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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 28, 2010
Thanks for visiting Maine Environmental News, the most comprehensive online source available for links to Maine conservation news stories and events. Articles are posted regularly. Be sure to check not only today's stories, but take a look at the headlines from the past several days as well. Recent articles often come to our attention a few days after they are published. |
Winter Tree Identification, Mar 9
Event - Posted - Sunday, February 28, 2010
On March 9 from 12 Noon - 2P M, Morten Moesswilde, District Forester with the Maine Forest Service, will lead a field workshop on tree and shrub identification at Merryspring Nature Center in Camden. |
Protecting the Nature of Maine, Feb 28
Announcement - Friday, February 26, 2010
A documentary film about the first fifty years of the Natural Resources Council of Maine will be broadcast on MPBN Feb 28 at 10:30PM. |
Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Mar 4-6
Event - Posted - Friday, February 26, 2010
As the largest event of its kind in New England, the forum offers fishermen, clammers, lobstermen, aquaculturalists, and other seafood industry participants an opportunity to meet on neutral ground with fisheries managers, state representatives, congressmen, and senators. In addition, there are family programs, a trade show, a reception, a banquet and dance on the last night, and a benefit auction. March 4-6 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. |
A National Park & Preserve for the Maine Woods? Mar 3
Event - Posted - Friday, February 26, 2010
Learn about the proposal for a 3.2 million acre national park in Maine's North Woods. Listen, ask questions, and decide for yourself. March 3, 7PM, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 524 Allen Ave., Portland, ME. Sponsored by Maine Outdoor Adventure Club. |
Tread Lightly! in Maine, Feb 28
Event - Posted - Friday, February 26, 2010
Whether you're a hunter, mountain biker, hiker, ATV rider, 4WD fan or dirt biker you have the potential to damage both the trails you use and relationships with the public and private landowners users rely on for trail access. Tread Lightly! teaches about the importance of responsible recreation. At Friend & Friend, 29 Stillwater Ave, Orono, Feb 28, 8AM -5PM. |
State Parks Day, Mar 1
Event - Posted - Friday, February 26, 2010
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands will hold “State Parks Day” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, March 1, at the Hall of Flags, State Capitol Building, Augusta. BPL, its partners and friends will have displays showcasing the many activities and recreational opportunities available at Maine’s 48 state parks and historic sites. |
Upcoming Sporting Expos
Event - Posted - Thursday, February 25, 2010
In the coming weeks, numerous sporting expos are on tap in Maine, including: Cabin Fever Reliever, Brewer Auditorium, Feb 27-28; 72nd Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show, UMaine, Orono, Mar 12-14; 6th Pine Tree State Sportsman Show, Nichols Expo Center, Wilton, Mar 19-21; Presque Isle Fish and Game Club Sportsman’s Show, UMaine-Presque Isle, Mar 27-28; 29th State of Maine Sportsman’s Show, Augusta Civic Center, Apr 2-4. |
Dialing for climate change legislation, Mar 2 & 4
Action Alert - Thursday, February 25, 2010
Help by calling activists to urge them to call Maine's U.S. Senators with a simple message: break the legislative logjam in Washington, D.C. and pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill by Earth Day! March 2 and 4, 5-8PM, Augusta. Sponsored by Natural Resources Council of Maine. |
Attack on climate change progress
Action Alert - Thursday, February 25, 2010
The EPA is taking steps to limit global warming pollution from cars, large power plants and factories. But Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is introducing a bill that would set back progress and let some of the biggest polluters off the hook.
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How You Can Help Wildlife in a Warming World
Action Alert - Thursday, February 25, 2010
Until the climate change crisis, no one gave much thought to how animals with dense fur are supposed to handle swimsuit weather in our ever-toastier age. But cold climate critters have a chance to survive if we reconnect isolated patches of wildlands across North America to create protected corridors that wolverines and other animals can use to travel into suitable habitat.
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The National Parks: Going Home, Feb 24
Announcement - Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Part 4 of Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, focuses on the time when America embraced the automobile, setting off an explosion in the number of park visits. Also, the Rockefellers quietly buy up land in the Teton Mountain Range. MPBN, Feb 24, 8PM. |
The National Parks: The Empire of Grandeur, Feb 23
Announcement - Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Part 3 of Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, details how a new leader stepped forward on behalf of America’s remaining pristine places. And in Arizona, a fight breaks out over the fate of the grandest canyon on earth. MPBN, Feb 23, 8PM. |
COA presents sustainable enterprise talks, Feb 25-26
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 24, 2010
On Feb 25, Erik Hayward, assistant vice president of The Libra Future Fund, will speak to the Launching a New Venture class. On Feb. 26, Tom Davis, executive director of the nonprofit Skills Inc. will be speaking to a class in Sustainable Strategies. Both talks are at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor in The Turrets at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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Agriculture funding available for islands
Announcement - Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Island Institute has announced a second round of funding available through the Four-Season Island Agriculture Fund, made possible by the 1772 Foundation. This small-grant program is designed to support sustainable-agriculture projects in Maine’s unbridged year-round island communities. |
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Orono, Old Town mum on partial approval of Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion
Maine Campus - Monday, February 06, 2012
A recent decision by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection allowing a local landfill to apply to expand to nearly double its current capacity has an Orono town councilor saying the decision will set a precedent for incremental expansion in the future. Meanwhile, officials from Old Town, which receives host benefits from the landfill, haven’t taken a position on the department’s decision. |
Opinion: To the Allagash!
