We are in a drought. “Moderate” for the Midcoast as of this writing. So far, knock on wood, our well is holding up. We made it through last year’s drought, too, thank goodness. But pause a moment and consider that statement.
Brunswick resident Heather D. Martin wants to know what’s on your mind; email her at heather@heatherdmartin.com.
We are in a drought … and we had a drought last year as well. In Maine. That’s troubling, is what it is.
Maine has traditionally been a “wet” state. Plenty of rain, plenty of snow, plenty of cool, foggy summers. No longer. Climate change has arrived while we were busy sort of pretending that it was an “away” problem, and while we are predicted to get some rain soon (hurrah), it will be a short-term fix to a long-term problem.
A report issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists states: “Average temperatures across the Northeast have risen more than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) since 1970, with winters warming most rapidly – 4°F between 1970 and 2000. If higher emissions prevail, seasonal average temperatures across Maine are projected to rise 10°F to 13°F above historic levels in winter and 7°F to 13°F in summer by late-century, while lower emissions would cause roughly half this.”
Given this reality and the now-accepted understanding that, yes, it is indeed carbon emissions causing it, I’m just baffled by the latest in the string of confounding decisions by the Supreme Court when they ruled 6-3 to take away much of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate those very same carbon emissions, because, as noted by NPR, “ … any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.”
Well, that’s just stupid, if you ask me. Our expanded and more complete understanding of the immediate crisis may be new, but regulating harmful pollution is not. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency was created. It’s literally in the name.
We in Maine have our own very direct and immediate tie to all of this.
Today, clean air and water are part of “the brand” that makes Maine special, the way life should be. But not so long ago, it was pretty bad here. In fact, between 1971 and 1978, the EPA sent photographers to document the downright horrid conditions on two of our rivers, and it was images of the nightmare that mill waste had made of the Androscoggin that convinced then-Senator Edmund Muskie to push the Clean Water Act.
We owe our good lives to the EPA, and the Supreme Court just crippled it.
This, at least, is one ruling that appears to have a clear fix in front of us. Did you notice that part of the ruling said: “unless Congress specifically authorized”? There’s the answer. Time to get on the line with our congresspeople and make it clear we’d like to continue being able to breathe, thanks.
Contact information for representatives and senators may be found at congress.gov/members.
In the meantime, let’s all do our part to pull through this current drought together. You know the drill. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. Don’t water the lawn – better yet, turn the lawn into something else. Skip the car wash and make showers shorter. And every time you see the temperature needle climb higher, remind yourself that measures to mitigate the damage are within our grasp – and vote accordingly in November.
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