The Danish island of Samsø becomes a classroom and source of inspiration for a group of Maine students and residents. By Mary Pols, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story There are 4,613 islands in the state of Maine, 15 of them inhabited year-round by people who understand that on a Maine island, the wind Read More
Clean Energy
Clean energy improves Maine's air quality and reduces climate-changing pollution throughout the state of Maine and the greater New England region. That’s why NRCM is a steadfast advocate for state policies and initiatives that benefit Maine’s environment.
NRCM’s climate and clean energy work is focused on where we can have the greatest impact: electric vehicles, clean and renewable energy production, and greater energy efficiency.
Our clean energy work is critical to reducing Maine’s environmental problems and adverse affects to our health. Including high asthma rates, more “bad air days,” rising sea levels due to climate change that threaten coastal communities, and threats to our fall foliage, skiing, and our vital tourism-based industry.
NRCM makes certain that Maine's elected officials and other decision-makers are kept updated about leading information related to global warming pollution, clean energy technologies, and steps Maine can take to ensure clean air for generations to come.
Mt. Abram Skiing Green with $940,000 Solar Power Project
A new array of 803 solar-electric panels positions the ski area as a leader in energy sustainability, and promises to cut its costs dramatically. By Tux Turkel, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story GREENWOOD — Can a ski area be green and white at the same time? The Mt. Abram Ski Area is betting Read More
2014 NRCM Conservation Leadership Awards Announced, Including Lifetime Achievement Award for Wellehans
NRCM news release Augusta, ME – The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), the state’s leading nonprofit membership organization working to protect Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife, has named its 2014 Conservation Leadership Award winners. Award recipients will be honored at a special event Wednesday, October 15 from 5–7:00 p.m., at Maple Hill Farm Read More
EPA Official Praises Maine, Other States for Climate Protection
By Kevin Miller, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story New England’s market-based approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions shows that states can fight climate change while still improving their economies, the region’s top environmental officials said Wednesday. Curt Spalding, Environmental Protection Agency administrator for New England, suggested that Maine and most other northeastern states Read More
Setting Rivers Free: As Dams are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering
By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More
Environmental Advocacy Group Pushes for More Offshore Wind Power
AUGUSTA, Maine —There is enormous untapped energy potential just off Maine’s shores, according to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation. That group and other environmental advocates are renewing their push for the development of more offshore wind turbines in Maine. The National Wildlife Federation report is called “Catching the Wind: State Actions Needed Read More
Report: Offshore Wind Power Within Reach for Maine
State Leadership Needed to Benefit Ratepayers, Create Jobs, Cut Pollution News Release by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, National Wildlife Federation, and Environment Maine July 10, 2014 Augusta, ME – More than 1.5 million acres off the Atlantic coast have been designated for offshore wind power development, enough to produce more than 16,000 megawatts Read More
Getting Down to Business on Climate Change
by Bonnie Frye Hemphill Friday morning, June 6, was a big day for Maine’s growing clean economy. Some 200 Portland-area business and community leaders gathered to celebrate Maine’s climate progress with the decade-old Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and now, to celebrate brand-new U.S. EPA carbon pollution standards that ask the rest of the country’s Read More
Solar Energy Bill Becomes Law without Governor’s Signature
Marking an Important Step for Maine Energy Policy Statement of Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Project Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “Governor LePage has allowed a solar energy bill that passed through the Legislature with overwhelming support to become law without his signature. This is good news for our economy, clean air, and Maine’s efforts Read More