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April 23
Let’s talk about ‘fresh’
Must we have out-of-season produce year-round?
For millennia, humankind dwelling in the parts of the globe with four distinct seasons—during which at least one of them nothing grows—never hankered for salad in February, or asparagus in January. Or strawberries, or broccoli, except in season. They actually enjoyed good health, except when struck with contagious disease, like the pandemic we are enduring now. So a question floated…
April 21
Food is an anchor of normalcy
What will historians make of our culinary challenges?
It’s very close to the one-year anniversary of “quarantimes” as I write this column. On March 13, 2020, our students had their last day of in-person school for the year,…
April 21
The ocean as natural capital
A different economic analysis is in order now
Standing onshore, we perceive the ocean as locality, the curve of the beach, the limit of the harbor, and as universality, the infinite inclusion beyond a distant horizon. We can…
April 21
Why paper was king, and why it was deposed
Energy, environment, and competition changed a way of life
Shredding Paper: The Rise and Fall of Maine’s Mighty Paper Industry By Michael G. Hillard Understanding Maine’s once-gigantic paper industry and what happened to it is a matter of perspective.…
April 21
Delegation hopeful York River gets scenic designation
Reintroduced bill would bring federal funds, protection
Maine’s Congressional delegation has reintroduced the “York River Wild and Scenic River Act,” legislation to initiate the final step in the process to add the river to the National Park…
April 21
On the record with... Tom Meyers of the Waterfront Alliance
Tom Meyers has spent his professional life as an active member of working waterfronts. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for 28 years and as the head of the…
April 21
A Maine power company: possible and practical
Put electricity back into the hands of ratepayers
As Maine grapples with decarbonizing its economy to meet ambitious climate mitigation goals, I urge us to think big and consider what a statewide, ratepayer-owned electric utility could do to…
April 21
Ships, the Suez Canal, and our three ports
Transportation by water will be part of climate change fix
Assuming I have your attention, I am now going to ask you to look up and around the room in which you are sitting. What percentage of the things in…
April 15
Halibut—a huge, thrilling, and tasty fish
Month-long season on this flatfish begins May 18
“Once you’ve caught a halibut, you’ll never be the same, if you like fishing,” said Erik Waterman, a commercial fisherman who lives in South Thomaston and fishes out of Spruce…
April 14
Federal flood insurance evolved, but not for the best
Congress has taken a piecemeal approach to a worsening problem
[caption id="attachment_24986" align="alignleft" width="300"] The King Tide in Camden.[/caption] In the February/March issue of The Working Waterfront, Peter Neill of the World Ocean Observatory suggested using flood insurance premiums to…
Island Postcards
EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining
Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.
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