RadioActive – Page 7 – WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

RadioActive 4/21/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: The Penobscot Nation Appeals River Case and the Legislature Passes Solar Energy Bill LD 1649, But Still Needs a Larger Margin to Override Veto

Key Discussion Points:
1) This week, the Penobscot Nation, and the US Department of Justice, filed to appeal a US District Court decision that supports the State Of Maine’s efforts to sever the Tribe’s ties to the Penobscot River within their territory.
2) This past December, US District Court Judge George Singal decided on the highly controversial and historic case, Penobscot Nation v Janet Mills, Attorney General for the State of Maine. Despite state claims to the contrary, he affirmed that the Penobscot Tribe does have sustenance fishing rights in the Penobscot River, surrounding their reservation’s 200 islands. But on the issue of the river itself, he sided with the State, who claims the Tribe’s territory includes the islands, but not the Penobscot River which surrounds it.
3) Last week, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1649, An Act to Modernize Maine Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development, but not by a large enough margin to stop Governor LePage’s promised veto. A second vote expected on next Friday, the 29th,provides one more chance for an override.

Guests:
Kirk Francis, Chief of Penobscot Nation
Vaughn Woodruff, Insource Renewables

RadioActive 3/17/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Public Hearing on LD 1649 An Act to Modernize Maine Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development

Key Discussion Points:
1) Today we hear excerpts from yesterday’s public hearing on LD 1649 An Act to Modernize Maine Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development before the legislature’s Joint Committee3 on energy Utilities and Technology.
2) LD 1649 is the product of a long negotiation of stakeholders, including solar installers, electric power companies (Central Maine Power and Emera Maine), the State Office of the Public Advocate, and environmental organizations.
3) Maine lags far behind other states in the region in solar power, much of this attributed to the lack of supportive public policy and consequent financial support.

Guests:
Pete Lafond, Falmouth
Joe Hardy, Wells
Brooks Winter, Island Institute
Julie Rosenbach, Sustainability coordinator, South Portland
Glenn Brand, Sierra Club Maine
Kimberly Darling, Falmouth
Nancy Smith,Grow Smart
Vaughn Woodruff, Insource Renewables

http://legislature.maine.gov/bills/testimony.html?snum=127&PID=1456#
http://legislature.maine.gov/bills/display_ps.asp?PID=1456&snum=127&paper=HP1120

RadioActive 3/10/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: LD 1649 An Act to Modernize Maine Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development

Key Discussion Points:
1) LD 1649 An Act to Modernize Maine Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development is the product of a long negotiation of stakeholders, including solar installers, electric power companies (Central Maine Power and Emera Maine), the State Office of the Public Advocate, and environmental organizations.
2) Maine lags far behind other states in the region in solar power, much of this attributed to the lack of supportive public policy and consequent financial support.
3) The proposed LD 1649 would restructure net metering and expand opportunities for community solar projects.

Guest:
Vaughn Woodruff, Insource Renewables

www.insourcerenewables.com/

http://legislature.maine.gov/bills/display_ps.asp?PID=1456&snum=127&paper=HP1120

RadioActive 2/25/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: A Climate to Thrive: Mount Desert Island moves towards energy independence by 2030

Key Discussion Points:
1) On January 24th, MDI Climate Solutions kicked off A Climate to Thrive, a local initiative whose goal is to move Mount Desert Island to energy independence by 2030.
2) Over 200 people attended the event on January 24th, and have divided the work going further into seven tracks, covering solar energy, other alternative energy, conservation and building, transportation, waste, local food and policy.
3) The project will have a particular focus on solar power, building on the current solar initiatives on Mount Desert Island. This will include more solar farms and arrays for residential and municipal purposes, and discount purchasing of solar panels through pooled buying.

Guests:
Gary Friedmann, Bar Harbor town councilor, climate activist, A Climate to Thrive advisory board
About
https://www.facebook.com/AClimatetoThrive/?fref=nf
http://www.revisionenergy.com/events

Johannah Blackman, program manager for A Climate to Thrive
aclimatetothrive@gmail.com

RadioActive 2/18/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: The Climate Change Institute and Reversing Falls Sanctuary’s Speaker Series on Climate Change

Key Discussion Points:

1) The Reversing Falls Sanctuary in Brooksville has begun it’s Lenten speaker series, called “Caring for the Earth, Our Common Home”, most specifically focusing on climate change. It kicked off last Sunday and will run weekly through March 20th.

