Senator Lawrence, Representative Berry, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology, my name is Rebecca Schultz. I am the Senior Advocate for Climate and Clean Energy for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am testifying in support of LD 1959, with suggested changes to strengthen the legislation. We believe Read More
It All Boils Down to Climate Change
Maine winters are long. The sweetest light at the end of the tunnel for some is sugaring season, that short stretch of time just before spring when the winter temps rise to above freezing during the day and into the 20s at night, and the sap flows from the maple trees. Since 2017, my husband Read More
My Maine This Week: Dark-eyed Junco by Richard Flanagan
NRCM member and frequent My Maine This Week photographer Richard Flanagan of Fairfield, Maine, captions this photo as: “Not Too Long Till Spring? Ha!” Richard saw this Dark-eyed Junco outside his sunroom window (on a less than sunny day!) recently. With many Maine towns getting several snowstorms in a row in February, it does feel Read More
Debunking Claims Made by Companies Profiting Off Maine’s Out-of-state Waste Loophole
This legislative session, a bill (LD 1639) that would close Maine’s out-of-state waste loophole is gaining momentum. You see, Maine’s State-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) was never supposed to accept out-of-state waste, and there is no good reason why it should. The State purchased the landfill to provide disposal capacity for Mainers’ waste, not the Read More
My Maine This Week: Linda Woods
Frequent My Maine This Week photographer and longtime NRCM member Linda Woods of Waterville, Maine, shares this incredible photo taken recently from mid-ice on Pattee’s Pond in Winslow. She writes, “It is my first decent shot of a sundog. Certainly an indicator that a big storm was on the way. The next day we got Read More
The Time is Now for Tribal Sovereignty
The time is now to heal and fix how Maine interacts with the Wabanaki Nations that have existed in our homeland for thousands of years before Maine was a state or the United States of America was a country. The 1980 Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement and Implementing Acts have set up an environment of Read More
Critter Chatter – Who IS Punxsutawney Phil?
After reading Roland Hallee’s recent column about his groundhog buddy, Woodrow Charles, and his prediction of six more weeks of winter, I wondered if the Cotes have had many groundhog visitors over the years. I found an article Carleen wrote in 1997, so I thought I’d share some of it: “As their name implies, woodchucks Read More
Role of Maine’s Ecological Reserves More Critical Than Ever
Did you know that the Mahoosuc ecological reserve is one of only a few places in Maine where Cutler’s goldenrod occurs? This delicate yellow flower is endemic to a naturally scarce habitat type. It is also one of many powerful messengers demonstrating why Maine’s ecological reserve system is so vitally important—and should be expanded. Maine’s Read More
NRCM Improves Its Environmental Investment
One of NRCM’s goals has always been to embed our mission of protecting the nature of Maine into the way we operate the organization. For example, several years ago we installed solar panels on the roof of our Augusta office. Now, after a very comprehensive search involving many interviews and 10 different companies offering a Read More
