Portland Protectors

05/30/2026

This excellent piece from Ivy Frignoca, Friends of Casco Bay, and Luke Frankel, Natural Resources Council of Maine, points out why Wyman Station in Casco Bay, owned by a $200B megacorporation, should NOT be allowed to flout the law and continue emitting high levels of dangerous air pollution for the next 13 years, as the Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to allow. 🔆🔆🔆🔆 Remember, the Maine DEP is the agency that decades ago gaslit farmers and organic proponents by saying sewage sludge was perfectly safe and great to spread on farm fields. 💩💩💩 We all know how that turned out. 💩💩💩

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"Wyman Power Station on Cousins Island, which burns heavy and residual oil, recently submitted a request for a clean air exemption to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that would allow it to avoid complying with updated air quality standards for nitrous oxides (NOx).

In its request, the plant owner, Florida-based NextEra Energy, says it plans to operate Wyman Station for 13 more years.

Wyman should not be granted this exemption.

By May 2026, sources like Wyman Station that emit NOx were required to reduce their emissions with new technology or seek the use of alternate technology. Wyman proposed to keep emitting at its present levels, with no updated technology.

A major energy company valued at more than $200 billion should not be allowed to skirt these common-sense safeguards by arguing that compliance is too expensive based on questionable reasoning.

Unfortunately, the DEP has issued a draft license approving the exemption for Wyman, siding with NextEra’s claim that it is unreasonably expensive to install new technology to comply with the new NOx standards given the plant’s infrequent operation.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine and Friends of Casco Bay have joined Yarmouth residents, Conservation Law Foundation, Slingshot, Clean Air Task Force and Maine Conservation Voters to oppose NextEra’s request to avoid complying with the stricter standards that it claims are too expensive."
👇👇👇Full story below👇👇👇

05/27/2026

This is great and long overdue news. We're sorry that it took an unacceptable five deaths and 30 serious injuries in 2025 for law enforcement officials to question their lopsided approach to street safety. We hope the traffic engineers step up next to change their outmoded ways, too. https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/27/cumberland-county-prosecutors-to-review-all-future-pedestrian-crashes/

05/21/2026

Organic gardens blanket Maine, and the lovely Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has an interactive map to locate organic seedings so you can plant your own. https://www.mofga.org/mofga-seedling-map/ Happy organic gardening 2026! 🫛🥦🌽🌶️🥒🫜🥔

04/29/2026

Railroad W**d Inc., which broadcast sprays high-risk pesticides along railroad tracks in Maine (even in Portland and South Portland because of loopholes in the cities' pesticide ordinances), is being sued by the Portland Water District, which says Railroad W**d Inc. illegally connected to a public hydrant and caused $150,000 in damage to water mains. The out-of-state company has locations in Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee. This kind of irresponsible and out-of-date land management is supported by the corporations who own and operate the railroad lines that crisscross our city. Residents get no say. Railroad W**d Inc. is alleged to have inflicted $150,000 worth of damage on our public infrastructure. What no one knows is how much the company's risky and imprudent broadcast spray programs costs us in sickness, lost work days and higher health care costs.

04/28/2026

Peak capitalism: sell poison, make everyone sick, then sell elixirs to relieve discomfort but keep feeding the disease. Boycott Roundup and all its related drugs.

04/25/2026

Excellent opinion piece from Portland Cruise Control in today's paper!

Key takeaways include:

* "Scrubbers allow the cruise industry to continue profiting from cheap fuel while exporting the damage to our community. The acidified scrubber wash discharges carcinogenic compounds that bioaccumulate in the food web, along with heavy metals, nitrites, nitrates and soot particles — all of it directly into Casco Bay, which supports our iconic lobster industry, recreational sailing, swimming and kayaking."

* "Portland Cruise Control has asked the city to restrict HFO and scrubber use while cruise ships are in port. By changing to a cleaner fuel, scrubbers would no longer be necessary, the wash would be eliminated and air emissions reduced significantly. The city’s response has been to offer cruise lines a $2 discount per passenger to voluntarily stop poisoning our environment beginning in 2027. It is estimated that switching to a cleaner, low-sulfur fuel would cost cruise lines approximately $3.50 per passenger, making HFO still the more profitable choice, even after the discount."

* "There is a more effective strategy the city can pursue now. We can make cleaner fuel change a condition of entry into our port through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Also called community benefit agreements, enforceable arrangements like this have been reached in ports around the world as peer-reviewed science documenting the damage caused by scrubbers has become irrefutable."

Sadly, Portland City Hall favors the cruise industry over the health of residents and Casco Bay. This needs to change.

The cruise lines cannot be allowed to dictate our public health and environmental policy. We have the leverage. It's time to use it.

04/22/2026

Reps. Pingree (D-Maine) & Massie (R-Ky.) intro No Immunity for Glyphosate Act

04/20/2026

ALERT!! Congress wants to sell the health of American families to boost profits for pesticide companies. Contact your representatives and ask them to reject the four Farm Bill provisions listed below that provide corporate welfare while raising healthcare costs for Americans. TAKE ACTION HERE: https://secure.everyaction.com/KuSlqNI_RUWnXtGZykkjrw2

04/16/2026

Opening day for cruise ships, which are allowed to spew air pollution, water pollution and contagious diseases to lower their costs and boost corporate profits while damaging the health of local residents.

Opening day of the 2026 cruise season ~
⚓ 86 cruise ships at city berths (restricted port revenue)
⚓ 38 cruise ships at private berths (no $ for port)

Community gets:
⚓ Air Pollution
⚓ Water Pollution
⚓ Tourist Congestion
⚓ Risk of infectious disease


photo by Matthew Day

04/10/2026

Want to volunteer to help birds? Join Maine Audubon and Bird Safe Maine to monitor birds killed after striking buildings in Portland.

If you find a dead bird, please:

1. Take photographs of the bird in place;
2. Email images with the date and address to [email protected];
3. No need to collect the bird, but you can move it to a safe place to decompose if you feel comfortable;
4. If you find an injured but living bird, please contact Avian Haven at 207-831-4888.

Join a virtual volunteer information session on Monday April 13 from noon to 1pm. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/CHdj9xttSt-Kk_Of9yX2Kg?emci=8fad0863-a932-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&emdi=4683e8fa-8633-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&ceid=14372932 #/registration

More info: https://maineaudubon.org/advocacy/birdsafe/