After the recent wild infatuation with local foods, the idea of eating locally (and sustainably) is, not surprisingly, now subject to some critical comment. Some people question what is really more environmentally helpful, cost-effective and low on food mileage-food from a radius close to home or from across the continent? This is a good question
Fathoming: Tiny plankton, big problems
This article is made possible, in part, by funds from Maine Sea Grant and the Oak Foundation. Summer is just around the corner, and that has clammers, shellfish growers and seafood-shack proprietors worried about red tide. Meanwhile, offshore in the Gulf of Maine, teams of scientists are working around the clock, collecting water samples from
Island students enthralled by Rossini’s classic opera
Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, who began attending the opera with parents at a young age, the love of opera is being passed on to island children. For more than a dozen years, the Island Institute has coordinated the logistics involved in providing the opportunity for island students, teachers and parents to attend
Mighty women abound in Washington County
Coverage of Washington County is made possible by a grant from the Eaton Foundation. Ten days before last Christmas, Rhonda French of Jonesport had a Dickensesque problem. Each year, French runs an organization that provides Christmas gifts for needy children in Washington County called “Let’s All Have a Merrier Christmas.” Normally, she would have her
After delays, work underway on access for Chebeague ferry landing
For years, access to the Cousins Island wharf in Yarmouth, the landing site for the Chebeague Transportation Company ferry, has been difficult, plagued by a steep, narrow road with poor visibility. The road can barely accommodate a shuttle bus and a few cars. In winter, the incline is often icy, making vehicle and passenger travel
Lubec inn combines hospitality with working waterfront
The east coast is dotted with decrepit vestiges of its once-vast industrial base, including shuttered former seafood-processing plants. Few visitors can expect cozy couches and spacious kitchens when they pick through the rubble of the industrial revolution. But the experience at the Inn at the Wharf in Lubec is different, enough so that it’s good
Venturing: Drink Up!
ORANJESTAD, ARUBA -It’s fitting that this island community’s electricity and water plants are next door to one another. Pipes bring seawater into an oil-fired generating station where it’s boiled and converted to steam to run electrical turbines. Cooled, re-liquefied without its salt content and then filtered through coral sand, the steam becomes fresh water that’s
Modern technology used to save designs of old boats
Despite great interest in wood boatbuilding as a form of craftsmanship, it’s a sad fact that the number of older boats, including many built of wood, is declining as these vessels age or fall into disuse. Relatively few classic yachts, old workboats and small craft are preserved, sometimes by conversion to new uses; most older
Retired Nova Scotian teacher becomes lobster historian
Any fears Donnie Jacquard may have had about the success of his book on southwest Nova Scotia’s lobster fishery melted away when a particular fisherman he thought might not like it told him, “Donnie, that’s the most wonderful thing anybody has ever done for us. Every time I read your book, I cry.” The book
Memories of childhood summers on Isle au Haut
“My grandmother grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and read me The Articles of War,” says Charlie Bowen, 82, of the first time he stepped foot on Isle au Haut in 1937. Beatrice Hamilton Bowen then proceeded to list her 9-year-old grandson’s long list of duties. According to Bowen, his grandmother was one