NRCM Blog

MOO(Milk) Needs YOU!

Seems like we hear it everyday: “Buy local.” “Go green.” “Buy organic.” “Support family farms.”

When a group of Maine farmers worked together to create MOOMilk, they probably were taking all that consumer buzz to heart. Their product fits all the criteria: MOOMilk is organic milk that is produced by Maine farmers. The kind of product we’re looking for so we can “walk the talk,” right?

Hmm. Maybe not.

As the Bangor Daily News is reporting MOOMilk is in danger of closing up shop, taking with it a great example of Maine’s entrepreneurial spirit in action – and the kind of product the public has been giving lip service to.

Fortunately, it’s not too late, and you can help by simply buying the product. It’s tasty and healthy, and it gives you the chance to put into action all those bumper stickers and t-shirt slogans about saving the planet – in this case, one farm at a time.

Actually, SIX farms—three in Aroostook County, three in Washington County.

And how about this for additional inspiration: in the wake of the MOOMilk’s struggles, the Aroostook County farmers could have begun shipping to another market but knew that if they did, service to the Washington County farms would stop, as they are too far out of the conventional trucking route for hauling their milk to be profitable. Instead, the Aroostook farmers have continued to band together with the farmers in Washington County.
If these farmers, whose very livelihood is on the line, can choose to stick together for the sake of a quality product like MOOMilk, can’t we stick with them, too?

MOOMilk is available at Hannafords (which recently lowered the price so that MOOMilk can more fairly compete with national, out-of-state brands). It’s also available at IGA, Shurfine, and elsewhere.

For more information about MOOMilk, please visit http://moomilkco.com/.

Allison Wells
Senior Director, Public Affairs
Natural Resources Council of Maine
(and Mom to a MOOMilk-drinking Family!)

Give Your Beauty Products a Makeover

Check out this great new video from the makers of the “Story of Stuff.”  If you’ve been wondering what nasty chemicals are lurking in your shampoo, deodorant or even toothpaste, this is the video to watch. When you’re done, don’t forget to send a message to our congressional delegation. Thanks for helping make our products safe!  - Matt Prindiville, Toxics Project Director

Product Stewardship Forum Big Success…

Well…we had an incredible afternoon at the Product Stewardship State Legislative Forum yesterday! 

For starters, we had a capacity crowd of over 200 people with state legislators from all over the northeast United States and maritime Canada in attendance.  In addition, we had over 100 folks from all different kinds of backgrounds including academics, solid waste officials, recycling companies, industry representatives and environmental advocates.

Our keynote speaker, Neil Hastie – a longtime EPR veteran who runs the product stewardship program for beverage containers in British Columbia – was incredible.  He explained the benefits of product stewardship policies for business and the environment, and then clearly laid out the pitfalls that can result from poor design and implementation.  He said if we can eliminate or mitigate the pitfalls, then we’ll have a much better chance of winning support from industry.   In the end, he inspired us all, with pictures of the planet and his granddaughter, reminding us that “If not now, when?” and “If not us, then who?” 

Our other speakers, ranging from Mario Laquerre from Recyc-Quebec to Chris Jackson from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce brought many different perspectives and encouraged lively discussions among attendees throughout the afternoon. 

I believe we significantly helped raise the profile and dialogue on product stewardship issues in the Northeast through one of the largest forums on this topic that the United States has had to date.

Big thanks to all the speakers, our co-sponsors - the Council of State of Governments and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and especially to Representative Melissa Walsh-Innes who put in countless hours to make the forum a great success. 

Here’s my statement from yesterday.  I’ll be posting more information soon.

Statement of Matt Prindiville, NRCM

Product Stewardship State Legislative Forum

Thank you Melissa.  I would like to thank the Council of State Governments and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce for being such great co-sponsors.  And lastly, our incredible speakers and presenters.  Thank you so much.    I hope you’ve learned as much as I have and that you’re leaving here inspired about the potential for product stewardship to revolutionize the way we think about “waste.”

I think you’ve heard today that we’re trying to shift out of an old paradigm that isn’t working anymore, namely having all these products with valuable, recoverable materials being disposed of in landfills or incinerators.   Product stewardship policies change the paradigm: “waste” now becomes a resource.  Systems and incentives are created are created for the private sector to capture those unwanted products and turn them into something new and valuable.  Have you heard about the term “cradle to cradle” thinking?  Well, this is what we’re talking about here.

If I could leave you all with one thought, it would be this: that together, we can do this.  A spokesperson for Dell said to me recently that, “product stewardship is the right thing to do.”  More and more businesses and industry sectors are getting this.  So how do we do it, and how do we work together in order to accomplish this lofty goal of a truly sustainable economy?  These are the questions we need to consider.   

