Working Waterfront

Equitable access to broadband is a worthy investment

The pandemic clarified what many already knew—your ability to connect to the internet is not guaranteed. Where you live determines the quality of the infrastructure you can access. Your ability to use that connection depends on whether you can afford internet service, if you have a device to use, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

For Maine, here comes the sun

Maine’s climate goals are to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. The residential sector accounts for the second-highest source of emissions in Maine (after transportation), making up almost 20 percent of the state’s carbon pollution. Solar power is one of many options… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The nuances of defining drought

In June, which turned out to be one of the hottest and driest on record, we paddled to a beaver dam on the St. George River just north of Round Pond in Union. The banks rose above us covered in sedges and grasses, bringing our focus to the slow-moving water,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

It’s time for a working waterfront advocate

As a girl, I awoke each summer morning to the sound of fishing boats heading out of the harbor. My small room had a window facing the water, overlooking a small stand of spruce, giving me a peekaboo view of the harbor. But it was the sounds—diesel engines turning over,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why we must let salt marshes ‘breathe’

Salt marshes comprise more than 22,000 acres, or 34 square miles, in Maine. These ecosystems provide myriad ecological and climate services, such as habitat for wildlife, including endangered species, buffering of coastal flooding, and carbon sequestration. But, if you aren't a bird enthusiast, waterbird hunter, or a marsh ecologist, you… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How to best crunch the greenhouse gas numbers

Carbon pollution, also known as greenhouse gas emissions, is detrimental to the current way of life on Earth. In 2003, Maine became a climate leader for the nation when it became the first state to enact legislation setting specific greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Since then, many other states have… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Closing a rural school raises key questions

It is school budget time. For remote and rural towns, it is common for the sustainability of small schools to be in question: do the economic benefits of the school outweigh the cost to local property tax payers? On the surface, closures or consolidations often seem more cost effective. In… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Numbers don’t always accurately tell our stories

Data collection may seem like an exacting approach in capturing community reality, but if the measuring tool does not match what is being measured, inequity can result. As Catherine D'Ignazio, in a presentation on Data Feminism sponsored by the Data Innovation Project, put it: “What gets counted, counts.” Because of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A science-based reality check

The past year has been tumultuous to say the least. Typically, as I begin to write this month’s column, I am at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in a large conference room sitting shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others who care about Maine’s fisheries and their future. That can’t happen… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Explaining and bridging Maine’s digital divide

The things people can do from home would be unfathomable to someone 30 years ago. Those with access to broadband can further their education, utilize telehealth, engage in remote work, and connect with anyone (who also has broadband access) around the world. “It is necessary for our civic and cultural… SEE MORE