Third Act: Older People Seek Climate Action
On the first morning of spring, with temperatures hovering around freezing, a large flock of retirees descended like robins on a former farm field in Belfast, the site of a sprawling Bank of America...
Climate Change/Energy / Economics / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published April 2, 2023 · Last modified April 6, 2023
On the first morning of spring, with temperatures hovering around freezing, a large flock of retirees descended like robins on a former farm field in Belfast, the site of a sprawling Bank of America...
by Marina Schauffler · Published February 12, 2023 · Last modified February 16, 2023
Reading Matt Simon’s disturbing new book, “A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies,” I found a question running through my head like a refrain: Why did we not...
Economics / PFAS Project / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published December 18, 2022 · Last modified January 15, 2023
Maine’s strong policy response could mitigate future expenses, but short-term expenditures are proliferating and many costs remain untallied. Widespread contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “has the potential to impose an unsustainable burden...
Economics / PFAS Project / Pollution/Waste
by Marina Schauffler · Published December 18, 2022 · Last modified January 15, 2023
With Maine facing escalating costs from contamination due to ‘forever chemicals,’ work is under way to recoup some losses. Shortly after hearing from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection that their well should be...
Ecological Values / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices / Technology
by Marina Schauffler · Published July 15, 2022 · Last modified July 16, 2022
The soft clouds of gray lint that slide off clothes dryer screens are tangible evidence of the dryer’s tumbling abrasion. Each handful comes at a cost, shortening the lifespan of garments. But the true...
Maine made headlines in April as the nation’s first state to ban the spreading of sludge and sludge-based compost. Supporters of the law recognized an urgent need — in the Act’s language —...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published June 5, 2022
The vacation promised to be high in enjoyment and low in carbon. Rather than flying somewhere and staying in a hotel, we would sail to a cabin powered by solar electricity. Our only fossil-fuel...
Ecological Values / Pollution/Waste / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices / Technology
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 6, 2022 · Last modified June 5, 2022
We are consumers of convenience. Offer us a faster, easier, wrinkle-free, nonstick option, and we’re sold. We need no convincing that convenience is an inherent good; a lifetime of ads has done that...