Daily Bulldog (Franklin County) - Monday, February 06, 2012
Though I don't have to write as if the Allagash is some lost wonder that eludes us, in truth, it is, isn't it? It always surprises me the number of people who have never stepped foot in the 92 miles of Maine wilderness. For all of you who still have the chance, please go there and find out for yourself what a mystically scenic area Maine offers. For all of you who don't plan on going or may never have the chance, read along and experience a first-hand encounter with Maine's diamond in the rough. ~ Sam Hill |
Goal: Protect woodlands
Portland Press Herald - Monday, February 06, 2012
Several western York County organizations hope their campaign to protect that region's timberlands will gain the same kind of national attention as similar efforts in Maine's North Woods. The group Forest Works! has formed to keep western York County woodlands in timber production rather than lose them to development. The woods contain a lot of eastern white pine, a valuable source of construction lumber. Forest Works!, a collaboration of local groups and state and federal agencies, recently landed $90,000 in startup grants from the U.S. Forest Service and the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation. The money will help the group teach communities and landowners to use easements and other methods to keep land open for timber production, recreation and wildlife habitat. |
Bill would set limits on types of lobster bait
Portland Press Herald - Monday, February 06, 2012
You can't feed just any old bait to Maine's lobsters. A bill working its way toward the governor's desk to be signed into law would require that any fish or other baits that are not a natural part of a lobster's diet be approved before they're lowered into Maine waters. The Legislature's Marine Resources Committee unanimously endorsed the bill and it reached the House floor last week. It is expected to be approved by both the House and Senate. Maine already has some laws against baiting traps with unwanted "stuff," such as the hides of deer, moose and other animals. |
East/West Highway Resurfaces
Portland Press Herald - Monday, February 06, 2012
The idea of building an east/west highway through the middle part of the state has been revived in the Legislature. Sen. Doug Thomas, R-Ripley, is sponsoring L.D. 1671, which calls for a feasibility study of the idea, which has been around in one form or another for decades. Thomas wants people to come to the Transportation Committee Feb. 14 for a public hearing on the bill. "The path this highway takes across Maine is through some of the poorest parts of our state," he said. |
Letter: Tidal energy better bet than wind farms
Portland Press Herald - Monday, February 06, 2012
Wind energy requires very expensive large towers on land, or platforms on the ocean, to support the turbines. If the proposed wind farm is 20 miles offshore, it will require laying undersea water cables to shore, another large construction expense. Wind does not blow consistently, and many times not at all. Tidal power, on the other hand, relies on the rising and falling of the tides, which has been happening daily and consistently since the Earth began. Tidal-powered turbines are far more reliable than wind-powered turbines. ~ Fernand LaRochelle, Westbrook |
Letter: State coyote control policy takes grave toll on pet dogs
Portland Press Herald - Monday, February 06, 2012
I would like to say to all folks who have lost their pet dogs that my heart goes out to them. It's all due to hunters mistakenly shooting at what they believe is a coyote. The problem lies with state officials. They believe in and encourage the killing of coyotes because they think that coyotes are to blame for the low numbers of the deer herd. ~ Pete Gendreau, Saco |
Letter: Tank means jobs
Bangor Daily News - Monday, February 06, 2012
I have worked in construction for 22 years and these last few years have been incredibly hard. I went to the Searsport town hall meeting last week because I need work and wanted to hear what DCP Midstream, the company that wants to build a propane tank in Searsport, had to say. I think we should stop the moratorium because it will mean fewer jobs for all of us in Waldo County. ~ Ron Flewelling, Monroe |
Ice Anglers Come Out To Play at the Legislature
George Smith's Outdoor News Blog - Sunday, February 05, 2012
I don’t expect to see any Ice shacks at the legislature this week, but plenty of ice anglers will be there for a public hearing on LD 1747, a bill to prohibit municipalities from charging fees for the placement of ice shacks on rivers and water district lakes and ponds. I’ll definitely attend the next work session on the LURC reform bill, now printed and available as LD 1798. It is scheduled for work session at 1 pm on Thursday, February 16. Lots of other interesting and important bills in play, from protection of waterfowl nesting habitat to a controversial “takings” bill. But for sportsmen, it’s all about money now. And it’s all up to the governor. |
Program Spurs Investment to "Green" Maine's Downtowns
Maine Public Broadcasting Network - Sunday, February 05, 2012
A three-year-old program of the Maine Development Foundation aims to create "greener" downtowns--that is, downtowns that save existing historic buildings, provide links to hiking and biking trails and use land space efficiently, among other things. Roxanne Eflin, the foundation's program director, says that the initiative offers matching funds to stretch its $225,000 budget. |
Opinion: Keeping Maine values in Maine elections
