As electricity rates continue to climb in Maine, a new online data tool shows the state’s low-income households bear the heaviest energy burden in the nation. The Sierra Club compiled Department of Energy data showing a family of four earning less than $50,000 a year spends roughly 20% of household income on electricity and heating fuel. Patrick Drupp, the…
Today on Earth Day, the Sierra Club of Maine announced its endorsement of three Democratic candidates for governor: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson, and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree Sierra Club leaders said it is not typical to endorse multiple candidates, but noted that Maine’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters…
Labor unions and renewable energy advocates are at odds with some conservation groups over a proposal to locate a port for Maine’s burgeoning floating offshore wind power industry on Sears Island in Penobscot Bay. On Monday, Maine lawmakers delved into a state plan to designate Sears Island as the nucleus of that industry. The proposal,…
Not all renewable energy corridors are the same, says Matt Cannon, the state conservation and energy director for Sierra Club Maine, and environmental groups are standing firmly behind the planned Aroostook Renewable Gateway. Media reports this summer have scrutinized the potential impacts to farmland and forests along a 140- to 160-mile transmission line corridor that…
The Sierra Club, one of the largest environmental organizations in the U.S. with chapters in all 50 states, including Maine, announced on Monday its endorsement of a ballot initiative to replace Central Maine Power and Versant — Maine’s embattled, investor-owned utilities — with a consumer-owned utility. The environmental group said Question 3 on the November…
This legislative session saw the passage of a landmark bill to jumpstart the buildout of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, which advocates hope will provide a critical source of clean energy while also creating myriad high-quality jobs. Along with that, some other important bills to protect Maine’s environment were approved by lawmakers this…
In the latest chapter in the conflict over water rights in Maine, a bill has been introduced to prohibit the taxation of bottled water. Introduced by Republican Chad Perkins of Dover-Foxcroft, LD 66 would expand the sales tax exemption for grocery staples, which critics fear would encourage the use of bottled water amid ongoing community…
Maine climate activists condemned a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that severely limits the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to combat climate change and has broader implications for federal authority. “This case is really about coal companies’ radical agenda to try and save themselves,” said Ania Wright, an organizer with…
As Democrats in Congress craft a federal budget reconciliation package designed to address climate change and expand the social safety net, advocates are also urging that the bill include the funds needed to replace 100% of lead pipes, which have emerged as a significant hazard in places like Lewiston and other areas around the county. …
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden is one of nine centrist House Democrats praised in a recent ad paid for by an organization that has courted funds from various wealthy donors, including right-wing financiers such as the late David Koch, PayPal founder Peter Thiel and billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Singer. The ad, paid for by the group…