Senator Lawrence, Representative Zeigler, and members of the Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, my name is Rebecca Schultz. I am a Senior Advocate for Climate and Clean Energy at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM has been working for more than 60 years to protect, restore, and conserve Maine’s environment, on Read More
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Electric vehicles (EVs) are fun to drive and cheaper to fuel. The cars are not just good for the people driving them though. More Mainers driving electric cars benefits everybody else in Maine, too. They are better for Maine’s environment, economy, and energy independence than gas-powered cars.
While there are plug-in electric cars that are fully electric, you can also find plug-in electric cars that take some gasoline as well to extend their range of travel. Our electricity mix here in Maine is one of the cleanest in the country, and that makes plug-in electric cars far more environmentally friendly than even the most efficient non-plug-in hybrid car.
LD 256, An Act to Add Electric Bicycles to the Electric Vehicle Rebate Program
Testimony in support of LD 256, An Act to Add Electric Bicycles to the Electric Vehicle Rebate Program Senator Lawrence, Representative Zeigler, distinguished members of the Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology. My name is Josh Caldwell. I am the Climate and Clean Energy Outreach Coordinator at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and I Read More
LD 122, Establish a Program to Support the Uptake of Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicles by Maine Businesses
Testimony in support of LD 122, An Act to Authorize the Efficiency Maine Trust to Establish a Program to Support the Uptake of Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicles by Maine Businesses and to Establish a Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicle-to-grid Pilot Project Senator Lawrence, Representative Zeigler, distinguished members of the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. Read More
News & Noteworthy — October – December 2022
Read highlights from December 2022 news stories and opinion pieces related to Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. December 2022 Rulemaking for Maine’s first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law began this month. Read about the first meeting, and hear from NRCM Read More
Maine Environment Fall-Winter 2022 Newsletter
In this issue of Maine Environment, we feature a story about our recent survey of all Mainers who own and drive electric vehicles — find out what they love the most about their EVs! You can also meet our new board members and our 2022 Conservation Leadership Award recipients. We also share news of our new Read More
More Pollution-free Electric School Buses Coming to Maine
Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that school districts across Maine have been awarded funding from the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to purchase 34 new zero-emission electric school buses. This news comes just a year after Maine debuted its first electric school bus at Mount Desert Island High School, a bus Read More
Quiet and Proud: What Electric Vehicle Owners are Saying
If you’ve spent any time recently on Maine’s roads, you’ve likely recognized an emerging reality: the transition to electric vehicles is well under way, and more Mainers than ever are driving electric. Recognizing that there are still a lot of questions about this new technology, we decided to go straight to the thousands of Mainers Read More
Survey of Maine EV Owners Shows Reliability, Cost Savings Among Top Benefits
NRCM news release August 17, 2022 (Augusta, ME) – A new survey of electric vehicle owners in all 16 of Maine’s counties shows that Maine people value electric vehicles (EVs) for their reliability, performance, and the cost savings they provide. The survey conducted by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) in April 2022 by Read More
News & Noteworthy — April – June 2022
Read some highlights from June 2022 news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. June 2022 We are going to cover the news from the past two weeks in this week’s News & Noteworthy. We Read More
