NRCM Blog

Timing, Commitment, and the Need to Stay Involved

“Timing is everything” or so the expression goes. I’m not sure where this bit of wisdom originated from, but it rings true today. Allow me to reflect once more on the Polar Dip and Dash from New Year’s Eve 2011 and how lucky I was with timing. On the day of the Dip and Dash, it was a balmy 30+ degrees. Now, two weeks later as I type this, it is -2 degrees outside. I feel very lucky with my timing! Even if the temperature had been hovering below 0, I was committed to going in no matter what. There is no turning back once the gun has sounded and you’re facing the ocean!

Enough with metaphors, but timing and commitment remain relevant and are resonating right now. NRCM’s first board meeting of 2012 took place on January 17, and one of our big agenda items was to finalize and approve our strategic plan. This document, produced by the staff and board after hours of productive meetings, began last summer. The final document will be our compass now through 2014. All staff departments and the board have set goals, strategies to achieve them, and benchmarks to measure our success. As supporters of NRCM, you should be proud, as these goals are ambitious but achievable if we all pitch in and take our personal commitment up a notch (or two).

Speaking of pitching in, I had the pleasure of collecting signatures for the Clean Energy ballot initiative. NRCM is part of a coalition that has made it a priority to get this initiative onto the November 2012 state ballot and then working hard to ensure its passage.  The governor has already come out against it, asking Maine citizens not to sign the petition. However, Maine people think for themselves, as my experience collecting signatures proved, with 100% of those I asked eager to sign on. In fact, many were dismayed that the renewable portfolio mix for 2020 was only 20%.

Remember in my December blog, how I discussed testifying at the BEP hearing on “moderate value” wading and shorebird habitat? Compelling testimony given that day by NRCM’s Nick Bennett encouraged BEP to seek further comment by wildlife biologists, and the outcome was a win for the environment, Maine’s wildlife, and all who appreciate the importance of protecting this valuable habitat. Strong work, Nick. 

The last bit of news is from Maine Superior Court. I attended the appeal of the court’s previous decision to remand back to LURC its decision on Plum Creek. Although the arguments can sound arcane to those of us not fluent in “legalese,” our attorney Russ Pierce again made a clear, logical case for sustaining the Superior Court’s initial decision. The court’s final answer is expected sometime this summer.

Finally, I want to alert you to an important date, Tuesday, Feb. 28th, which is NRCM Citizen Action Day. This is your chance to be briefed first-hand by NRCM’s experts, get a primer in citizen lobbying, and head to the State House for some persuasive conversation with your legislators.  It is a privilege and honor to serve you and our great state. I hope to meet as many of you there as possible.

Learn more:

Maine Citizens for Clean Energy Expects Lower Electricity Costs with Ballot Initiative

Maine High Court Hears Arguments in Plum Creek Development Case

NRCM Polar Dip and Dash Slideshow

Tony Owens, MD
NRCM Board President

Weathering the Storm and a Dip in the Icy Atlantic

Having survived (can I say “enjoyed?”) NRCM’s New Year’s Eve day Polar Bear Dip & Dash and welcoming in the New Year with a sunrise walk with the dog through the Spurwink Marsh, I feel like I am entering 2012 with a good reserve of energy and optimism. Looks like we will all need lots of both. Before I go further, let me thank all those runners and dippers who joined us for the Dip and Dash (that's me in the middle, with NRCM Board Treasurer Chris Bond and Executive Director Lisa Pohlmann). Record numbers and lots of enthusiasm—put it on your calendar for December 31, 2012, bring an old pair of sneakers, and the rest is easy.

No sooner had I submitted a letter-to-the-editor of the Portland Press Herald praising the EPA and our Congressional delegation for finally enacting strong controls on mercury than our governor’s administration garners front-page attention by stating it costs $6,000 to keep a pound of mercury out of our environment. This mercury, if not reclaimed, could end up in our land, or water, or head to be burned in an incinerator and become airborne.

