Maine lawmakers split this week on a U.S. House vote to condemn the idea of a carbon tax to fight climate change, though no serious effort has been made to impose it — and there’s no chance the Republican-controlled Congress or President Donald Trump would approve. U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a two-term GOP lawmaker from […]
environment
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Great ponds, little access?
The public may own Maine’s many lakes and ponds, but that doesn’t mean the public can use them.
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Posted inBusiness
Starbucks will stop handing out plastic straws by 2020
Starbucks, which doles out more than 1 billion straws a year, says it will phase out single-use plastic straws from its stores by 2020. The coffee giant said Monday that it will replace the ubiquitous plastic straw with recyclable “strawless lids,” as well as straws made from biodegradable materials, as part of a no-plastic-straws movement […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, River Valley, Rumford Falls Times
Woman paddling the Androscoggin for the health of it
MEXICO — Paddling down the Androscoggin River from Errol, New Hampshire, to Topsham, Maine, Jen Deraspe wants people to see the river through her eyes. She is blogging about her trip on her Nature Through Nurture Facebook page, and hopes to raise at least $5,000 to donate to mainerivers.org, whose mission is to protect, restore […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
California keeps the faith on climate, replacing Washington
Many on the right insist that California’s tough environmental rules are strangling its businesses. Evidence to the contrary emerged last week in news that California has just zoomed past Britain to become the world’s fifth-biggest economy. California must be doing something right. One of the things is vigorously confronting the perils of global warming. The […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Bates nearing its carbon-neutral goal
John Rasmussen, energy manager at the Bates College facility services, points out a new burner on an old boiler in the Cullen Maintenance Center on Wednesday afternoon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) LEWISTON — After its first full winter using a new fuel oil created by turning plants into a burnable liquid, Bates College officials say they […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, News
Canton board names new fire chief
CANTON — Selectmen on Thursday accepted Fire Chief Sherman Bradeen’s letter of resignation and appointed volunteer firefighter Jason Vaughan to replace him. Bradeen wrote that he and his family are moving to Carthage so he would not be able to give 100 percent of his time or dedication to the town or Fire Department. He […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Whistleblower denounces Trump's failure to tackle climate change
As the climate policy chief for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Falmouth native Joel Clement had his work cut out for him. For almost seven years, his job required him to come up with ways to deal with fast-changing conditions that threaten everything from national parks to remote villages on the crumbling shores of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine may face brownouts, higher electric prices
During the bitter cold stretch that started right after Christmas and continued into 2018, New England’s power operators had a tough time keeping the juice flowing to homes and businesses throughout the region. Facing a shortage of natural gas because of a dearth of pipeline capacity, they relied on old oil and coal plants to […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, sj-web
Bill Adams, one of Maine's environmental pioneers, dies at 89
Lewiston Assistant City Engineer Bill Adams looks at sewer plans with City Engineer Cunningham and surveyor Bill Plante. (Lewiston Sun-Journal file photo) AUBURN — Sometimes one person in the right place makes all the difference. Back in 1973, a New York-based firm called the Pittston Co. sought to construct an oil refinery astride Passamaquoddy Bay […]