A Hopeful Story

Most Mainers (79%, maineconservation.org), like most Americans (82%, 9/15/2019 CBS News poll) believe that we need to do something about climate change.   There is some disagreement about urgency:  roughly 55% of Mainers/Americans think we must do something immediately while about 25% of us think we have some time.  Still, 75% is a pretty large mandate to our elected officials to do Something.  Personally, I think that global warming engulfs all other crises, and that every day we delay, we increase the consequences and costs of doing nothing.  So, it is with great relief and a new sense of hope that I watched the video of the September 26th kick-off meeting of the Maine Climate Council. 

Governor Mills, with broad bipartisan support of the Maine State Legislature, established the Council to help Maine build resilience to climate change and to meet its fairly aggressive new renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas reduction goals (45% below 1990 levels by 2030, at least 80% below by 2050).   The Council includes state, business, non-profit and municipal leaders, scientists and technical experts, as well as tribal and youth representatives. 

At the kick-off meeting, Council co-chair Hannah Pingree said that Council members will chair a total of seven sub-groups, addressing issues in the areas of energy, science/technology, transportation, land, buildings, infrastructure/housing, coastal/marine, and community resilience/public health/emergency management. (See https://www.maine.gov/dep/sustainability/climate/ . )

We are fortunate to be represented on the Climate Council by Judith Cooper East from the Washington County Council of Governments.  Ms. East will also co-chair the Community Resilience, Public Health and Emergency Management Working Group. We also have representation from Representative William Tuell on the Coastal and Marine Working Group.  More than 20 University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias staff are on the Council or its sub-groups, including Brian Beal, UMM professor of marine ecology on the Science and Technology Subcommittee and Tora Johnson, UMM associate professor and director of the GIS Service Center.

Watching the kick-off meeting video and the technical presentations of some members, including Judy East and University of Maine professor Ivan Fernandez, co-chair of the Science and Technical Subcommittee, I was impressed by the deep, native-to-Maine, technical and scientific expertise represented on the Council, and by the resilience and resourcefulness that businesses and communities have already demonstrated in responding to  global warming.  The creativity and commitment I saw, coupled with the public mandate for action, makes me believe that we really are, finally, going to do something to mitigate the worst effects of global warming.  Maine may be small, but as we prepare for the future, our example can lead our country in the right direction.

More generally, I am inspired by the fact that the actions and opinions that led us to this point are those of ordinary people.   Right now, Maine, and, indeed, Washington County, are leaders in this democratic movement.  It puzzles me that the broader public mandate for action on global warming, which was finally heard here, is not being heard in Washington D.C.

This leads back to the question, what can we do personally to respond to the climate crisis?  The most important thing we can do right now is to educate ourselves about global warming and then talk about it.  Keep it on the front pages and foremost in people’s minds. Given the large amount of space recently devoted to climate contrarian articles in these pages, I had originally intended to use this column to do just that.  I wanted to briefly summarize the evidence that points to a man-made global warming crisis and the reasons why none of us can afford to refute said evidence.  Maybe that is a topic for another day.   However, considering the polls mentioned above, I would have been preaching to the choir.  That is the best news of all!    

Links to information referenced above can be found at https://roundthetable.downeast.solutions/a-hopeful-story.  Comments and questions are welcome.

This content was previously published in the Machias Valley News Observer, 10/22/2019. Myra Eachus was a research scientist for 37 years before finally moving to Washington County full-time to enjoy Maine and be near family.  

September Climate Strike and Week of Action: How about a tsunami of letters?

September.  Hard to believe it is here already.  This September is month of climate resilience activism around the globe.  Many municipalities have designated a Week of Action in September, often centered around the UN Global Climate Summit being held this month from September 20 to September 27.  Coinciding with the UN Global Climate Summit, young people around the world are organizing climate actions and strikes.  This movement started last year with the Greta Thunberg, a Swedish student (see her TED talk here). You can learn more about the climate strikes and how to support them here:  https://350.org/support-climate-strikes/   In  Maine, there are climate strikes scheduled in Portland, in Bar Harbor, and probably somewhere near you (I will update the list as I learn more).