Our long-standing commitment to the North Woods faces another key test January 10th when the Superior Court hears oral arguments on our Plum Creek appeal. Remember, we appealed the initial LURC decision based on two key areas. First, was the issue of “paid mitigation,” an oxymoron if there ever was one. Plum Creek was reimbursed for conservation that they were required to provide to offset the damage that would result if the company’s  massive Moosehead development becomes reality. Second was the impropriety of LURC commissioners voting to approve Plum Creek’s revamped development application without proper and required public input. We won our appeal, and this most recent court appearance is the appeal of that decision. Our attorney, Russ Pierce, has done great work throughout this process and will be representing us.

I’d like to end with a sincere thanks to you all for your loyalty to and generous financial support of NRCM. You have helped us weather the “perfect storm” of challenges, continued economic recession, a transition at the senior leadership position, and a hostile state administration and Legislature. To have faced those challenges and emerged in our current strong position is really a testament to your commitment to protecting the nature of the state we love. Full speed ahead.

Tony Owens, MD
NRCM Board President

Recalling the Cold Sledgehammer: NRCM’s Polar Dip and Dash

By Jeff Wells

I have felt the cold sledgehammer of ice water closing in on my head before—that’s what it felt like to me when I plunged under the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean at Portland’s East End Beach during the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s (NRCM’s) Polar Plunge in 2009. That was a special occasion; I was participating as a way to celebrate NRCM’s 50th anniversary. I didn’t really think I might do it again.

Fast forward to 2011. With December 31st—New Year’s Eve—almost upon us, I have pushed aside my memory of that first polar plunge and am getting myself mentally ready for another dive into the waters off Maine’s coast, for NRCM’s Polar Dip and Dash.

I will heave my protesting body into the frigid Atlantic for three main reasons:

1) To raise money for a great organization—the Natural Resources Council of Maine—that is leading efforts to protect Maine’s air, water, and lands for future generations.

2) To help increase awareness about what is arguably the most urgent environmental issue of our time: global climate change. With so much coastline, Maine is especially vulnerable to the sea-level rise that is inevitable unless we take action quickly to address climate change.

3) It’s a wild and crazy thing to do! No wonder it’s on so many bucket lists! It’s also the kind of thing you can do regardless of age. In fact, why not make it a family event this year?

In fact, I believe so much in the importance of this event that I’m not only participating, I’m helping promote it! This morning, my thirteen-year-old niece Kerry and I were guests on Fox TV’s “Good Day Maine” show. Kerry will be joining this year for the plunge, and we had fun sharing our excitement about the event with viewers of this live television show. You can watch the short segment here —hopefully, it will inspire you, if you are not already convinced!

Please join me in taking part in NRCM’s Polar Dip and Dash. You can do just the dash (a 5k run or walk from Portland’s Back Bay parking lot to East End Beach) or just the dip (the plunge into the waters at East End Beach) or both. Visit the NRCM website for more details, including registration.

Come join me and all the others who will be jumping into the water on Saturday! What a way to kick off a New Year!

Dr. Jeffrey Wells, a birder and scientist, is a Visiting Fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who works from a satellite office in Maine. He is the author of Birder’s Conservation Handbook and Boreal Birds of North America.

Mean Mr. Grinch Thwarted this Holiday Season

On a recent blustery winter day, I found myself skulking and slinking around Portland’s Monument Square dressed as Dr. Seuss’ the Grinch. Sporting a three-piece, pinstriped suit and hauling bags of dirty coal over my shoulder, I spread holiday fear wherever I went. But why, you ask? I have never considered myself a Grinch by any means, especially during the holiday season. I love all that this time of year offers, especially here in Maine. I enjoy the powdery snow that blankets our rolling hills, skating on frozen ponds, and breathing the crisp, clean air. So why the Grinch outfit, you ask?

I was acting in a fun street theater performance co-sponsored by NRCM applauding new standards that will clean up Maine’s air! Thanks to new standards issued by the EPA regulating air emission of mercury, arsenic, nickel, selenium, and cyanide from the nation’s dirtiest power plants, Mainers can all breathe a bit easier this holiday season! The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will slash domestic mercury air emissions by 90 percent by requiring all power plants to utilize existing pollution abatement technology.

