Climate reparations were the hot topic at the COP 27 climate negotiations in Egypt over the last several weeks. Poorer countries want high emitting rich countries to pay for “loss and damage” due to the effects of a warming climate. Sea level rise, storms, wildfires and flooding are creating enormous costs and in some cases wiping out entire communities. As the atmosphere warms, this situation will only get worse.

But who should pay for this? Traditionally climate events are considered “Acts of God” and are cleaned up by governments, with taxpayer funds. But saying the warming climate is an “Act [… continue reading]

My husband and I took an early fall trip to the Nahmakanta Public Lands, just south of Baxter State Park. We’d visited this 11,000 acre wilderness many times since it was established in 1985. But this year we saw something unexpected: improvements!

In many years of backcountry camping in Maine, I’d assumed that the facilities would always be old and run down. No significant investment has been made in Maine Parks and Lands in fifteen years, and some areas have seen no improvements in over thirty. It wondered where all this new stuff was coming from.

So I checked it out. Turns [… continue reading]

My husband is a news nerd. He’s well informed on just about every news issue. But I got him on the Kigali Amendment—he’d never heard of it!  Kigali is an amendment to a groundbreaking global treaty. It was ratified by Congress in late September. The media missed it, and my husband missed it and it has major significance for global warming. So naturally, I had to cover it here!

Toxic HFCs are everywhere.  Every refrigerator, supermarket case, auto AC, and building air conditioning system contains them. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 700 million air conditioning units will be online [… continue reading]

Back in 2011 I read a book called “One Report”. The thesis of the book was that by requiring corporations to report environmental impacts alongside financial results, more sustainable operations would result. No longer would sustainability be a separate program, a secondary consideration, or simply greenwashing. Through required reporting, sustainable operations would become mainstream.

That vision could become a reality this year. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has proposed rules that would require climate related information to be included in corporate registrations and reports. According to the Harvard Law School, the proposed rules are “the most significant new public company [… continue reading]

I’ve just finished a four day stint as coordinator of the used book sale at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. The festival raised over $200k to support community charities. But to me, the connection with others and reminder of the strength of local communities was worth far more than the money we raised.

Communities consistently accomplish amazing things. We’ve all heard stories of communities coming together to help families who’ve lost their homes to fire or floods. It’s heartening when a serious illness strikes, and friends and neighbors raise money to support the needed medical expenses.

But the power of communities goes much [… continue reading]

President Biden recently signed the IRA, authorizing $369 billion in climate and energy incentives. While many environmentalists argue that the bill is not enough or contains too many compromises, on balance it’s a strong step in the right direction. Here’s why:

1. The funding will go farther than in the past.

The funding in the IRA is small when compared with the original Build Back Better Act, and is about half the size of the infrastructure bill Congress passed last year. But the cost of solar and wind has dropped by 90% in the last 10 years and the risks and costs of [… continue reading]

The key question about any “community solar farm” is:  “Who owns the project?”

You see, those mailers inviting you to join a “community solar farm” are from investor or developer owned solar projects. These are legitimate, but they are not owned by anyone in your community. More accurately, they should be called “subscription solar farms” because what they are offering is a chance to subscribe to their project with no upfront cost, and reap a small savings on your electric bill. For many who cannot build their own solar project, these projects are a good way to participate in solar energy. [… continue reading]

David Eggers’ novel The Every describes a future where uncertainty has been all but eliminated. The story focuses a large and continuously expanding corporation called “the Every”.  The company creates apps that remind you to do things like take a stretch break, monitor your blood pressure, or check traffic conditions. Sounds familiar, right?

Then they offered an app called “Authentifriend” that uses facial and word recognition to tell you whether your friends really like you or not. Then came “HereMe”, a device that eliminates domestic and child abuse by listening for violent words and sounds in the home, and automatically calling [… continue reading]

(Adapted from my book Advocating for the Environment)

What events have touched your heart? A brilliant sunset over the ocean? The birth of an animal or child? Is there a place in nature where you go to connect with your soul? Have you felt the loss of a favorite place? Or the loss of something you loved to do like walking in a special place that is no longer there? Your personal story about connecting with the earth—whether about love or loss–is the starting place for advocacy.

You may think stories are too touchy feely, or not as important as facts, or [… continue reading]

I was sitting in the balcony of the statehouse a couple of weeks ago, listening to floor speeches on the Pine Tree Amendment (PTA). This legislation would add the right to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment to our state constitution. It would protect Maine’s tourism, hospitality, skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, farming and forest industries—the very basis of our state economy. It would preserve our beautiful outdoors, and protect present and future generations from environmental harm. Everyone should support this!

But as I sat listening to the floor speeches, what I heard was a list of fears. I started [… continue reading]