Welcome to the blog-o-sphere, John. I hope you blog about the ever-present and always interesting tension between preserving the environment through alternative energy (wind power, tidal power, etc.) and the changing of our natural scenes.

John, it is great to have a blog that is dedicated to Maine's air, water and land. I look forward to reading what you have to say, especially because we lost that consciousness that was seeded in the sixties and now we KNOW we need to relate. I expect you will have a diverse set of options for topics, since the environment crosses the span of everyday cultural, civic, political, governmental and economic issues.

John, I truly hope you aren't just another one of those "watermelon environmentalists" (green on the outside but RED on the inside)---or another member of the BANANAS crowd (Build Absolutely Nothing Anything Near Anything, Suckers). I have seen the environmentalist movement in Maine--which I used to be part of and spent good time and money advancing--veer into a snobby, snotty, shallow, mindless ideology which HURTS LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS MAINERS ON A DAILY BASIS. As a social worker deeply concerned about social justice values, I will NOT turn a blind eye to such solipsistic nonsense. It often simply does boil down to rich folks in southern Maine, the midcoast, and "FROM AWAY" trying to tell the struggling people of the entire rest of the state exactly how they should live their lives. It may sound like a cliche, John, but it's too true to be a cliche: well-to-do folks in Cape Elizabeth, Kennebunkport and Boston certainly CAN have the right to tell people in central, eastern, western and northern Maine what their communities should be---JUST AS SOON as THEY are willing to let people in those listed regions tell THEM how to live. Fair is fair.
(Oh, and one of the reasons that statement makes good sense is the hypocrisy of areas who are doing a horrible job of taking care of their own environments being so nosy and intrusive with other areas that have historically been doing a far better job taking care of THEIR communities and environments).

John, I believe that this blog has great potential to discuss the effects that global climate change will have on Maine. It is very important to get this issues out in the open so that people are aware that the birds and the trees are dying because its not just the temperature that will change, it is the entire ecology of Maine. This blog will do no good however, if the most important aspects of this global change are not discussed. This being that we are the cause, and it is because of the way we live our lives on the Earth. This is not a feel good subject. I have found that people don't like to hear that what they eat, how far and what they drive, and how they entertain themselves as Americans is a driving factor behind this change that may ensure that our children and grandchildren may not know what an apple orchard is, or may not experience a Maine forest the way we know it today. It is absolutely correct to recognize Maine's leadership in the environmental movement, it is unfortunate however that we are conveniently poised to be the "tail pipe" of America. The vast majority of the warming gasses are not produced by us, but by our fellow Americans and Europeans directly and indirectly. We as Mainers can continue to lead the way however and prepare ourselves for the change. This blog also has to potential to discuss the examples of how Maine people are doing their part to live better by the Earth.

John,

Thanks for creating this Down to Earth blog!

A good planet is a hard thing to find. And Mainers do care greatly about our natural environment. We've got it good, surrounded by natural treasures that are so vital to our quality of life.

There are many good reasons to come together on environmental issues.

Some of us simply enjoy the recreational opportunities our natural world offers: the hiking, canoeing, hunting, fishing. Others such as our farmers, fisherman, and those working in our tourism and forestry industries find their livelihood connected to our natural resources. Some of us are more closely aware of the public health impacts related to fossil fuel emissions and climate change (increased pollen/allergies, asthma, West Nile, Lyme Disease). And many of us have discovered a growing connection between our spirituality and our natural world, and the responsibility of stewardship.

Regardless of the motivating concern(s), sustainability seems to be a concept that we all understand and appreciate. Our life support system and quality of life depends upon it.

And we all can make a difference in our roles as consumers, employees, employers, investors and voters.

Improving our energy efficiency is a step we can all take in our everyday lives. A handy list of energy efficient products and tips for your home is at: http://www.nrcm.org/energy_efficient_home.asp

I'll also share that there is a bill that we will be considering in the State Legislature this session relating to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Readers can learn more about this at: http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=1288

I look forward to checking in periodically to get a sense of ideas and solutions folks have related to sustainability and more!

Thanks again,
Rep. Jill Conover, District 78, Oakland (part) and Sidney

i was with you but you lost me with the part about "solipsistic nonsense". too bad. you were making sense until then.

The Brookings Report franchises Maine's environment in order to price it. For sale. That report was written by those who profit from development; what they want is "development their way". Less money for schools, less for services, more money for business and development.

Brookings doesn't get that there is no such thing as "Smart Growth" or "sustainable" when the organism is too big. No; we are supposed to have our cake and eat it too. A sustainable cake. Sort of like sustainable oil. [There is one form that does seem never ending - snake oil.]

So what do we do? Expand the Turnpike so we can import more trash to burn, export more water and burn more fossil fuel in the process. More cars. Progress. Blog on.

Correct... there is no such thing as Smart Growth. It's a developer's dream-come-true to get government and enviromentalists off their backs.

The Plum Creek rape of the Maine north woods is a perfect example... septic tanks, traffic, pavement, noise - it's all there. Maine legislators should be pilloried or worse for thinking only selling off the Maine wilderness for a few extra dollars in taxes... the Maine woods are more valuable as just woods, but suburbs.

EXISTING suburban areas can be expanded in certain ways to minimize further damage. But development can never "improve," only worsen, wild untouched areas. Like the Maine north woods.

Having migrated from Washington, D.C. to Maine 30 years ago; I have witnessed the consequences of the 'romance' that nearly all of the tens of thousands of people from the Washington Metro area who followed in our footsteps have with Maine and it's DOWNEAST Magazine image.

What was once an ethos held by a small number of people,has grown to become the dominant public policy in Maine.

What was once a minor annoyance to Maine's native 'working class' population, has grown to become the very instrument which is forced them to move to Nevada and New Hampshire; forcing them away from water and lakefront which their families were able to live on for generation after generation.

I am looking at the pile of stuff I am taking with me in a few minutes, as I go to consult with yet another Maine farmer beseiged with DEP/EPA regulations on one side; and new out-of-state neighbors seeking to open yet another gated 'retirement' community on the other.

Maine once had thousands of working dairy farms...there are only a few hundred left.

Replacing them with another environmentally correct, subdivision; will only drive up the already skyrocketing property values and force the farmer's neighbors and help off their land.

The winner will be the staff of BROOKINGS who will sell their house in BCC or Arlington, and move to Maine...I hope they save their back issues of DOWNEAST so they can see what Maine once looked like.

I wonder if Jill Conover has had the good sense to ask why, despite five years of meeting KYOTO set CO2 emission's levels, EUROPE CONTINUES TO get warmer?

Not that I'm encouraging skepticism among the true believers; but when a child notices the Emperor has not clothes, even people like Conover have to take notice.

Skip, you got lost when I mentioned "solipstistic nonsense" in my first post. Simply put, it means that if I FEEL in my heart and soul that something is x or y, then that simply must be how it is (it's even better if you feel it DEEPLY!....yep!) And I will brook no suggestions that things are NOT x or y.
Solipsism OFTEN leads to nonsense.

Global climate change is nothing more than a socialist ploy to destroy the United States economy. Until all of you freaks start traveling via horse and buggy, heat your houses with solar and wind and are truely carbon neutral please shut up.

You all are nothing more than mindless sheep that are incapable of independant thought, jumping on the AL Gore fad. Next year I look forward to the global cooling scare.