by Patty B. Wight MPBN news story It’s being touted as an unprecedented solution to one of Maine’s most pressing problems: The House and Senate today passed a bipartisan bill aimed at cutting energy costs. The support comes in spite of an expected veto by Gov. Paul LePage, who is unhappy with two components of Read More
Climate
Climate change and global warming pollution harm Maine people, wildlife, and our environment. Among the highest rates of childhood asthma in the nation, rising seas and severe storms battering our coastal homes and towns, warming and more acidic oceans threatening fisheries, too many “bad air days,” more and more tick-borne diseases, threats to our fall foliage and winter tourism industries—these are among the many health, environmental, and economic problems climate change pollution is causing here in Maine.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine is working to reduce climate-changing pollution by making Maine more energy efficient. We work to provide clean, renewable energy and cleaner more efficient vehicles that will reduce Maine’s contribution to air pollution and climate change to ensure Maine people and wildlife have clean air to breathe.
Omnibus Bill Represents Big Step Forward on State Energy Policy
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
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
State Can’t Keep Ignoring the Signs of Climate Change
From new shipping routes to a crab population explosion, the consequences of global warming are real. Portland Press Herald editorial Global warming will have a tremendous effect on life in Maine, and the state should be leading efforts to prepare for it. Maine is poised to become part of a new global transportation hub thanks Read More
Bipartisan Energy Bill Would Lower Rates
Promoting natural gas and maximizing efficiency could set Maine up for its energy future. Portland Press Herald editorial Big things can start small. That was the hope Friday, when the nation’s first floating wind turbine was lowered into the Penobscot River, to be towed to a mooring off Castine. No one is expecting much, at Read More
“Historic” Energy Bill Clears Maine Legislative Committee, 12-1
By Scott Thistle, Sun Journal Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill aimed at lowering the costs of energy while dramatically changing the way Mainers consume it vaulted out of a key legislative committee on a near unanimous, 12-1 vote Friday. The vote comes after months of hearings, negotiations, compromise and downright Read More
LePage Withholding Support for Energy Bill, Wants Wind Rules Changed
by Matthew Stone Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is withholding support for a compromise bill being worked out by the Legislature’s Energy Committee that’s aimed at expanding Maine’s natural gas infrastructure, boosting funding for energy efficiency, directly lowering businesses’ electricity costs and making it more affordable for residents to Read More