So what can we do during the Climate Week of Action?  How about making September 20 to 27 a week of writing letters, letters to our local, state and federal representatives, letters to newspapers, letters to companies, letters to your friends and family?  Express your concern about the global climate crisis and your support for the unprecedented level of action needed to address it.  It may not sound like much, but letting people know you are concerned and you are taking action makes a difference.  If no one speaks out, nothing happens.  If everyone speaks out, mountains move.  We reside somewhere between those two extremes.  Let’s move that mountain.  Your government representatives care because they know you vote. Companies care because they know you shop.  Your friends and family care because it’s you.

Here are some links where you can look up your county, state and federal representatives along with contact information for local newspapers.  (Go to the website for your town to look up your selectmen.

Ask what they are doing to increase climate resilience in your town and county.  Start writing now and save up your letters to send during climate Week of Action.  Let's create a tsunami of letters. Support September Climate Strikes.   In the words of Greta Thunberg:  "Don't just watch us, Join us."

• Find your representative's contact information at:  http://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/ListAlpha 
• ​Find your senator's contact information at:   https://legislature.maine.gov/senate-home-page/find-your-state-senator  
• These are your Federal elected representatives (for Maine).
• Washington County Board of governors.
• Washington County Council of Governments
• Bangor Daily News: https://bangordailynews.com/opinion/submit/
• Machias Valley News Observer: mvnoeditor@gmail.com
• The Calais Advertiser: letters@thecalaisadvertiser.com
• The Quoddy Tides: qtides@midmaine.com

Governor Mills: Call back the Legislature and get a 2019 bond package passed!

The 2019 Maine State Legislature adjourned in June without passing a bond measure for the November 5, 2019 ballot.  That was disappointing to say the least since the bond package originally proposed by Governor Mills was so promising.  The $239 million package addressed economic (including broadband expansion) development, workforce development, environmental protection (including $65 million for the Land for Maine's Future Program, and clean energy development (including municipal renewable energy projects) and transportation infrastructure.  The entire package is critical in some way for Maine.  For example, the Land for Maine's Future Program was neglected by the last administration and is out of money.  And need I say anything about the urgency of clean energy action.  Or the role broadband expansion could have in saving the economy of rural Maine.  Please call your State Legislators and Governor Mills and ask them to reconvene the legislature and pass a bond package!

Look up your State House Representative here:  https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
Governor Mill's contact info:  https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact

M. Eachus

Taking the Pledge DownEast: No Single Use Plastic Bags, Straws, Water Bottles, Stryofoam Cups

With Maine being the first US state to officially ban single use food and drink containers made of Styrofoambeginning in 2021 and single use plastic  bags beginning on Earth Day 2020, the state has become a leader in the nationwide movement to eliminate throw-away plastics.  Even retailers who once opposed bans or fees on plastic bags came out in support of a comprehensive state policy instead of a patchwork of local ordinances. More than 20 towns in Maine already had some type of plastic shopping bag ordinance.

EcoSattvas DownEast, an environmental group based in Pembroke and inspired by the example of the “bodhisattva,” someone compassionately dedicated to relieving suffering in the world, has spearheaded a multi-year campaign to encourage the voluntary elimination of these single-use plastics:  plastic water bottles, plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and styrofoam cups.  These throw-away plastics are principle sources of the plastic waste that is filling the world’s oceans.  The group is sponsoring a More Ocean, Less Plastic information table at various venues DownEast at which people are invited to take this pledge: “For one year, I will say ‘No’ to single-use plastic shopping bags, plastic water bottles, plastic straws and styrofoam cups whenever I can and if I end up getting an item, whether by forgetfulness or by being in a situation where it was unavoidable, I will keep it until the end of the year.”

While the statewide bans on styrofoam drink cups and plastic shopping bags will ultimately force consumers to change those disposable plastic habits, the group hopes voluntary compliance will begin now and extend to straws and plastic water bottles.  Straws cannot be recycled anywhere and plastic water bottles, while advertised as recyclable, often are not effectively recycled.  According to a 2018 US Census Bureau report, 78 percent of US plastic waste was exported to countries that are now known to be overwhelmed with plastic waste and major sources of plastic ocean 

pollution. Many now argue that we should stop recycling our plastic waste until we can confirm that it is not ending up in countries with poor waste management systems. All the good recycling efforts we have undertaken for  years may in fact have contributed to the global ocean plastic crisis. EcoSattvas DownEast hope that their Take the Pledge campaign will make people rethink their use of all kinds of plastic and contribute to the global movement to protect our oceans. For more information, see www.zendowneast.org.