To raise awareness about this important new public health safeguard, we pitted the Grinch (think dirty coal-fired power plants) against Santa Claus (think EPA) in a street theater performance. As Santa stuffed Maine’s Christmas stocking with presents representing clean air, safe children, and healthy wildlife, the Grinch tried to put dirty coal in Maine’s stocking. Thanks to the EPA’s new rules, I think we all know how that turned out.

The EPA estimates that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will prevent 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year in the United States. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms. This is especially good news for Maine which is downwind from so many coal-fired power plants and has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. This is why Maine has been dubbed the “tailpipe state” of the nation.

Power plants are responsible for half of the mercury and over 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States.  Today, more than half of all domestic coal-fired power plants already utilize pollution control technologies. Once implemented, these new standards will ensure the remaining plants – about 40 percent of all domestic coal-fired power plants - take similar steps to clean up their act. This will save lives, prevent diseases, protect our children’s healthy, and reduce mercury pollution in our lakes, rivers, and streams.

NRCM is pleased that the Obama administration made good on its promise for clean, healthy air this holiday season. We urge Maine Senators Snowe and Collins not to be Grinches and to protect the health of Maine families by voting against all efforts to delay air pollution rules in Congress.

-Todd Martin, NRCM Outreach Coordinator

Blue Christmas…but hope for a “green” New Year

My family has a lot of holiday traditions: decorating the tree while listening to carols, making gingerbread cookies, going to visit my great aunt and uncle – bringing them some of Mom’s homemade Christmas bread and my aunt giving us her delicious homemade Chex mix. But, my favorite tradition started several years ago (before there were CD players in vehicles) on a ride home from my grandmother’s house.

My mom is an Elvis fan. Always has been. Always will be. So, we would get excited whenever Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” came on the radio. My mom, who is not a “singer,” would start belting out Elvis’ part, and my sister and I would sing the “ooh, ooh, ooh” back up parts. We wouldn’t win any singing contests, but we would giggle with delight as we headed home singing as if we WERE Elvis and his back-up singers. And to complete the tradition, my elderly stepfather would quietly reach up and turn off his hearing aid. And a Merry Christmas was had by all.

So, while we wait and hope for a “Blue Christmas” – my hopes for the New Year are that it is not blue, but instead “green.” Last January, a lot of us felt “blue,” because the governor and his Administration proposed rollbacks to important, long-standing laws that protect our clean air, healthy waters and wildlife, and vibrant forests. Governor LePage wanted to eliminate Maine’s wildly successful bottle recycling bill. End the ban on billboards on Maine roadsides. Reduce protections to important wildlife habitat on shorelands, in wetlands, and vernal pools. And the list goes on and on.

Luckily, NRCM and our members, supporters, friends, and the public spoke out loudly and often to legislators, the governor’s office, committees and state agencies saying that Maine’s environment should be protected and not open for the business of destroying it for the sake of polluting companies who don’t care about Maine’s natural resources.

Well, it’s nearly 2012 and the start of a new legislative session. We defeated most rollback bills last year, but we can be sure that more are on the way. That’s why we can’t sit back and wait for others to do the work of protecting Maine’s air, water, wildlife, and forests. We need to start contacting our legislators today to urge them to support bills that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, protect Maine’s 10.4-million-acre North Woods, protect Maine’s wildlife, and reduce toxic pollution from consumer products.

If you haven’t yet signed up for NRCM’s Action Network, please do so today. Visit http://supporters.nrcm.org/Action_Network_signup and sign up to receive emails about projects that interest you. You will then receive emails when your voice is most needed to protect the Maine we know and love, now and for future generations.

Happy Holidays!

Beth Dimond
NRCM Public Affairs Coordinator

Speaking Up for Maine’s Waterfowl

I wanted to share my experience testifying at the Board of Environmental Protection hearing last week. The hearing was to get public input on proposed changes in the manner in which permits are issued for development in “moderate” value inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat (IWWH). The premise was that the current process was cumbersome, expensive, and too unpredictable, although as was pointed out every application since 2007 has been approved!  The proposed change would allow the “permit by rule” process to be used, obviating the need for a more extensive permitting process. Such a change could allow subdivisions up to 14 houses, major commercial development, as well as single-family homes. NRCM took a position that streamlining the process for single-family homes made sense, but that more substantial development should certainly have a more in depth review.

