June 12, 2010, top retired military leaders and veterans, along with local elected officials, held a Town Hall meeting to discuss the connection between climate change and national security, and call for passage of comprehensive climate and energy legislation. The conference room which held the event, at the Portland Library, was filled to capacity.

The group that organized the event calls their mission Operation Free. They are a coalition of veterans and national security organizations dedicated to securing America with clean energy.

“In July of 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration, we bought, every single day, over one million barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia,” said Maine veteran Andrew Campbell who fought in Iraq. “Everyday.”

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NEW YORK, NY – The ten states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first mandatory, market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, today announced the results of the second quarterly auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances in 2010. The auction on June 9th, yielded $80,465,566.78 for states to invest in the clean energy economy.

“Wednesday’s auction continues RGGI’s track record of successful implementation,” said David Littell, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Chair of the RGGI, Inc. Board of Directors. “As we work to advance legislation at the federal level, the RGGI programs continue to be a model for strong national policy, developing best practices for the implementation of cap-and-trade programs.”

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Critical to economic growth is building infrastructure that will lead to job opportunities. Officials from Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) and the University of Maine, as well as Brunswick-area legislators from the Midcoast celebrated the SMCC Midcoast Campus, which will be housed at the current Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS) to highlight the need for voters to approve a bond proposal on the ballot.

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Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy announced that Maine has weatherized 1,582 homes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as of April 30, 2010.

Maine has now weatherized more than 30 percent of their total targeted Recovery Act funded homes, which enables the state to receive the remainder of the funds allocated. In total – Recovery Act funding for weatherization of low-income homes for Maine is $41.9 million.

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The Secretary will be in Maine on June 14. The Governor met with President Obama and Secretary Chu in Washington, D.C.,last February to discuss wind energy.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS ON ENERGY—

• Exclusive interview with Governor John Baldacci on how Maine has prepared the way for a green-energy economy; now it’s time for more federal help

• Exclusive interview with Patrick McGowan’s great Maine Forest Initiative- Unique plan to hold back urban sprawl, preserve special places, and certify wood 100 percent

• Laws passed this session accelerate alternative energy plans

ECONOMY—

• New doors of opportunity for all in Maine’s green-energy revolution

• Maine’s fiscally responsible budget

ENVIRONMENT—

• New law to cut sulfur emissions

• Maine’s Quality of Place will continue to grow jobs

• Maine’s Environmental Leader Certification Program

HEALTH CARE PROGRESSES—

• What federal health insurance reform means for you

• A program for state workers to curb obesity

• The practice of health benefit insurance caps stopped in Maine

• Vaccinations for more Maine children

ELECTION ISSUES—

• The importance of the bond package

• Bond to progress offshore wind technologies

• Income taxes cut for 95% of Mainers—if they vote NO ON ONE

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COMMUNITY NEWS—

• Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage

• Governor Baldacci’s spaghetti dinner for equal rights

Exclusive Interview with Governor John Baldacci

With the national focus on building manufacturing jobs in the alternative energy sector what makes Maine more attractive than other states to investors?

“Maine has three major ports, which recently received recovery act funds for improvements. Our three-port strategy connects our ports to railroads, as well as overseas markets by ship. We have a capable productive workforce. We are conducting ground-breaking research in composite wind technology with Dr. Habib Dagher, and his team, at the University of Maine. Bath Iron Works are looking to develop ships to carry the windmills for deployment at sea. Maine industries have built wind power expertise erecting land based wind farms, which generate the most wind power in New England. On top of all that, we have the most offshore wind potential in New England.

“Key to it all is location.

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During Governor John Baldacci’s State of the State address he said, “We have it within our power to develop new, cutting-edge sources of energy that can help to forever reshape the world. From start to finish, Maine has a role to play. We can develop the technology; use composites from the University of Maine to build the turbines, and lower electricity rates. That means jobs.”

Reshaping the world sounds like an enormous task, but consider this: Maine is developing the world’s first offshore floating wind farms.

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Editorial
A new wave of graduates just entered the workplace, searching for jobs. Many wonder if suitable jobs for the 21st century are available here. It may surprise you — new jobs in Maine are actually on the increase.

According to the Department of Labor, for the first three months of this year, Maine added 2,300 actual jobs. That is the first period of job growth Maine has seen since the recession started to take hold.

Over the last seven years, the state has ramped up research and development with bonds. As a result, there are now more positions available at high-tech companies.

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Thirty-three states have raised taxes to balance their budgets due to the recession. With citizens spending less, and manufactures producing less, the state takes in less revenue. At the same time state government needs additional funds to help meet the increased demand for more assistance.

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