2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring, the landmark book that helped launch the modern environmental movement. To commemorate the anniversary, Maine Audubon will show a short biographical film in remembrance of the book’s author, scientist, and ecologist, Rachel Carson. The film will be followed by a panel of experts who will discuss and share perspectives on continuing threats to wildlife and humans from toxic chemicals in our environment.

“Rachel Carson helped spark a movement that Maine Audubon and many other organizations and conservationists carry on today,” said Maine Audubon Executive Director, Ted Koffman. “Maine Audubon’s mission follows Carson’s vision of educating and providing awareness of the need to sustain our planet’s diverse wildlife and for public involvement in habitat conservation.”

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C-SPAN 2012 bus and tv program the Contenders films in Augusta, Maine. The bus is parked in front of the state capitol. photo by du Houx

James G. Blaine, a Republican who ran for president in 1884, was featured recently on C-SPAN’s history series “The Contenders.” The C-SPAN bus traveled to Augusta for a day and filmed a live program at the Blaine House, in the evening of September 16.

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The Fifth Annual Bangor Book Festival, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 will host 35 Maine authors including Colin Woodard, Sarah Braunstein, Paul Doiron, Richard Foerster, Jennifer Richard Jacobson and Catherynne M. Valente, and will feature a creative writing workshop with Barbara Baig. All events are free and open to the public.

Keynote speaker Colin Woodard has reported from more than 50 countries and is a foreign correspondent for the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Christian Science Monitor and a contributing editor at Down East. His books include “The Lobster Coast” and the forth coming “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.”

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