Sun Journal - Sunday, February 05, 2012
I was pleased to see that, last week, Maine’s environmental community adopted the defense of the Maine Clean Election Act as one of its top priorities this year. While some might be surprised that environmentalists would take on a campaign finance issue, I think it speaks volumes about the strong links between their civic culture and their love of the natural world. Environmental protection and preservation of Maine’s outdoor heritage have always been broadly shared values here. For the sake of all that we love about Maine, let us get to work to shore up the Clean Election system and get corporate money out of state elections. ~ Richard A. Bennett, former Republican president of the Maine Senate, Oxford |
Opinion: Wildlife policy without demonization
Sun Journal - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Natural predators are a vital part of every healthy ecosystem. Without them, other wildlife become weak and sick and the overall ecology becomes unhealthy and out of balance. No matter how many times Paul Reynolds propagandizes ("A lesson to be learned in Lolo," Sun Journal, Jan. 29) about the supposed evils of wolves, coyotes and other natural predators he so desperately wants his readers to demonize and hate, alongside him and his misguided cohorts, the actual truth will come out. The days of unopposed demonization and abuse of Maine's and America's wildlife are over. ~ Robert Goldman, South Portland |
Editorial: Wind power: $1 billion and growing
Sun Journal - Sunday, February 05, 2012
With 396 megawatts of installed capacity, we now make more power from the free fuel of the wind than any other state in the region. That’s less than 20 percent of the state’s goal of 2,000 megawatts by 2020. If we get to that goal, it means that, in total, more than $7 billion will be invested in Maine. More hydro, biomass, natural gas, solar, geothermal and tidal power should also have places in Maine’s energy future. Maine people and even the wind developers themselves know that wind isn’t the panacea for state, national or global energy needs. But wind, as much as natural gas and hydro, should be part of a multi-source portfolio that makes up the president’s “all-of-the-above” strategy. |
Interview: Maine fishing chief aims for growth
Associated Press - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Maine's new top fisheries official is vowing to grow the economic value of the state's oldest industry, commercial fishing, and the coastal communities that rely on the ocean. The value of the state's seafood harvest ranges from $350 million to $450 million each year and contributes three or four times that much in economic activity to Maine. Patrick Keliher, who was sworn in Jan. 26 as the Department of Marine Resources commissioner, thinks those numbers can go up. While protecting the fisheries resources has to be the No. 1 priority -- no fish, no fishermen -- Keliher more can be done to promote seafood and give fishermen flexibility so they can maximize the value of their catch. |
Selling scallops in the shell could boost fishermen’s income
Bangor Daily News - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Most commercial fisheries in Maine are different from the lobster industry in one crucial aspect: annual catch totals have not consistently gone up over the past 20 years. Landings for species such as shrimp, scallops, herring, urchins and many types of groundfish peaked in Maine in the 1980s and 1990s. There is one new scallop dealer based in the midcoast area, however, who thinks she may be able to offset declining catches in that fishery with a new product. Togue Brawn, a former Maine Department of Marine Resources staffer, is the first dealer in Maine to get a special license to buy and sell scallops still attached to the shell. In December, she began buying scallops in the half-shell from half a dozen of Maine fishermen and then selling them to restaurants as a value-added product. |
Salmon restoration: Maine on the way to making it happen
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Biologist Paul Christman quietly has planted Atlantic salmon eggs in Maine rivers for three years, but in another two years his project could move to the forefront of the national Atlantic salmon recovery effort. Already the project makes Maine a leader in North America in salmon recovery, said Joan Trial, Maine's senior salmon biologist. "Paul is coming up with a way to produce more (salmon) spending more time in a natural environment as opposed to a hatchery. There is some strong evidence that these fish may be more successful surviving out at sea," said Trial. Salmon were first listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000 in a small portion of Maine. Then in 2009, the list was expanded and the salmon's status elevated to endangered. |
Survey says, and results are ready
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Six of 10 participants in a 2011 Maine Sportsman survey thought IF&W shouldn't manage landlocked-salmon waters for the biggest possible fish. This answer continues through the decades in Maine because folks know growing big fish requires strict regs. They want to kill a fish now and then for dinner. This downturn toward quality fishing discourages me -- a lot. Through much of my life, I have thought Maine folks would continue evolving toward quality-fishing measures, so the future would just get better and better. In the last few years this survey shows that perhaps I was wrong. ~ Ken Allen |
