by Abigail Curtis, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BELFAST, Maine — Belfast residents likely have gotten used to the array of solar panels that sits atop the Belfast Fire Station, generating electricity there since January to help offset the city’s massive electric bill. Now there’s an addition proposed to Belfast’s solar capacity: a Read More
climate change
Obama’s Plan to Slow Climate Change Earns Mixed Reviews in Maine
By Christopher Cousins, staff writer Bangor Daily News AUGUSTA, Maine — Reactions to President Barack Obama’s ambitious and sweeping climate change announcement on Monday were hot and cold among environmentalists, energy experts and members of Maine’s congressional delegation. While some said that the package disproportionately benefits Maine and the other New England states where heating Read More
Maine Climate, Energy, Economy Experts Voice Support for Clean Power Plan
News release Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Clean Power Plan to combat climate change. In response, Maine experts in climate, energy, and the economy, voiced their support for the plan on a telephone briefing, and called on local, state, and national leaders to do the same. They explained why the Clean Read More
Why There’s Cause for Concern with Maine’s Water Supply
By Mario Tesil and Kate Warner Bangor Daily News oped As other regions of the country struggle to find adequate supplies of clean water, Maine has abundant, and comparatively clean, water resources. Maine’s water is approximately 20 percent to 60 percent cleaner than lakes and streams in the rest of the United States, according to Read More
Legislature Blocked Several Measures that would Have Hurt Progress on Climate Change
By Tom Tietenberg Kennebec Journal op-ed Several recent reports, coming from very different perspectives, have made a strong case for the world to take action to diminish the risks posed by climate change. These include the papal encyclical, which makes the moral case; a recent EPA report, which quantifies the economic case; and the report Read More
Winslow Ordinance Could Open Door for State’s Largest Solar Farm
Ranger Solar in Yarmouth weighs a plan that could cost $25 million and take up 100 acres, but requires zoning regulation changes. By Peter McGuire, Central Maine Portland Press Herald news story WINSLOW — The town is set to begin drafting regulations that could pave the way for a solar farm potentially 20 times bigger Read More
Solar Power Project to Cut Electric Bill at Camden High School
by Stephen Betts, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story ROCKPORT, Maine — The Five-Town Community School District Board approved Wednesday night a solar power project for the high school that will continue to reduce the electrical costs for the complex. Facilities Director Keith Rose said the goal of students is for Camden Hills Regional Read More
Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Climate Change: Guided by Morality, Backed by Science
“In this encyclical,” Pope Francis writes, “I intend especially to engage in a dialogue with everyone about our common home.” As a Catholic, it’s exciting for me to see Pope Francis putting climate change at the top of the Church’s agenda. Climate change has disastrous implications for our common home—God’s creation—and for the world’s poor. Read More
6 Species that Could Disappear from Maine Within the Next Generation
By Seth Koenig Bangor Daily News column In 2011, the journal Science published a groundbreaking study that tracked the recent habitat shifts of nearly 1,400 animals, plants and insects, and the results were striking. Researchers found that the species were moving away from the equator and into higher elevations two to three times as fast Read More
