Letter: Save Maine winters and Maine livelihoods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

Wintertime in Maine is not what it used to be. We have rehashed the issue of climate change countless times. But this topic never seems to be seriously addressed. Organizations have only told us that someday, our decreased carbon emissions will make a difference. But I have to ask, when is that someday? Our planet is not the only thing impacted by climate change. In 2022, Maine’s outdoor recreation industry comprised 3.9 percent of the state’s economy. Let’s work to save our winters and our livelihoods. ~ Sophia Soucy, Hermon

Spanish energy giant purchases CMP parent company for $2.5B

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Central Maine Power’s parent company. The transaction makes Maine’s biggest electric utility privately held and reduces its visibility to federal securities regulators. New York regulators approved Iberdrola’s purchase of the remaining 18.4% of Avangrid Inc. on Dec. 20 and the deal was completed Monday, with shareholders being paid $35.75 a share. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had signed off on the acquisition in September.

Maine's nature-based shoreline rules face pushback

MAINE PUBLIC • December 26, 2024

A new state policy to encourage using biodegradable materials to prevent shoreline erosion is facing backlash from critics who say it risks damaging coastal properties. Representatives for engineering firms and Maine realtors denounced new restrictions as inflexible and ineffective during a recent hours-long public hearing this month at the state Board of Environmental Protection. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to speed up permitting for shoreline stabilization projects that use natural methods. Those practices use timber, grasses and other biodegradable materials to reestablish and strengthen natural dunes and shorelines. But new regulations would also make it harder to get permission to install rocks and gravel to reinforce coastline near homes.

Letter: Brunswick’s haste will lead to traffic standstill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Brunswick Town Council passed the two-way conversion of Pleasant Street (at a $4 million premium) without a plan. The concern for pedestrian and bicycle safety on Pleasant is valid but there are other ways to “calm” traffic. With this “plan,” we will slow down traffic; most likely to a standstill. ~ Lynne Holland, Brunswick

Maine seeks boost in energy storage to avoid costly grid upgrades

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

The Governor’s Energy Office recommended in a new report Monday that the state Public Utilities Commission establish programs that would add 200 megawatts to be built by developers. The PUC is reviewing the report and has not yet begun soliciting public comment. To pay for new storage projects a customer of Central Maine Power should expect to pay an average $5.90 a month more in the first year the program is in effect; the bill would decrease $3.41 a month in the following year.

Acadia and locals chafe at state’s terms for repairing MDI road

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

In a Dec. 12 email to the Maine Department of Transportation, Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider wrote that the state’s request for a five-day turnaround to respond to the state’s terms sheet about repairs to Seawall Road was unreasonable. Schneider’s email reinforced the Southwest Harbor select board’s same sentiment about terms that the state agency has put on the repairs to Seawall Road.As proposed, Acadia National Park and Southwest Harbor would each pay 33 percent of the costs for future repairs to the road and Maine DOT would pay 34 percent.

Opinion: I hope Mother Nature might teach Maine to cooperate

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

Camp Ellis has a history of storm damage and a need for FEMA aid well outside the hurricanes. In the past, I could walk between its boulder wall and the waves at low tide. That’s impossible now, due to further additions of boulders over which storm waves still break. A while back, as a buffer against the waves, a huge berm of sand was constructed under a woven plastic netting in front of the boulder wall. Most of the berm is already gone; the ensuing storms blew the netting apart. No amount of money is going to prevent nature from reestablishing its boundaries. ~ Doug Yohman, East Waterboro

What the 2024 eclipse did for Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

Approximately 224,800 people traveled to or around Maine for the eclipse and the estimated economic impact for the state was between $207 million and $219.8 million, according to Jennifer Geiger of the Maine Office of Tourism. Maine and New Hampshire had some of the most significant gains in spending because of a sudden change in weather, with Texas falling out of favor with eclipse watchers when clouds were predicted. The weather was clear in the Northeast. Aroostook County tourism data indicated a 99 percent boost in visitor spending over the 5-day event compared with the same days of the week the prior four weeks. The state saw a 23 percent jump in tourist spending over the same period.

Advocates cheer possible end of genetically modified salmon

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

Environmental advocacy groups are cheering what they say is the end of a controversial attempt to market genetically engineered salmon, following a yearslong regulatory and legal battle. A coalition of environmental, recreation and consumer groups sued the Food and Drug Administration for approving the world’s first genetically engineered food animal nearly a decade ago. The groups argued the new fish could further threaten the endangered Atlantic salmon, especially if they were to escape and mingle with the natural gene pool, and charged that the FDA violated procedural law by failing to consult scientists with relevant expertise, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay said.

Reports show ME clean energy projects can include wildlife protections

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE • December 23, 2024

Wildlife advocates say it's possible to transition to renewable energy while protecting vital habitats and species. As Maine builds out its offshore wind infrastructure, advocates want regulators to use available data regarding seabed habitats when citing transmission cables. Veronica Ung-Kono is a transmission specialist with the National Wildlife Federation. She said wind energy is critical to countering the climate crisis - but species like lobster, oysters, and crabs help sustain the ocean ecosystem. "Because those cables will be buried under the seafloor," said Ung-Kono, "it's incredibly important that those species are prioritized in that decision-making process." Ung-Kono said two new reports provide a summary of research regarding wildlife and the power grid both on and offshore, and where data gaps remain.

Federal Court Declares Genetically Engineered Salmon Unlawful

FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY • December 23, 2024

A U.S. District Court has ruled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated environmental laws in approving genetically engineered salmon. The FDA ignored the serious environmental consequences of approving genetically engineered salmon and the full extent of plans to grow and commercialize the salmon in the U.S. and around the world, violating the National Environmental Policy Act. The Court also ruled that FDA’s unilateral decision that genetically engineered salmon could have no possible effect on highly-endangered, wild Atlantic salmon was wrong and in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The FDA must now thoroughly analyze the environmental consequences of an escape of genetically engineered salmon into the wild. The plaintiff coalition, jointly represented by legal counsel from Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, includes Friends ofMerrymeeting Bay.

