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February 6, 2012
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Press releases, events, publications released, etc. from Maine environmental organizations and agencies. Submit content.
Maine Environmental News
Announcement - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Thanks for visiting Maine Environmental News, the most comprehensive online source available for links to Maine conservation and natural resource news stories and events. Since the start of 2009, I have posted more than 16,000 news articles and announcements. Be sure to check not only today's stories, but take a look at the headlines from the past several days as well. Articles often come to my attention a few days after they are published. ~ Jym St. Pierre, RESTORE: The North Woods |
Defining Wilderness: Defining Maine
Event - Posted - Sunday, February 05, 2012
This book discussion series is offered by the Maine Humanities Council. The discussions will be held at the Cary Memorial Library in Wayne on four Mondays: Feb 13, Mar 19, Apr 23, May 14. Discussion leader: Carol Kontos, English professor at UMA. |
Windfall
Announcement - Sunday, February 05, 2012
We can all agree that energy independence is a worthy objective, right? Alternative energy sources like solar power can help free the U.S. from fossil fuels and the grip of unstable Persian Gulf states. And wind power — wait, not so fast, says “Windfall,” Laura Israel’s urgent, informative and artfully assembled documentary. An account of rural Meredith, in upstate New York, when wind turbines came to town, the film depicts the perils of a booming industry and the bitter rancor it sowed among a citizenry. ~ Andy Webster, New York Times |
Intro to Winter Camping, Feb 10-12
Event - Posted - Friday, February 03, 2012
Introduction to Winter Camping with David Butler. This course will provide information about the skills to maximize your winter camping experience. At Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Feb 10-12. |
Tracking with a naturalist, Feb 10
Event - Posted - Friday, February 03, 2012
Join naturalist Nancy Holmes to learn how to identify the animal tracks you will (hopefully) see in the snow this winter. At Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association office, Jefferson, Feb 10, 3:30 pm. |
Dirty Tar Sands Oil Coming Through Maine? Feb 9
Event - Posted - Thursday, February 02, 2012
Learn about the environmental and safety risks of this proposed project and about ways you can join the effort to prevent Portland from becoming the tar sands capital of the eastern U.S. The Canadian oil and gas giant Enbridge is proposing to pump dirty tar sands oil from Ontario to South Portland, where it would be shipped by tanker to refineries along the East Coast or Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline passes next to Sebago Lake, the drinking water supply for more than 15% of Maine people, and could endanger Casco Bay and our fishing and lobster industries. At USM, Glickman Library, Portland, Feb 9, 7-8:30 pm |
The Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower
Publication - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The twentieth-century environmental movement owes much to a single man: David Brower. For the hundredth anniversary of David Brower’s birth, his son Kenneth Brower, an acclaimed nature writer, has brought together the testimonies of twenty environmental leaders whose lives and careers were transformed by David Brower; the result is a book in which a repertory company of path-forgers reveal their deepest values and most moving experiences. Available May 2012 from Heyday. |
Reducing coastal erosion, Feb 8
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Megan Facciolo, district manager of the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District, will talk about reducing coastal erosion. At Lamoine Town Hall, Feb 8, 7 pm. Sponsored by Lamoine Conservation Commission. |
Managing Your Timber Harvest, Feb 8
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Maine Forest Service District Forester Morten Moesswilde will talk about harvest planning, working with professional foresters and loggers, different harvest methods, wood values, closing out the job, and other aspects of harvesting. At Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association office, Jefferson, Feb 8, 6-8 pm. |
Birds, Bats & Blades-Wind Turbines & Wildlife, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Steve Pelletier, Wildlife Ecologist, Stantec, speaks about bats and wind power. At Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Nov 7, 7 pm. Sponsored by Friends of Merrymeeting Bay. |
Winter Extremes: Oh, Deer, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Regional Biologist Keel Kemper will discuss current wildlife issues, including the effects of severe winters on Maine's deer herd. At Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association office in Sheepscot Village, Newcastle, Feb 7, 6:30 pm. |
Great blue heron flies into Merryspring, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Danielle D’Auria, Maine wildlife biologist, will give a presentation on the Great Blue Heron at Merryspring Nature Center, Camden, Feb 7 at noon. |
Smelt/Ice Festival, Feb 3-4
Event - Posted - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Ice Cutting-Smelt Fishing Festival. At Mailly Waterfront Park, Bowdoinham, Feb 3-4. Part of a yearlong celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Town of Bowdoinham. |
Family Winter Ecology Festival, Feb 4
Event - Posted - Saturday, January 28, 2012
This year’s Family Winter Ecology Festival will offer a variety of free indoor and outdoor activities for the entire family. At Merryspring Nature Center, Camden, Feb 4, 10 am to 12:30 pm. |
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Wind Farms: Are All the Best Spots Taken?
