Buy Less
There’s nothing quite like a camping trip to remind you just how many disposables have crept into your life, even when you thought you were being vigilant. You pare down to essentials for a...
Author: Marina Schauffler
Hastening the Transition to Renewables
Massachusetts residents typically come up to enjoy Vacationland, but there’s one arena in which their home state holds more attractions: renewable energy. The clean-energy landscape in Massachusetts can prompt “green envy” among Mainers, with...
Maine Towns Find Solar Power Makes Sense
“A bold reworking of energy systems… is now necessary and much more affordable. That could make for a very different world.” –Bill McKibben, “Power to the People” in The New Yorker (June 29, 2015)...
Invisible Green–The Need to Better Promote Maine’s Sustainability Work
I set out this week to write about how easy it is to travel more sustainably by patronizing businesses that do right by the environment. But to my surprise, it still takes effort in...
Climate Challenges and Opportunities
Around the time NASA announced that Earth had just experienced the hottest first five months of any year on record, 300-plus business owners, civic leaders and scientists gathered at an Envision Maine event to...
The Long Road to Fuel Economy
It seemed at first like a reasonable expectation. Looking to replace a 16-year-old car, I assumed that comparable vehicles–bought new or lightly used–would have markedly higher fuel efficiency. Technology had come a long way...
Hanging Out: Reducing Clothes Dryer Use
We have a tyrannosaurus in our laundry area. You may not realize it, but you probably do too. This voracious eater from another era sits in a white metal box perched atop the washing...
Lasting Impact of Conserved Lands
When Land for Maine’s Future began in 1987, I had a front-row seat – working at the State Planning Office, where the program was housed. New state programs don’t typically generate much spectator interest,...
