The Natural Resources Council of Maine’s Media Relations & Advocacy Communications Director Colin Durrant shares his thoughts on the latest news related to Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife each week. Here are this week’s stories: April 22, 2020 Earth Day The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day of course garnered a lot of media coverage, Read More
Cleaner Cars
Trump Moves to Block States’ Rights to Set Clean Car Standards
NRCM News Release September 18, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – President Trump announced today he will attempt to block states, including Maine and a dozen others, which have adopted higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. The move is a desperate attempt to roll back clean car standards which are supported by the automobile industry Read More
New Survey: Maine Electric Car Owners Love Their Cars, Save Money on Fuel
Next steps: Get the word out, add charging stations NRCM News Release Today the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) released the results of its second comprehensive survey of Maine’s registered electric car owners. The survey was mailed to every electric car owner in Maine –1,300 of them – an impressive 33% of them responded. Read More
Rolling Back Fuel Economy Standards Bad for Our Health and Environment
Bangor Daily News editorial Last week, the Trump administration took steps to weaken vehicle fuel economy standards and moved to revoke California’s authority to set standards that are higher than federal requirements. Thirteen states, including Maine, follow the higher California standards. Both moves are unnecessary and, if fully implemented, would harm the health of many Read More
E.P.A. Takes a Major Step to Roll Back Clean Car Rules
By Coral Davenport New York Times news story WASHINGTON — The Trump administration took a major step toward dramatically weakening an Obama-era rule designed to cut pollution from vehicle tailpipes, setting the stage for a legal clash with California that could potentially split the nation’s auto market in two. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday Read More
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s Reversal of Federal Clean Car Standards Harms Health of Maine Air, People
Augusta – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has indicated his intent to deem America’s cleaner car standards “inappropriate,” reversing the agency’s previous determination that they should continue as planned. The standards require increasingly less-polluting cars for model years 2022-2025 and were adopted with support of automakers and after intensive analysis. “With this cleaner Read More
Should Hybrid Owners Pay More for Highways?
The proposed tax would be $150 a year on hybrids and $250 on electrics. by Don Carrigan NewscenterMaine news story AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Legislators may be hearing some tough talk from their energy-conscious constituents. The LePage administration is proposing a special tax on hybrid and electric vehicles, to raise more money for repairing Read More
LePage-backed Bill would Slap Extra Annual Fee on Electric, Hybrid Cars
The transportation department says owners don’t pay enough gas taxes to the highway maintenance fund, but environmental groups and drivers say the state should find another way to fill the gap. by Peter McGuide, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The LePage administration is proposing to make it more expensive to own a hybrid Read More
More Maine Companies Explore Car-charging Stations for Employee Use
As more people drive electric vehicles, a charging station at work can attract or retain employees. By Tux Turkel, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story BRUNSWICK — As global car makers ramp up production of vehicles that run on electricity, some employers are considering installing charging stations as a way to attract and retain Read More
