Working Waterfront

Food is an anchor of normalcy

It’s very close to the one-year anniversary of “quarantimes” as I write this column. On March 13, 2020, our students had their last day of in-person school for the year, although we didn’t know it at the time. We shut everything down—for two weeks, then for a month, then for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The ocean as natural capital

Standing onshore, we perceive the ocean as locality, the curve of the beach, the limit of the harbor, and as universality, the infinite inclusion beyond a distant horizon. We can look at the calculation of value in a similar way. We can understand capital as a monetized measure of value,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A Maine power company: possible and practical

As Maine grapples with decarbonizing its economy to meet ambitious climate mitigation goals, I urge us to think big and consider what a statewide, ratepayer-owned electric utility could do to aid us in our quest. Electric utilities are natural monopolies. More than 100 years ago we had competing companies and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ships, the Suez Canal, and our three ports

Assuming I have your attention, I am now going to ask you to look up and around the room in which you are sitting. What percentage of the things in the room were once aboard a ship? Thirty-five percent? Fifty percent? Seventy percent? Experts put the answer at over 90… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Federal flood insurance evolved, but not for the best

[caption id="attachment_24986" align="alignleft" width="300"] The King Tide in Camden.[/caption] In the February/March issue of The Working Waterfront, Peter Neill of the World Ocean Observatory suggested using flood insurance premiums to reduce risk instead of repeatedly rebuilding damaged structures (“Rethinking insurance as investment, not pay-out”). The concept of diverting insurance premiums… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Our waterfronts deliver the perfect superfood

Over the past year there has been renewed focus on the value of infrastructure. Transportation, health, information, electrical, and even the food system’s infrastructures have all been stressed, tested, and failed as we collectively experienced the fallout from years of undervaluing and underfunding the foundational elements that keep our society… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fight climate change, but not with CMP corridor

The December/January issue of The Working Waterfront featured a guest column by Orlando Delogu (“Maine must see bigger picture on utility project”) in which he questioned my motives on why I am against the New England Clean Energy Connect Corridor. I want to explain why I am against it. First,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor: seafood and carbon

A market-based fix To the editor In a recent Bangor Daily News op-ed, “A litmus test for the climate,” James Boyce articulates the case for the most effective way to address the climate emergency: “Clamping a hard ceiling on the total fossil carbon we let into the nation’s economy and… SEE MORE

Opinion

Working Waterfront

Healthcare access challenges older island, rural Mainers

The difficulties that Maine island and rural residents face in accessing healthcare is even more challenging for older residents. While many choose to “age in place” in their homes and communities, their need for health and supportive services often increases with age and the barriers can be overwhelming. A few… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A science-based reality check

The past year has been tumultuous to say the least. Typically, as I begin to write this month’s column, I am at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in a large conference room sitting shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others who care about Maine’s fisheries and their future. That can’t happen… SEE MORE