Maine to explore electrifying ports in bid to cut pollution from cruise and cargo ships

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 18, 2024

With more than 100 ships docking in Portland last year, Maine is looking to cut pollution from diesel fumes by electrifying the downtown port and others in the state. Powering as many as three ships in Portland alone could require the same amount of energy it would take to light up to 25,000 homes. To figure out the details, Maine is launching a $1 million study to determine the scope and cost of electrifying ports in Eastport, Portland, Searsport and Rockland.

Maine farmers are joining a movement to protect organic growing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 18, 2024

As the organic movement grows into an increasingly valuable industry and national standards are adopted, ideological and political disagreements are being raised about what an “organic” label can, or should, certify. The USDA has allowed hydroponic farms that grow produce in water, and “confined animal feeding operations” — commonly known as factory farms, which give animals little or no access to pasture — to be certified organic. To many small growers who see “organic” as a complete system that focuses on soil health and animal welfare, that’s a betrayal. One way they’re pushing back is by adding a certification from the Real Organic Project, which evaluates them with stricter standards and openly opposes the USDA’s practices. In Maine, 59 farms are listed on Real Organic Project’s directory, out of more than 1,000 nationwide.

Underfunded and understaffed, Maine’s dam agency does what it can to keep the aging infrastructure safe

MAINE MONITOR • November 17, 2024

Thirteen years after a Monitor investigation revealed that Maine was behind on inspecting the state’s most hazardous dams, Maine’s dam safety program, like dozens of others across the country, remains understaffed and underfunded, even in the face of a changing climate and more intense storms. Although the state agency tasked with ensuring the safety of more than 500 dams is now up-to-date with inspections, the program has yet to institute modern protocols. The office lacks digitized records of emergency procedures that residents should follow if a local dam fails, as well as digital inundation maps outlining flooding threats. 

Dairy task force recommends boosting subsidy to preserve Maine farms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 17, 2024

A task force is calling for added taxes on gambling, cannabis or cigarettes to strengthen Maine’s milk price stabilization program and help prevent more dairy farms from going out of business. A draft report from the Maine Dairy Task Force also recommends asking voters to approve a multimillion-dollar bond issue that would support a variety of other proposals intended to bolster the state’s struggling dairy industry. And it recommends establishing a minimum annual budget appropriation of about $7.5 million to reduce wide fluctuations in state funding for the price stabilization program and uncertainty related to highly volatile federal milk pricing, market conditions and other factors.

Storms have erased more than 100 feet of Maine’s coastal dunes

CBS 13 • November 16, 2024

Major storms within the last year swept large swaths of beach and sand dunes away from some of Maine’s coastline. And newly compiled data show just how bad the erosion was. “We did see some substantial erosion from these storms, up to and over 100 feet of dunes were lost in some areas like Popham Beach. Fifty feet of dunes were lost in Wells, 50 feet of dune in Goose Rocks Beach, over 50 feet at Reid State Park,” Maine Geological Survey Marine Geologist Peter Slovinsky said.

Firefighters stop blaze at Searsmont sawmill

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 16, 2024

Firefighters on Saturday afternoon extinguished a blaze at the Robbins Lumber sawmill and lumber yard in Searsmont. The fire started in, and was contained to, a control room for the company’s dry kiln, which is used to dry lumber produced at the sawmill on the property.

Maine’s oldest seafood canning operation is closing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 6, 2024

The state’s longest-running seafood canning operation in Washington County is closing. Bar Harbor Foods facility in the town of Whiting cans salmon, mackerel, sardines and clams, and produces clam chowder, lobster bisque and clam juice, among other items. The products are sold at a number of grocery chains, including Hannaford, Walmart and Whole Foods. The business was founded in 1917 by Willard Look to can crab and lobster and previously operated under the name Look’s Gourmet.

