by Christopher Burns, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story Maine needs to decide what it’s going to do about the food in its waste stream. Food and other organics comprise 43 percent of Maine’s residential waste, more than paper, plastic, glass and metal. Yet, only about 5 percent of organics are composted, leaving much Read More
sustainability
Plastic and Foam Containers Have an Impact, in Maine and Globally
Do you know that the plastic bag you innocently accept when the cashier hands you your groceries could actually be the death of you? I first learned about marine litter when I was 13. I was given an inscribed copy of the book Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Read More
Group Wants MDI to Go Fossil Fuel Free Within 15 Years
By Susan Sharon MPBN news story It’s official — the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization has confirmed what other agencies including NASA have said earlier: 2015 was the hottest year on record. The global surface temperature is 1 degree Celsius above the preindustrial era, which the agency says makes voluntary commitments reached in the Paris Read More
Natural Resources Council of Maine Awards “Protecting the Nature of Maine” Grants to Eight Middle Schools
The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) has awarded grants to eight Maine middle schools to fund projects that engage students in protecting Maine’s environment. These grants will help students establish nature trails, set up school-wide recycling initiatives, propagate and plant native plants on which endangered birds depend, and much more. Some of these grants Read More
Pesticides Ordinance Would Have Portland Flourishing Responsibly
Our lack of synthetic land-care chemical regulations sets us apart from other progressive communities. By Avery Yale Kamila, co-founder of Portland Protectors, is a mother, a freelance writer and a Press Herald food columnist. Portland Press Herald op-ed Our lack of synthetic land-care chemical regulations sets us apart from other progressive communities. It’s no secret Read More
Waste Not, Want Not
91. That’s the number of times the Empire State Building could have been filled from top to bottom with the amount of food wasted in the United States in 2010. And the problem gets worse every year. United States Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, representing Maine’s First Congressional District, recently unveiled and introduced legislation to tackle this Read More
Pingree Joins Effort to Combat Food Waste, Climate Damage
Her legislation recognizes the world can throw away less, feed more and have a big impact on the planet. by John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer for United Technologies Corp., parent company of Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick Portland Press Herald op-ed FARMINGTON, Conn. — In a historic moment for the planet, more than 190 Read More
Two Companies are Headed for a Showdown Over Your Trash
By Matthew Stone, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story There’s a competition going on for your trash. Some 187 Maine towns and cities will have to decide this year where they’ll send their municipal solid waste starting in 2018. One facility wants it so it can stay in business. Another wants it so it Read More
Beyond Our Borders
I’d like to cap off 2015 with a short note about a big topic: our place in the international community.
