CLIMATE SCIENCE PORTAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES
Defining Climate Change
Climate change is bringing more than just novel climate conditions; it’s also introducing us to new terms little used before the contemporary climate change period. We’re now hearing words such as atmospheric rivers, bomb cyclone, and polar vortex. For a brief glossary of this new climate vocabulary see page 15 of this report:
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Here’s how methane emissions occur:
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY The fossil fuel industry generates a third of all methane emissions. The gas leaks from pumps, pipelines and wells as oil and natural gas are extracted and transported. There is also growing evidence that the decomposition of petroleum-based plastic discarded in landfills and in oceans is responsible for methane emissions.
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Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
THE CLEAN AIR ACT is an example of a relatively successful environmental regulation. A recent 50-year retrospective review of the Clean Air Act revealed that this comprehensive federal law outlining a wide array of regulatory mechanisms led to substantial pollution emissions reductions and health improvements in the US. Despite the quadrupling of gross domestic product (GDP) since 1970 (GDP is generally associated with increased production) air quality across the United States substantially improved during this period. The decline in pollutants and increase in GDP since 1980 are shown in the chart below.
CITIZENS' CLIMATE LOBBY'S carbon fee and dividend proposal is a good example of how fees may be used to limit greenhouse gas emissions. CCL supports an economy-wide carbon fee program, where the funds raised through the program are equitably distributed back to American households in the form of a ‘dividend.’ Under this program, a fee is levied per ton of potential carbon emissions, and would be applied wherever fossil fuels enter the economy. The dividends received by all American households would help offset inevitable price increases, especially on emission-heavy products. The price increases and dividends would flow through the economy, incentivizing businesses and people to switch to clean energy. The primary drawback with fees, charges and taxes is that this form of policy solution cannot guarantee a specific amount of pollution reduction as would be the case with strict regulation or a regulated phase-out.
THE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE (RGGI) is the first mandatory cap-and-trade program in the United States to limit carbon dioxide from the power sector. Eleven states currently participate in RGGI: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia.
Divest from Fossil Fuels
LD 99 | An Act To Require The State To Divest Itself Of Assets In The Fossil Fuel Industry, became STATUS: law as of June 16, 2021
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What is a Carbon Footprint?
It is important to note that the term ‘carbon footprint’ was first coined by a public relations firm working for British Petroleum, one of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world. Their ‘carbon footprint calculator’ helps place the blame for climate change on the consumer and hides the role of the fossil fuel industry in perpetuating the climate crisis.
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Climate Change Acceleration
Explore more about the Great Acceleration: the coining of the term and the compilation of evidence for its existence.
Fossil fuel emissions from human activity are driving up Earth’s temperature—yet something else is at work. The warming has set in motion nature’s own feedback loops which are raising temperatures even higher. The urgent question is: Are we approaching a point of no return, leading to an uninhabitable Earth, or do we have the vision and will to slow, halt, and reverse them?
January 14, 2021 — It’s official: 2020 ranks as the second-hottest year on record for the planet, knocking 2019 down to third hottest, according to an analysis by NOAA scientists."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports (IPCC) prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response options. In 2022, This report acknowledged for the first time the link between global warming and colonialism. “Vulnerability of ecosystems and people to climate change,” the international body wrote in its report, is “driven by patterns of intersecting socioeconomic development” and “historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism.”
The National Climate Assessment (NCA) assesses the science of climate change and variability and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout this century.
Show Your Stripes (from the University of Reading) This tool displays eye-catching temperature “stripes” from any country or U.S. state since 1895 (use the drop down menu). These stripes make it easy to see that warming is happening nearly everywhere and at an increasing pace.
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Climate Change and Wabanaki Culture
"Climate change has impacted and will continue to impact indigenous peoples, their lifeways and culture, and the natural world upon which they rely, in unpredictable and potentially devastating ways. Many climate adaptation planning tools fail to address the unique needs, values and cultures of indigenous communities. This Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu, which was developed by a diverse group of collaborators representing tribal, academic, intertribal and government entities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, provides a framework to integrate indigenous and traditional knowledge, culture, language and history into the climate adaptation planning process."
