The success of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative shows we can be green and create good jobs. By George Lapointe and Tom Tietenberg Portland Press Herald op-ed We know that the threat of climate disruption to Maine is real, in part because we are experiencing early warning signs. The science is also clear that the 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.
Puffin Chicks In Gulf Of Maine’s Largest Colony Starve To Death At Record Rate
By Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Machias Seal Island, home of the largest puffin colony in the Gulf of Maine, has had the worst breeding season ever recorded, with the vast majority of chicks starving to death in their burrows. The disaster followed a sudden drop in the puffins’ food supply Read More
Study Shows Solar Saves Money for All Ratepayers in Maine by Reducing Peak Demand
Costly Strain on New England Utility Grid Usually Peaks Around First Week of August News release Portland, ME – An updated analysis of the “value of solar” power in Maine shows that solar installations within the state cut electricity prices for everyone in Maine who pays an electric bill, by reducing peak demand on the Read More
Rising Sea Levels Could Wash Away $3.1B in Maine Property
By Darren Fishell Bangor Daily News news story If sea levels rise six feet by the year 2100 as projected, that would put an estimated $3.1 billion in Maine residential real estate under water. The property site Zillow matched up its proprietary data on current home values with federal projections of how sea level rise Read More
Energy Confab Features King
by Liz Graves on Environment, News, News-Featured Mount Desert Islander news story BAR HARBOR — A Climate to Thrive (ACTT), a group with the goal of making Mount Desert Island energy independent by 2030, presents a gathering featuring Sen. Angus King on Sunday, July 31, from 3-5:30 p.m. at the Mount Desert Island High School. Read More
Tourism, Conservation, Public Health Experts Urge Support for Clean Air and Climate Protections for Acadia National Park and Region
Say ecosystems, public health, and economy all depend on effective Clean Air Act protections NRCM News Release Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park – With one of Maine’s most famous vistas at their back—the mountainous rocky coast of Acadia National Park—diverse speakers urged support for two important air quality standards that are needed to protect the Read More
NRCM Continues the Fight to Reduce Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
NRCM has been involved in federal lawsuits related to limiting mercury pollution and other air toxics from power plants for more than a decade. In fact, in 2004, we filed suit over the EPA’s mercury pollution rules. We first joined the suit against the Bush administration for failing to offer sufficiently strong regulations—and eventually won in Read More
Maine Biomass Bailout Would Tap $13.4 Million in Public Funds
An amended proposal shifts the burden of the rescue plan from electricity ratepayers to taxpayers. By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Lawmakers’ effort to bail out Maine’s six remaining biomass energy plants has shifted from a rescue subsidized by Maine electricity ratepayers to one subsidized by Maine taxpayers. After Read More
Legislature to Consider $3 Million Bond to Study Ocean Acidification
by Andy O’Brien Free Press news story In the coming weeks, the Maine Legislature will consider several bond proposals, including a bipartisan measure aimed at tackling the monumental problem of ocean acidification (OA) in the Gulf of Maine. LD 998, sponsored by Rep. Wayne Parry (R-Arundel) and Rep. Mick Devin (D-Newcastle), would ask voters to Read More