recover derelict, or "ghost gear," from the seafloor. He estimates there are potentially more than 15 million abandoned lobster pots in Maine waters. OceansWide is part of the New England Regional Fishing Gear Response and Removal Team, a recently-formed coalition of organizations that are working to clean up marine debris from the Gulf of Maine and educate the public about the problem. So far, Oceanswide divers have recovered about 13,000 traps near Boothbay, Matinicus and Gouldsboro. A federal marine debris grant will allow them to eventually expand to Stonington, Jonesport, and Vinalhaven.

Midcoast land trust hosts workshops to combat invasive species

TIMES RECORD • October 30, 2024

Invasive species are on the rise. According to Sarah Wolpow, a certified master gardener and local permaculture designer, 95% of lawns consist of invasive monoculture plants. For the first year, the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust launched biweekly invasive plant removal workshops. Under Wolpow’s guidance, trail corridors obstructed by multiflora rose were cleared, allowing wildlife to return. Based on the pilot program’s success, the nonprofit aims to educate more members in 2025, including newcomers and those who have battled invasive plant issues for decades. 

Opinion: Trail cameras allow hardworking Mainers to hunt successfully

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 29, 2024

The definition of “fair chase” varies wildly. For example, fair chase in Maine means we do not bait deer, however we bait bear, and in many southern states they consider baiting deer and bear fair chase. So, sure, if trail cameras are found to be the reason deer, moose and bear populations are anemic, ban them. None of those populations are a concern, however. Trail cameras allow these hard-working Mainers to ensure that they are in a solid spot for the limited hours that the state and their work schedule allow them to hunt. The only standard by which game should be managed is an objective biological one, with harvest goals, methods, seasons and strategies dictated by the needs and opportunities of the wildlife. Mainers do not need anyone’s opinion on their achievements. ~ Jared Bornstein, Democratic lobbyist, hunting advocate and registered Maine guide, Skowhegan

Column: The vital Comprehensive Plan

TIMES RECORD • October 30, 2024

In 2021, Brunswick began the process of updating its 2008 Comprehensive Plan but was stymied by the pandemic. That was just the beginning of the public input process to develop the plan — a process that is now being restarted with an upcoming public meeting from 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Brunswick High School gym. While Brunswick’s coast is just one of many facets that define our town, it is among the most sensitive both in terms of development pressures as well as impacts from land-based activities. For that reason, this is one of the many areas that the Comprehensive Plan will include. ~ Susan Olcott

Building permits for proposed Bucksport fish farm expire

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 30, 2024

Construction permits that Whole Oceans obtained in 2019 to build a land-based salmon farm in Bucksport have now expired, according to town officials. Whole Oceans, which is owned by Iowa-based pork producer Dale Reicks, was the first of multiple large-scale fish farms that were proposed for Maine to obtain all of its needed permits. But like the other proposals, some of which have since gone defunct, it has yet to break ground to build anything. Now, it will have to go through the town’s planning board review, and get new permits, if it wants to move ahead with the project.