A large herd of Maine’s environmentalists got together Thursday evening over beer and wine for a combination celebration and pep rally. (Or is it a pack of environmentalists? A gaggle?)

It was the annual “Evening for the Environment” sponsored by the Maine League of Conservation Voters and it drew an overflow crowd of activists and policy makers to the penthouse of the University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Library. The group is best known for monitoring the voting records of state legislators.

The celebration part included an Environmental Leadership Award - a tree - for Adam Lee, president of Lee Auto Malls and a vocal advocate for cleaner and more fuel efficient cars.

Here’s Lee being humble about his role in passing Maine’s cleaner car law: “It’s great to be a car dealer.... When you’re car dealer, people have such low expectations.”
On being a Toyota dealer at an environmentalists’ party: “I’ve got to say I’ve never seen so many Priuses in one place. It makes me very happy.”
On why speaking out is good for business: “I believe we need stricter fuel economy standards so Detroit will be forced to save themselves from themselves.”

Bill McKibben, a nationally known writer and organizer, led the rally part. His book “The End of Nature” helped make global warming a mainstream issue in 1989 and he urged the audience to keep spreading “the movement.”

Here’s McKibben on the growing urgency: “The models dramatically understimated how finely balanced the earth was.”
On why not to get depressed about that: “The good news is solutions are a lot closer than we might think.”
On what it will take: “A movement as real and as deep as the civil rights movement a generation ago.”
And, finally, McKibben on the first three things a person can do to fight global warming: “First, organize. Second, organize. And third, organize. And then if you have any energy left, change that lightbulb.”

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