When looking for signs of summers approach all one needs to do is notice the longer days and warmer weather.However here in the state of Maine, these signs of summer are also signaling the start of an invasion.When most of you think of invasions during the summer time you may think of swarms of mosquitoes and tourists who both possess the penchant to annoy us during the warmer summer months than disappear as soon as the first chill of fall rears its head.However the invasion that truly worries many here in Maine is the rampant infiltration of aquatic plants into our states waterways.
For several years now there have been warnings from environmental groups and agencies about the oncoming introduction of invasive plant species into Maine’s waterways, however for the most part a wide scale infiltration has been avoided.Yet this may not always been the case and has caused numerous groups and residents to set about cleaning up existing outbreaks and by establishing preventative measures.
The state is taking the threat so seriously that they have established Maine Milfoil Initiative which will contribute $500,000 in federal aid money to prevent to spread of the invasive plant species milfoil in Maine’s waters.In the town of Oakland this has resulted in a $13,000 dollar contribution to rid MessalonskeeLake of milfoil.The efforts to control milfoil in the lake will involve the installation of benthic barriers in high traffic areas of the lake.These barriers will rest at the bottom of the lake, preventing sunlight from reaching the milfoils root system and kill the plants.
There have also been state laws instituted to prevent the spread of these invasive species.Seaplanes landing in Maine’s lakes and ponds will now need to carry a water protection sticker.These stickers were already mandatory on all boats entering Maine waters however the Maine legislature added seaplanes to the list after establishing the planes potential to carry invasive species into the state.The stickers will cost $20 dollars and need to be applied to the outside of each pontoon.
For more information about invasive plant species residents can contact the Maine Bureau of Land and Water Quality.Also there are citizen based groups such as the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program who monitor the over 6,000 lakes and ponds in Maine trying to control invasive plant species.They have produced a comprehensive report about the current state of Maine’s waterways which can be viewed here; http://www.mainevolunteerlakemonitors.org/2009MaineLakesReport.pdf.
Measures need to be taken to stem the tide of invasive plant infestation or soon the problem will be much larger than it currently stands.The natural balance of Maine waterways rests in the balance and as experience in other parts of the country shows, the risks of waiting for an infestation to happen are much higher than the costs involved in preventing one.
A volcanic eruption on the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland has caused an evacuation of the area and flight cancellations throughout Europe.The eruption of this volcano is extremely rare with the last recorded eruption having occurred in 1821.This has been the second eruption of the volcano in 30 days and has caused more than 800 residents to seek shelter in Red Cross shelters.The evacuation of residents was caused by fears that the eruption would cause melting of the glacier and lead to massive flooding in the area.The melting of glacier ice has already caused the water-levels in rivers to rise over ten feet.
All of the smoke and ash billowing out of the volcano has had a dramatic affect on airline traffic in Europe.There are currently over 6,000 flight cancellations across Europe with many more expected over the course of this week.The countries of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, and The Netherlands have all announced closure of their airspaces.There is no known time table for when flights can resume, however there are several events which need to occur for these national airspaces to open up for airliners.
According to geophysicist Matthew Watson speaking during a CNN interview: "You really need two things to happen: You need the volcano to stop emplacing ash to the altitude that commercial aircraft fly at, 30,000 to 35,000 feet, and you then need the upper-level winds to blow the ash and disperse it out of the air space."He went on to add that if that were to occur right now that it would still take 24 to 48 hours to clear airspace of any volcanic dust and ash.And according to Icelandic authorities, at 1:30p.m.ET the volcano was still eruption sending plumes of ash and smoke into the atmosphere.
With the advent of social networking becoming an essential part of our daily lives, there is the tendency to dismiss these sites as a distraction for society instead of an aid.This is especially true with Twitter.Initially the site was viewed as frivolous and another example of how society has become obsessed with voyeurism and self promotion.However with Twitters use by people to organize and report news, it has become an invaluable tool for the news media.The Haiti earthquake has shown the effect that Twitter can have in reporting news and helping peoples affected by a disaster.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake Twitter was one of the sources used by television news stations like CNN.It was also essential in trying to get aid sent to the island by highlighting what conditions presently existed and what was needed to help with the relief effort.One of these people who used Twitter to report what was happening in the Haitian capital of Port au Prince was radio host Carel Pedre.He said during an interview with the BBC of his initial reactions after the earthquake; “My first reactions were fear, concern, frustration. Was my family safe? Would my house collapse? Was the world coming to an end? But as it happened I also had the first instinct to get on my phone and Tweet "Am I the only one who felt that?"It is because of other people like Mr.Pedre that Twitter became such an important aid in reporting news from Haiti.
This type of disaster reporting has also lead to the creation of software that will aid in filtering of information during a disaster coming from social networking sites including Twitter.According to the Huffington Post the software called Ushahidi was originally developed after the Kenyan elections in 2007.The software can be used to locate those in need during a crisis situation and send their information to relief agencies to help them.This was used in Haiti by freeing people trapped underneath rubble who had sent Tweets to Ushahidi and whose information was forwarded to the Red Cross on the scene in Haiti.
