Join us for Lobby Day at the State House on February 13!
February 2020
Join Us For Lobby Day
Learn how your voice can make a difference in Augusta
Thursday, February 13—9 a.m. Room 600, State Office Building
Our annual Lobby Day is open to all Sierra Club members, volunteers, and supporters. We would especially welcome and encourage Maine students to attend! This is a great opportunity to learn all about the legislative process at the State House and how you can participate in it. The day will include training sessions, meetings with legislators, role modeling, and observance of the House and Senate in session. Lunch will be provided. Learn how to be an active participant in democracy! For complete details, and to RSVP, click here.
The State of Maine Needs a Consumer-owned Public Utility
LD 1646 is Sierra Club Maine's top legislative priority
Representative Seth Berry (photo) is sponsoring legislation, LD 1646, that would establish a publicly-owned Maine Power Delivery Authority. Such a public utility would be solely responsible to its Maine customers, not to investors. The new publicly-owned utility would acquire and operate all transmission and distribution systems in the state currently operated by Central Maine Power Company and Emera. Sierra Club Maine believes a publicly-owned utility would better serve Maine people and the environment. In recent years, CMP has focused on reducing compensation for rooftop solar owners. It has also focused heavily on approval of a new transmission corridor to flow large-scale hydro power from Canada to Massachusetts via pristine areas of Western Maine. In the meantime, Maine has among the worst reliability and highest electrical delivery costs in the nation.
Other Priority Legislation:
• An Act to Protect Children From Toxic Chemicals: LD 1888
• An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Invest in Maine's Rail Infrastructure and Expand Passenger Rail Service: LD 535
• An Act to Ensure Adequate Funding for the Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and Waste Discharge Licensing Program: LD 1832
• An Act to Support Municipal Recycling Programs (no LD number, as yet)
• An Act to Phase Out Hydrofluorocarbons (no LD number, as yet)
In addition to these important bills, Sierra Club Maine will be identifying and advocating for other environmental legislation in the current session. To get more information on the Chapter's priority bills and others that our Legislative Team is tracking click here. You can help by contacting your legislators and urging them to support these bills. We also need volunteers to lobby for, and give testimony for, environmental legislation at the State House. If you are interested in helping please contact Matt atmatthew.cannon@sierraclub.org
CMP Transmission Corridor Petition Drive is Successful!
Once signatures are verified, voters will get to decide the fate of the project.
On February 3, opponents of Central Maine Power's transmission corridor rallied in Augusta to announce they had gathered more than 75,000 signatures on a citizens petition to allow the people of Maine to vote on the corridor next November. Leaders from Say No to NECEC (New England Clean Energy Connect) made the announcement, noting that the drive had far exceeded the 62,500 signatures needed to get the NECEC question on the ballot. The petition was submitted to Secretary of State Matt Dunlap who will now verify signatures. Sierra Club Maine was an active supporter of the petition drive. The chapter has opposed NECEC since its inception. The CMP project would negatively impact pristine areas of western Maine and would have little benefit to the state or its citizens. In addition CMP's claims of emission reductions for the region are dubious at best.
Send Us Your Photos of Chapter Activities
Sierra Club Maine is looking for good quality photos of chapter volunteer activities. This would include images from marches, meetings, outings, social events, celebrations, phone banks, canvassing, lobbying—even stuffing envelopes. If think you have photos that we can use (again, they need to be fairly high-resolution) please contact Matt at matthew.cannon@sierraclub.org.
Getting Our Schools To Go Solar
SolaRISE Maine Schools Summit set for March 17 at Portland's Space Gallery.
