As Maine winters warm, the amount of time Maine’s ponds, rivers and lakes are covered by ice is shrinking, posing a threat to lake health and the winter sports economy.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine’s toxic firefighting foam shipped out of state to poor areas
Newly released records show more than 22,000 gallons of PFAS-laden foam and rinse water recovered after the recent Brunswick spill were trucked to waste incinerators in low-income communities far from Maine’s borders.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
$17 million awarded to promote forest sustainability, carbon storage in Maine
Grants awarded by the U.S. Forest Service will pay for private landowners to adopt climate-friendly forestry practices and conserve old-growth forests for carbon storage and help the Penobscot Nation enter carbon market.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Outfitting New England’s highest peak to give a sneak peek at Maine’s weather
The expansion of the Mount Washington weather network will provide real-time data for skiers, hikers and skaters heading to New Hampshire, but it will also help improve Maine forecasts and preview storm systems heading into the Pine Tree State.
Posted inLocal & State, News
UMaine building statewide network of weather stations
The 26 automated stations will be installed throughout the state to improve forecasts and severe weather alerts, and to help farmers and foresters manage weather-related risks.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Key takeaways from Maine’s new climate action plan
The updated plan to be released Thursday sets new targets for energy efficiency and aims to ensure that all Maine residents benefit from the state’s responses to climate change.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Budworms ravaged Maine’s forests for years. They’re starting to come back.
An aerial survey confirmed 3,000 acres of Maine’s forest were damaged by spruce budworm in July. Modeling indicates 178,000 acres are at risk of defoliation from budworm larvae that will emerge next spring.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Commission urges Maine to prepare for next round of severe winter storms
Extreme weather that caused inland and coastal flooding last winter spurred the report issued Tuesday with recommendations about how to prepare for more storms.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine Climate Council skips green hydrogen, for now, and leans into EVs
Maine Won’t Wait 2.0, which is due out next month, is relying on getting 150,000 electric passenger vehicles on the road by 2030 to meet the state’s emissions target of lowering 1990 greenhouse gas levels by 45%.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Experts focused on Maine’s resilience to extreme weather call for enhanced alerts, education
A state commission created in the wake of last winter’s severe storms wants access to the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, which sends wireless emergency alerts to all mobile phones within a designated area.