Climate change is raising temperatures around the world, and Maine is no exception. July was the hottest month on record for Portland, and Portland even broke records for the highest low temperature on July 27, when the temperature never got below 78 degrees.

This is very different from the Maine I knew as a kid. In the 1980s, not having air conditioning wasn’t a problem. But now, the fact that I don’t have air conditioning has made getting through this summer a challenge. It’s not just uncomfortable, either. Heat also has many negative health impacts, including higher incidence of asthma, heart attack and heatstroke.

This makes slowing down the rise in temperature critical for all of us, and here in Maine, we’re not waiting for others to take the lead.

The Maine Climate Council is hard at work to develop an economic and climate action plan for Maine’s future. The council has 39 members, as well as over 200 people from various backgrounds, all focused on adapting to climate-related changes and trying to slow temperature increases.

But Maine can’t, and shouldn’t, go it alone. Federal leadership is essential.

That’s why I’m asking for Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden to offer their full support for (1) Maine’s plan and (2) federal climate action. And I’d like to hear specifics from each of them before November about how they plan to respond to the ever-increasing damages of climate change.

Erica L. Bartlett
Portland

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