By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Southwest Harbor is the latest town in Maine to adopt a ban on the distribution of single-use plastic bags by local retailers. The Mount Desert Island town held a special town meeting on Tuesday, a week after the statewide midterm elections, to consider whether to Read More
Profits, Not Climate Benefits, are Driving CMP Transmission Proposal
The utility’s transmission line will harm Maine’s environment, economy and way of life – and will do nothing to reduce climate-disrupting pollution. by Dylan Voorhees, climate and clean energy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine Portland Press Herald op-ed AUGUSTA — Climate disruption is the most serious threat to the environment in Maine, Read More
NRCM Dip & Dash Turns into Mountain Biking Adventure
There are so many great reasons to participate in the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s annual Polar Bear Dip and Dash: All of the money raised supports NRCM’s work on clean and renewable energy and reducing climate change pollution. Physical activity is good for your health. So, a nice brisk 5K around Back Cove in Read More
Maine School Cafeterias Reducing Plastic Pollution and Waste
We are all familiar with the challenges of using plastic cutlery. These utensils notoriously fail at the only task they are made for: cutting and picking up food. In addition, they create a lot of single-use trash, are not recyclable, and there are reusable options. In recent years, schools have brought plastic cutlery into lunchrooms. Read More
Start Listening, Folks: All-out Effort Needed to Prevent Climate Disaster
Our nation has made dramatic societal transformations in short periods of time when a dire situation, like global warming, has called for it. By Joe Hardy of Wells, a retired environmental educator, consultant and mediator Portland Press Herald op-ed WELLS — The recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was stunning in Read More
My Maine This Week: Kittery by Betty Olivolo
NRCM supporter Betty Olivolo of Kittery, Maine shares some beautiful photographs from her town in this week’s My Maine This Week. Thank you, Betty! Do you have beautiful photos of Maine’s wildlife or scenic Maine landscapes to share? If so, please send them to us at nrcm@nrcm.org. To learn more about how to submit your photos, Read More
Waterville Approves Plastic Bag Ban by Fewer than 150 Votes
The City Council had overriden Mayor Nick Isgro’s veto of its vote to let voters decide whether to ban plastic bags, a proposal initiated by the Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition. by Amy Calder, Staff Writer Central Maine Newspapers news story WATERVILLE — Voters on Tuesday approved a proposal to prohibit larger retail and commercial businesses from dispensing Read More
Maine DEP Calls CMP’s Transmission Line Application “Insufficient” and “Incomplete”
CMP’s Habit of Incomplete Filings Raise Serious Questions Statement of Sue Ely, Clean Energy Attorney, Natural Resources Council of Maine “Today, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), notified CMP that its application to build a massive 145-mile-long transmission line through Maine is still incomplete. The DEP said it cannot move forward with evaluating its Read More
PUC Won’t Decide CMP’s $950M Transmission Line Project until March
by Staff Mainebiz news story The three-member Maine Public Utilities Commission issued an order on Friday that extends its review of Central Maine Power’s $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line project into next year. In their procedural order — which follows an Oct. 26 order suspending three hearings originally scheduled to be Read More