Following a brief introduction by the board chair and an overview by the DEP staff, testimony began. The chair decided to have those neither for nor against go first, followed by those in favor of the proposed changes, and finally those opposed. For most hearings, especially those with a larger group of people interested in testifying, there is a signup sheet. Unless you want to be there for the entire hearing, signing up is the best way to make sure you have a timely opportunity to speak.

Unless you have technical expertise, try to keep your remarks brief, personalized and focused. It is a good idea to bring a handout, usually 20 copies, of your remarks, especially if you are referring to any graphics. Be prepared to answer questions about your testimony and avoid any hyperbole, which could weaken the credibility of your remarks. (Link to my testimony attached.)

The hearing went well, and you will be pleased but not surprised to know that our staff scientist, Nick Bennett, did an outstanding job. There were many technical features to this regulation, and Nick clearly and concisely outlined the history of how we got where we are and explained the rationale behind NRCM’s opposition to the current proposal, and finally our suggestion to amend it.

There were several citizens testifying who felt aggrieved by the current regulation, and Nick pointed out that their situation was the result of municipal ordinances which in some cases are more restrictive than state regulations and that their frustration was misplaced.

The second half of the legislative biennium will convene soon, and we all will have opportunity to testify on many issues. I hope as many of you as possible will take advantage of this and make your feelings and suggestions known. There is no more powerful way to have an impact.

Finally, I hope as many of you as possible will join me and our fellow board members in generously supporting NRCM in your year-end giving.  Thanks, and Happy Holidays.

Tony Owens, MD
President, NRCM Board of Directors

Reflections on Advocacy, Science, and President Lincoln by NRCM's New Board President

Greetings! I am writing to introduce myself as NRCM’s new board president. In preparing this brief message, I am reminded that in November 1863, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. At 300 words and two minutes in length, it is arguably one of the finest speeches ever delivered in our nation’s history. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us….”

The context is a bit different for us today, but the challenges remain:  clean water and air, healthy food and toxic-free products for our families, natural places to explore, and a beautiful, healthy environment.

The seeds for my journey as an advocate were planted many years ago. I was free to wander outdoors, and was inspired by many leaders early in my life. In college, I witnessed the birth of Earth Day and the final days of the Vietnam struggle, and felt an empowerment that comes with youth. It seemed as though all you had to do to make a change was to gather a group, develop a slogan, and press on. 

As a scientist and physician by training, I try to employ the best evidence in my decision making. Often this database is incomplete and a cautionary course is most prudent. Our staff experts at NRCM follow a similar approach. Recognized as some of the best minds in their fields, the staff members bring the compelling story of the critical connection between Maine’s environment and the well-being of Maine people, wildlife, and our economy to our legislators and policy makers. 

My goal as board president will be to empower our staff members to do their jobs at the highest level. I feel fortunate to work with such effective and passionate people. They have a remarkably busy agenda monitoring state agency proceedings, preparing for legislative sessions, and reaching out to people in all corners of our great state to keep them informed.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving and reflect on gratitude, let me share with you a thought delivered recently by former Governor Angus King. He said, “Right now there are four million people in the United States thinking about nothing except next summer’s two weeks in Maine.”

Thanks for your commitment to Maine’s environment. I value and respect your ideas and I look forward to communicating with you. 

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Tony Owens, MD
Board President, Natural Resources Council of Maine

Independent Report: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative a Major Boon for Maine

Very exciting news today on the clean energy front! Many of you are familiar with "RGGI"  (the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative). NRCM played a leading role in helping Maine join this innovative 10-state program to reduce climate changing emissions from power plants. Since then,  several studies  have documented RGGI’s results. (You can see a fact sheet and case study on the benefits of RGGI in Maine on our webpage.)