Opinion: Harris should have talked climate the way Trump talked immigration

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 16, 2024

One of the reasons Vice President Kamala Harris lost the race for the presidency was her lack of support from young voters. The Democratic party took young people for granted this election cycle. A top issue for young people is climate change. However, instead of choosing to illuminate the wide gulf between herself and Donald Trump on climate change, Harris, likely at the behest of some political consultant, chose to downplay the issue, reversing her position on fracking and bragging about how the Biden administration boosted oil and gas production. Climate change should have been a central issue for the Harris campaign. Climate change is connected to every other issue in America. ~ Charlie Cobb, Fort Kent

Maine has shifted its strategy to expand electric heat pump use to the entire house. So far, it’s working.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 16, 2024

A shift toward installing electric heat pumps for the entire house instead of individual rooms is so far paying off with a sharp rise in consumer interest. Efficiency Maine Trust gave more rebates for whole-home heat pumps in three months this summer than it did during the previous nine months. The agency issued 1,814 rebates from July through September compared to 1,805 from October 2023 to June. The agency said 563 rebates for whole-home heat pumps were issued in September, the most in a month since the program shifted to whole-home heat pump rebates in September 2023.

‘Drill, drill, drill’: New energy council signals Trump to prioritize energy production

MAINE MORNING STAR • November 16, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement Friday afternoon that his pick for Interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, would also coordinate a new council on energy policy is a sign the incoming administration will make energy production a core part of its domestic policy. A written statement from Trump said, “This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.” During the campaign, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he would be a “dictator” on the first day of his administration. “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”

State gives Orrington trash incinerator $250K as facility rebounds from fire

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 16, 2024

Maine gave the company behind the Orrington trash incinerator a $250,000 grant this week, a day after a town official said he hopes the facility will be permitted to start accepting trash again later this month. The Eagle Point Energy Center, or EPEC, trash incinerator received the grant from the state through the Pandemic Recovery for an Innovative Maine Economy Fund on Wednesday. It was one of 48 companies to receive $7 million total in state funds. The plant, formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., will use the grant for equipment that turns waste into fuel while removing some recyclable materials.

Company slated to break ground on $4B Loring aviation fuel facility next year

THE COUNTY • November 15, 2024

Plans are still underway to build a $4.13 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility at the former Loring Air Force Base, according to developers. In 2022, Washington D.C.-based DG Fuels announced its intentions to build within 1,240 acres of property at the Loring Commerce Center, creating 2,300 jobs during construction and 650 jobs once production begins. DG Fuels plans to revive an underground pipeline that once transported jet fuel from the Maine coastal town of Searsport to Loring Air Force Base. DG Fuels would use the pipeline to transport 33,500 barrels (557,500 gallons) of jet fuel from Loring to Searsport daily for shipment to airports along the northeastern U.S. DG Fuels expects to produce 190 million gallons of jet fuel at Loring every year using 1.7 million tons of wood biomass that would be transferred to Loring via local rail lines. Six biomass gasifiers would then use heat, steam and oxygen to convert biomass to hydrogen without needing combustion.

Ocean wind power supporters ponder future in Maine after Trump win

MAINE PUBLIC • November 15, 2024

On the campaign trail, president elect Donald Trump lashed out against ocean wind energy and declared he would stop the industry’s development. But offshore wind power supporters in Maine said while they expect roadblocks ahead, a single presidential administration is unlikely to derail the state's long-term plans. Chris Wissemann, the CEO of Diamond Offshore Wind is clear-eyed about what a second Trump administration means for his industry. "I think it's inevitable that commercial scale offshore wind slows down," Wissemann said. But he doesn’t expect Maine’s plans to build the first floating offshore wind array in the U.S. will come to a dead stop.

Maine Calling: Northern Lights

MAINE PUBLIC • November 15, 2024

This year has been declared one of the best periods to see the Northern Lights—and not just in places like Iceland and Norway. Many people in Maine have already been able to see the striking colors of the Aurora Borealis over the past year. Learn how this phenomenon occurs, why it has been so active recently, and where and how to view the dancing lights in the months to come. Panelists: Shawn Laatsch, Versant Power Astronomy Center (UMaine); Shawn Dahl, Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA). VIP Caller: Elizabeth Dickerson, Maine Aurora Borealis Watch Facebook group.

