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Launching into a new year of action!
The 131st Legislative session got off to a solid start with the enacting of LD3 which provides one-time funding to support emergency housing and emergency shelters to prevent people from experiencing homelessness this winter; as well as provide emergency assistance for high heating costs. While this will help Mainers for the short term we will be watching as a coalition to support systemic changes to mitigate the housing crisis.
This session is looking to be a whirlwind of activity with 2,123 bills submitted! We will be sharing out ones that are relevant to our focus issues. In the meantime we are organizing to join in the efforts to educate voters about the consumer owned utility referendum on the fall ballot. Helping folks understand the grid, transmission, distribution, generation and supply of electricity and the necessity and benefits of a consumer owned model will help them make an informed vote. We’ll need a grassroots groundswell for this effort!
The changing and challenging climate events we are witnessing and experiencing are letting us know bold action and time are of the essence. We look forward to taking action with you!
Amy,
Director MCAN
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We continue to see huge, increasing numbers of new arrivals into the Portland area. The faith-based Neighbors Need ME coalition is encouraging people to sign on to their letter here asking the Governor to take immediate action with an immediate systemic response to the housing crisis at the state level.
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Meet the New Members of MCAN!
Meet the new members of the MCAN team. Jess Falero and Tony Antoine are our new Climate Justice Co-coordinators. We share these positions with Maine Youth for Climate Justice and are looking forward to working together.
JESS FALERO (they/them) has been a community organizer for five years in Portland, Maine. Their work is mainly focused on homelessnes s, poverty, and harm reduction, along with an emphasis on climate change as an intersection for those that have been historically left out of the conversation. They organized the Unhoused Encampment on the steps of Portland City Hall during the 2020 pandemic. They were recognized in the House of Representatives
for their work on LD 1294, An Act To Prevent Discrimination against Domestic Violence Victims. They have raised over $100,000 through social media and put the money directly into supporting poor and working class people in Portland.
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WINSTON ANTOINE (TONY) (he/him) is a multi-lingual outdoorsman who fishes, forages, gardens and hunts to exercise food sovereignty, to obtain sustenance ethically and to take part in anti-capitalist food systems.
Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Tony is an Afro-Caribbean American of Trinidadian descent. His love affair with the outdoors started with hearing stories of his ancestors in the Caribbean. Before he could walk, he spent many hours crabbing and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay with his father and siblings. He left Baltimore for college
and graduated from Bowdoin in 2016. Never forgetting his roots and connections to nature he has remained in Maine, continued to do the same things that his ancestors have always done and has expanded his knowledge and activities when outdoors. Tony is very vocal about his passions and is enthusiastic in encouraging people of the Afro-Diaspora, women, and BIPOC folks to re-establish their natural and ancestral connections to the great outdoors. Tony believes that rekindling these natural relationships amongst marginalized and intentionally excluded groups of people is the first step in participating in climate justice and addressing issues of climate change.
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FIX the GRID Campaign Launch
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MCAN member organization Slingshot shared the FIX the GRID campaign launch with over 135 New Englanders last week.
FIX the GRID is a grassroots campaign across the 6 Northeast states that aims to accelerate a just transition to a democratic, transparent, and renewable electric grid. The campaign had a launch last week to outline the regional strategy of encouraging state leaders (governors, ratepayer advocates, etc) to be our champions in calling for the governance reforms our regional grid operator desperately needs. Learn more at fix-the-grid.org and contact Mireille Bejjani (mireille@slingshotaction.org) with any questions!
(see below for their next event)
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Want to learn more about your rising electric costs? Register here for Mythbusting virtual event on Monday, January 23rd at 6:30pm. |
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Join this monthly event for coffee and talking Sustainability and Climate in Portland and South Portland with guest speakers.
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Offshore Wind Pannel Disscusion
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Thursday February 16th at 4:30pm
MYCJ is presenting a final installment in the Offshore Wind Educational Speaker Series - a panel discussion with three of the series’ original speakers. Youth will ask questions and moderate discussion between the three panelists, with the goal of striving towards a more equitable and just transition.
Register here.
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Electric Rates:
What does the "Pine Tree Power" plan to replace CMP and Versant have to do with climate change? by Annie Ropeik, Climate Monitor, January 6, 2023 Article here
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Electricity > Grid & Utility Reform: What States can do to Modernize the Grid
The U.S. power grid is outdated. It’s composed of a patchwork of interconnected grids operating at local, state, regional, and national levels — with varying degrees of coordination. This article from ClimateXChange takes a look at where our current system is failing, what a modern power grid could look like, and what states can do to support this transition.
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Northern Maine Energy:
Massachusetts says it will make good on its promise to help pay for a major wind farm planned in Aroostook County in this article by Patrick Whittle, AP, January 4, 2023.
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Local Action by Coalition Member:
A Climate to Thrive looks to make solar power affordable for MDI residents. by Carol Bousquet, Maine Public, December 14, 2022
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Solar:
Interconnection backlogs and a constrained grid are making it hard for some Mainers to install solar panels at their homes.
by Malachy Flynn, The Ellsworth American, December 20, 2022
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Consumer-Owned Utility Opposition:
A CMP-backed campaign submits signatures for a ballot measure opposing consumer-owned utility proposal.
by Kevin Miller, Maine Public, December 28, 2022
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