Thank you to all of our members who voted for new Executive Committee members to represent them for the next two years! Please join us in welcoming our four new members: Laura Berry, Ezra Sassaman, Jacob Stern, and Minot Weld! Their terms will begin in the new year.
Laura Berry - Laura is a climate justice advocate working at the intersections of democratic engagement and the climate emergency movement. As Sustainability Coordinator for the Town of Bar Harbor, she leads planning, outreach, and implementation work towards the town's goal of zero emissions and energy independence by 2030. She is excited to join ExComm and support Sierra Club Maine's ongoing work to strengthen Maine's democracy and elevate the voices of Maine youth and marginalized communities within state climate policy.
Ezra Sassaman - Ezra lives in Bar Harbor and is the Advocacy and Organizing Coordinator at Maine Youth for Climate Justice (MYCJ). In his MYCJ role, Ezra has supported MainePERS divestment implementation, the Pine Tree Amendment, tribal sovereignty legislation, and funding climate education in public schools. Ezra is excited to work with the Chapter to further climate justice and ensure a livable planet exists for future generations.
Jacob Stern - Jacob has been organizing and leading progressive grassroots campaigns at the state, regional, and local level since 2014. He's worked on political campaigns in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey. Jacob is excited to begin his first full term on the ExCom and is looking forward to helping grow the chapter by boosting fundraising efforts, building stronger connections between members, and bringing his experience as an organizer and advocate to fight for an equitable, livable future.
Minot Weld - Minot currently works in project finance, helping clients engaged in large-scale afforestation, reforestation and degraded land and water reclamation projects. He is looking forward to working with the capable and committed Sierra Club Maine team and is focused on helping us to achieve our 30 x 30 goals.
Photo by U.S. Department of Energy
Reduced Rates for Customers with EVs, Heat Pumps, & Battery Storage
As we move towards electrification of our grid, new rate structures for electricity consumption will be necessary. Recently, Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced plans for a series of optional electric rates for customers using electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, and/or battery storage. One of the new rates incentivizes businesses and residential customers to charge electric vehicles overnight, when the demand for electricity is usually less. Another rate option is designed to appeal to households that use more electricity than the average residential customer; the goal being to save them money.
Efficiency Maine has a tool on its website, where Versant customers can plug in their electricity usage and see how their monthly and annual bills could change under the new rate option (CMP tool coming soon). If you are a customer with an EV, heat pump, and/or batter storage you can contact CMP or Versant directly for these new rates. Learn more here.
What’s Your Plan to Vote?
Election Day is just a few days away on November 8th - do you have a plan to vote yet? There are plenty of ways to cast your vote:
Early Voting: You can vote early in person at your town hall up until the Thursday before Election Day (November 3rd).
Absentee Voting: There are still a few days to vote absentee! The last day to request an absentee ballot is November 3rd. Ballots can be returned by mail (must be received before or on Election Day), or in person to your Town Office or drop box any time before or on election day.
Vote on Election Day: Use the Voter Lookup Service to find your local election information.
For more information on election day, visit our Politics Page.
Join Us for a Hike on North Haven Island!
Join Sierra Club Maine for a hike November 13th on beautiful North Haven Island! This hike will take in Mullen's Head Park, which looks out across the water to Isle Au Haut and Stonington, and will include a perimeter walk on sandy and cobble beaches. Up on the bluffs we will encounter stands of old oaks and ash, where we can enjoy our sack lunches or snacks if you choose to bring them. Time permitting, we will climb Ames Knob, which affords a wonderful panorama of Penobscot Bay towards the Camden Hills and south to Hurricane Sound. RSVP Here!
Are you a BIPOC individual who would like a free pass to Maine’s state parks? Our friends at the Nature Based Education Consortium are teaming up with The Third Place, the Bureau of Parks and Lands, and other community partners to provide free Maine state individual and vehicle park passes to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Learn more and apply for a pass using this form.
This initiative is connected to a national campaign by the Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside Initiative to support inclusive and accessible outdoor experiences for diverse communities across the country. Thrive Outside is helping to cast a light on these disparities and share the diverse ways that people connect with nature. The Nature Based Education Consortium is the leader of the Thrive Outside Maine community. And this season, NBEC is acknowledging the barrier of cost and the community commitment it takes to overcome it by working with community organizations to distribute these free park passes. Learn more and apply for a pass using this form.
Moderator Rhiannon Hampson, State Director for Maine USDA Rural Development. Photo courtesy of GrowSmart Maine.
Grow Smart Maine Policy Summit
Sierra Club Maine has been participating in a charette-style policymaking process with Grow Smart Maine and Build Maine. The goal is to address barriers to and create incentives for equitable, sustainable growth, and development that strengthens downtowns and villages of all sizes while pulling development pressure away from productive and open natural areas.
