NRCM Blog

Court tells EPA to move forward with rules to cut climate changing pollution

Here is some much needed good news this month related to global warming. Earlier this month, a U.S. Court of Appeals agreed that new Clean Air Act regulations on climate changing pollution from cars, trucks, power plants and factories can go forward as planned in January of 2011. Many industry groups, including the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, and others representing utilities, refiners, biomass fuel companies, and manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit to block these rules. Their initial effort was to attempt to “stay” (temporarily halt) the rules pending the outcome the full lawsuit.

But we beat them in this first round. While the full lawsuits will continue to play out, this ruling lets EPA do its job under the Clean Air Act to move forward to limit climate changing pollution that threatens our families, economy and environment. The ruling tells polluters who want to stall progress towards getting real climate change pollution reductions that EPA’s authority is real and that EPA is moving forward. NRCM (along with other groups) is represented in this case by Clean Air Task Force senior attorney, Ann Weeks. Many state agencies and other environmental groups have also joined in the defense of these rules.

The quick background: Because EPA found in 2009 that global warming pollutants endanger public health and welfare, EPA set emissions limits and fuel economy standards for new cars and trucks, to into effect on January 2, 2011. EPA also established rules to require permits for climate changing pollution from large power plants and factories – including those that burn biomass as fuel, to take effect at the same time. 

The big picture: Despite the best efforts of the oil and gas lobbies, which continue to pour money into fighting progress on clean energy and clean air, the Court’s decision means the implementation of these rules will not be delayed. Opponents continue to exaggerate the cost of cleaner, safer technologies (something that car makers and polluters are very good at), while ignoring the huge benefits to the air we breathe. But their stories of woe just didn’t stand up in court.

-Dylan Voorhees, NRCM Clean Energy Project Director

Dam Good News!

Wow! After ten years of hard work, restoration of the Penobscot River is one BIG step closer today as the Penobscot River Restoration Trust now owns three Penobscot River dams that have blocked the migration of 11 species of sea-run fish for generations.

By removing the two dams closest to the sea and building a fish bypass around a third dam, the project will help migratory fish including Atlantic salmon, alewives, shad and sturgeon to reach 1,000 miles of habitat that they need to thrive.

The kicker? When the project is complete, renewable energy generation will be the same as before the project or even increase. How’s that for a win-win? 

This project would not have been possible without an historic agreement among PPL, the Penobscot Indian Nation, federal and state agencies, and NRCM and six other conservation groups.  

The benefits of working together have been huge:

The project will revive native fisheries and create new economic and recreational opportunities for communities along the river.

As fish populations surge and natural river habitats rebound, the river will provide additional habitat for songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, and other species, from river otters to stoneflies.

There will be new recreational fishing and paddling opportunities along the Penobscot while growing populations of migrating fish will provide greater feeding opportunities for commercial marine fish such as cod, tuna and bluefish.

And the Penobscot Indian Nation will be better able to obtain sustenance and cultural identity from the river that bears their name.

All in a day’s work here at NRCM…kinda makes you proud.

- Judy Berk, NRCM Communications Director

Maine Protects Families from Toxic BPA

It’s Thursday, December 16th, and I am just back from the Board of Environmental Protection meeting where they took a significant step forward to protect Maine families from the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA).

During a six-month public hearing and comment period, the BEP heard the consensus of the nation’s top scientists that BPA is dangerous, even in small doses, such as those we are exposed to every day in products such as food and beverage containers including sippy cups and baby bottles. BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical that can reduce immune function, impair brain development, has been linked to diseases like breast and prostate cancers later in life.   

Ninety-three percent of us are walking around with BPA in our bodies at levels that may be harmful, due to activities like eating canned food or drinking out of polycarbonate plastic bottles or painting the floor with epoxy paint. Experts around the world are saying that these chemicals are a risk to human health. Fortunately, we can do something about this, and here in Maine, we are. 

Businesses large and small, ranging from the Belfast Co-op to Whole Foods urged BEP to get BPA out of consumer products. Also, big companies like Nestle, Heinz, and General Mills have pledged to eliminate BPA from their food packaging. 

Beyond the action today, NRCM also urged BEP to restrict BPA in infant formula and baby food packaging and substitute safer alternatives that are already available. We hope DEP will move quickly to develop recommendations for meeting this goal, to further reduce exposure to BPA by children. 

This law and this rule are about protecting Maine children’s health.  Today we are one step closer to doing so.  

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the hearing or submitted comments (you can read my testimony on behalf of NRCM here).  This would not have happened without you!

- Matt Prindiville, NRCM Clean Production Project Director

 

I said I would do what?!

Last year, I signed up to participate in NRCM's annual Polar Plunge. I distinctly remember saying to friends and family members, as I asked them to sponsor me, "Please donate to this worthy cause. I am only doing it this once, never again, so now's your chance to sponsor me."

Do you know the phrase, "older and wiser?" I am one of those two things a year later...I will let you decide which one it is.

That's right, I let peer pressure and the promise of glory and bragging rights - and the ability to help raise money to support NRCM's clean energy work - coerce me into taking the plunge again! I am not sure what happened, but before I knew it, my photo was on our website as one of the "polar bears," my name was written on the participant board in the office, and I was off and running...raising money again for a very worthwhile cause.