Other - Monday, May 31, 2010
The wind industry has expanded from a handful of developers to a plethora. It is no longer easy to find large pieces of land with all the right ingredients for a wind project. Developers find themselves jostling for position, with companies sometimes vying for the same sweet spot. The state of Maine is lucky. Poised at the northernmost point of the power hungry US Northeast, the state has a ready market for the power it generates. While Maine has large and desolate swaths of land ideal for wind power, its heavily populated neighbors to the south need wind energy. |
Pembroke Observatory gives look at universe
Bangor Daily News - Monday, May 31, 2010
When Charlie Sawyer was 9 years old, his family moved from Brewer to Pembroke. Arriving at his new home after dark, Sawyer was astounded at the number of stars he could see in the night sky. That single glimpse ignited a passion in Sawyer, who now operates the Pembroke Observatory high above Cobscook Bay. “On a moonless night in Maine when the sky is clear, it is incredible,” Sawyer said. |
Rockport hosts energy forum
Herald Gazette - Monday, May 31, 2010
Ecologist Richard Podolsky, whose work as an environmental consultant on proposed wind projects has taken him to places as far away as Hawaii and Texas, said all exploratory wind projects are challenged by a combination of well-organized opposition and public apathy. "Of all the ways to manufacture electrons, wind power is probably the best." |
Letter: Climate change affecting Maine; we can mitigate
Kennebec Journal - Monday, May 31, 2010
Climate change is affecting our state at an increasing rate. We can, however, to some degree influence what the change may be, causing it to be less catastrophic. Wind is not the “silver bullet” that will confront climate change, but there is “silver buckshot,” the combination of conservation, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and others, allowing time to find better solutions. We need all of them, now. |
NH trails Maine in local food production
Associated Press - Monday, May 31, 2010
A new report shows New Hampshire lagging behind Maine and Vermont when it comes to the volume of food it produces and the profitability of its farms. Only 6 percent of the state's population could be supported by the current level of local agricultural production, compared to about 40 percent in Maine and Vermont. |
Letter: Today it's worth pondering cost of our addiction to oil
Portland Press Herald - Monday, May 31, 2010
Memorial Day is the day when we honor the sacrifices of servicemen and women, and it is also one of the starting points of the summer, during which many Americans take to the roads for travel and vacations. This Memorial Day, we should strive to understand the connection between national security and energy, and to start working on solutions here in Maine that can end our oil addiction. |
The supply chain question: Can Maine compete?
Sun Journal - Monday, May 31, 2010
Maine's wind-energy leaders know they are in a race — one where the clock has already been ticking for 10 years. But they need look no farther than 150 miles north of the state's border at Van Buren to Quebec's Gaspe' Peninsula for a model of wind-energy development. Efforts in that region have not only added a bolt of new green energy generation, but also incubated a supply chain of hard goods prompting a manufacturing renaissance and an injection of foreign investment from Denmark and Germany, the countries leading the wind-energy development race in Europe. |
Will birds and wind farms compete?
Portland Press Herald - Monday, May 31, 2010
Researchers have begun the first electronic tracking studies ever done in Maine to determine whether migrating birds might be disturbed by floating wind turbines off the coast. They've implanted satellite transmitters inside four common eiders in Casco Bay and are keeping tabs on their movements. |
Bond targets wind project, energy upgrades
Portland Press Herald - Monday, May 31, 2010
The $26.5 million bond issue for wind-energy development would leverage an additional $24.5 million in federal funds to make energy improvements at the university, community colleges and Maine Maritime Academy. It also would advance the state's goals of building an offshore wind power demonstration site and an associated laboratory. Cutting power costs and creating clean-energy jobs sound like good things, but the bond faces opposition from fiscal conservatives who insist this is a bad time for the state to borrow money. |
Bonds would replenish water-aid funding
Kennebec Journal - Monday, May 31, 2010
Voters will decide June 8 whether the state should borrow $10.25 million to upgrade water infrastructure and improve water quality. The bond would be matched with $33.25 million in federal and private funds. If approved, Question 5 would replenish two funds that lend money to communities and water districts on a revolving basis; as the loan is repaid with interest, the money is lent again. |
Sierra Club chairman to speak at COA
Bangor Daily News - Monday, May 31, 2010
A former executive director of the Sierra Club will be featured at College of the Atlantic’s 38th commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 5. Carl Pope, Sierra Club’s former executive director and the group’s current chairman, will be the commencement speaker at the ceremony. |
Missing Baxter State Park hiker found
Bangor Daily News - Monday, May 31, 2010
A hiker who was last seen Friday and over the weekend became the subject of the largest search in Baxter Park in 40 years has been found, park officials said Sunday afternoon. The search for Hays began Saturday after he did not sign out on a trail register after he was seen by other hikers Friday afternoon on the Knife Edge Trail. His rental car was found in a parking lot. |
