No time for climate skepticism
Climate change skeptics like BDN columnist Matthew Gagnon seem to believe bad things are not already happening because of climate change. They need to get out of their recliners and take a trip along the Maine coast.
From my kitchen window I have watched the rising ocean kill large, ancient trees which fall into the cove and slowly disintegrate with the tide until they are stuck in the mud of the sea bed.
The scientists and Gagnon’s “ very angry teenagers” are right. Climate change is real. It is here. And we must act.
Nancy Allen
Brooksville
Johnson and Trump
I am old. Sometimes, things I see remind me of things I saw decades ago. For example, the televised picture of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump talking reminded me of two other couples, Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy. The older two couples were good at their jobs. Unfortunately…
Charlie Cameron
Addison
Climate change a critical challenge of our time
Matthew Gagnon’s opinion column in the BDN on Sept. 26 suggested that past predictions made by various scientists have failed to come true, and this causes skepticism of some current climate predictions. He cited predictions by Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich who thought mass starvation would occur in the 1970s due to overpopulation. Gagnon also referred to predictions made in the 1970s and 1980s regarding air pollution. In part, these predictions didn’t come true because steps were taken toward solving the problems.
For example, the Clean Air Act of 1970, championed by former Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, a Democrat, and signed into law by Republican President Richard Nixon, along with later legislation, resulted in the much-cleaner air we enjoy today compared to then.
Gagnon didn’t mention scientific predictions that are coming true. For example, climate models predict that the northeastern U.S. will become wetter and warmer. And since 1895, when we began keeping records, Maine’s average annual precipitation has increased 6 inches, and our average annual temperature has increased 3 degrees. These changes are affecting forestry, agriculture, fishing, and human health. We need bipartisan leaders today to tackle the current environmental challenges of climate change. Maine’s political leaders should remember Muskie’s legacy and act to meet this critical challenge of our time.
Sue Erich
Orono
Glad to have the sheriff in town
Orrington citizens thank the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Morton for the incredible coverage of our town.
Orrington has recently changed the way we provide law enforcement to our residents. Faced with the need for more visible surveillance over more hours each week, the Select Board recently signed a contract with PCSD. We have seen a marked difference in a very short period of time.
We are a drive-through town with Route 15 connecting Brewer to the north and Bucksport to the south. Over the years, people have found speeding vehicles land in their front yard, school
buses have passed nearly hitting children, firefighters have needed to call outside support for night fire traffic control and other more significant responses. All taken care of, but sometimes not as one expects.
The visible presence since the change has been amazing. The Sheriff’s Department has provided our little town with more vigilance on the road, in more places in town, at more and
different times of the day, night and weekends than ever before.
Citizens remark of the number of Sheriff patrol sightings, the quality of the deputies and their supervisors on duty, the way they professionally handle incidents, and the response time. Orrington feels more secure with the wonderful coverage from PCSD and the Maine State Police. Thank you again to Sheriff Morton and the Penobscot Penobscot County deputies and supervisors.
Rep. Dick Campbell
Orrington