And then I woke up this morning to an unexpected snowstorm, cold temperatures, and thought..."What have I done?!"

So, before the polar plunge happens on New Year's Eve day, I wanted to write some things down. Here goes...

I, Elizabeth Dimond, being of sound mind and body...

Oh wait. I SHOULD write that down just in case the water sends me into shock. But those words, and who I leave my salt and pepper shaker collection to, aren't really of concern to you, I am sure.

What I do want to say is that it's not too late to join us. You can still sign up - even the day of the event, show up with your $50 or more in hand, pose for our group photo, and then at the sound of the whistle, run screaming into the Atlantic, knowing that you are doing this for a worthwhile cause. The cold only lasts for a minute (ok...maybe a few minutes), but the impact you make by participating will last for many years to come. Join us and take the plunge, or cheer, or bring warm blankets, or be ready to hand us a hot cup of coffee. There are lots of ways to participate. Won't you join us?

And a special thanks to everyone who has already signed up to participate - as well as our generous business sponsors. We hope to see you at East End Beach at noon on Friday, December 31st. See you there!

Beth Dimond, Public Affairs Coordinator and Polar Plunger

One final note: Last year, my coworker and I came up with our set of polar plunge rules. I think they are worth reviewing - especially if you are a first-time plunger.

Time well spent

I am a talker. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that I like to talk. My mom told me a story recently that I had never heard. She said when I would come home from school in the first grade, I would talk to her about every single thing that I did that day at school. She said finally she had to make a deal with me that I wasn't allowed to talk for 30 minutes after I got home, so she had time to unwind (she taught at my school) before listening to me tell her about my day.

Some people who are good talkers aren't always good listeners. It's hard to do both...and impossible to do both at the same time. I try to find a balance and like to listen to people and their stories. And working at NRCM, I get to talk to - and listen to - a lot of people and hear about why they love Maine and its environment.

One of the best parts of my job as NRCM's public affairs coordinator is that I get to answer phone calls and emails from people who contact us about a variety of issues. Sometimes they send in photos for our "My Maine This Week" feature on our website. Sometimes they just want to give us an updated mailing address. Other times, they have specific questions about projects on which we are working. Whatever the reason, I try to handle their request and get back to them in as timely a manner as I can.

Today, I received a phone call from a woman who had seen our recent ad in Down East magazine. We are running a membership special now through the end of January and she called to ask some questions. I gave her the information she wanted, and then she told me about her connections to Maine - which started in the mid 1950s when she came up here to work at a summer camp as a swim instructor and attend another summer arts program. She told me of overnight camping with third graders near Harrison. She told me of crafts projects and times spent on Long Pond. She told me of getting lost in the woods near the coast with a group of camp staff. She lives in Pennsylvania but said her daughter and granddaughter live in Maine - and she told me of their outdoor interests and activities in Maine. She said she won't get here for the holidays due to illness, but that she has spent many Christmases here...never knowing from one year to the next whether there would be no snow or several inches of snow on the ground.

She talked to me for quite some time, telling me her story and how she hadn't lived in Maine since those summers in the 50s, but that she had a connection to our state for more than 50 years.

I did share some of my own story - my connection to summer camps in Maine for the past thirty years, and also mentioned, since we talked a lot about the water, how I, along with some coworkers and NRCM supporters, will be racing into the Atlantic on December 31st for our polar plunge. She laughed and said she had never, in all of her years on the water, been asked to participate in a polar dip. I told her she was the lucky one! :) She took down my name and said she would be thinking of me and encouraging me to move quickly as I ran in and out of the water at East End Beach. I thanked her and said once I thawed out, I would be sure to send her a note to confirm my survival, and would include a photo or two of the event just for fun.

When we were getting off the phone she said, "My dear, I feel like I have reconnected with Maine today." Being able to help people connect - or reconnect, in this case - with Maine and its natural beauty....is one of the reasons I am so happy that I get to do the work that I do here at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

-Beth Dimond, Public Affairs Coordinator

Governor-elect Excludes Enviros from Recent Forum

Did you see this front-page story on 12/1/10’s Portland Press Herald and other newspapers?

“Business Leaders Target Red Tape: Advocates for the environment, consumers, public health take no part in meeting”

http://www.kjonline.com/news/businessleaderstargetred-tape_2010-11-30.html

The piece describes how Gov.-elect Paul LePage is asking businesses and industry groups to help him reduce the regulations they believe hinder economic development. Twenty-eight representatives of these groups met with LePage and listed regulations they described as burdensome—issues related to the environment, civil rights, public health, child labor laws and tax policy. Unfortunately, environmental groups, public health advocates, and consumer advocates were not invited to the forum. NRCM Advocacy Director Pete Didisheim was interviewed for the story. "There are many voices that need to be he heard," said Didisheim. "This is not a balanced and fair approach to the policy process."

It does, however, provide insight into the direction the LePage Administration is likely headed regarded his view of protections put in place to protect Maine families and the state’s natural resource-based economy. You can read the full article here.

To stay informed about issues like these that put Maine’s environment at risk, and to hear about ways you can help make a difference, join NRCM’s Action Network.