NRCM Blog

Make it a memorable Memorial Day

As I sit in my office this morning, looking out the window at a sunny, beautiful spring morning, I have to admit that I let my mind wander away from my work at NRCM for just a few minutes.  Long enough to think about what I am going to do with this long holiday weekend ahead of me.

The weather forecast is getting better by the minute for the next few days and I am hoping the black fly population might decide it's too hot to come out and play (wishful thinking, I know!) so that I can get outside and enjoy some of the beauty that Maine has to offer.

Now my mind has wandered back to work - thinking about the Land for Maine's Future land that NRCM and many others have helped to protect.  I spent last weekend on a bird walk with NRCM - one of our 50 events for 50 years - and that was on protected land at Lobster Cove Meadow in Boothbay.  I am going to check out the web pages about the LMF land hikes that I made this winter, when it was WAY too cold for me to be thinking about summer.  But now that we are getting a taste of warmer weather, I am ready to be outdoors.  If you want to see the list of hikes we have posted on our website, visit www.nrcm.org/Maine_hikes.asp.

I hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable, and black fly-free Memorial Day weekend!  Get out and enjoy all that this amazing state has to offer.  Hike, canoe, head to the beach, find a nice spot under a blossoming tree - bring a picnic lunch and enjoy a good book while sitting outside in the fresh air...the list of ideas is endless.  And, don't forget your camera so that you can send us your photos for our My Maine This Week feature on the website when you get home. 

Cheers!
Beth

Alternative commute "fueled" me for the busy day ahead

For “Commute Another Way Week” I parked in Gardiner and ran six miles up the Kennebec Rail Trail to Augusta.  The trek saved a small amount of gasoline and emissions, but fueled me for the day with great images of a vibrant river, and thoughts about the role NRCM has played in cleaning up this river and helping protect Maine’s environment through our work at the State House over the past 50 years. 

First, what a great trail!  In the past, I used to bike the 36 miles from Brunswick to Augusta a few times every summer, with one of those rides timed with “Commute Another Way Week.”  Before the full 6.5-mile trail was completed a few years ago, the bike ride through Farmingdale was pretty hairy – no shoulder and a steady flow of rushing commuters.  Now the trail provides a safe and smooth alternative path, with great views of the river.

As I ran the course this morning I passed other runners, bikers, and walkers, and I realized that forty years ago nobody in their right mind would have wanted to be this close to the polluted Kennebec.  Fish kills in the 1960s took the lives of thousands of fish, but today I saw osprey overhead, and I kept looking for a possible sturgeon leaping – a sight I’ve seen other times along the Kennebec.

As I approached Augusta, with the State House dome looming, my mind shifted toward the legislative battles of yesterday, and today.  NRCM staff was tracking eleven different bills yesterday in three committees.   We helped defeat a few bad bills, achieved some important improvements in the big energy efficiency bill under development, but also watched a couple bills get more support than they should have.  We have our work cut out for us again today, which is supposed to be the last day of work at the committee level before bills are sent to the full House and Senate for action.

Showered and revived by the alternative commute, I’m now ready to head back to the State House.  Today’s scheduled action includes work sessions on bills to promote community-based wind power, require notification about pesticide spraying, and boost energy efficiency programs for homes.  We also have some more work to do today to defeat some bad bills. 

I’ll catch a ride back to Gardiner at the end of the day, with a small feeling of having done my part for this annual awareness raising week about the benefits of getting out of one’s car, or jumping into a car with others, and commuting another way. 

-Pete Didisheim
NRCM Advocacy Director

Watch NRCM's hilarious new video!

The Natural Resources Council of Maine encourages you to join others around Maine for Commute Another Way Week next week - May 11-15, 2009.  We thought we would give you some ideas of ways to commute to work that won't pollute or harm the environment.  Let us know how you are commuting to work, and what you think of our video! 

To sign up or learn more about Commute Another Way Week, visit http://www.gomaine.org/cawday/.  

Thanks!