Climate Driven: Hancock County

A growing number of Americans say they're concerned about climate change. And as the impacts worsen, experts say it will have an equally profound effect on mental health. A new program on Mount Desert Island attempts to address both.

The new co-op model is not a subscription plan, nor do customers have to install their own solar panels. Instead, the solar array is purchased by a tax equity investor, and members of the cooperative pay in for 5-7 years to buy it back.

Harvesting softshell clams has been a part of Gouldsboro’s culture and economy for generations. But warming ocean temperatures have led to an explosion of the invasive green crabs, which eat the clams. Now, a group of volunteers are working to revitalize the local fishery.

Researchers are using various locations around Acadia National Park to study how the same species of plants from other locations respond differently to the local conditions.

As a species, Arctic charr are remarkably plastic, meaning they can adapt to many different habitats and diets. In Maine, some populations specialize in eating snails, while others eat insects, and others prefer fish. But it remains to be seen whether climate change might pose some sort of danger to them.