MOOMilk gets backing, sales boost
Mainebiz - Monday, May 31, 2010
MOOMilk, a company representing nine Maine organic dairy farms, got an unexpected boost recently from Hannaford Bros. Co., which, in mid-May, erased 30 cents from the retail price of the cooperative’s half-gallon containers. “We’re already seeing sales pick up." |
Bienvenue
Mainebiz - Monday, May 31, 2010
Businesses and tourism officials in Bangor and Saint John, N.B., are optimistic more visitors will be attracted to their cities by a targeted, two-nation vacation plan available next month through a new regional partnership. The brainchild of Kerrie Tripp, executive director of the Greater Bangor Visitors Bureau, the plan lays out six suggested trips grouped by interest or activity to take tourists from a visit in the New Brunswick city to a visit in Greater Bangor, or vice versa. |
Natural direction
Mainebiz - Monday, May 31, 2010
After more than 40 years with one of Maine’s premier environmental groups, Don Hudson breaks camp. He is excited and a little anxious when he thinks about the day after he concludes his 19-year tenure as president of the Chewonki Foundation on July 12. |
How we can coexist peacefully with coyotes
Boston Globe - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Massive forest clearing and thorough persecution of wolves and cougars left the Eastern U.S. without a top predator by the early 20th century. Coyotes, the native wild dog of the Western states, have been pushing east ever since, filling nature’s vacuum. Feeding coyotes takes wild animals out of their natural habits. The toughest nut to crack has been cat feeders. There are an estimated 70 million feral cats nationwide and many people feed them, providing easy pickings for coyotes. The food subsidies habituate the wild coyotes to humans and "once they make the humans-and-food connection, bad things happen.” |
Birding: Blue beauties may be moving in
Maine Outdoor Journal - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Before Europeans colonized the eastern U.S., blue-winged warblers migrated to Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky to nest. As forests were cleared throughout the East, the blue-winged warblers expanded their range because favorable habitat was being created. Blue-wings were quite rare in Massachusetts in 1924, but now are found nesting widely across that state. The incursion of blue-winged warblers into Maine may simply be a continuation of the range expansion that has been going on for more than 200 years. |
Opinion: Give anglers a test on safety and identifying fish
Maine Outdoor Journal - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Occasionally, I tell folks the state should initiate a law forcing new anglers to pass a test before buying a license. This comment can make jaws drop and get hot-tempered people barking, but facts support such a move, beginning with this one: New hunters must take a course on hunting ethics, safety and skills, and then they must pass a test before purchasing a license. Fishing accounts for far more deaths per year than hunting does, and in fact, angling ranks as the world's most dangerous common life-recreation sport. |
Smith stepping down, but hardly going away
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Last week George Smith announced his retirement from his work as lobbyist for the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine to a chorus of grumbling (or perhaps cheers) from many opponents. "Whether he did it consciously or whether it was just the way he was driven, he came across as just mean and cruel in a lot of the things he did," said Lee Perry, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from 1997 to 2003. But it's worth noting that by being outspoken and overwhelmingly difficult, Smith helped Maine's special outdoor places. If nothing else, he drew attention to the need for greater protection and access there. |
Officials ready cleanup plan for mill
Morning Sentinel - Sunday, May 30, 2010
State environmental officials are completing a new cleanup plan for the charred remains of the former Cascade Woolen Mill. It was destroyed by a fire this winter. But how much the work will cost and how it's paid for will determine when the mill site can be completely cleaned up, according to state and town officials. |
Looking healthy might be hazardous to your health
Kennebec Journal - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Local advocates and college students are challenging the safety of chemicals used in everyday shampoos, cosmetics and personal-care products, which they say are toxic and possibly cancer-causing. |
Letter: Wind may be free, but creating power from it has costs
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, May 30, 2010
I believe we have some "too good to be true" moments happening all around our country today. One is called "wind energy." In every state wind energy is being touted as the solution to our energy woes. It is supposed to be "green," which is technically an untruth, considering the costs and environmental effects. Wind power brings stimulus money in. And who wouldn't want that? But, where does the money go? Does it go overseas to companies that build the giant wind turbines and ship them here to our country? |
Tied to the wind: How a region in Quebec is making wind energy pay
Sun Journal - Sunday, May 30, 2010
Over the past decade, the Gaspé region of Quebec has evolved into a cluster for wind-energy development and technology. Since 1998, more than 830 megawatts of wind-powered generation have been installed. In comparison, Maine has 199 megawatts of wind power on line. Additional wind energy farms expected to be commissioned in the next three years will bring that total for the Gaspé to more than 1,000 megawatts at 16 locations. But some not working in the industry have questions, including what happens after the typical 20-year contract the wind parks operate under, expire. |
