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The nation’s energy policies have a tremendous impact on the health of Maine people and environment. NRCM works hard for federal initiatives that put the health of our environment and children first. In-Depth Description

In-Depth Description

Maine people suffer when the federal government gives in to pressure from corporations driven by profits and whose cost cutting means greater pollution being released into the environment. Our lakes, ponds, and streams—and the wildlife that depend upon them—are heavily contaminated by mercury spewed into the air from power plants located in the Midwest and elsewhere. As a result, Maine people are warned to limit consumption of fish, a basic natural resource.

NRCM’s federal energy work is the result of threats to the health of Maine’s environment and people because of irresponsible federal energy policies. Maine has among the highest asthma rates in the country, including that of childhood asthma. We also have seen an increase in “bad air days;” rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities, and growing threats to our fall foliage, skiing, and other vital tourism-based industry. These trends are closely tied to global warming, which is happening at an alarming pace due to the nation’s reliance of fossil fuels.

The threats to Maine’s way of life from bad federal energy policies don’t stop with pollution. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling will not only spoil one of our nation’s treasure, it will open the door for oil exploration elsewhere, including Maine’s own Georges Bank, a prime fisheries resource.

NRCM works closely with allied groups for policies that make sense for the people of this country and the people of Maine. We provide vital information to Maine’s Congressional delegation so that they can vote to protect the people of Maine from policies that pollute and put our health, and our way of life, at risk.