This photo by NRCM member Pam Wells of Old Town, Maine, is one that she took of an ermine a few years ago in Milford, Maine. We have shared this photo in Pam’s slideshow of wildlife photos but thought he was so cute, we should share him again. Learn more about ermine in our Creature Feature. Do Read More
Bill to Lower Liquor Bottle Deposits Considered
by Mal Leary Maine Public news story Grocers and others in the food and beverage industry are supporting a proposal to reduce the deposit rate on liquor bottles in Maine from 15 cents to five. This change would match the nickel deposit implemented last year on small containers of liquor commonly called “nips.” Supporters of Read More
Opposition to LD 1703, An Act to Create Equity for Wine and Spirit Container Deposits
Senator Saviello, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Sarah Lakeman and I am the Sustainable Maine Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I appreciate this opportunity to testify in opposition to LD 1703. NRCM has had a long history working to Read More
Lawmakers Have One More Chance to Fix Nonsensical Solar Rules
Bangor Daily News editorial Maine lawmakers again have the chance to fix unnecessary rules that will hamper the development of solar and other alternative, clean energy in Maine and will also needlessly cost Mainers millions of dollars. In 2016, the Legislature passed a bipartisan bill to update the state’s rules around solar power generation. LePage Read More
Climate Change is Burning a Hole in Our Pocketbooks
By J. William Somes, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed How many times in a month do you turn on the news and find that a climate-related catastrophe has laid waste to another swath of land, claiming dozens of lives and billions of dollars in damages? The horror stories are, unfortunately, nothing new; Read More
LePage Rightly Opposes Biomass Subsidy Bond
Maine should be looking to the future for forest products, not clinging to the past. The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial Maine lawmakers faced a crisis in 2016: Subsidize the biomass industry or see hundreds of jobs vanish. It wasn’t much of a choice, following the shutdown of paper mills in Madison and Bucksport, Read More
Regulators Delay Power Contract Essential to UMaine Floating Wind Farm
The Public Utilities Commission decides to reopen terms of the 2013 contract between Aqua Ventus and CMP because of changing energy markets. by Tux Turkel, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Long-running efforts to secure a power contract for the first floating wind farm in the United States suffered a setback Tuesday when the Read More
Offshore Drilling Threatens Important Maine Industries
Tourism and fishing depend on a clean coastline – so why isn’t our state exempt from the oil exploration planned by the Trump administration? Portland Press Herald editorial The Trump administration Tuesday removed the waters off Florida – and only Florida – from the list of areas newly open to offshore drilling, and in doing Read More
Support of LD 1686, An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Distributed Energy Generation and to Eliminate Gross Metering
Senator David Woodsome, Representative Seth Berry, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology, my name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. Given the history of the policies in this bill, Read More
