Stories
Tucked away in the New Bedford Whaling Museum is a room full of records. It holds manuscripts, manifests, banking records and crew accounts from New England’s storied whaling industry. It also contains the largest collection of whaling logbooks in the world. Logbooks were a legal record of each voyage, in which first mates documented…
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A federal appeals court is reinstating restrictions on fishing gear in a nearly 1,000-square-mile swathe of ocean off Maine’s coast. It’s a blow to Maine’s lobstermen and a victory for advocates for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. In October, in an effort to protect the roughly 340 right whales remaining on the planet from…
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New research on the combined threat of rising sea levels and extreme weather focuses on coastal areas in New England. By simulating hazards like flooding with computer models, the researchers say their findings could help prepare communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. “We’re particularly interested in looking at close to the…
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Marshes have been called the “kidneys of the landscape” because they clean pollutants from water. They also protect communities against storm surges and erosion, and are better than forests at capturing carbon, so are considered critical in the fight against climate change. But when they’re under stress, they degrade, and actually release carbon into the…
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Sea level rise is accelerating along Maine’s coast. This year, record high water levels have been documented in Bar Harbor, Cutler and Wells. For coastal communities it means threats to buildings and infrastructure, the loss of beaches and intrusion of salt water into private wells. A modest 1.6 foot rise, which is expected by the year 2050, will…
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A mid-sized project in York County that’s part of the state’s new “community solar” program is just about to go live. It’s happening as the state’s capacity for generating low-polluting electricity from the sun has surged in the last two years by more than 300% — and that’s expected to grow as the state moves…
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York County is the historical epicenter in Maine for vector-borne diseases. Since deer ticks first appeared in southern portions of the state in the late 1980s, they’ve gained a strong foothold — as have the diseases they carry, such as Lyme, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. York County is also home to the state’s only human cases…
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“Climate resilience” has become a phrase that describes the efforts of scientists, conservationists and government officials to respond to sea-level rise, intense storms, and increasing temperatures. The concept is getting the attention of military planners as well, and in Maine, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery is hardening its own historic facilities against higher tides,…
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When it comes to raging wildfires, Maine is no California. As the most heavily forested state in the country, Maine’s climate is wetter. California is warmer and drier. There’s more lightning and more wind in the Golden State. But Maine’s changing climate is increasing the possibility of more and bigger fires — and now, like…
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It was 10 years ago, but when Lori Mathieu thinks about extreme weather events, she remembers Hurricane Irene. “Which was a hurricane that turned into a tropical storm, but hit us pretty hard,” she said. “And then we had that incredibly odd snowstorm that hit us while the leaves were still on the trees.” And…
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