Opinion: Looking for a good sport in high office
Sun Journal - Sunday, May 30, 2010
There are almost as many candidates vying for the Blaine House as there are coyotes in Washington County. A number of Maine outdoor writers are saying that it is high time that we elected a bonafide sportsman to the governorship. You know, the real thing, somebody who truly appreciates our sporting heritage, someone who hunted or fished long before he or she wanted to be governor. Not a bad idea. |
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Natural Resources Council
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Do I Dare to Plant a Peach? | | It's a sign that Maine and the nation are getting hotter, according to a new analysis by the U.S. De... | | 1/30/2012 12:00:00 AM |
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Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Association
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The myth of the self-made yeoman |  By Gene Logsdon – No figure is more endearing and enduring in agriculture than the lonely plowman out there on the horizon who raises himself by his own bootstraps to financial success. Only problem is, there is no occupation more dependent on the cooperation of society and nature to achieve success than farming. | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Sharp, careful eye brings Maine mushrooms from forest to table |  By Avery Yale Kamila – On a crisp morning at the end of October, chef David Ross and I step off a dirt road in Kennebunk and head into a forest dominated by pines and smaller hardwood. Our objective: To track down a few chanterelles and any other wild mushrooms we can find this late in the season. This trip will mark one of the last of the year for Ross, who is an avid mushroom forager and the owner of 50 Local in Kennebunk. | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
New climate prediction: ‘Weird’, getting weirder |  By Seth Borenstein (AP) – For a world already weary of weather catastrophes, the latest warning from top climate scientists paints a grim future: more floods, more heat waves, more droughts, and greater costs to deal with them. A draft summary of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press says the extremes caused by global warming could eventually grow so severe that some locations become “increasingly marginal as places to live.” | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
What to feed your chickens to get the best eggs |  By Nina Lalli – "I have a theory, and I don't think you're gonna like it." Justin was seated across from me at a communal table in a "Secret Restaurant." We had met not half an hour before, but were now deep in discussion about what chickens should eat to produce the best-tasting eggs – an obsession of mine recently. | | 11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Factory farming: not just on land anymore |  By Wenonah Hauter – When most people think of factory farming they typically think of feedlots, hog factories or chicken operations–not massive open net pens growing millions of fish in our oceans. However, factory fish farming will soon pose many of the same threats to the environment and to consumers as its land-based counterparts. | | 11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Bt resistant rootworm spreads | | By Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji – Bt is a toxin from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces a large family of similar proteins that target different insect pests; and quite a few of them have been incorporated in genetically modified crops to act as ‘biopesticides’. Unfortunately, the pests soon develop resistance to it. | | 10/31/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Cranberry juice beats extract at fighting infection |  By Christine Lepisto – Just between you and me, ladies, what do you do when you feel that irritating burn, knowing it can only mean a urinary tract infection? Do you run to the doctor's office for antibiotics, only to fight the yeast infection that sets in when drugs knock other systems out of balance? Then you probably haven't heard yet that cranberries can fight infections naturally, and very effectively. | | 10/30/2011 12:00:00 AM |
‘Hobby farm’ couple do part, feed hungry |  By Bill Nemitz – It's not uncommon for someone to show up at the Bread of Life Soup Kitchen in Augusta with a bag full of fresh broccoli, tomatoes or other leftovers from their garden. In recent months, however, Glenn and Rachel Powers have taken that kind of community support to a whole new level. They're giving away the farm. | | 10/30/2011 12:00:00 AM |
New England shrimp target cut in half | | AP – Portland: Fisheries regulators have set the start date for the shrimp season and halved the target for the amount of shrimp to be caught by New England fishermen. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on Friday set a target of 2,000 metric tons, compared with 4,000 metric tons the year before. | | 10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM |
The life of a seaweed gatherer |  By Daniel Klein – Most of the seaweed we get these days is farmed. But way up in northern Maine, Larch Hanson is still harvesting it wild in its many varieties on the rugged coast. This video isn't about the details of that process, however. It's about the essence of life for Larch, who rises at dawn to cut seaweed and then writes Zen poems about it. | | 10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM |
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