Today, one of the most comprehensive studies of RGGI was released. It found that RGGI has yielded $1.6 billion in net benefits to the region’s economy. The biggest benefit was from reduced energy costs and associated economic benefits—keeping that money circulating in the Maine economy instead of being sent out of state for imported fossil fuels. Here are some the highlights from the report, which focused on the first three years of RGGI (2009-2011):

• RGGI led to a net increase in Maine’s economy of approximately $92 million.
• RGGI reduced the flow of money out of New England for imported fossil fuels by $210 million.
• Maine’s participation resulted in an increase of 918 “job-years,” a mix of permanent and temporary jobs.
• Electricity bill reductions from RGGI-funded energy efficiency investments totaled $120 million in Maine. These savings far outweighed the incredibly small price increase that comes from requiring power plants to pay a small cost for carbon pollution.
• The report found energy efficiency was the most beneficial use of RGGI dollars—something we know because Maine has invested a relatively high percentage (84 percent) of RGGI dollars in energy efficiency, through new and existing Efficiency Maine programs.

Efficiency Maine used a portion of initial RGGI dollars to support a grant program for large energy consumers in Maine. (RGGI money also boosted efficiency programs for residential and smaller business consumers.) The new report included a success story from Maine: a multi-million dollar set of energy efficiency improvements at Twin Rivers Paper in Madawaska that will save 6 million kwh/year—as much as used by 1000 homes.  “We are reinventing ourselves as a low-cost specialty papers manufacturer,” said Phil Nadeau, their engineering manager. “Being a sustainable company means saving money on every front. We are a new company and these projects would not have happened without support from these grants.” (You can read another case study from Maine’s industrial sector—Madison Paper—on our website.)

Part of why RGGI has been so beneficial is because it is supporting energy efficiency investments and programs. One of the best ways to further reduce fossil fuel pollution and reduce energy bills is with more energy efficiency. That’s one reason we are so excited about a new clean energy ballot initiative that would significantly increase energy efficiency investments in Maine.

A legislative proposal to withdraw Maine from RGGI failed in the 2011 session, and just last month, the bipartisan Legislative Council rejected a similar bill from being considered in 2012. Today’s report is yet another indication that RGGI is working and providing significant benefits to Maine, in terms of our economy, environment, and energy independence.

- Dylan Voorhees, NRCM Clean Energy Director

Talkin' Turkey

Gotta love a good story. Hearing, reading or spinning a good yarn. There’s nothing better. I have a few in my repertoire that I tell over and over and over. (My husband still nods politely or gasps on cue even if he isn’t listening to a word of it). Here are my top five favorite subjects:

1. “I shouldn’t have survived that.”
2. “Dangerous encounters with wildlife.”
3. “Getting lost in foreign and domestic lands.”
4. “Weird things my kids do.”
5. “Grossest things I’ve eaten.”

On that note, I’ve got one that falls into category number five that I tell EVERY year right around Thanksgiving. So, you’ve been warned. Reader discretion advised.

It was Thanksgiving 2003. I flew on a snowy evening from Portland, Oregon, to Missoula, Montana, to spend the holiday with my good friends, Bill and Emily.

In preparation, Bill had shot a turkey for the feast. So, we spent an entire day cooking. We made cranberry sauce—the best cranberry sauce I’ve ever tasted, I might add. We made gourmet stuffing with every herb under the sun. We snapped and cooked beans. We peeled and boiled potatoes and carrots. We watched dough rise for rolls. We even baked squash. We made not one pie, but three— two pumpkin and one blueberry.

As an environmentalist, writing on an environmental blog, I have to add that not one scrap of food was wasted. Bill and Emily ate leftovers for weeks, so be assured that we were being just a little gluttonous. Well, the pumpkin pie for breakfast the next morning was a little over-the-top excessive but back to the story…

After all that preparation, we sat down to eat somewhere around 7 o’clock at night. We heaped our plates full and dug in. It was all that we hoped it would be.

I was well into this interesting side dish before I paused to wonder why I couldn’t remember fixing it. It looked to be grains of different varieties, or maybe grasses, with berries mixed in.

I turned to Bill and Emily to ask, “What IS this?”

Bill jumped out of his bean bag chair and exclaimed, “I FORGOT TO CLEAN THE TURKEY’S CROP!”

