Getting to the Grid of the Future
The U.S. electricity grid is a dinosaur, a huge, unwieldy relic of the past. Built with an expected lifespan of 50 years, much of its infrastructure is now more than 60 years old. Its...
Category: Economics
Investing in Place
The balance of deposits in Maine’s financial institutions is roughly $45 billion. That figure raises an obvious question to experts in socially responsible investing like Scott Budde, who runs Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union:...
Launching a Sustainability Accelerator
As the Maine Climate Council concluded work on its climate action plan last November, one legislator issued what Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cape Elizabeth) recalled as a “plaintive plea: ‘We have to figure out how...
Don’t Bet Your Boiler on Natural Gas
Amid a torrent of public comments at a recent Rockland City Council meeting to discuss a proposed Midcoast natural gas pipeline, a teenager’s honest expression of bewilderment stood out: “I am surprised by this...
Maine Needs Major Utility Reform
Central Maine Power’s most recent debacle, attempting to charge solar developers millions more for grid interconnections despite signed contracts, was shocking but not surprising from a utility that has sought for decades to undermine...
More Consensus than Controversy
In her Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett sidestepped questions about climate change, saying it was a “very contentious matter of public debate.” As a matter of...
Fleeing to Maine from Climate Disasters
What do you do when the place you call home becomes unlivable? Tens of millions of Americans will face this wrenching choice over the coming decades as they contend with climate-fueled disasters such as...
Stormy Forecast: Preparing Maine for Climate-fueled Winds and Flooding
We’re in one of the most active hurricane seasons ever recorded, with two months remaining. For only the second time, the 21 preselected names for storms ran out, leaving meteorologists to label the remainder...
