November 25, 2024 (Augusta, ME) — Maine’s leading environmental advocacy organization today urged Senators Susan Collins and Angus King to insist that the full, deliberative “advice and consent” process be pursued in the U.S. Senate for nominees to federal agencies that play a critical role in helping protect Maine’s environment. The Natural Resources Council of Read More
Climate Change
Climate change and global warming pollution harm Maine people, wildlife, and our environment. Global warming, also known as climate change, is caused by a blanket of pollution that traps heat around the earth. This pollution comes from cars, factories, homes, and power plants that burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal, natural gas, and gasoline.
Climate-changing pollution knows no boundaries. It enters the atmosphere, spreads across the globe, and traps heat around the earth for 50-200 years after it is emitted. That is why we need to reduce global warming pollution now, because our children, and their children, will still feel the effects of global warming for years to come. Currently, the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are at their highest levels in hundreds of thousands of years.
Learn how you can reduce climate-changing pollution and advocate for a cleaner, healthier Maine.
Updated Climate Action Plan is Opportunity for Maine to Lead
The Maine Climate Council released its updated Climate Action Plan (view PDF) today as is statutorily required under a bipartisan climate law passed in 2019. Since the first Climate Action Plan was published in 2020, the impacts of climate change have become more pronounced, causing damage to critical infrastructure, harm to local communities, and interruptions Read More
New Methane Pollution Charge Will Protect Our Health
November 15, 2024 (Augusta, ME) — A new rule announced this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aimed at slashing harmful methane pollution will protect clean air and safeguard human health. As part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the U.S. Congress adopted the methane waste emission charge as part of the Read More
Help Shape Maine’s Climate Action Plan
Maine’s next Climate Action Plan is coming out later this year, and we all have an opportunity right now to help shape what it looks like by taking this survey. In this blog, I’ll lay out why Maine’s statewide Climate Action Plan matters and give you some more details about the recommendations we’ll be asking Read More
The Economic Promise of Offshore Wind in Maine
Offshore wind holds great promise for Maine. Floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine is expected to generate about half of the electricity Maine needs by 2040 by providing a reliable source of renewable energy. This will bring a once-in-a-century opportunity to create good-paying jobs for Maine workers now and into the future. And Read More
New Report: Benefits of Maine’s Solar Growth Outweigh Costs
A new report commissioned by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) provides clear evidence for policymakers that the benefits of solar growth outweigh the costs. The PUC’s report, entitled “Status and Cost & Benefit Analysis of Maine’s 2023 Solar Market,” is the first comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of solar projects under the Net Read More
Syncing Utility Performance with Maine’s Clean Energy Goals
It may come as a surprise that our utilities’ profits aren’t based on how the companies perform. A bill before the Maine Legislature would help correct that. LD 2172 gives the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) the authority to use a suite of tools that help calibrate utility profits with performance. It also sets in motion Read More
Board of Environmental Protection Strikes Down Life-saving Cleaner Cars Rule
Maine will not join 13 other states in adopting pollution reduction program; state at risk of not meeting climate goals Augusta – Today, after more than a year of rulemaking and public engagement, Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) voted not to adopt the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule, leaving billions in health and Read More
Opposition to LD 2261, Designating New Motor Vehicle Emissions Rules as Major Substantive Rule
Senator Brenner, Representative Gramlich, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, my name is Jack Shapiro, and I am the Climate and Clean Energy Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM has been working for more than 60 years to protect, restore, and conserve Maine’s environment, and I’m here today Read More
