Independent Writer
Climate Change/Energy / Pollution/Waste / Transportation/Travel
by Marina Schauffler · Published June 14, 2015 · Last modified June 24, 2016
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...
Climate Change/Energy / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 31, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
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...
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,...
Food / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices / Uncategorized
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 3, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
Only in a land of plenty like ours could this staggering statistic be true: 40 percent of food goes uneaten—most of it tossed in landfills or torched in incinerators. The social and ecological costs...
Climate Change/Energy / Economics / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published April 19, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
When Holly Zadra suggested that Pittsfield’s First Universalist Church divest its holdings in fossil-fuel corporations, she recalls that church councilors responded with awkward silence “as if I’d said something impolite.” People naturally resist discussing...
In the muddy-puddle depths of April, winter’s white has turned road-sand brown while summer’s uplifting palette is still a mirage. If I were ever to fall out of love with Maine, it would be...
Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published March 22, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
A cousin well into her empty-nest years acknowledged that she finds herself increasingly focused on “reducing inventory.” Despite being at a different life stage, I knew just what she meant. For years, I’ve been...
Coastal Issues / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published March 8, 2015 · Last modified June 12, 2016
Imagine if someone had proposed this idea in a public forum 25 years ago: “Let’s start having microscopic plastic bits in products like facial scrubs. They’ll wash down drains, slide past wastewater treatment plant...
