NRCM Blog

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.

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

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

Join Us February 14 in Augusta: Notes from the Auburn Hearing

The Regulatory Fairness hearings being held around the state by the Legislative Regulatory Reform Committee are bringing out large numbers of Maine citizens and business owners who want to see Maine’s environmental standards strengthened, not weakened. During the hearings there have been specific suggestions to improve the implementation of particular laws, but generally, little to no call for complete repeal of any laws. 

I attended the Auburn hearing on February 3 that was covered by the Lewiston Sun http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/981130. During the time I was there, most people spoke about the importance of protecting Maine’s natural resources and the quality of life they provide. Buzz Lamb, a retired computer industry businessman from New Gloucester and NRCM board member, spoke from more than 40 years experience working with industries throughout Maine, including forest products, wholesale, retail, manufacturing, transportation, and health care industries. He challenged the premise put forward by the LePage Administration that regulation was killing jobs, noting instead that the real causes of job loss in Maine have been the rise of big box stores that eliminated healthy downtown retail districts; consolidations in wholesale distribution, banking, insurance and other industries that moved headquarters and jobs out-of-state; global labor rates that drew shoe and textile manufacturing jobs overseas, and the resulting decline of many other supporting jobs in the community. He said, “I find blaming Maine’s business environment on environmental regulation to be very misguided. In fact, it makes me question whether or not the governor’s team has done an adequate job in problem determination.” 

Buzz argued against the environmental rollbacks proposed by the LePage administration and some current legislators, saying that they will increase long-term costs to both business and government due to the rise in cost associated with toxics clean up, public health, and sprawl. He specifically discussed the legislative proposal to weaken shoreland zoning laws. As the owner of approximately 3000 feet of farm and woodland affected by shoreland zoning, he said the proposal of a 75 foot setback (instead of the present 250 feet) could not be proposed “with a straight face.” He said that 75 feet does not even begin to address the run off issues facing our lakes and streams during spring run off and heavy rains. “Once eutrophication (the introduction of artificial substances to a fresh water system) begins, it is difficult to stop and eventually feeds itself. The long term costs of watershed deterioration will be very high, including clean up costs, land value decline, expensive filtration equipment for public water supplies, and flood damage from faster run off.” He does not find being a good shoreland steward “onerous or difficult.” See Buzz’s full testimony here. 

Comments like these from Buzz Lamb about actual experience with our environmental standards in Maine have been delivered by hundreds of people throughout the hearing process. We hope the Legislature will listen and submit real solutions to real problems, rather than gut environmental laws that continue to serve Maine citizens well. 

If you have not contacted your legislator yet to express your concerns about the proposed environmental rollbacks, I encourage you to do so today. You can learn more at our website, where you can also find contact information for your legislator, at http://www.nrcm.org/stop_environmental_rollbacks.asp.

You can also join us for the final hearing in Augusta in Room 208, Cross State Office Building, Capitol Street, on Monday, February 14 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to say a few words to the committee. Join us at noon for a rally to protect Maine’s environment in the Hall of Flags at the State House. Hope to see you there!

-Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM Executive Director

Maine People and the Environment: Report from the Roundtable

More than 500 citizens from across the state poured into the Augusta Civic Center on January 20th to participate in the first public meeting with Governor LePage about the importance of environmental protection to Maine's economic and public health. A panel of 28 businesses, sportsmen, health professionals, religious leaders, and youth discussed how the laws that have cleaned up once heavily polluted rivers, have kept Maine's woods and fish stocks intact, have kept our landscapes protected and relatively pristine, and have cleaned up our air - and saved us money -- by conserving energy, are necessary and welcome to those who have chosen to set up businesses in Maine, have worked the land for generations, or visit here to enjoy our quality of life.

NRCM is proud to have sponsored this event with numerous partner organizations and to have seen so many members from the NRCM family across the state in attendance. We have shown once again that the people of Maine are deeply committed to environmental protections and are willing to stand up and fight for them. Please see the extensive news coverage here: http://www.nrcm.org/news.asp

We will soon be posting the remarks of the panelists, as well as video of the event, but today's snow slowed us down a bit. Check our website next week (www.nrcm.org) for more from the Roundtable.