Maine’s electric vehicle goals won’t take us where we want to go

MAINE MONITOR • November 15, 2024

The Maine Climate Council has just finished updating the state’s climate action plan, as required by law, and a key strategy in the draft plan is to put 150,000 electric vehicles on Maine roads by 2030. Despite good intentions, this seems doomed to fail. My dive into the latest statistics and the shifting electric vehicle markets suggests that state climate planners once again put aspirations ahead of reality. A closer look at how the market has reacted since 2020, when Maine first issued its climate action plan, indicates that the latest targets are not only unrealistic, but might not have their intended climate impact.

Column: Blame the ducks for your bird identification problems in the fall

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 15, 2024

Waterfowl identification in autumn is hard. Blame the ducks. Most ducks won’t let you get within shotgun range during hunting season, so you need to identify them at a distance. Even then, they’re likely to fly off as you approach. Blue-winged and green-winged teal are named for their bright wing patches, but those are hidden on a sitting duck. Duck identification may require three steps.
Step one: Is the duck a dabbler or a diver?
Step two: What size is it?
Step three: What are its plumage field marks?
~ Bob Duchesne

Column: Explore the natural beauty of the Downeast Coastal Conservancy’s many preserves

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 15, 2024

The Downeast Coastal Conservancy was formed 15 years ago through the merger of the Quoddy Regional Land Trust and the Great Auk Land Trust, both organizations with more than 20 years of conservation experience. DCC today has over 7,000 acres and 72 miles of Washington County shoreline under its stewardship umbrella, with more in the works. “We’re preserving ecologically important lands and protecting access to cherished local spots,” said Colin Brown, DCC’s Executive Director. “We’re looking at key gaps, the pieces of the puzzle that connect wildlife corridors and tie the interior forests to the coast. We’re also putting resources into outreach and education to get and keep more people connected to our preserves.” ~ Carey Kish

How Democrats could ‘Trump-proof’ Maine laws

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 15, 2024

Trump’s second term could greatly affect Maine, a rural state that backed Vice President Kamala Harris last week but saw its more conservative, northern half support Trump for the third straight election. Trump has already vowed to halt offshore wind projects on “day one” of his new term, which would end Maine’s ambitious plans on that front. “It’s important to start recognizing a Trump presidency is incompatible with our climate goals,” Lucy Hochschartner, the climate and clean energy director for Maine Conservation Voters, said. Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental rules during his first term and removed the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement meant to reduce global emissions. Rep. Dick Campbell, R-Orrington, the lead Republican on the Legislature’s environment committee, criticized advocacy groups for warning about Trump and said they have “destroyed Maine with their overreactions.”

Trump Taps Fossil Fuel Apostle to Run Interior Dept

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 14, 2024

On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump chose North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Department of Interior. Doug Burgum was at one-time a rival for the Republican presidential nomination. He became wealthy from selling his software company to Microsoft for $2,100,000,000. Burgum will oversee management of more than 500 million acres of public land, including all national parks and endangered species programs. He will have a key role in leasing federal land for oil, natural gas, and coal development to deliver on Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill,” which will exacerbate climate chaos and accelerate the race to the apocalypse.

Sen. Daughtry sets sights on PFAS in role as Senate president

TIMES RECORD • November 14, 2024

Sen. Mattie Daughtry said she plans to address PFAS contamination for her next term. Daughtry, who was recently reelected as a state senator and chosen to be Maine Senate president, plans to continue work on addressing the outfall from the Brunswick toxic foam spill that occurred in August. Daughtry said she plans to continue monitoring things happening at Brunswick Landing, where an airport hangar fire suppression system malfunctioned and released 1,450 gallons of a PFAS-containing, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water in August. Daughtry said she wants to ensure the neighborhood is thriving and safe for the residents that work there and that impacted communities at Brunswick Landing, a former Naval Air Station, are able to get their water tested.