Casco Bay High School senior Siri Pierce wants Portland schools to run on clean solar energy. Toward that goal, Siri is partnering with Sierra Club Maine and ReVision Energy in organizing a conference for Maine students, and others, who are interested in getting their school districts to transition to solar power. The SolaRISE Maine Schools Summit will be held on March 17 at the Space Gallery (538 Congress Street, Portland) from 5 to 8 p.m. “We hope to create the opportunity for students, solar company representatives, and government officials to come together and discuss the viability of solar schools,” Siri, who is the youth director of SolaRISE Portland, explains. If you are interested in attending the summit, please sign up here. Sign up is not required, but strongly encouraged. The national Sierra Club and Sierra Club Maine have programs to support 100 percent clean energy schools. To find out more and to get direct guidance and support for making your communities schools green you can contact Andy Burt at annedburt145@gmail.com
Still Time To Sign Up For Outings Leadership Training
Do you like to explore the Maine outdoors with likeminded people? Why not consider becoming a Sierra Club outings leader—it’s fun and rewarding. Our March 14 workshop is what you need to start leading or co-leading outings with us. The morning session will cover all pertinent Sierra Club outings' policies and procedures. The afternoon will consist of prepping for and listing outings you might want to lead this year. This training, a Sierra Club membership, and an active first aid training certificate are all you need to start co-leading a Sierra Club Maine outing. The key to success is choosing outings that are well within your comfort zone—for both your, and other people's comfort and safety. Please RSVP here as soon as possible if you would like to attend. The location will be in the Brunswick area. Depending on interest, we will pick the most convenient location. Look for more details and to RSVP, click here. If you have questions, please email workshop leader Susan Levene at suelevene@gmail.com or call her at (207) 386-0128.
Other Upcoming Events
Building Sustainable Communities Monday, February 10—6:30-7:30 p.m. Freeport Community Center
On February 10 the Freeport Sustainability Advisory board will hold its next forum on Building Sustainable Communities. Members of the panel discussion will include the sustainability officers of Portland, South Portland and Falmouth. The panelists will speak on what their towns are doing to work toward a more sustainable future.
Kennebunk Film Series "Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees" Friday, February 28—7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. for coffee and brownies) Kennebunk Universalist Unitarian Church
In this film Diana Beresford-Kroeger takes us on her journey to the most beautiful forests of the northern hemisphere. She tells us the amazing stories behind the history and legacy of these ancient forests while also explaining the science of trees and the irreplaceable roles they play in protecting and feeding the planet. A discussion will follow the film.
Finding Hope in Climate Action March 5 to 7 Unitarian Universalist Church 479 Main Street, Norway
This three day event kicks off on March 5th with an "Evening with Bill McKibben," that will include youth activists, poets, and musicians. Friday, March 6th will be Skills for Action—a day of training, support, action, and celebration. And Saturday, March 7th, we will wrap-up with Finding Your Place, Building a Movement—a day of workshops, speakers and activities designed to broaden and deepen Maine’s climate movement and shift into high gear. Sign up for Friday, Saturday, or both days! Check this websitefor more information.
Weekend Outing Mt. Blue State Park, Avon Thursday, July 23 to Sunday July 26
Make plans now to join us at Mt. Blue State Park in July for a long weekend of fun and adventure. There will be a variety of hikes and a paddle in Weld Lake. All activities are at a moderate level. Participants will need to register separately for each outing and sign the waiver to participate. Please register early. If there is enough interest we'll host a group campsite by the lake at Mt. Blue Campground. The costs for group camping are $5 per person per night. For more information and to RSVP click here .
The Climate Action Advisory Team was recently awarded a Grassroots Activist Grant from the national Sierra Club to support our 100 percent Clean Energy for School Districts Climate Cafe this spring. We are currently working in Waldoboro, Cape Elizabeth, Saco, and Gorham to hold Climate Cafe events. The events will include presentations of the Climate Parents Program along with a climate comedian. We’ll develop local actions in these districts by engaging faculty, students, and parents from the local school communities.
Other news:
• The Town of Yarmouth is looking into electric buses and potential uses of solar energy.
• Portland Climate Action Team and the Buxton Climate Action Group both held window-dressers interior storm window-building workshops late in 2019.
• Join us for the following upcoming Maine Climate Table webinars at https://maineclimatetable.org/webinars/ February 25th—noon to 1 p.m. Discussion of Mount Desert High School’s installation of a solar PV system March 20—12 to 1 p.m. Ellen Griswold, Joe Blotnick will discuss natural climate solutions And this workshop: February 13—9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pittsfield Public Library—Vaughan Woodruff of Insource Renewables will talk about all aspects of installing solar systems
The Climate Action Advisory Team is always looking to support new teams and to have new volunteers join us in our work. Please contact maine.chapter@sierraclub.org for more information.