He's planning for the future, including winning in a tying contest
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Seventh-grader Sam Kenney of Dixmont is heading to Pennsylvania to compete on Saturday in the Pennsylvania Fly Tying Championship. In 2010, Kenney took second in the open division, bypassing the chance to win the youth or amateur division. This year he thinks he can win the whole thing. |
Birding: Lingering species sparse in northern counts
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
This column is the last of three reviewing the results of the most recent Christmas Bird Counts in Maine. The Presque Isle count produced a fine list of 38 species. A bit of open water yielded 11 mallards, 52 American black ducks, 7 common goldeneyes, and 2 great black-backed gulls. The 38 bald eagles were a record high for the count, as were the 7 northern cardinals, a species continuing to expand northward in Maine. Aroostook County has lots of open countryside, so the 461 snow buntings and a horned lark were not surprising. Only two lingering species were found in this colder part of the state: a northern harrier and a common grackle. Rarities in Portland area included a greater white-fronted goose, a king eider, two ruddy turnstones and a lark sparrow. Lingering species included double-crested cormorant, black-crowned night heron, black-throated blue warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, field sparrow and Savannah sparrow. |
Opinion: Taking your best shot
Sun Journal - Sunday, February 05, 2012
Do deer hunters evolve? The belief is that, given enough time in the deer woods, a hunter changes over time. In the beginning, he just wants to kill a deer. As he matures and becomes more seasoned, he becomes selective. He passes up the does and the young bucks, preferring to save his tag for the buck of a lifetime. Some older hunters just like being in the woods. Some older hunters I have known decided to give up deer hunting altogether, as they became more mindful of their own mortality. Over the years, I have found myself evolving somewhat as a deer hunter. Truth is, though, I cannot picture myself ever not getting excited about the opportunity to match wits against a Maine whitetail, even if I live to be 100. ~ V. Paul Reynolds |
Letter: Rejecting pipeline a mistake
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
The Keystone Pipeline should have been accepted on principle, with agreement to minimize environmental hazards, period. Embracing alternatives to oil is all well and good, but oil, I'm afraid, is part of our reality for some time to come. ~ R. Ted Laguerre, Yarmouth |
Letter: Governor's rhetoric blurs facts on energy efficiency
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
The governor's rhetoric against the proposed people's initiative on energy efficiency and renewable energy has consistently been recklessly misleading or frighteningly ignorant and sometimes both. As the Legislature and the people of Maine debate these important questions, they deserve a more thoughtful discourse. ~ Fortunat Mueller, ReVision Energy, North Yarmouth |
Rescued Maine hiker says White Mountains are out
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 05, 2012
After he broke a snowshoe and high winds forced him off a trail on Franconia Ridge into chest-high snow, Evan Embrey wasn't worried about surviving, but he did have an epiphany about hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. "I think I'm done with the Whites for now," Embrey said from his home in Buxton on Saturday, the day after guides with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department had to rescue him near the summit of Mount Lafayette, bringing him a replacement showshoe and helping him find his way back to the trail.
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Maine lawmakers move to strengthen tree growth law
Sun Journal - Saturday, February 04, 2012
With controversy over State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin as backdrop, lawmakers on the Legislature's Taxation Committee voted unanimously to make changes to the state's tree growth tax program. The legislative panel on Thursday advanced a bill that would increase legal requirements for landowners to grow and harvest timber for commercial use. The amended bill will ensure that landowners who pull out of the Tree Growth Tax Law program pay steep penalties. Lawmakers are also expected to support a bill sponsored by Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry to mandate that state foresters make random checks to ensure landowners are harvesting timber in accordance with their respective management plans. |
Opinion: “Renewable” Reality Check
Maine Wire - Saturday, February 04, 2012
A number of things are interesting about the recent (and unsuccessful, though apparently still continuing) campaign by the environmental Left to put a referendum question on the ballot this fall. The initiative would require that Maine’s electric power mix contain 20 percent more “renewable sources” by 2020 than the 35 percent it does now (and the 40 percent it will in a few more years). Antipollution efforts should be preserved and extended in reasonable ways. But prosperity is vital, too, and it entails growth. This shouldn’t become a “payrolls vs. pickerel” dichotomy, but it’s possible to wonder if the sponsors of the initiative campaign understand that. ~ M.D. Harmon
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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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