The measure addresses transmission costs and efforts to step up efficiency and fight global warming. by Dylan Voorhees and Beth A. Nagusky Portland Press Herald op-ed You may find it surprising that we agree with Gov. LePage that Maine’s energy costs are significantly higher than they need to be. For more than a decade, Maine 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.
Starving Puffins Indicate Trouble at Sea
by Abigail Curtis, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story BELFAST, Maine — Maine seabirds – including the iconic Atlantic puffin – may be in trouble. Researchers are concerned about starving chicks and dead birds that washed up this winter off Cape Cod and Scotland. Lately, the razorbill, a species related to puffins, has been Read More
New Effort Seeks to Block Tar Sands Oil Export from South Portland
A citizens group says they will try to change a zoning law to prevent Canadian tar sands oil from being pumped through the city and prohibit building new infrastructure to process it. by Matt Byrne, staff writer Portland Press Herald news update SOUTH PORTLAND—A citizen group opposed to the prospect of Canadian tar sands oil Read More
Starvation Stressing Maine Puffin Colonies
Scientists blame shifting fish populations as ocean temperatures rise. by Clarke Canfield, Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story PORTLAND — The Atlantic puffin population is at risk in the United States, and there are signs the seabirds are in distress in other parts of the world. In the Gulf of Maine, the comical-looking seabirds Read More
Maine’s Environmental Movement Reinvents Itself for a New Era of Challenges
by Lance Tapley Portland Phoenix news story Maine’s cherished environment may be threatened as never before by the gargantuan forces of economic globalization. In reaction, the state’s environmental movement is coalescing into a force stronger than ever. There are new players in the game — including Occupy — augmenting the old guard. Not surprising for Read More
Qualified Support of LD 1362, Resolve, To Establish a Moratorium on the Transportation of Tar Sands
Senator Jim Boyle, Chair Representative Joan Welsh, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Environment & Natural Resources Senator Boyle and Representative Welsh, NRCM has been active in opposing the transportation of tar sands through Maine for about two years. We offer qualified support for this Resolve. We support efforts to slow down development of tar sands Read More
Portland Pipeline at Center of Fierce Fight in Maine
by Colin Nickerson, Globe Correspondent Boston Globe news story SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Over seven decades, the Portland pipeline has propelled some 5 billion gallons of crude oil across the mountains and beneath the pristine waters of northern New England to refineries in Quebec. Aside from a few small spills years ago, the 236-mile-long colossus Read More
Raymond Passes Tar Sands Resolution
By John Balentine KeepMECurrent.com news story RAYMOND — Raymond Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night unanimously passed a resolution urging state and federal officials “to ensure the highest level of safety for the citizens of Raymond and the state of Maine” if a project to transport Canadian oil sands through a Maine pipeline moves forward. Read More
Coalition Petitions Feds to Develop Tar Sands Pipeline Safety Standards
Asks USEPA and DOT to Protect Communities from Tar Sands Spills News Release Montpelier, VT; Augusta, ME — Today, citing inadequate current rules, a coalition of hunter-angler, conservation groups, former government officials, and landowners at risk of tar sands spills filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Read More