Third right whale entanglement reported in a week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

A third endangered North Atlantic right whale has been reported entangled in fishing gear within one week, this time off the coast of North Carolina. Two of the whales are so seriously injured they are expected to die.North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction, with a primary cause of injury and death identified by NOAA Fisheries to be fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes in both U.S. and Canadian waters. Maine fishing gear was linked to one of the deaths for the first time in October.

Maine ban on PFAS-laden products moves forward

MAINE PUBLIC • December 23, 2024

After a years-long delay, a state ban on some products containing harmful forever products may move forward. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently proposed rules that would gradually outlaw the sale of consumer goods with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The family of chemicals has been used in a wide array of industries for decades. But there are recent heightened concerns about the chemicals' harm to human health and the environment. Under the rules nine categories of products including cleaners, cosmetics, cookware, textiles and ski wax would be banned in 2026. That prohibition would extend to most goods in 2032.

Greater Portland Landmarks gets new executive director amid lawsuit

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

Greater Portland Landmarks, started in 1964, does advocacy and education and manages the Portland Observatory. Four key employees, including the former executive director, left Greater Portland Landmarks in 2023. Part-time staff and volunteer board members kept the organization going. Kate Lemos McHale started in July as the new executive director. She watched as the Portland Museum of Art pursued expansion. She described their plan as “exciting” because of its use of mass timber and its reference to Wabanaki culture. However, she thinks the museum could have integrated a 19th-century building on Free Street into the design, and she is concerned about the policy implications if that building is demolished. Lemos McHale said she remains hopeful that the two institutions will find common ground. “I think the lawsuit is necessary, and what I have advocated for is really just to find a solution.”

Maine fishing piers still rebuilding from last winter’s storms

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 23, 2024

As Maine settles into another winter, some fishing pier owners have not fully rebuilt from the heavy storm damage they suffered during a pair of storms last January — and they’re concerned about what the coming months might bring. The heavy surf and storm surge that slammed into Maine on Jan. 10 and 13 pulled apart dozens of docks from Eastport to Kittery. Commercial fishing piers, private docks, marinas and waterfront restaurants all suffered from the destructive power of the waves.

How to spot the menagerie of birds even in the dead of a Maine winter

TIMES RECORD • December 22, 2024

Maine winters can be dark and barren, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great time to see birds. The colder months herald the arrival of dark-eyed juncos, the snowbirds, and other visitors such as finches (pine siskins and pine grosbeaks), which follow the cyclical crops of conifer tree cones. And they aren’t alone. Plenty of cold-adapted resident species, such as crows and blue jays, stick around, too. For those unwilling or unable to venture out, snow can draw birds to backyard feeders en masse, making them easy to observe from the warmth of indoors. Plus, they are easier to spot.

A year since the region saw disastrous flooding, western Maine officials say they’re better prepared

MAINE MONITOR • December 22, 2024

When an atmospheric river threatened to bring a deluge of rain and snowmelt to Maine earlier this month, parched waterways helped shield valley towns from the flooding they saw last December. It wasn’t just luck. Farmington town manager Erica LaCroix said the modest infrastructure projects and emergency response protocols that the town has completed in the flooding’s aftermath gave her confidence that her community was better prepared for a potential disaster. Weak, undersized culverts have been expanded, and emergency resources have been moved out of flood zones. LaCroix and other inland Maine town officials have strengthened their communication protocols to share resources and streamline their emergency response plans. Over the past twelve months, Farmington and other Franklin County towns have participated in a number of county-led disaster response exercises and have created contingency plans for various worst-case scenarios, all with the expectation that more severe floods are imminent. 

Letter: Full switch to EVs is premature

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 22, 2024

Full adoption of electric autos is worth single digits to the climate “crisis,” if — and only if — the grid is 100% green. The U.S. grid is 17% green. While we like to claim Maine’s grid is 70% green, one can debate the meaningfulness of that claim while connected to a national system that is 17% green. The change to electric vehicles is decades premature and harmful to the environment until the grid is 100% green. Add to that the damage to multiple Third World countries while we extract rare elements and, worse yet, using labor practices we would not tolerate in Western countries. Add to that the fact that electric vehicles cost much more, especially buses. Add to that EVs sell only with large subsidies while the U.S. is $34 trillion in debt. This makes no sense. ~ Brian Jones, Gorham

Letter: Do not fall for arguments against going green

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 22, 2024

In his recent opinion piece (“You want climate action in Maine? Be my guest,” Nov. 29), Jacob Posik of the climate change-denying Maine Policy Institute (MPI) is, once again, speaking for the oil and gas industry and not for the people of Maine. He doesn’t understand the cost of inaction. Standing down on modernizing our energy systems, as espoused by MPI, means sacrificing our fishing communities, winter recreation businesses and local forest and agricultureindustries. It also threatens our cherished way of life like hunting, blueberry picking and skiing. What we can’t afford is to be misled by pawns for Big Oil masquerading as neighborly economists, encouraging us to give up on what we love about Maine. ~ Philip Conkling, Camden

Early numbers from deer and bear seasons show near-record kills

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 22, 2024

Maine had near-record bear and deer seasons and a successful moose hunt in 2024. Preliminary numbers show that the deer kill was the second highest ever at 42,258. The bear kill was 3,787, the second highest in the past five years, and the moose hunt logged 2,608 cows and bulls out of the 4,105 permits issued.