Wabanaki Alliance Legislative Bill Tracker
Use this resource to track issues related to the Wabanaki Nations. Find details on many bills and actions you can take to stand with the Wabanaki.
Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship
The mission of the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship Nil yut ktahkomiq nik (the whole earth is our home) is to improve the health and well-being of Wabanaki people through a sustained effort to expand our access, management, and ownership of lands to practice our land-based cultures across Wabanaki homeland in what is now the State of Maine.
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TEK: Increased Temperatures
UN summit in New York hears how resources needed for sustainable energy threaten Indigenous land and people (Jenni Monet, The Guardian, April 23, 2023)
This report acknowledged for the first time the link between global warming and colonialism. “Vulnerability of ecosystems and people to climate change,” the international body wrote in its report, is “driven by patterns of intersecting socioeconomic development” and “historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism” (2022).
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TEK: Hydrology
SEA LEVEL RISE VIEWER Sea level rise and salt water intrusion into the Passamaquoddy community at Sipay’k (Pleasant Point) are major concerns. This map shows portions of Pleasant Point that are vulnerable to innundation (in green) at 5-feet of sea level rise. Scientists predict the likelihood of 5 feet of flooding in this coastal region due to sea level rise by 2050 at 92% – 100%, and projected local rises in this area of 1.8 to 6.3 feet by 2100. The more heat-trapping pollution emitted, the higher that sea-level rise is likely to be. [Data source: 2017 NOAA technical report, U.S. National Climate Assessment]. Activate the viewer to see additional flooding scenarios.
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Maine's Weather
Temperatures are increasing across the state. The average annual temperature has increased 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) in the last 124 years, with the rate of warming steadily increasing, especially since 1960. The six warmest years on record have occurred since 1998 with 2016 the warmest year on the planet and in Maine.
The Northeast is warming faster than any other region in the U.S., and is projected to warm 5.4 °F (3 °C) as much of the rest of the world warms by 3.6 °F (2 °C). To date, temperature increases in Maine have been greatest in coastal areas.
As Maine’s summers become warmer and longer, the number of excessively hot, humid days when heat indices rise above 95 °F (35 °C) are likely to increase. (The “heat index” is a measure of how hot it feels, taking into account both temperature and humidity.) This graph shows the projected increases in the number of excessively hot, humid days for various locations around the state.
KILLER HEAT AN INTERACTIVE TOOL This is an interactive tool that will show the high heat day changes for each Maine county. This analysis shows the rapid, widespread increases in extreme heat that are projected to occur across the country due to climate change.
THE FUTURE OF DANGEROUSLY HOT DAYS Includes data and spreadsheets state by state and there are data for each Maine Congressional District.
EXTREME PRECIPITATION EVENTS This graph shows the annual precipitation in inches recorded at 11 long-term meteorological stations across the state, where an ‘extreme event’ is defined as two or more inches of precipitation (water contained in rain or snow) per 24 hours period. Each bar represents a ten-year interval beginning in 1880 and ending in 2010.
Source: Maine’s Climate Future 2015 ed. p.9 “Extreme Precipitation Events 1880-2010”
THERE'S A NEW DEFINITION OF 'NORMAL' FOR WEATHER "The United States is getting redder. No, not that kind of red. (We’ll leave that to the political pundits.) We’re talking about the thermometer kind."
Maine Won’t Wait: 4-Year Climate Action Plan
SOLUTIONS
In June 2019, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1679 into law, with strong support from the Maine Legislature, to create the Maine Climate Council. The Council — an assembly of scientists, industry leaders, bipartisan local and state officials, and engaged citizens — was charged with developing this four-year Climate Action Plan to put Maine on a trajectory to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
SOLUTIONS
Throughout this site, University of Maine has compiled the best information and best practices to assist communities in building local climate resilience.
SOLUTIONS
Learn more about a municipal joint action plan. "Together, Portland and South Portland are working to create a prosperous and inclusive low-carbon future."