Diane Fitzgerald

Links to some short, straight forward links and strategies relating to climate change

Hi,

Some of our communities are slower than others in responding to the the climate change challenge. Sometimes, we take two steps forward and one back.  If there is a silver lining to a slow response, it is perhaps the fact that now that step up to the challenge, there are a lot of great resources in place and a lot of real world experience on what will and won't work.  Here are a few from our neighbors to the north:

This is a great website from Manitoba, Canada. 
https://climatechangeconnection.org/
Some downloads from this website are listed below:

Short, Straightforward summary of the key points about climate change:

• Puzzled about Climate Change:  https://climatechangeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Puzzled-by-Climate-Change-2018.pdf
• Climate Friendly Living:  https://climatechangeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Climate-Friendly-Living-1.pdf
• A Resource Guide for Climate Friendly Communities: https://climatechangeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Creating_Climate-Friendly_Communities_Sep2010.pdf 
• This is aimed at Canadian businesses but gives an example of what would be useful to produce focusing on our own local businesses.  The Bottom Line on Climate Change:  https://climatechangeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Business_Guide.pdf

Committed to one climate-friendly action every day!  M. Eachus

How to Counter Anti-Science Arguments and Game about Fake News

This article in Mind from Scientific American discusses research by Cornelia Betsch and Philipp Schmid at the University of Erfurt (Germany) on the effectiveness of debating techniques in countering the impact of anti-science arguments.  The techniques studied fell into two categories:  topic rebuttal and technique rebuttal.   Both were found to be equally effective although the Mind article notes that technique rebuttal is easier because you don't have to be a subject matter expert in the topic at hand. The Mind article also notes that the study by Betsch and Schmid did not find a "backfire effect" where the act of addressing the anti-science debaters legitimizes their argument.   

Anti-science debaters use many of the same techniques regardless of the topic under discussion.  A variety of denial techniques are discussed in this paper including use of: (1) conspiracy theories, (2) fake experts, (3) cherry picking data or citations, (4) making impossible demands of certainty or precision, and (5) logical fallacies and/or misrepresentations.  

Also interesting:  an educational game that teaches you how fake news is made (spawned?) by making you into a master faker.  Kind of fun.... https://getbadnews.com/#intro

M. Eachus

How some Maine locales are addressing climate change

A Sunny Note

It is encouraging to see some local authorities actively planning  to address climate change and its consequences. Citing more frequent floods and storms with their concomitant economic impact, heat-related health effects such as the increase in tick-borne disease and climate change's impact on the eco-system of Casco Bay, on June 10th, officials in Portland and South Portland jointly announced the One Climate Future initiative. (See https://www.portlandmaine.gov/2387/Climate-Action .) The initiative will identify ways to make more efficient use of energy in buildings, in how land is used, and in transportation.  The initiative will also identify ways to reduce waste in communities and to increase community resilience to the effects of climate change.  Both cities contributed $110,000 to hire a consultant.  Their website is https://www.oneclimatefuture.org . Some upcoming events are not on the website and can be found by searching on "one climate future maine".   Some upcoming events include:

https://www.revisionenergy.com/events/one-climate-future-climate-action-in-portland-and-south-portland/  July 10, 5:30 to 7 pm, ReVision Energy, 758 Westbrook Street, South Portland, ME 04106.

The City of South Portland is encouraging its residents to learn about climate change by giving away free, to anyone who signs up for one of the discussion groups,  the book Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Joseph Romm:  https://www.southportland.org/our-city/community-newsletter-subscription/06-21-19-newsletter/

Residents, businesses, and towns in Mount Desert Island have a multi-pronged climate change mitigation effort that has been going on for some years.  See https://www.aclimatetothrive.org/

M. Eachus