Here are some of the remarks from the panelists, who we thank so much for participating in this event:

William Bennett, Pres. & CEO, of Oakhurst: "After all the cows that produce Oakhurst milk literally eat drink and breathe the Maine environment so it's in everyone's best interest to keep Maine's environment clean, safe and healthy."

Unity College student Deirdre Birbeck also had a chance to speak directly to the Governor. "It seems to me that my generation's future jobs will depend on careful stewarding of our natural resources."
 
“If our coastal waters are not clean, it is impossible for all commercial fishermen, not just clammers, to market the Maine brand,” said Chad Coffin, president of the Maine Clammers Association.

“Regulations aren’t perfect, and some may need fixing,” said Harry Dwyer, a licensed forester and logger who owns Ghost Dance Forestry in Fayette. “But regulations are not the enemy. They are an important tool” to protect resources for future generations.

Horace “Hoddy” Hildreth, a former Republican state senator who is chairman of Diversified Communications, a company with 200 employees, said many of the laws protecting Maine’s air, land and water were enacted by Republican-controlled legislatures responding to the industrial abuses of the 1960s and 1970s.

“Their implementation has from time to time caused frustration and even outrage,” Hildreth said. “But I submit to you that working on the regulations to make sure they are responsive to the plain intent of the statutes is a better way to go than gutting or repealing the laws.”

Corky Ellis, founder and Chairman of Kepware, a software company in Portland, says they could have moved to North Carolina or Texas with lower taxes and minimal environmental regulations, but they wanted to live in Maine. "Please bear in mind that many businesses like ours are here in Maine precisely because of the protected beauty and the conservation efforts of the past."

And MPBN's news story quoted Ernie Hilton, former chair of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (read and listen to the full MPBN news story here):

Ernie Hilton is a lifelong Republican, an attorney and civil engineer from Madison who previously chaired Maine's Board of Environmental Protection, and whose wife chairs the Land Use Regulation Commission, or LURC.

Hilton says he's worried Maine's quality of place may be threatened as the new administration and Legislature look to relax environmental permitting and reuglations and do away with agencies such as LURC, which governs zoning and planning in Maine's North Woods.

"I'm concerned when I see, as I did yesterday, a list of some of the statutes which are pending before the Legislature dealing with shoreland zoning and with LURC, and it strikes me as being a race to the bottom approach to our environment," Hilton said.

Hilton says it's not environmental rules or regulations that are the biggest impediments to job creation in Maine but rather the high cost of health care. He points out that over the last eight years more than 10,000 permits by rule were issued for small projects, and $5 billion dollars worth of major projects permitted by the Department of Environmental Protection alone.

 
 

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

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.

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.

"Choosing Maine's Next Governor" - watch gubernatorial candidate forum video

On Thursday October 21st, more than 300 citizens flocked to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus to hear four of Maine’s gubernatorial candidates discuss how they would approach issues like clean air and water, climate change and energy, land conservation and wildlife, and a sustainable economy. The forum was moderated by Susan Sharon of MPBN, hosted by NRCM and more than 20 other groups, and online at, media.usm.maine.edu/~itms/video/Panel/Panel.html.
 

Arctic Report Card Shows Big Climate Change Impacts

This important new video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that climate change is having a dramatic impact on the Arctic, with record temperatures across the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, reduced summer sea ice, and record snow cover decreases. Every aspect of the Arctic environment is being impacted. “The Arctic is continuing to move into a new and different climate state,” according to this assessment of the scientific data. Glacial melting in Greenland this past summer was the greatest since data collection began in 1873. 

The Arctic Report Card was created by a team of 69 scientists and based on 176 published scientific references. The planet is warming and we will face major impacts unless society accelerates the transition toward energy systems that do not produce climate changing carbon pollution.  

-Pete Didisheim, NRCM advocacy director