Not only did we not waste a morsel but we also reused the turkey’s dinner. Now that I think about it—what great environmentalists we were that Thanksgiving in 2003.

- Stacie Haines, NRCM Membership Manager

The Art of Local...Lobsters?

I have a lot of talents. I can take beautiful photographs. I can hula hoop for hours. I can make people laugh. What I cannot do is draw. Or paint. Or sketch. However, as an 11-year-old girl, I wasn’t yet aware of my limitations as an artist. Those limitations were recently pointed out to me, however, by my co-workers at NRCM when I brought in my “Two Lobsters on Ice Skates” drawing, created nearly 30 years ago.

When I was younger, my grandfather worked for Bass Shoe. He told my older sister and me of a Christmas card design contest for relatives of Bass Shoe workers. Since my sister was too old to enter, it was left to me to represent the family and draw something spectacular for the contest. Well…to draw something for the contest. I had won a color-the-weather contest at age six and had had my drawing shown on the Channel 6 news (I believe I also won a free meal from McDonald’s, which was like winning the lottery to a six-year-old). Thirty-plus years later, I still have my congratulatory letter from Paul Cousins. I remember racing in from outside (it was years before VCRs were invented) to watch them show my drawing on the six o’clock news. I was so proud. I wanted that feeling again. So, I asked my sister to show me how to draw a lobster. I promised if she would help me, I would pay her $10 of my winnings.

Back to the lobsters. I thought I had a great idea – Maine’s iconic lobsters drawn into a winter holiday scene…and I knew how to draw trees and water, so clearly, two lobsters on ice skates was THE winning-est idea of them all! I worked hard, and when I finished creating my masterpiece, we lightly sprayed it with hairspray so the Cray-pas wouldn’t smudge, and then sent it off.

Here is my creation: 

You can imagine my surprise (especially now that you have seen the drawing) when weeks later I was notified that I had WON! I remember posing for pictures in front of my grandparents’ Christmas tree, shaking the hand of the woman who came to present me with my $150 savings bonds. I was so excited. I was now a two-time award-winning artist.

So, when NRCM announced that this year’s Art of Local Food event was adding an art sale, I was sure my co-workers in charge of the art sale would come racing down to my office to ask me to create a masterpiece to donate to the sale. I kept working away each day, paying close attention to my work, but also feeling my heart race every time I heard someone’s footsteps nearing my office. THIS is the time that they are going to come ask me to participate. THIS is the moment when I get to share my art with the world!

When no one came, I assumed, of course, that they were too intimidated by my art to approach me. I took matters into my own hands. I walked down the hall and very modestly mentioned that I “am an artist” who “might” be interested in participating in the art sale. When my co-worker’s eyes widened, I was sure it was because she was so stunned that such an acclaimed artist would want to donate her masterpiece to the sale. Apparently, that wasn’t it.

She said the artwork had to be 10x10 in size. Mine didn’t fit those guidelines. When I offered to recreate the drawing in a 10x10 size…the next excuse came. And then the next. And then it became clear that she didn’t “appreciate” my art like my family did. Oh well…I guess she is just lucky that more than 50 other artists have donated their beautiful artwork to this year’s art sale. You can see a slideshow (that doesn’t include my lobsters) on NRCM’s website at www.nrcm.org/artsale.asp.

The bad news: you won’t have an opportunity to purchase my drawing (though please feel free to contact me directly if you are). The good news: the other artwork that was donated will be available for purchase next Sunday, October 30th at our Art of Local Food tasting party and art sale. It’s not too late to get your tickets and invite your friends. I will be there (without my lobster drawing) at the registration table, so be sure to say hello  before you head in to the art sale and tasting party. This is the second year I will attend this event—and I absolutely loved it last year! The food is amazing, the view is spectacular, and the cause is worthwhile. Come feast your eyes on some incredible artwork by Maine artists while you feast on some delicious food from local restaurants, farms, and vendors—all while supporting NRCM’s work to protect Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife.

Hope to see you at the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s Art of Local Food event next Sunday in Northport. Buy your tickets today at www.nrcm.org/artoflocalfood.asp.

Beth Dimond
NRCM Public Affairs Coordinator