Senator Paul Davis, Chair Representative Ronald Martin, Chair Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Climate & Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. We support this common-sense legislation, which would integrate critical 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.
Fight for Solar Continues Despite Opposition
by Darcie Moore, Times Record Staff Times Record news story The Natural Resources Council of Maine continues to fight for solar-friendly policies at the State House, aiming to reverse a new Maine Public Utilities Commission rule that threatens the future growth of solar power in Maine. NRCM Senior Director of Advocacy Pete Didisheim said at a Read More
UNH, UMaine Climate Scientists: Trump Era Brings Challenges
By Deborah McDermott Seacoast Online news story This is a troubling time to be a climate scientist, say professors from the University of New Hampshire and the University of Maine. It is a time of unease and uncertainty, they say, as the Trump administration signals research, data collection and scientific inquiry could be under attack. Read More
Collins Says She’ll Vote Against Confirming Scott Pruitt to Head EPA
Maine’s Republican senator cites the Oklahoma attorney general’s lawsuits against the environmental agency on ‘numerous issues that are of great importance to the state of Maine.’ by Dennis Hoey, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, breaking with her party again, said Wednesday that she will vote against confirming Read More
EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Does Not Reflect Maine Values on the Environment
Sen. Susan Collins should join Sen. Angus King in pledging to reject Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. By Bill Houston Portland Press Herald op-ed KINGFIELD — Mainers hold clean air and water near and dear to their hearts. As a lifelong Mainer who trains young men and women to become outdoor leaders, I Read More
It’s Possible to Reduce Carbon Emissions Without Sacrificing Economic Growth
By Tom Tietenberg, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed In 2005, Maine and eight other northeastern and mid-Atlantic states banded together to create the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reduce carbon emissions. The initiative is a form of carbon pricing. It sets an annual cap on the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions Read More
NRCM TV Ads Urge Sen. Collins to Protect Maine By Rejecting Trump EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt
News release Today, the Natural Resources Council of Maine launched a television ad campaign, urging Senator Susan Collins to oppose President Trump’s nominee to head EPA, Scott Pruitt. Pruitt is unfit to head the EPA for many reasons, including that he is beholden to corporate polluters and sued the EPA 14 times to stop air Read More
Professors Recruit 700 Colleagues to Sign Letter to Trump on Climate Change
The letter, crafted by professors at Bowdoin and USM, urges President-elect Trump to “address the threat of climate change immediately.” by Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story More than 700 physics and astronomy faculty members from across the country have signed onto a letter written by three Maine professors urging President-elect Donald Read More
Broad Coalition of Mainers Urges Senators Collins and King to Reject Trump EPA Nominee, Scott Pruitt
News Release Portland, Maine – Today, a broad-based group of business, health, and conservation organizations and individuals announced their opposition to the confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. The group sent a letter today to Senator Susan Collins, urging her to vote against Read More
