by Fred Bever, staff writer Maine Public news story Advocates for expanding solar power’s footprint in Maine turned out in force Monday to call on regulators to preserve policies they say have fostered the industry’s growth. They’re also requesting that any changes be left to the next Legislature. Earlier this year, the state’s Public Utilities 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.
Crucial Battle Over Solar Panel Incentives Goes to Maine PUC
Many Maine jobs are at stake as a proposal to reduce the credits for power fed to the grid from home rooftops is debated at a hearing. by Tux Turkel, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Battle lines are being drawn for a fight over the future of rooftop solar energy in Maine, as Read More
Maine’s Attorney General Among 18 AGs Defending EPA’s Clean Power Plan as Federal Appeals Court Hears Polluter Lawsuit Today
NRCM news release Today, outside the federal court building in Portland, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills and health and environmental leaders spoke in support of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which is being challenged in federal courts by a coalition of polluters and their allies. Today at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., Read More
Clean Power Plan Litigation in U.S. Court of Appeals
My remarks at today’s news conference about Clean Power Plan litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals: Right now, judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC are hearing oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by polluters and their allies against the EPA’s historic Clean Power Plan. I am proud to be joined Read More
State’s Warming Waters Create Both Reasons to Change and Opportunities
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
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
DEP Proposes New Mining Rules
By Susan Sharon, staff writer Maine Public news story The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is once again asking Maine lawmakers to consider new rules to address mining regulations in the state. The Legislature has twice rejected similar proposals since 2011, and both times the debate over them has been contentious. In a memo explaining Read More
Don’t Have Solar Panels On Your Roof? You’re Still Benefiting From Solar
By Phil Coupe, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed To make good decisions on energy investments and policy, Mainers must get true facts about solar, not just the myths being intentionally sown by utilities that want to protect their monopoly on our energy consumption. A recent BDN article did not mention that solar Read More
LePage, Environmental Lobbyists Weigh Future of Solar Policy
By Marina Villeneuve The Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage and powerful environmental lobbyists are among those weighing in on the future of a Maine policy that gives bill credits to solar system owners for the retail value of the excess energy they feed back into the grid. LePage calls the Read More