Working Waterfront

Maine Climate Council action plan is opportunity, say members

The Maine Climate Council released its four-year plan for climate action on Tuesday, Dec. 1 the same day 60-mph wind gusts were battering the state. As council member Ivan Fernandez remarked during the public release of the report that the five hottest years in Earth’s recorded history were the last… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Port of Halifax expands to handle bigger container ships

This fall, the Port of Halifax welcomed the largest two containerized cargo vessels to ever make a call on the Canadian eastern seaboard—the CMA CGM Brazil and the CMA CGM Panama. Each ship is roughly 1,200 feet long and 48 feet in height above the waterline. Nova Scotians living on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A well-lived life in Maine boat design

Of Watercraft and Function: A Biography of Naval Architect Geerd N. Hendel By Roger Allen Moody A documented, remembered career is a form of immortality. A career as long and distinguished as that of Geerd Hendel, the German-American naval architect who worked in New York, Boston, Bath, and Camden deserves… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Phippsburg oyster project is a triple win

PHOTOS by KELLI PARK Maine has the power to draw people with its rugged beauty. But Maine is more than a pretty face, and it casts its spell over entrepreneurs who find possibility in its vast coastline. On the shores of the New Meadows River in Phippsburg is one example.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The smoking gun: what the fossil fuel industry knew (and when it knew it)

The smoking gun on climate change is, well, the smoke. Or at least carbon pollution. But the real smoking gun, said activists from the Center for Climate Integrity and Union of Concerned Scientists, is that the fossil fuel industry knew what impacts carbon pollution would have on the climate. And… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Luke’s Lobster, Island Institute join forces

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Maine’s fishermen and coastal communities in an unprecedented way. Diminished demand for Maine’s seafood has left Maine’s marine economy at risk. The Island Institute and Luke’s Lobster have formed a strategic partnership and leveraged more than $2.5 million in funding and shared financial resources to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The beauty and wonder of seaweed, artfully rendered

The Curious World of Seaweed By Josie Iselin (2019) Just being told something seems curious makes you curious to know more about that, yes? And so Josie Iselin’s newest book, The Curious World of Seaweed, promises and delivers–probably more than you ever knew you’d enjoy knowing about seaweed. This is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The pulsating kaleidoscope of Jill Hoy’s world

If we could see the Maine coast through Jill Hoy’s eyes, it might be like looking through a broken kaleidoscope. You’d still be able to make out the shapes of rock, tree, sea, headland, and boat, but their angular components would become saturated and vibrate with color. In a lively… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new bridge, and new beginnings

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. “Why would a young woman like you want to come here?” This was one of the first things said to me… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Port authority wins $4 million grant

The Maine Port Authority has received a $4,098,360 grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. The port authority sought funding from a port infrastructure program for improvements at the International Marine Terminal in Portland. “The International Marine Terminal has experienced a significant increase in volume in recent years, and… SEE MORE