I think our recent experience in Maine around the framework legislation is a good example: we roll up our sleeves, we sit down at the table together, we listen, we learn and we collaborate.  Now, some might say that this is a naïve proposition.  That business interests and regulatory interests and environmental interests have a long history of being at odds with each other and that’s just the way it is.

But this is coming from a seasoned legislative veteran.  I bear the scars from fighting for and helping to pass 5 first-in-the-nation product stewardship laws, all with their fair share of controversy.  But through these processes, something remarkable has been built between Maine’s business community and our environmental community, that elusive and very human condition known as “trust.”  And by beginning to trust each other a little bit more, we’ve opened up more opportunities to find common ground.

I fundamentally believe that by keeping the lines of communication open and doing our best to work together, we can achieve better outcomes and better public policy.

The environmental community, state legislators and agency officials need to realize that product stewardship programs are very challenging for manufacturers to initiate and operate and to work with them to design legislation that incorporates their concerns, provides flexibility and minimizes costs.  

Industry needs to realize that product stewardship is the future.  It’s taking hold all over the world, and we need you to help design and implement these programs and policies rather than fighting them.  We need you at the table in order to make these programs work.  You are the creators and innovators.  You bring the best ideas to the table.  If anyone can figure out how to make product stewardship work and even figure how to make it add to your bottom line, it’s you.  We need to stop looking at each other as potential enemies, and instead see each other as allies in initiatives that benefit all of us: clean jobs, a growing, green sustainable economy and a healthy, thriving environment. 

We know that while there are tremendous benefits for all of us from our consumer product economy, there are also real costs, costs to the environment, costs to wildlife, and costs to our health.  This is the challenge that we all face.  But it’s also the challenge that we can rise to.  By working together, we can begin to mitigate and even eliminate those costs and carve out a new vision for the future through transforming the way we make and use things. 

By having all of you here today, I feel like we’re we’ll on our way.

- Matt Prindiville, NRCM Clean Production Project Director

Making a difference in the Gulf

I received an email a few weeks ago from the librarian at Nobleboro Central School. The fifth grade students there spent the year selling items that range from pencil erasers to bubbles to "locker buddies" and more in their school store. Now that the school year is over, they got to choose where to donate their profits. This year, the class chose to donate their money to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in order to help with their clean up of wildlife, like sea turtles and pelicans, affected by the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Since the Natural Resources Council of Maine is the state's affiliate of NWF, we were asked if someone from NRCM could come accept the check from the students and thank them for their donation.

I was delighted to be able to go to Nobleboro on Tuesday morning to thank the students, read an award of appreciation and letter from NWF, and accept their giant $300 check (I came back to NRCM to ask our bookkeeper if she could start paying me my salary on a giant check...it seemed much more fun and exciting than a regular payroll stub!).

The students were very attentive while I talked about NRCM and the work we do to protect Maine's air, water, forests, and public health. They were all sitting at their desks doing work on their laptops, so I talked briefly about Maine's e-waste law and our work to protect Mainers from toxics in various toys and other household items. One boy in the front row raised his hand and asked if I had heard about the "McDonald's cups." I said that I had...that 12 million Shrek glasses had to be recalled because of toxic chemicals found in them. It was so great to see young students so aware of current events related to the environment!

I thanked them for their decision to use their money to help wildlife in the Gulf. We talked about how it's important to help your friends and neighbors (and even your brothers and sisters...though that is sometimes harder!) nearby, but it is also important to help others (people and animals) around the country and around the world. We talked about how their gift was going to make a big difference to the wildlife clean up efforts along the Gulf Coast.

These students should be commended for their hard work and dedication to helping others. In years past, their school store funds have gone to local food pantries, animal shelters, and toward home heating assistance programs. This year, they decided to do what they can to help wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Way to go Nobleboro Central School! You are making a difference - here in Maine, and far away. I hope others are inspired by your good deeds and do all they can to help those affected by the disaster in the Gulf.

- Beth Dimond
NRCM Public Affairs Coordinator

A Clear Case for Climate Legislation

We are at a critical juncture when we need bold, bipartisan support to help ensure passage of a comprehensive climate and energy bill this year.

This article in Grist by Dave Roberts makes the case clearly. It should give our bloggers the incentive to turn on the political heat that Roberts calls for. Pick up the phone and call Senator Snowe and Senator Collins (in-district office numbers) this week to ask them to be our climate champions and work towards a bill that will pass the Senate. They could make the difference for the planet. The time for hand-wringing is over. We need this sea change towards a clean energy future for Maine's economy and environment and for our children's future. 

Read here:
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-17-leaning-forward-why-the-american-power-act-is-worth-fighting-for/PALL/print.

Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM Deputy Director

It's National Spring Cleaning Week - how will you celebrate?

So, my boss walked in my office yesterday and told me that it's National Spring Cleaning Week. I am not sure if she told me that because I have papers strewn all over my desk, along with a couple of mugs that haven't made their way to the kitchen yet, some hand sanitizer, a few assorted pens without their caps, ... I think you get the point. My office is not the paragon of cleanliness today.

