Senator Brownie Carson, Chair Representative Ralph Tucker, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Climate & Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM strongly supports this framework legislation, which we view as essential to tackling climate change in the Read More
Climate Change
Climate change and global warming pollution harm Maine people, wildlife, and our environment. Global warming, also known as climate change, is caused by a blanket of pollution that traps heat around the earth. This pollution comes from cars, factories, homes, and power plants that burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal, natural gas, and gasoline.
Climate-changing pollution knows no boundaries. It enters the atmosphere, spreads across the globe, and traps heat around the earth for 50-200 years after it is emitted. That is why we need to reduce global warming pollution now, because our children, and their children, will still feel the effects of global warming for years to come. Currently, the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are at their highest levels in hundreds of thousands of years.
Learn how you can reduce climate-changing pollution and advocate for a cleaner, healthier Maine.
Mills Sets Goal to Fight Climate Change: 100% Renewable Electricity by 2050
Outlining an ambitious agenda for Maine, she joins a coalition of governors who embrace the aims of the Paris accord. By Kevin Miller, Portland Press Herald AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills outlined an extensive climate agenda on Thursday, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, work toward 100 percent renewable electricity generation and to work with Read More
Support of LD 563, An Act to Help Municipalities Prepare for Changes in Sea Level
Senator Ned Claxton, Chair Representative Ronald Martin, Chair Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Climate & Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. We support this common-sense legislation, which would integrate critical Read More
By Supporting CMP Power Line, Mills Undercuts Efforts to Fight Climate Change
No supposed benefit offered by the utility is worth the damage that dirty power from Quebec will do to our environment. By Jonathan Carter, director of the Forest Ecology Network in Lexington Township Portland Press Herald op-ed LEXINGTON TOWNSHIP — What a total disappointment that the administration of Janet Mills has opted to follow the Read More
Mills Pulls Maine Out of Offshore Oil and Gas Group
Former Gov. Paul LePage joined the group in 2015 and was the only New England governor in the coalition, staffed by oil and gas lobbyists. by Scott Thistle, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills said Monday that Maine will no longer participate in the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition, Read More
Moving Ahead on Climate and Clean Energy at the Maine State House
The legislative session is underway in Augusta, with continuing bipartisan support for action on clean energy and climate change. We are finally poised to make important strides on policies that reduce pollution; lower energy costs; and create a stronger, more sustainable economy for all Mainers. To do so, Maine people will need to stay engaged Read More
Portland Students are Rising Up on Behalf of Solar Energy
Kids understand the urgency of taking action, and they are ready to be heard by adults. by Siri Pierce of Portland, a Casco Bay High School junior and an organizer of SolaRISE Portland, a collaboration among student leaders, residents and educators to promote environmental stewardship. Portland Press Herald op-ed Kids are used to adults not Read More
Climate Change Calls for Immediate Action on the Part of Maine Officials
Eight years of denial have only made it harder to prevent catastrophic loss. Portland Press Herald editorial Back in 2010, the state Department of Environmental Protection completed a report on the kind of risks Maine faced as a result of climate change. Although it contained 60 recommendations, it was not a climate response plan. It Read More
Sea-level Rise Hurting Maine’s Waterfront Real Estate Values
A study released this week show Maine lost about $70 million in appreciated waterfront property values from 2005 to 2017. By Eric Russell and Kevin Miller, Staff Writers Portland Press Herald news story Increased tidal flooding caused by sea level rise has contributed to a loss of $70 million in the appreciation of waterfront real estate Read More
