September 30, 2019
As September comes to a close, here are a few highlights from recent stories about Maine’s environment in the news.
Timber company dropping hotly contested Moosehead development plan
The timberland company Weyerhaeuser is asking to terminate a massive rezoning plan for the Moosehead Lake region that was the focus of years of debate and regulatory battles over development in Maine’s North Woods.
NRCM provided comment in this story about the lands in the Moosehead region that were at the center of a controversy involving Plum Creek Real Estate Investment Trust. NRCM worked hard to stop the company’s massive proposal on lands now owned by Weyehaeuser:
“…it does not surprise us that Weyerhaeuser does not see a realistic prospect for developing nearly 1,000 housing units and two resorts in the Moosehead Region, as allowed by the plan,” Pete Didisheim, advocacy director for the council, said in a statement. “NRCM has long believed that Plum Creek’s sprawling build-out scenario was out of touch with the realities of the real estate market in that region. This was true well before the 2008 and 2009 recession and is still true today.”
Gov. Mills wants Maine carbon-neutral by 2045. What will that take?
Gov. Janet Mills made a surprise announcement when she addressed world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit last week: She had issued an executive order pledging that Maine will be carbon-neutral by 2045. Read more.
Climate change is already happening and it’s worse than predicted
Much of the attention around the recent United Nations climate summit focused on what was said by politicians and activists, especially by young climate crusader Greta Thunberg. Not enough attention was paid to new scientific findings that the consequences of climate change are already worse than expected, and that the change is occurring faster than predicted. Read full story.
A Crab shell sighting at Acadia is more evidence of a ‘ticking time bomb’ on Maine’s coast
A discovery last week shows that another invasive aquatic species is continuing to take hold along the Maine coast, a development that could spell trouble for some native species on which fishermen depend. According to officials at Acadia National Park, a molted shell of an Asian shore crab was found along the shore near Schoodic Point on Sept. 19. A middle school student found the discarded shell while participating in a Schoodic Education Adventure program at the Schoodic Institute, a research and education facility located at a former Navy base on the eastern side of Frenchman Bay. Read full story.
Thanks to all who attended our event, which was featured by WGME TV:
Electric car show sparks interest in green energy
The event was sponsored by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and included free test drives of a variety of different vehicles. “We’re very excited at how many new models are coming out,” Dylan Voorhees said, clean energy director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “Just here today, there’s a Hundai model, Chevrolet, Nissan.. every month it seems like a new model comes out.” Read full story.
This good-news story in the Times Record mentions Recycling Reform and quotes from our web page:
Faced with mounting recycling costs, committee recommends Brunswick launch public information campaign
Three months after the town tasked the Recycling and Sustainability Committee with finding a solution for Brunswick’s mounting recycling costs, the committee presented a recommendation to the town council: Keep doing what you’re doing, but do it smarter. Read full story.
Here’s a news story about a town tackling food waste and mentions our work:
New law to reduce food waste in Maine schools
Primary schools, secondary schools, and universities consistently deal with managing food waste. And as their cafeteria staff prepare meals each day, students are likely to waste more than seven million pounds of food every year, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine. However, a new law passed in June may reduce that figure. Read full story.
