PPH - Gov. Mills proposes ambitious goals for renewable energy

The Mills administration bill would also set official goals of obtaining 80 percent of electricity consumed in Maine from renewable sources by 2030 and from 100 percent renewable sources by 2050......................................“These issues need to be addressed by everyone today for tomorrow,” said Woodsome, a retired teacher and former chairman of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. “You can stand on the sidelines and be a Monday morning quarterback, or you can get involved and be at the table.”.............................

Hannah Pingree, who is playing a key role in Mills’ climate change agenda as the head of her Office of Policy and Management, said the council will use data and climate modeling to make its recommendations.

“This is obviously something that will start happening this fall, so it won’t impact current projects,” Pingree said. “But certainly, how we meet this goal requires pretty specific modeling about changes in the electricity sector, transportation sector, agriculture and everything we’re doing in Maine.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.pressherald.com/2019/04/30/mills-proposes-climate-counc...

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Maine Climate Council Would Lead State’s 100% Renewable Energy Efforts

The introduction of the legislation has also drawn praise from the Maine Conservation Voters, the Maine Renewable Energy Association, the Nature Conservancy in Maine, the Island Institute, the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM).

“Governor Mills has spoken frequently and forcefully in recent months of the urgent need for ambitious climate action, and this bill is just what we need to set in motion many of the clean energy solutions that Maine should be pursuing,” states Lisa Pohlmann, CEO of NRCM.

https://nawindpower.com/maine-climate-council-would-lead-states-100...

 

Governor Mills Introduces Bill to Establish Maine Climate Council
April 30, 2019

Governor Janet Mills announced today that she has introduced bipartisan legislation to create the Maine Climate Council. The Climate Council will develop the action plan and timetable to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, to promote jobs and economic benefits for Maine people in the transition to a lower carbon economy, and to support the climate resiliency of Maine’s communities.

“Evidence continues to mount that the impacts of climate change are harming our state and nation. Even the administration in Washington has joined the chorus of concerned scientists as the EPA last week warned,” said Governor Mills. “Today, we take another step in combating this threat, expanding our clean energy economy, and investing in our future by creating the Maine Climate Council and marshaling experts across the state to take urgent action. I look forward to working with the Legislature to pass this bill and ensure that the Climate Council can begin its work on building a better, brighter future for our state.”

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency published a 150-page document (PDF) last week issuing climate change preparedness guidance for communities nationwide already struggling with severe natural disasters. The report acknowledged that climate change “is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of some natural disasters.”

Governor Mills was joined for the announcement by Republican Senator David Woodsome, the lead sponsor of the bill, as well as Bill Mook, owner of Mook Sea Farms in Wallpole, and Melissa Law, owner of Bumbleroot Farmers in Windham, both of whom spoke about the impact that climate change is having on their businesses. Clean energy and environmental advocates, several key commissioners, and other lawmakers also flanked the governor during the press conference.

Governor Mills at the introduction of bill to Establish Maine Climate Council

“I am honored that the Governor has asked me help her with this effort. We may not agree on everything, but I think this something people across Maine and the country need to work on together,” said Senator David Woodsome (R-York), the primary sponsor of the legislation. “In my time in Augusta I’ve worked to encourage renewable energy jobs and I believe we need to do much more on weatherization. I believe this Council and its work can encourage the creation of new jobs for our state and help Maine homeowners.”

“Climate change threatens the future of Maine’s seafood industry and our coastal communities,” said Bill Mook, owner of Mook Sea Farm in Wallpole. “The governor’s bill is a crucial first step on a path that leads to dramatically lower carbon emissions, new economic opportunities, and avoids the worst of the forecasted climate scenarios for the sake of our children and their children.”

“Every industry of Maine’s economy will be impacted by climate change, and the state must develop strategies to prepare for its consequences,” said Melissa Law, owner of Bumbleroot Farms in Windham. “In the agricultural sector, sustainable farming practices can help sequester carbon while simultaneously creating strong local food systems. The future of Maine’s food systems depends on the adaptability and resilience of farms in the face of changing weather patterns and more extreme growing conditions.”

The introduction of the legislation drew praise from the Maine Conservation Voters, Maine Renewable Energy Association, the Nature Conservancy in Maine, the Island Institute, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, and the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute. To read their comments, see the attached document.

Governor Mills announced her intention to create the Maine Climate Council in February when Maine joined the U.S. Climate Alliance. LR2478, An Act to Create the Maine Climate Council to Assist Maine to Mitigate, Prepare for and Adapt to Climate Change would establish the Maine Climate Council in state statute.

The Climate Council will consist of several department commissioners, key state leaders, science and technical experts, business and non-profit leaders, municipal leaders, a tribal representative, and a representative of Maine youth. It will be charged with leading Maine’s efforts to reduce Maine’s Greenhouse Gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and at least 80 percent by 2050, and with achieving 80 percent renewable energy in Maine’s electricity sector – specifically energy consumed in Maine – by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050.

