Environmental Writer
Ecological Values / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sense of Place / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published April 18, 2021 · Last modified June 5, 2021
In timber operations, like this one in Allagash, herbicides are typically applied after clearcutting to kill emergent hardwood species and foster growth of planted forests. Photo by Hilton Hafford. At a public hearing...
Ecological Values / Sense of Place / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published April 4, 2021 · Last modified April 15, 2021
The ethereal refrain of the white-throated sparrow runs through memories of childhood. My own children have rarely heard its call. Bird populations in the U.S. have plummeted since 1970, with 1 in 4 birds...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published February 7, 2021
It was a strange scene to encounter on a January night, sitting in my car among more than 100 other parked vehicles, all populated but dark, at a drive-in town meeting. Townspeople had gathered,...
Ecological Values / Food / Sense of Place / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published January 24, 2021 · Last modified January 25, 2021
Agroforestry, an age-old concept, could provide a path to Maine’s future. Part of the regenerative agriculture movement, it involves an integrated approach to cultivating trees with crops and – sometimes – livestock. These diversified...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Education/Family / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published January 10, 2021 · Last modified January 25, 2021
I can’t recall reading a book I so wanted to recommend to others as the new climate anthology, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and...
Ecological Values / Sense of Place / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published December 20, 2020 · Last modified January 25, 2021
It is the eve of Winter Solstice, the nadir of a harrowing year. Ordinarily, holiday gatherings would buoy our spirits and tide us through this season of brittleness, when hope itself can seem dormant....
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published December 6, 2020 · Last modified December 7, 2020
The Maine Climate Council’s 15-month process preparing Maine Won’t Wait: A Four-year Plan for Climate Action was a refreshing affirmation of constructive, nonpartisan policymaking. Roughly 230 working group volunteers and many more citizens weighed...
Ecological Values / Food / Pollution/Waste / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published November 22, 2020 · Last modified November 25, 2020
As loveable as ducks are, they are – undeniably – fowl, exuberant in start-to-finish mess-making. Domesticated ducks routinely splash into full bowls of food or water, and – if the spirit moves them –...