2) We interview last week’s speaker, Dr Paul Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute and professor at the University of Maine, Orono.

3) The Reversing Falls Sanctuary is spearheading or involved with a number of local initiatives, including a green house project, participation in a state wide weatherization initiative (“Window Dressers” ), development of the Brooksville Community Solar Farm and work in the Transition Towns movement.

Guests:
Dr Paul Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute, professor at University of Maine, Orono.

Home

Anne and Tony Ferrara, Reversing Falls Sanctuary and RFS Community Climate Change Initiative
http://reversingfalls.org/2016-lenten-series-caring-earth-our-common-home

RadioActive 1/7/16

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Alliance for a Common Good’s Rally of Unity at start of Legislative Session in Augusta

Key Discussion Points:
1) A broad network of Maine organizations and movements, gathered under the banner the Alliance for the Common Good, held their 4th annual Rally of Unity at the capitol in Augusta at the open of the legislative session, on January 6th.
2) Participants shared updates on current struggles and victories, and campaigns for the coming year.
3) Some of the points of unity shared by Alliance for a Common Good participants include:

Respect for community sovereignty.
An economy that protects our environment.
Reserving Maine money for Maine people.
Keeping money out of politics.

Guests:
Jim Freeman, environmental and social justice activist, Rally of Unity moderator
Betsy Garrold, Food For Maine’s Future, Local Food Rules
Rev. Carie Johnson. Unitarian Universalist Church, Augusta, UU State Advocacy Network
Fredrick, Bernie Sanders campaign
Hendrick Gideonse, Stop the East West Corridor
Sherri Mitchell, member of the Penobscot Tribe, indigenous rights attorney

RadioActive 12/31/15

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: A new initiative to move Mount Desert Island towards energy independence by 2030.

Key Discussion Points:
1) Today we look at an unflinching local initiative to address climate change. A new organization, MDI Climate Solutions has set a goal to move Mount Desert Island towards fossil fuel free energy by 2030.
2) The “Climate to Thrive” initiative will be launched on January 24th at a public event from 3-6pm at the Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor. This will include looking at a vast expansion of solar power on the island.
3) We also look towards the Alliance for a Common Good’s 4th Annual Rally of Unity next week in Augusta.

Guests:
A) Gary Friedman, Bar Harbor town councilor; climate activist
About
https://www.facebook.com/AClimatetoThrive/?fref=nf

A Climate to Thrive Launch Event

B) Larry Dansinger, Alliance for a Common Good

RadioActive 12/17/15

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Penobscot Nation v Mills : Decision at US District Court

Key Discussion Points:

1) Yesterday, US District Court Judge George Singal ruled that the Penosbcot Nation’s reservation does not include the river waters flowing through it.
2) While Judge Singal affirmed the right of individual tribal members to sustenance fishing in the main stem of the Penosbcot River, he sided with the State of Maine in ruling that the Penobscot flowing through tribal territory is not part of the reservation. He based his decision on the State’s interpretation of the controversial Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act,saying if the Act did not explicitly mention the water as part of the territory, then the water is not included. The Tribe holds if they did not explicitly give up their rights to the waterway in the Settlement Act, they did not give it up.
3) In the landmark case, Penobscot Nation v Maine Attornay General Janet Mills, The Penobscot Nation opposed the Maine Attorney General’s Office 2012 opinion that the Penobscot Indian reservation, which includes more than 200 islands in the Penobscot River, does not include any portion of the water. The Penobscot Nation has argued this amounts to a territorial taking by the state and erases their inherent, treaty reserved sustenance fishing rights.

In October, Judge Singal heard oral arguments from Penobscot Nation counsel, counsel for the US Dept of Justice, intervening in the case on behalf of the Penobscot Nation, the Attorney General’s Office’s, and Pierce Atwood counsel which is representing a consortium of pollution dischargers intervening on behalf of the state.

Guest: Sherri Mitchell, member of the Penobscot Tribe, indigenous rights attorney

https://www.facebook.com/dawnlanddefense

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