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Maine's Forests
Check out The Climate Change Atlas. This resource allows you to simulate how the distribution of most tree species in Maine (and elsewhere in the USA) are likely to change in the future. There’s one for birds too. Below are future projections for two of the many Maine tree species: red spruce (declining) and white oak (spreading). These projections are based on an optimistic climate warming scenario (4.5), which assume substantial cuts in emissions.
SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECTS IN MAINE This was a major source for much of the information in this summary of changes to Maine forests.
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Maine's Lakes, Rivers, and Wetlands
What is a Conservation Commission ?
Learn more about conservation comissions and help conserve your town, by joining or supporting your local conservation commission.
Protect local wetlands
Fight to conserve wetlands in your town that will help with both mitigation and adaptation effort.
Removing invasive species from the Belgrade Lakes
The 7 Lakes Alliance is to conserve the lands and waters of the Belgrade Lakes Region for all. They believe the life of the land and lakes is a shared effort and engage with the whole community to achieve clean water, well stewarded lands, and a vibrant economy.
Land Conservation in Maine
The Maine Land Trust Network builds and sustains the quality and effectiveness of land trusts, as well as other organizations engaged in land conservation, drawing upon our collective expertise and resources to ensure responsible and successful conservation.
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Wildlife and Biodiversity
CONNECTING WILDLIFE HABITATS "Wildlife move both daily and seasonally to survive. However, the habitats animals rely on continue to be fragmented by housing, roads, fences, energy facilities, and other man-made barriers. As a result, animals are struggling more and more to reach food, water, shelter, and breeding sites."
WEBPAGE | Maine Lakes
BE LAKE SMART "Human activity impacts lakes. Of special concern, our houses and roads make impermeable surfaces that don’t allow rain to soak into the ground, increasing the overland flow of rain water that picks up nutrients such as phosphorus and deposits them into the lake, where they can feed unwanted algae growth."
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“Occur at their southern range limit in Maine (e.g., Canada lynx)
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Depend on coldwater (e.g. Eastern brook trout, brook floater) or boreal habitats (e.g., boreal chickadee)
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Breed in wetlands that are vulnerable to fluctuating water levels during nesting periods (e.g., yellow rail, least bittern)
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Are coastal or marine species affected by sea level rise, altered ocean chemistry, or changes in marine food webs (e.g., saltmarsh sparrow, Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern)
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Inhabit naturally fragmented habitats that limit dispersal (e.g., Blanding’s turtle)
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Have narrow habitat requirements (e.g., Katahdin arctic butterfly)”
Invasive Species
GULF OF MAINE 2050 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM REPORT
"After the success of the Gulf of Maine 2050 International Symposium in November 2019, the symposium leaders collaborated on a Climate Outlook and Action report summarizing the findings of the symposium and how the interdisciplinary themes that were discussed could impact the Gulf of Maine’s environment, communities, and economies in the future."
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Coastal and Marine Impacts
As more people who care about the Gulf of Maine come to understand it as one of the fastest-warming ocean regions on the planet, one question persists: Why is the Gulf of Maine warming so rapidly?
ABOUT THE GULF OF MAINE "The Gulf of Maine is one of the world’s most dynamic environments. Nourished by cold ocean waters and characterized by a complex geomorphology made up of deep basins and shallow banks, this sea semi-enclosed sea is one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems."
'Run The Oil Industry In Reverse': Fighting Climate Change By Farming Kelp
"In the race to stall or even reverse global warming, new efforts are in the works to pull carbon dioxide out of the air and put it somewhere safe..."
New Research to Explore Seaweed for Ocean, Economic Health
The Island Institute and Bigelow Lab are doing ocean acidification with kelp studies in partnership with kelp farmers. They have found that kelp actually creates an arc of less acidic water as it grows and absorbs CO2 from the waters and so could be a companion to shellfish farming, providing protection from acid water for the shells of shellfish.
A Climate of Change: Sea Level Rise follows the community of Vinalhaven, Maine over a two-year period as they have conversations around planning for and responding to sea level rise on the island. It highlights some of the challenges they face, but more importantly, shows us how a small, yet engaged community can lead the way to planning for change.
SEA LEVEL RISE IN MAINE (MAP) Use this interactive tool to explore how different sea level rise scenarios will impact Maine.
