Transparency is the enemy of the plastic packaging industry. In the 1980s, Big Oil (aka the plastics industry) began to purposefully lie about the recyclability of plastic so they could keep making and selling more plastic, and it worked. Plastic production has exponentially increased, and recycling rates for plastic have never exceeded the single digits. Read More
fossil fuels
LD 894, An Act to Preserve Heating and Energy Choice by Prohibiting a Municipality from Prohibiting a Particular Energy System or Energy Distributor
Testimony in Opposition to LD 894, An Act to Preserve Heating and Energy Choice by Prohibiting a Municipality from Prohibiting a Particular Energy System or Energy Distributor Senator Nangle, Representative Stover, and members of the Joint Committee on State and Local Government, my name is Jack Shapiro. I am the Climate and Clean Energy Director Read More
New Bill Could Block Clean Energy Progress
This week, the Legislature will consider a fossil fuel pre-emption bill that would strip Maine’s communities of their ability to set policies that improve health, lower energy costs for residents, and tackle climate change with the urgency it requires. This bill would set back the progress we’ve made in creating new jobs from the state’s Read More
LD 71, Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Chapter 171: Control of Petroleum Storage Facilities
Testimony In Support of LD 71, Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Chapter 171: Control of Petroleum Storage Facilities, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Environmental Protection. Senator Brenner, Representative Gramlich, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Todd Martin. I am the Director of NRCM Read More
More Pollution-free Electric School Buses Coming to Maine
Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that school districts across Maine have been awarded funding from the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to purchase 34 new zero-emission electric school buses. This news comes just a year after Maine debuted its first electric school bus at Mount Desert Island High School, a bus Read More
What I Learned from Installing Wood Heat
A couple years ago my husband and I moved into a home that, like 60% of houses here in Maine, burns oil for heat. When we were ready to switch to an alternative heating system, we knew we would be looking for options that helped move us away from fossil fuels, weren’t going to break Read More
Why Are My Energy Bills So High? It’s Because of Fossil Fuels.
Since the fall, we’ve seen the consequences of our continued dependence on oil and gas here in Maine: Heating oil and utility gas prices have spiked, becoming unaffordable for too many Maine people. The New England grid’s reliance on expensive natural gas caused electricity prices to nearly double this winter. And now Putin’s war in Read More
Why Increasing Housing Opportunities is Good for the Climate
Close your eyes, and think about what climate and clean energy policy looks like. When we picture climate action, we often think of things like solar panels or electric vehicles. Rightly so, since clean energy and electrifying our transportation system are critically important to hitting our climate goals. But climate action goes way beyond wind Read More
Tank Farm Emissions Unseen Neighborhood Hazard
My quiet, tree-lined neighborhood in South Portland is called Pleasantdale. But the toxic stench from nearby petroleum tank farms frequently makes our neighborhood decidedly unpleasant. I can step out my door on a beautiful day – be it spring, summer, fall, or winter – and instead of fresh air, get a lungful of what smells Read More