On Monday March 22, 2010 The School of Policy & Political Affairs presented a lecture by Matthew P. Hoh entitled “The Necessity for a Political Solution to the War in Afghanistan.”Hoh is a former Marine and State Department official who had served two tours of duty in Iraq and resigned from his post in Afghanistan, citing protest to the current military strategy in Afghanistan.The lecture he presented, instead of being an emotional “call to action” about the current situation, played out as calm and meticulous telling of his ideas and opinions on the current situation in Afghanistan and what needs to be done to change the situation for the better.
The lecture was started by Hoh establishing several initial points about the current situation in Afghanistan.Hoh stated that he felt the military action that began in Afghanistan after the September 11 Terrorist attacks were justified, however there are several misconceptions that people have about what is occurring militarily in the country.First is that the US presence in Afghanistan is occurring simultaneously to a Civil War that has been occurring non stop for the past 35 years.Next is that the Afghans fighting American troops in Afghanistan are not fighting because they view America as an enemy, they are opposing an American military presence because they feel that we are an occupying force adversely affecting their country.And finally is that the Afghan government is so corrupt that in its current state it is still unfit and unable to run the country.
He had three solutions to immediately begin to fix what problems exist for the military in Afghanistan.First would be to announce a ceasefire; this would stop the cycle of violence in the country and help to dispel the notion of the United States as an occupying force.Next would be to unite the divide between the opposing groups in the country and try to prevent the ongoing conflicts between warring ethnic groups.Finally and most importantly would be to reform the current government and have a tribal based government where every group would be heard and not just the groups in the majority.
However despite the frankness and seriousness of the discussion Hoh was very open about his feelings for the current military situation in America.He thanked those in attendance who had participated in the Maine Troop Greeter program, and stated that one of his best memories from his military service was from landing in Bangor after a deployment in Iraq and being greeted by so many caring people.
What statement stood out the most from the talk was during the question and answer potion of the lecture where Hoh was asked what caused his resignation from the state department he stated “I could not longer tell the Mothers and Wives of soldiers dying over there the reason that there child or spouse died in good conscious.”
Sanford-Despite the town councils ongoing move towards a Pay-As-You-Throw solid waste disposal policy, some town residents feel that there are more questions that need to be answered. These questions involve mainly; how will the town enforce the illegal dumping of garbage, and how whether or not the plan will increase recycling and reduce the cost of shipping garbage to The Maine Energy Recycling Corporation. The current plan in place will hopefully reduce not only the cost the town pays to send waste to MERC but increase the amount of recycling that occurs. He plan calls for the purchase of specially designated garbage bags which can be purchased in local stores. The plan call for the cost of the Pay-As-You-Throw bags will cost $1.25 for the 15 gallon bag and $2.00 for the 33 gallon bag.
Sanford resident Timothy Morrissey of Mt Hope Road had several opinions on the issue. He felt that there is no real way for the town to enforce the illegal dumping of garbage and that this measure has the potential to cause more problems than solutions. “Unless a person leaves a copy of their mailing address or telephone number in their garbage there is no real way to discover and punish the person dumping their garbage.” He went on to say that investigations of such illegal dumping by local law enforcement would simply be a waste of the town’s time and resources.
However Mr. Morrissey’s main concern was whether or not the new policy would really change the current solid waste situation in the town. Most of this concern stemmed from the cost of the waste disposal bags and whether or not it will address the recycling problem in Sanford. “I think that unfortunately that those can pay for the bags will fill them with whatever they want, while only a small amount of citizens will take the time to actually sort out their recyclables.” Mr. Morrissey went on to say though that he felt the plan to increase the recycling pick up from biweekly to once a week will help this potential problem.
Sanford - Some Sanford residents are concerned over a new trash collecting program.The proposed Pay-As-You-Throw program would hopefully reduce solid waste sent to the Maine Energy Recycling Corporation or MERC. However that has not prevented town residents from voicing their opinions against the program. Most residents feel that it would simply become another cost added to their already tight budgets.
The plan if implemented now would involve residents purchasing either specially marked 15 or 33 gallon garbage bags at local stores and placing solid waste in only those bags on the side of the road for garbage removal each week. Solid waste not contained in one of these bags would not be picked up for disposal. Along with the curbside pickup, all solid waste brought to the town transfer station would need to be contained in one of these specially purchased bags. The costs of these bags would be $1.25 for the 15 gallon bag and $2 for the 33 gallon bag.
Recycling and reducing waste is the main priority with the adoption of the Pay-As-You-Go program.Sanford’s recycling rate is around 10 percent, however the goal is to increase this number to 40 percent. Also with the implementation of the new system, the current recycling pickup schedule would go from once every two weeks to weekly.As of now Sanford sends 7,990 tons of waste to the Maine Energy Recycling Corporation.However according to the proposal this number could be reduced significantly to 5,300 tons.This is important as the town has a Guaranteed Annual Tonnage or GAD deal with MERC in which the town pays for the disposal of 10,000 tons of waste.If there is a reduction of the current number sent to MERC there could be a adjusting of the rate to match the towns new lower solid waste output.
Despite these news ideas there has been a backlash against the proposal.Concerns range from the new cost of the bags to how the town will deal with residents who illegally dump their waste.The Sanford town council has tried to address these concerns by stating that there will be measures in place to deal with illegal waste disposal.Also they amended the town’s solid waste ordinance to include that the cost of the Pay-As-You-Go bags will not increase for two years after the implementation of the program.
