Articles
How mourning doves, feral cats and wind turbines are related
Ever since a dear friend and neighbor gave us a large pussy willow wreath some years ago, we have hung it on our front door each April to remind us that the exasperatingly halting pace of Maine’s northern spring will one day bring forth new growth. The wreath is a large but delicate piece, and
The politics of climate–pay attention to the PUC
Earlier this month, the Inter-Governmental panel on Climate Change released a series of reports on the state of the world’s changing climate (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/). Perhaps the most notable thrust of these reports, which were compiled from over 9,200 peer-reviewed studies reviewed and debated by 831 lead authors and editors, was the effort to move beyond the
Maine is for… maniacs?
Virginia is for lovers. Now there’s a state slogan that works its magic to lure tourists. “Live Free or Die” is in another category altogether—a state slogan with attitude. There is even a state with the slogan, “Great Potatoes,” which I am happy to report is not the Pine Tree state’s slogan, not that we
Aquaculture soothes a crisis and makes a comeback
With international crises dominating news headlines lately, perhaps we should revisit a recent international crisis that was smoothed over with some smoked trout from Maine. We are speaking about the crisis of French President Francoise Hollande’s visit to Washington in February. The question of great pith and moment then was whether Hollande would bring his
Poking the climate beast–scientific doubt and certainty
When President Obama visited drought-stricken California a few weeks ago, he suggested, “A changing climate means that weather-related disasters like droughts, wildfires, storms, floods are potentially going to be costlier and they’re going to be harsher.” Obama’s California visit provoked furious criticism from his political opponents like Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of Fresno who said,
Keystone pipeline decision kinked by politics
Last week, the State Department released its final report on the environmental impacts of the Keystone Pipeline amid intense media coverage. The reason many people in Maine are paying attention to how the Keystone decision plays out is that if this $7 billion pipeline project is approved, the immediate likelihood that the Portland pipeline will
Growing a taste for yellow tail
PORT CLYDE — Last week, a pick up truck backed up to Port Clyde Fresh Catch’s processing facility where a group of students from the Herring Gut Learning Center eagerly waited. In the back of the truck were the 150 pounds of just-harvested California yellowtail or amberjack, which the students were ready to unload. California
How much natural gas is enough?
Oh, to be in the fuel oil or propane business these days (!), I think to myself every time I hear the boiler in the basement ignite with a shudder or listen to the whoosh of the blue enamel propane heater in our drafty kitchen. Of course, I realize it is no fun delivering fossil
It was so cold, I almost got weird
OK, time to talk to the weatherman. As in what the freak is going on? As in how do we go from wind-lashed, never-before-recorded sub zero temperatures and then rubber band to mild sunny days with gentle zephyrs bathing us in warmth? As in why did we spread a month’s worth of sand and salt
Environmental year in review: ‘The future doesn’t vote’
The poet T.S. Eliot described our desire to squeeze the universe into a ball and roll it toward some overwhelming question. And though Eliot was writing about love and not year-end thoughts, many of us are tempted to try to squeeze the universe into a ball as the calendar turns. So let us pause to