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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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Opinion: Maine lawmakers lay groundwork for economic development
Morning Sentinel - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Lawmakers have worked hard to build a thoughtful and strategic plan for economic development in our state. The Legislature created the Efficiency Maine Trust to serve as a one-stop shop to oversee funding and incentive programs to help Mainers conserve and weatherize. We also set a course to build a promising energy efficiency and green energy industry for our state. Wind, tidal and biomass power businesses are creating new jobs, both directly and in broader ways, such as by creating opportunities to build components for wind turbines. |
Cutler: BEP Standing in Way of Maine's Economic Progress
Maine Public Broadcasting Network - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Maine is one of the few states in the nation that allows public participation in the licensing, rulemaking and appeals of decisions reached under state environmental protection laws. The 10 citizen members of the Board of Environmental Protection are the stopgap for such enforcement. But if Independent Eliot Cutler becomes Maine's next governor, the BEP could become a thing of the past. Cutler wants to replace the BEP with a panel of judges as a way to speed up the permitting process for new business. |
Sugarloaf unveils plans to double size of ski slopes
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
For as long as skiers have hit the slopes at Sugarloaf Mountain, they’ve looked longingly to the east and wondered “what if the neighboring mountain were open to skiing, too? “We’ve been talking about Burnt Mountain for 59½ years,” Sugarloaf General Manager John Diller said. The talking is over.
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Bidder for Moosehead plant has plans for green condos
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A Kansas City architectural company is moving forward with plans to convert an empty 85,000-square-foot factory in Dover-Foxcroft into an esthetically attractive building to serve as a green energy model for the nation. The Arnold Development Group wants to convert the former historic Moosehead Manufacturing Co. plant into 22 apartments, a small inn, a cafe and a restaurant that would share a terrace complete with a waterfall, and a green business incubator with a shared conference room and showroom. |
Moosehead plant expected to restart making furniture
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Louise M. Jonaitis, owner of the Grand State O’Maine Land Co. in Newry and Hanover, submitted a winning $1,050,000 bid at public auction Tuesday to become the new owner of the former Moosehead Manufacturing Co. property in Monson. She expects the mill to be making furniture again in three to six months. |
Letter: Task force response
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
I write to express my disappointment regarding a series of articles written by Naomi Schalit that did not accurately represent the efforts of the Governor’s Wind Power Task Force. There was nothing unusual about how the task force went about its work. It brought together different views, sought input, invited expert comment and worked for agreement. |
Opinion: Not easy to reduce environmental footprint
Sun Journal - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Dick Cheney famously told America that "conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy." And lots of liberals will insist that "do-gooder" attempts to reduce personal pollution harm environmental causes because they "make conservation a purely individual effort." But with global temperatures rising and a Texas-sized island of garbage in the Pacific Ocean, it's clear that we need both individual and collective action. |
Selectmen to continue wind-ordinance discussion
Sun Journal - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
For nearly three hours, the Rumford Selectmen listened to John Maloney of Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Andy Fisk of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Neil Kiely of First Wind LLC of Newton, Mass., and some of the 30 or so people who turned out for the meeting, including several who served on the town's committee that drafted the ordinance. Kiely said if the proposed ordinance passes in November, such action would be a permanent moratorium. |
Line upgrade OK'd for Maine windpower project
Associated Press - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Public Utilities Commission voted today to grant conditional approval to Central Maine Power to upgrade its line near Roxbury. The $13.5 million upgrade is needed to connect the proposed Record Hill windpower facility to CMP's electric transmission system. The PUC's conditions include a requirement that Record Hill Wind LLC make a three-month prepayment to CMP of all construction costs, and quarterly reports to the commission monitoring project progress. |
Weather sparks tourism rebound for New England
Associated Press - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Months of perfect weather in northern New England have helped the region’s tourism industry rebound from a dismal 2009. In Maine, tourism pumps $10 billion to $13 billion into the state economy each year and employs 140,000 workers. |
Opinion: Cutler's plan to cut car inspections is a misstep
Sun Journal - Sunday, August 29, 2010
Eliot Cutler, reputedly the leading independent gubernatorial candidate, flubbed his lines. Cutler has paired his opposition to car inspections to a proposal to increase the gasoline tax to fix crumbling roads. The tax increase would be balanced by elimination of the $12.50 inspection fee, and the safety repairs that go with it. Cutler is far off the mark with his claim that “37 states have abandoned” inspections. It appears that exactly one state recently dropped safety inspections. Anyone whose inspection turned up a serious defect – like corroded brake lines – might see $12.50 a year as reasonable. |
Opinion: Maine needs more farmers and a sustainable food system
Sun Journal - Sunday, August 29, 2010
Maine with water, open space and being located close to some of the most populated areas in the U.S. needs to revitalize its agricultural base. To accomplish that, we need to increase agricultural education; find equipment appropriately sized for the smaller farms in Maine; increase the number of food processing facilities and food storage facilities; implement regulations that help smaller farms become more sustainable and competitive; and find a way that allows young people interested in farming to have access to land that often is sitting idle or is unaffordable. |
Letter: Doesn't he remember?
