http://www.nrcm.org/rss.asp?f=5 NRCM Washington Watch bdimond@nrcm.orgFri, 03 Sep 2010 03:19:50 EDTFuzzyRSS 1.0.1 http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3796I am a small-business owner, the kind you often hear discussed among policy makers. I work hard and employ three people. It has enabled me to buy and sell one house and to build and sell another. I built my shop. I established my business by caring for my employees and my community.I want my business to thrive for two inseparable reasons — to earn a decent living and to build my community. I...bdimond@nrcm.orgSat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3778Not long after the U.S. Senate decided not to pursue clean energy legislation, the National Wildlife Federation has released a report suggesting that this summer's hot weather may be a precurser of things to come. Pete Didsheim is advocacy director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the NWF's state affiliate organization. "Our concern here in maine is that these hot days are ...bdimond@nrcm.orgThu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3774As temperatures break records across the U.S. and around the world, a new analysis by the National Wildlife Federation suggests that this summer’s heat waves may provide a window on what the future will look like as a result of global warming. The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) released the report today as NWF’s state affiliate organization. Unless action is taken to reduce ...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3771Recently, I joined Maine constituents in Washington, D.C., to encourage Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to take action on clean energy and climate change legislation this summer. We were joined by hundreds of people from across the United States, including leaders from the business, labor, faith, national security, environmental and sportsmen communities. Our collective message to all senato...bdimond@nrcm.orgSat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3767ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine — In a thick fog and light drizzle, representatives from a handful of environmental and health advocacy organizations held a press conference Tuesday at the summit of Cadillac Mountain to draw attention to the issue of air quality.They urged members of Maine’s congressional delegation, particularly Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to support federal cl...bdimond@nrcm.orgFri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3762The Senate, for a variety of reasons that can be pinned on both political parties, failed to move ahead with energy legislation to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, which is bad for the economy, the environment and national security. It can’t compound this mistake by punting on a needed update to oil and gas drilling and spill regulations.After pulling the plug ...bdimond@nrcm.orgTue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3760Save In 1989 and 1990, two of the hottest summers in Washington on record finally broke a congressional logjam and led to passage of a new Clean Air Act. Maine’s Sen. George Mitchell, who was the principal author, later observed that the heat had helped win over a number of reluctant colleagues.Twenty years later, we have had not only a mammoth oil spill, but what looks to be the hottest sum...bdimond@nrcm.orgSun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3757CUMBERLAND - The story is always the same, whether I'm talking to a small business owner, a middle-class family, a low-income single parent or the shareholders of one of Maine's larger corporations:Our families, our businesses, and our state economy are all struggling to make ends meet under the heavy burden of high health care costs.While there are many approaches that could potentially ease the ...bdimond@nrcm.orgSat, 31 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3751There is plenty of blame to go around for the failure of a much-needed comprehensive energy bill in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid is more concerned about his re-election than legislation to reduce America’s dependence on oil from volatile and hostile parts of the world. Republicans are more interested in defeating Democratic ideas than providing businesses with a predictable energy ...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3749 "Climate change exacerbates extreme world poverty and poverty is hastening global warming. Poverty begets climate change and vice versa; it threatens the future of all people, rich and poor alike. The poverty cycle driven by climate change will only add to political instability, social violence, and war. (And) our own domestic tranquility and security are intimately tied to the well...bdimond@nrcm.orgMon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT