climate change

Last December, the Maine Climate Council released a lengthy "action plan" for achieving ambitious climate goals. Since then, the state has made significant progress on some fronts but still faces sizable hurdles on others.

On Wednesday, the Mills administration released a Climate Action Plan progress report that says Maine has made “significant strides” toward the ambitious goals established a year ago.

When salt marshes are under stress, they degrade, and actually release carbon into the atmosphere. Scientists in Maine recently unlocked a mystery that helps explain what's happening to marshes — and how to restore them.

This year alone has seen record high water levels in several places, including Bar Harbor, Cutler and Wells. For coastal communities it means threats to buildings and infrastructure, loss of beaches and intrusion of salt water into private wells.

Students said not enough has been done in recent years to move the system’s investments away from fossil fuels, particularly in light of recent commitments at the state and international level to address climate change.

A mid-sized project in York County that's part of the state's new "community solar" program is just about to go live.

Speaking from Scotland, Blume told Morning Edition host Irwin Gratz that she attended the conference to show how states like Maine can take meaningful action. And over the past few days, she says she's also been struck by what she's seen and heard.

Lubelczyk says York County is a bellwether for northern counties. Deer ticks are expanding their range, and that's fueled, in part, by mild winters brought on by climate change. And in southern Maine, warmer winters make York County a potential home for new populations of ticks.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery is hardening its own historic facilities against higher tides, and adding flexibility to on-site energy systems.

While many communities are responding to climate change in their own ways — from installing solar panels and new culverts to opening cooling centers and forming special committees — few have made far-ranging plans that account for their own unique populations, resources and vulnerabilities.