Sun Journal - Sunday, August 29, 2010
According to Paul LePage, if he were governor, the DEP would be more business friendly, “instead of having people going around enforcing the regulations.” If not for the DEP prohibiting the mills from using the Androscoggin River as their sewer, we would still have one of the most polluted rivers in the country. And LePage supports off-shore drilling off the Maine Coast. Has he no conception of the recent devastation to the fishing and tourism industries, and not least of all, the ecological health of the Gulf Coast? |
Opinion: Happy trails to me
Sun Journal - Sunday, August 29, 2010
Although I have always thought of myself as being no big fan of sportsmen's gadgets, it is probably time to face the truth. |
Opinion: Is rural Maine's plight a harbinger of America's future?
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, August 29, 2010
During 2001 to 2008), the average annual rate of employment growth in urban Maine was 1.1%, earnings growth slowed to 5.5% and population growth fell to 0.6%. In rural Maine, employment growth slowed to a virtual halt, but earnings growth accelerated to 4% per year and population stabilized. While hardly a model of prosperity, Maine's rural counties did achieve a level of stability compared to its decline in the 1990s. Why? In rural Maine in 2008, income received from Social Security and all other manner of social assistance programs amounted to more than $2.3 billion, nearly half the $4.7 billion in income that came from earnings from work. The apparent stability of rural Maine is simply a temporary respite resulting from slow employment growth and the emigration of the young. |
Letters: State misled on mill analysis
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, August 29, 2010
One issue not mentioned in the article on Scribner's Mill ("Dam plan up against landlocked salmon," MST, Aug. 1) was the state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife agency's comments on our first application. It contained false information, misleading statements, and inflammatory language which caused a false perception of our impacts on the environment. |
River restoration projects completed on Bear, Sunday rivers
Sun Journal - Saturday, August 28, 2010
Two river projects totaling $221,000 were completed this week to protect a town road and cemetery from washing out. The projects on Bear and Sunday rivers will also reduce hundreds of tons of riverbank erosion that annually muddied the waters, and improve trout habitat. |
Weather spurs early foilage show
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, August 28, 2010
Some tree species are turning yellow and shedding their foliage earlier than normal because of the dry summer. But Maine forestry experts do not expect conditions to affect the prime leaf-peeping season. |
Letter: Pursuit of riches prevents changing our energy use
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, August 28, 2010
When George W. Bush and Dick Cheney came into office, they held a secret meeting with persons from the energy industries. After the meeting, there appeared to be two courses of action: 1. The U.S. would get its oil from less vulnerable areas of the world; 2. The United States would use warfare to stabilize the situation in the Middle East. The first part has been successful. The second part failed. We remained mired in the production of fossil fuels. We could switch to hydrogen. We don't because "them that's got the gold make the rules." |
Opinion: Climate change caused by humans? That's a highly disputable claim
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, August 28, 2010
In the year 2050, people will shake their heads in amazement when they read in history books that, back in 2010, some people thought mankind could "save the planet" by carbon-restricting legislation. A generation from now, people will all see how we today were misled by scientists and journalists who pursued an agenda. It ended up by starving prosperous countries of needed energy supplies. A whole generation suffered unnecessarily from a sort of mass hysteria. |
Calico lobster gets new lease on life
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, August 28, 2010
Larry and Crystal Dunne of Saco caught a rare calico lobster off the coast of Cape Elizabeth a few days ago. A blue lobster is one in a million and a yellow or orange is one in 30 million. Calicos are even rarer. |
Blind eye turned to egg czar's spotty past
Other - Saturday, August 28, 2010
Long before Austin "Jack" DeCoster became a central figure in one of the largest egg recalls in history, he had paid more than $10 million in fines and suit settlements, his eggs were banned in one state and quarantined in another and he was almost single-handedly responsible for new restrictions on child labor in his native Maine. |
Letter: Aid with energy audits
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, August 28, 2010
According to a recent newspaper report, Maine will be receiving an additional $7 million to assist low-income Mainers in weatherizing their homes. But how many people will not be able to take advantage of this or other energy efficiency programs because they are mandated to get an expensive energy audit first? |
Coast Guard installs wind turbine to power homes
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, August 28, 2010
A new wind turbine is part of a renewable energy push for the Coast Guard in Southwest Harbor. In October, the base will begin renovations to the 10 duplex units in base housing to upgrade systems and improve insulation. In addition, the Coast Guard has installed a pellet boiler that provides heat and domestic hot water. Solar panels provide electricity and also charge an array of batteries for backup power, and solar thermal tubes provide up to 80 additional gallons of hot water for those homes. |
State parks explore corporate sponsorship
Associated Press - Saturday, August 28, 2010
Faced with widening budget gaps, numerous states are reaching out to private companies to sponsor state parks or programs. In New Hampshire, Eastern Mountain Sports may promote state parks in its stores in exchange for having state parks promote the company's products. In Maine, the Bureau of Parks and Lands launched its Maine State Parks Passport program in the spring. Companies such as L.L. Bean, Hannaford, Oakhurst, Delorme, Kittery Trading Post and Wicked Joe's Coffee are among the sponsors. |
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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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