SURGING SEAS RISK ZONE MAP explore another sea level rise map here. Climate Central has many tools for evaluating sea level rise and coastal flood risk.
Southern Maine communities unite to fight climate change
Working on building biodegradable sea walls in order to protect marshes from erosion caused by sea level rise - barriers made using coconut fiber bags filled with oyster shells collected from local restaurants.
Maine coastal areas plan natural solutions to reduce flood impacts from climate change
The Greater Portland Council of Government received $250,000 to help fight flooding caused by climate change in 10 coastal Maine towns
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Economic Impacts: Recreation & Tourism
In January of 2021, the second annual Aroostook County Sled Run had to be postponed due to lack of snow on local snowmobile trails. Read the full article by Melissa Lizotte.
Sugarloaf Mountain Resort is going carbon neutral by 2030
Boyne Resorts (parent company of Sugarloaf) announced a renewable energy purchase commitment with CMS Enterprises, a CMS Energy subsidiary, that entirely offsets electric energy consumption at its resorts and facilities throughout North America.
SURVEY123 DATA COLLECTION AND DATA PRESENTATION Lake Stewards of Maine collects information about when lakes freeze over in the fall or winter (ice-in), and when the ice melts in the spring (ice-out). Historically most people have only noted ice-out, but increasingly scientists are recognizing the importance of knowing how long lakes are under ice cover, and therefore ice-in is becoming more widely tracked as well.
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Economic Impacts: Agriculture & Fishing
ABSTRACT OF JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANIMAL NUTRITION
© 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Heat stress effects on livestock: molecular, cellular and metabolic aspects, a review, "Elevated ambient temperatures affect animal production and welfare."
MOFGA Advocacy
MOFGA promotes legislation that is critical to organic farmers and gardeners, addresses climate change, and supports a healthy environment, a strong rural economy, and a socially just, healthy society. See their 50th anniversary campaign, "Together We Grow" to learn more about thier sustainability work.
To be truly regenerative, we must be reparative
They act for a future of food and land sovereignty in the Northeast region, through permanent and secure land tenure for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian farmers who will relate with the land in a sacred manner that honors our ancestors' dreams – for regenerative farming, sustainable human habitat, ceremony, native ecosystem restoration, climate healing, and cultural preservation.
Edible Maine Street & Solidarity Gardens
Each summer and fall, our Edible Main Street planters line the road in front of CEBE's office and at nearby locations. These planters are demonstrations meant to inspire and educate, while also providing some nibbles to those strolling on Main Street.
Community Food Council of the Western Foothills
The mission of Community Food Matters (CFM) is to cultivate community-wide collaboration that nurtures equity, health, and regeneration in our Western Foothills food system.
Food justice for all
All of Cultivating Community’s programs are rooted in the idea that everyone has the right to good food. They empower New Americans by teaching them sustainable farming practices and connecting them to the community through their food hub.
Urban permaculture in Portland
This organization is dedicated to regenerating land, growing healthy food, and building strong, resilient communities.
Manoment’s Creating Resilient Urban And Community Forests
Manomet teamed up with the City of Bath, Maine Forest Service, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, and the U.S. Forest Service to better understand how trees benefit people and contribute to the resiliency of a community.
For example, scientific research suggests that the collapse of the shrimp industry in Maine is directly connected to ocean warming. Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) once supported a vibrant fishery in the Gulf of Maine, providing fisherpeople and coastal communities with a lucrative catch between lobster seasons. But in 2013, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission determined that stocks of P. borealis were too low to be sustainable, and a moratorium on the harvesting of shrimp in the Gulf of Maine was soon imposed. Source: Chang, Hsiao-Yun, "The Impacts of Climate Change on the Gulf of Maine Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) Distribution, Reproduction, and Life" (2021) Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3411.
WARMING OCEAN SLOWS PHYTOPLANKTON GROWTH "In addition to playing a big role in removing greenhouses gases from the atmosphere, phytoplankton are the foundation of the ocean food chain."
What is the future for the next generation of fishers?
Watch Riley Stevenson's film, "Changing Seas: Reflections on the Future of the Fishing Industry" to learn more.