I am not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, but luckily I have dodged the "pack rat" gene that some of my relatives possess. I am working hard to declutter my home - and today, looking around my office, I realize that a little decluttering here wouldn't hurt. And any time I think I may want to keep something that I really don't need, I think of the new shows about hoarders, and then I suddenly want to get rid of everything! I have been taking a lot of my clothes and household items to the local thrift store rather than just throwing them out - I know that my items are going to someone who needs them, and I am not adding to the local landfill.

Several years ago, when I first started at NRCM, I got to help put together a brochure about clean housekeeping. I spent a lot of time researching ways to make non-toxic householder cleaners, and learned a lot in the process. You can download this brochure or order a copy online at http://www.nrcm.org/publication_housekeeping.asp. There are non-toxic recipes for pest control (ants, slugs, fleas, etc.), toilet bowl cleaner, copper cleaner, and more.

Do you have suggestions you could share with us here about ways to replace toxic chemical cleaners with non-toxic alternatives? Please post a comment here and share your ideas with others.

I am not sure that National Spring Cleaning Week will ever replace my birthday as my new favorite holiday, but maybe I will try to celebrate it this year - using suggestions found in our Clean Housekeeping Guide. Happy cleaning everyone!

-Beth

NRCM's Polar Plunge - Watch Our (short) Video!

On December 31, some two dozen NRCM staff and supporters plunged into the icy Atlantic off Portland, Maine, to raise awareness of and funds for global warming work. If you weren't there, you can still catch the excitement (sorta). Watch our fun, short Insider video. Thanks to all who joined us!

 

At the Maine ballot box tomorrow: Vote No on Question 2 and Question 4

Don’t be fooled by greenwashing!

NRCM encourages you to vote NO on Question 2 and Question 4 on the November 3rd ballot. Your “No” vote is a vote that will help protect Maine’s environment.

Question 2 pretends to be a measure aimed at promoting the purchase of hybrid and high fuel efficiency vehicles.  Don’t be fooled. Question 2 is a thinly veiled attempt to slash municipal budgets through reductions in excise taxes, in a fashion most likely to force towns to raise property taxes to cover necessary municipal services.

The measure would cut excise taxes on vehicles less than six years old, and eliminate for three years the excise tax on hybrid vehicles.  But there are many hybrid vehicles that are not fuel efficient.  The $70,000 Cadillac Escalade, for example, gets 18 miles per gallon.  Why should the owner of such a vehicle get a tax break, when someone else with a 2001 Toyota that gets 36 miles per gallon gets no break?  The Cadillac Escalade does nothing in the way of contributing to cleaner air, reducing fossil fuel consumption, or providing a cleaner environment.

The motor vehicle excise tax is a primary source of revenues for the upkeep, maintenance, and construction of more than 13,000 miles of local roads and over 800 bridges.  If excise taxes are cut, then other taxes will need to be raised to provide for the infrastructure improvements that we all depend on. Safe, well-maintained roads cut down on erosion that can harm streams and cause other environmental problems.

Question 4, referred to as TABOR II, could weaken Maine’s natural resource agencies, damage the Land for Maine’s Future program, and block funding increases needed to weatherize Maine homes and boost energy independence. 

TABOR was defeated by Maine voters twice before, in 2004 and in 2006.  TABOR's rigid and arbitrary formula would harm Maine’s efforts to protect our environment.  It would immediately threaten Maine’s bond rating, which would directly impact the Land for Maine’s Future program. In addition, funding for Maine’s natural resource agencies, already at low levels, would continue to decline.  Special revenue funding for programs like the Loon Conservation License Plate would be at significant risk, and it could be nearly impossible to increase funding for energy efficiency and weatherization programs that are needed to help protect Maine people from future increases in oil costs.  TABOR also would curtail funding for K-12 education, health care, and other important programs.  Question 4 is a direct threat to the progress we’ve made on environmental protection. 

PLEASE VOTE NO ON QUESTION 2 and QUESTION 4.

See you in court: NRCM appeals Plum Creek decision

Today NRCM filed an appeal in Maine Superior Court of LURC’s decision on the Plum Creek development plan for the Moosehead region.  After spending countless hours reviewing LURC’s decision, and sharing the frustration of Maine people, it became clear that there were substantial grounds for an appeal and a need to do so.

We took on the Plum Creek issue knowing that the odds were stacked against us.  Appeals of this type are an uphill battle.  But we believe we have a strong case, and we are confident in the legal team that is representing us.  And without the strong commitment of our members and activists, we could not be doing this important work. 

We’ve posted information about the appeal on our website.  This includes a detailed position statement, a Question-and-Answer list, and the full text of the appeal for those of you who are interested in the details.