The council working to achieve state goals to reduce climate change emissions says it is still on track despite some funding disruptions.
environment
Maine butterfly species among those experiencing fastest declines
A new study compiling butterfly surveys across the country found a 22% overall decline, while seven species found in Maine declined by more than 50%.
Forecast for National Weather Service in Maine still cloudy
But staff meteorologists admit the interruption of weather balloon launches will undermine the accuracy of the agency’s weather modeling and forecasts.
Bills to find and destroy Maine’s toxic firefighting foam win over legislative committee
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously endorsed bills to catalog, collect and dispose of Maine’s stockpike of toxic firefighting foam.
Maine makes first purchase of farm contaminated by forever chemicals
The state tapped its PFAS relief fund to spend $333,000 to buy a Palermo hay field where sewage sludge was once spread as fertilizer that tested 3 times above the state’s recommended level for safe dairy forage.
Maine lawmaker wants state to help farmers affected by federal funding freeze
A proposed bill would create a state-funded no-interest loan program for Maine farmers whose federal contracts are frozen by the Trump administration.
Maine must prepare for storms and climate change, lawmakers told
A proposal formed in the wake of last winter’s back-to-back storms to help communities prepare for bad weather and climate change was presented at a legislative hearing on Thursday.
Get toxic firefighting foam out of Maine, lawmakers told
Residents of Brunswick Landing, the site of Maine’s worst toxic firefighting foam spill, joined environmental groups to urge lawmakers to quantify the amount of foam in Maine and fund a voluntary program to collect, store and dispose of it.
UMaine Augusta students among those floating climate resiliency ideas for Casco Bay
Concepts ranging from floating communities to elevated over-water bike paths populate the final exhibition of a multi-university design studio intended to help Portland and South Portland prepare for rising sea levels, warming temperatures and increasing extreme weather.
Central Maine farmers left in limbo by federal funding freeze
Despite having signed government contracts, farmers who have spent money on projects to conserve soil, water and power have been told they cannot get reimbursed until USDA programs and policies are reviewed by the Department of Government Efficiency.