This group of various stakeholders, from students, to nonprofits, to elected officials, to developers are working together on policies to strengthen Maine’s cities, downtowns, villages AND protect farmland, forests, working waterfronts, recreational, and conservation spaces. We do so by acknowledging that our towns thrive when we support diversity – for people and land use, and that Maine has urban, rural, and suburban settings for which any solution may or may not be a fit.
The result of this process will be legislative bills for the Legislature to consider in 2023. You can learn more here.
Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group Update & Community Conversation
The Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group continues to evaluate the criteria to develop an essential offshore wind port in Maine. At the last meeting on September 29th, several options were presented and discussed : Sears Island, Mack Point, both Sears Island and Mack Point, and Eastport. Through environmental laws, Maine DOT needs to determine the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative site. And they need to present much more data before submitting for permits: amount of dredging, amount of clearing/filling, site remediation, development impact in the community, access to workforce, etc.
This will be a very difficult decision, and we fully expect MDOT will do its due diligence. At the same time, we continue to advocate for development on Mack Point, the currently developed fossil fuel site, in order to preserve Sears Island, the pristine island loved by locals and tourists alike. Additionally, Eastport does appear to be an environmentally-friendly alternative at first glance, and we look forward to discussing that as an option. A final decision should be in early 2023.
We will also be hosting a Community Conversation on November 22nd at 6pm on the importance of protecting Sears Island. Sierra Club Maine has worked to Protect Sears Island for over 30 years and the resources it provides for Penobscot Bay including eelgrass which serves as blue carbon . Join us as we discuss our support for building Offshore Wind Marshalling on Mack Point in Searsport adjacent to Sears Island. Guest speakers include Rolf Olson of Friends of Sears Island & Steve Miller of Islesboro Islands Trust. RSVP here.
You can learn more about protecting Sears Island, sign the petition, and attend future events here.
Climate Action Team Call for Recruitment + Efficiency Maine Promotion
By Edgelynn Venuti, Intern
My name is Edgelynn Venuti, I’m seventeen years old and I have been interning with Sierra Club for about two months. I was offered the position through the Maine Youth for Climate Justice coalition. I have lived in Robbinston for about three years now after moving here from suburban Connecticut. Before then, I enjoyed summering in Downeast and other areas of Maine for the past eight years. I have always been at home in nature, which is part of the reason I’ve been able to adjust so well and I really like it. Since moving here, my passion for the natural world has only grown and inspired me to fight for environmental justice in every way I can.
I’m writing to educate everyone on a very big step towards making our state a cleaner place for all. The Efficiency Maine Trust (The Trust) is the administrator to implementing and installing programs to help all Mainers use efficiency, affordable energy and overall reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Maine. Currently, one of their projects is the intent of submitting and passing the proposal to install and operate DC Fast Chargers for electric vehicles along “select corridors in northern and eastern Maine.” This includes heavy traffic areas like: “US Rt1. within 7 miles of the intersection of North Street and US Rt. 1 in Calais”, and “Rt. 9 within three miles of the intersection of Rt. 193 and Rt. 9 in Beddington.” There are many other locations as well along route 1, route 9 from Fort Kent to Machias. Continue reading Edge’s piece here.
Green Tip of the Month
Brrrr! It’s getting cold and we want to make sure that the cold air is staying where it belongs - outside! If your windows are feeling a little drafty then consider participating in WindowDressers. WindowDressers Insulating Window Inserts let in light while stopping drafts. Each insert is made of a custom-made pine frame wrapped on each side with tightly-sealed, clear polyolefin film, creating an airspace between the two layers for additional insulation. The insert is finished with a compressible foam gasket. The foam allows enough give for the inserts to easily slide into place in the fall and be removed in the spring, while holding firmly enough to provide a tight, friction-based seal. The inserts are installed inside of your existing window frame with no fasteners required.
The inserts are free for those who cannot afford to pay, and low cost for middle and high income households. They keep their insert-prices exceptionally low (50%-75% cheaper than commercial products) through our non-profit model of cooperative insert-building. This means that customers contribute time at their local Community Builds. Learn more and sign up here!
This talk features Ben Martens, Executive Director of Maine Coast Fishermen's Association. He will be discussing the opposition to the offshore wind projects; who opposes them, why they oppose the projects, & what alternatives or compromises the opposition would support.
Join us for our biweekly legislative team meeting as we work on bill planning for the 2023 legislative session! If this is your first meeting, reach out to ania.wright@sierraclub.org for more information.
This talk features Dr. Francis Eanes, Executive Director of Maine Labor Climate Council & Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Bates College. He will be discussing labor & economic issues surrounding OSW in Maine.