Maine Shellfish Learning Network
The Maine Shellfish Learning Network works with Maine and Wabanaki wild clam and mussel fisheries to ensure the longevity of our common pool resources.
Bringing local fish to school cafeterias
A new project promises to increase the amount of local seafood served in K-12 public school cafeterias across New England.
Packed with facts and figures and more than 30 dynamic maps, Climate Emergency Atlas is clear and easy to understand, making it the perfect reference guide for all young climate activists.
Supporting the passive house industry and community in Maine, North America and Internationally.
PassivHausMAINE is a non-profit organization committed to decreasing carbon emissions, dependency on fossil fuels and the costs for winter heating in Maine. Maine Passive House and Thompson Johnson Woodworking as well as a handful of other builders committed to "green building solutions"
Implimenting energy efficeny programs in Maine
The Efficiency Maine Trust (Efficiency Maine) is the independent, quasi-state agency established to plan and implement energy efficiency programs in Maine.
An analysis of real estate at risk to chronic flooding; This tool will let you see properties and values for Maine communities.
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Impacts on Public Health
LYME DISEASE DATA TABLES: HISTORICAL DATA Reported cases of Lyme disease by state or locality, 2010-2019
ARTICLE | Maine Public
RISING TEMPERATURES PROLONG POLLEN SEASON AND COULD WORSEN ALLERGIES (March 15, 2022) "Hotter temperatures could dramatically worsen allergy season, according to new research, bringing on the spring bloom as many as 40 days sooner, if greenhouse gas emissions remain high. In the fall, weeds and grasses could keep releasing pollen up to 19 days later."
ARTICLE | American Lung Association
ASTHMA AND CLIMATE CHANGE, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW by Editorial Staff, May 28, 2019. "Everyone's health is at risk from the impacts of climate change. Changing climate patterns are degrading air quality and increasing the frequency and intensity of certain types of extreme weather such as droughts, floods and wildfires. However, people living with lung disease face greater risks."
ARTICLE | The Medical Society Consortium On Health & Climate
Health Costs of Climate Change: A new synthesis of scientific research on the health impacts of climate change has found that total health costs exceed $1 trillion each year in the U.S., with the expectation that they will rise with climate change. Read the report by the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
ARTICLE | CNBC
Climate psychologist says neither gloom-and-doom nor extreme solution-obsessed optimism is the best way to discuss climate change productively by Catherine Clifford, September 26, 2021. Communicating about climate change effectively is critical to get people to engage with it productively, according to climate psychologist Renée Lertzman.
ARTICLE | The New Yorker
What If We Stopped Pretending? by Jonathan Franzen, September 8, 2019. "If you care about the planet, and about the people and animals who live on it, there are two ways to think about this," argues Jonathan Franzen in the New Yorker. "You can keep on hoping that catastrophe is preventable, and feel ever more frustrated or enraged by the world's inaction. Or you can accept that disaster is coming, and begin to rethink what it means to have hope."
ARTICLE | New York: The Cut
This Is How We Live Now: A year's diary of reckoning with climate anxiety, conversation by conversation by Emily Raboteau, January 9, 2020. For a year, Emily Raboteau documented her conversations on climate change: "I would break climate silence as a woman of color, as a mother raising black children in a global city, as a professor at a public university, and as a travel writer — in all of those places, as all of those people."
“The first documented case of Maine-acquired Lyme disease was diagnosed in 1986. In the 1990s, the great majority of Lyme disease cases occurred among residents of south coastal Maine, principally in York County. Currently the Midcoast area has the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the state. Based on 2020 data, six counties have rates of Lyme disease higher than the State rate (Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Waldo, and Washington)” (Spring 2021).
ARTICLE | American Psychological Association, Climate for Health, and ecoAmerica
MENTAL HEALTH AND OUR CHANGING CLIMATE: IMPACTS, IMPLICATIONS, AND GUIDANCE (March 2017, 69 pp.) This American Psychological Association study from 2017 investigates "the mental health effects on individuals, both short and long term" of climate change. The research finds that "gradual impacts of climate change, like changes in weather patterns and rising sea levels, will cause some of the most resounding chronic psychological consequences."
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