Bangor Daily News editorial As Mainers sweltered through another week of hot, humid weather, many longed for the days of yore when the nights were cool and a 90-degree day was an anomaly. Those days are in the history books, replaced by ones that are, on average, hotter, more stormy and filled with increasing number Read More
climate change
What You Can Do about the Unfolding Recycling Crisis
It’s been more than a year since China announced that they will no longer buy the world’s contaminated recyclables, and we are feeling the effects here in Maine. Unless the baled recycled materials (stuff we put in our household recycling bins, among other sources of recyclables) meet a very strict, almost perfect, quality standard—only 0.05% Read More
Trump Administration Pushes to Weaken Car Pollution Standards
Statement of Emmie Theberge, Federal Project Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “Today, the Trump Administration announced its plan to roll back America’s clean car standards and attack Maine’s legal right to protect the health of our fellow citizens. This proposal would pollute Maine’s air, threaten Mainers’ health, and force Maine people to spend billions Read More
Meet the New EPA Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Scott Pruitt’s resignation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week is unquestionably a win for our health and environment. Ethical pitfalls aside, Pruitt pursued an agenda that explicitly favored polluting industries over environmental protections, undermining the core mission of the EPA. However, even with Pruitt’s departure, there are no halcyon days to come. Let’s Read More
Next EPA Chief Must Clean Up Pruitt’s Mess
He transformed the agency from one informed by science into one dominated by industry. Portland Press Herald editorial In a letter more appropriate for a vassal than a Cabinet member, Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned last week, finally overcome by a torrent of scandals. But before he used the EPA as Read More
Nurturing Future Ambassadors for the Earth: NRCM Middle School Grants
Early this year, NRCM accepted applications from Maine middle school educators across the state interested in incorporating more science learning projects into their classrooms. The goal of these projects is to engage students in the nature of Maine and provide them with opportunities to learn more by interacting with their local environment. NRCM chose eight Read More
Environmentalists Applaud Pruitt’s Resignation, but Worry about the Future of the Agency
By Susan Sharon Maine Public news story Environmental groups in Maine are applauding the resignation of embattled Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt. President Trump announced Pruitt’s resignation in a tweet Thursday. Pruitt has been under scrutiny for his travel spending, security costs, dealings with industry lobbyists and alleged misuse of government resources. He had Read More
Scott Pruitt Resigns as EPA Administrator; NRCM Urges Senators Collins, King to Support a Clean Start for EPA
Statement of the Natural Resources Council of Maine “It is good that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned today. From day one, Pruitt was unfit to serve as EPA administrator, and has worked to harm to Maine’s environment by rolling back life-saving protections for our air and water and cozying up to industry lobbyists Read More
Reducing Maine’s Carbon Emissions Now Will Pay Off Later
By Marianne Hill, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Flood zones in Maine have expanded, lobsters are moving north, and ticks and Lyme disease are on the rise, according to a University of Maine report. Cities, including Portland, are upgrading their infrastructure, and insurance policies, to cope with rising seas. Billions of dollars Read More