The Climate Council will also convene several working groups from within its membership – including a Scientific and Technical Working Group, a Transportation Working Group, a Coastal and Marine Working Group, and others – to focus on how the state can tackle challenges within these specific areas. In addition to recommending new policy and innovative strategies to reach these emission and energy goals, the Council will update the Maine State Climate Plan every four years, and will solicit input from the public and report out progress on its goals every two years to the people of Maine. The first Climate Action Plan is due to be submitted to the legislature by December 1, 2020.

A copy of the legislation, which will be considered by the Legislat....

Or download here:

LR%202478%20An%20Act%20to%20Create%20the%20Maine%20Climate%20Counci...

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEGOV/bulletins/241fab5

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Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on May 1, 2019 at 11:10am

Trump Will Meet With Top Advisers To Discuss Plans To Challenge Climate Change Reports, Source Says

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/30/trump-challenge-climate-reports/

Comment by Paul Ackerman on May 1, 2019 at 10:35am

EXACTLY !  

Comment by Gary Campbell on May 1, 2019 at 10:09am

Paul Ackerman wrote: "Talk about a hypocritical carbon footprint--- take a look at Speaker Sara Gideon's house in Freeport. Very tony neighborhood,and I am betting they don't heat that mansion with wood like I do."

I Googled her address and looked at Zillow's 18 photos of her home at 37 South Freeport Rd. It appears she doesn't use solar or wind. I see no woodstove and no evidence of a heat pump. She does have two traditional fireplaces and extensive baseboards. Maybe her effort to reduce CO2 is limited to her not having a heated pool... and telling us what sacrifices WE have to make.

Comment by Steve Thurston on May 1, 2019 at 9:40am

Please Governor LePage,  come back and get re-elected and put an end to this.  

Comment by Paul Ackerman on April 30, 2019 at 7:46pm

Their belief in this fraud is all they need to declare there is "evidence". 

I've been on this little speck of the midcoast for almost 50 years now and the push to indoctrinate people with this ideology is remarkably clever.

It is really about controlling people,nothing more.

You tell them "everything is changing because of (something you cannot see or prove) "climate change",and therefore WE have to institute these draconian measures to forestall these terrible consequences from ruining the future of the state/country"  You must believe or you are a heretic,and will be ignored/shunned as such in any governmental venue.

I recall when the late Professor Dick Hill was asked (on radio,so there is a recording somewhere of it) what he thought of all this "climate change" hoopla,and his response was quite telling-- he was not a believer in the mantra but observed that in academia you'd be punished for expressing that view--that this ideology was not science essentially.

And..I am old enough to easily recall the magazine and TV stories about the coming ice age (late 60's-early 70's predictions) then they called it global cooling,then it was the ozone hole,then it was acid rain that was killing forests in Germany,then it seemed like in the 90's along came Global Warming,and when the hoaxer Michael Mann was exposed they re-coined it as "Climate Change" to cover all the bases.

But essentially all it has been from the start is a way to force feed us with mis-information in order to foist "green energy" technologies on the taxpayers via governmental regulations and ,ala Mills new Climate Juggernaut Committee,they find ways to spend preposterous amounts of taxpayer money (and borrow untold amounts more we'll be on the hook for) to "mitigate" problems that either do not exist except in their computer models ,or their control-it-all progressive ideology.

When I watch the parade of local "private" & lib run public schools promoting students to have Climate Marches,and recognize the coordination of all this with the big money organizations from outside Maine, I just shake my head in disbelief that the average reader/viewer has no idea how these useful idiots are being manipulated.

Another big local hoax is the "threat of ocean level rise impacting all coastal communities..." really?? The last time I heard any figures about the melting of the polar icecaps (probably computer models) the average increase in the last 100 years was something like .100 of an inch . Now I've seen hurricanes here since 1969,and a lot of winter storm surges,and a mean average increase overall of even 12" isn't going to mean squat to the rocky coast of Maine. 1/8" ?  and they want to spend hundreds of millions --or whatever $$ amount-- to reduce the carbon footprint of Maine when the Chinese and Indian economies use more "dirty coal" in a month than Maine could "mitigate" if we went dark for 5 years.

Talk about a hypocritical carbon footprint--- take a look at Speaker Sara Gideon's house in Freeport. Very tony neighborhood,and I am betting they don't heat that mansion with wood like I do.

Comment by Penny Gray on April 30, 2019 at 6:50pm

Where's the proof CO2 is destroying habitat, removing mountain tops, causing overfishing, etc etc etc.  CO2 has become the coyote of the Green Movement.  We need to put political science in its place and get back to real science.  Money corrupts science, and that scares me more than anything.

Comment by Richard McDonald/Saving Maine on April 30, 2019 at 5:14pm

Mills keep saying there's significant evidence (facts?) that climate change is responsible for serious damage to Maine's environment. What is the evidence? Anyone?  

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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