The Wrack

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune and Making It At Home Sunday editions, 2/2/2014.

I will not be the first person to admit that its gotten harder to watch football this season. I still love the drama, the personalities, and the heroics of any given NFL Sunday. But some guilt has crept into the game I grew up watching every week with my father. Im not seeing it the same way I used to.

What will the next five, ten, even the next thirty years look like here at your local national estuarine research reserve?

Compare these two snapshots from the South Cascade glacier official USGS long-term monitoring site in Washington state:

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 1/5/2014.

Quite possibly the best movie l saw in 2013 didnt open in 3,000 theaters, didnt have a Morgan Freeman voiceover, didnt follow a hobbit and his ring.

Last week, nearly 60 community members filled Mather Auditorium to learn from visiting speaker Dr. Drew Barton, professor of biology at the University of Maine at Farmington. He used his new award-winning book, The Changing Nature of the Maine Woods, as a platform to speak about how Maine's forests have changed over time and how they are predicted to change into the future with global warming. Below are some highlights from my notes!

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 11/24/13:

Many of the staff of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm were in West Virginia this past week for the annual conference of the 28 national estuarine research reserves. Researchers, educators, conservationists, land managers and even evangelists like me pulled ourselves away from our coastal homes to share ideas, hammer out new projects for 2014, and do some good old-fashioned colleague schmoozing.

I flew out of Portland on a sparkling, "unlimited visibility" Monday afternoon. My Southwest flight passed three miles above the Wells Reserve, giving me the rare opportunity to get a live bird's eye view of our little corner of the Maine coast. Looking down, I smiled quietly over how beautiful and tranquil the place looked.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 10/20/13:

Quick quiz: which of the following have the backing of scientific consensus? Violent video games make kids more violent. Sugar makes them more hyper. Carbs make us fat. Vaccines are linked to autism.

Answer: none of the above. Science says so; look them up.

The bigger question: do we trust science?

Over 85 people filled the Mather Auditorium a couple of weeks ago for "You, Your Food, & the Survival of the Planet" with panelists Mort Mather, John Piotti, and Representative Chellie Pingree. The panelists answered a variety of moderated questions, and then the audience had the opportunity to ask some of their own. Following are some highlights from the notes I took during this most exciting evening!

The following was originally published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Thursday edition, 8/22/13:

Wendell Berry said do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you. Situated at the mouths of three rivers, the Wells Reserve at Laudholm is downstream from most of York County. This summer, Ive been thinking a lot about whats upstream, particularly farms.

At first glance, Maine doesnt seem ideal for farming. Our colonial history is a litany of famines and failed harvests. We get some of the least sun of the Lower 48; our soils are the rock-filled remains of mile-high glaciers. Winters, though shorter than they used to be, still bookend a shockingly brief growing season. Why would anyone think of farming here?

Welcome to the town of Launton, its a lot like Wells.

Ever since Hurricane Paul devastated communities to the south of Launton,?the residents have been asking the town manager:?can we handle a storm like that? Whats our plan?

Feeling pressured, the town manager convened a Coastal Resiliency Task Force. Their charge: make some recommendations about what the town should do with existing and future development.

Who is on the task force? You are! Youll be assuming one of the many interests that exist in a town a lot like Wells. From Emergency Management Official to Director of the Chamber of Commerce, youve got opinions, and you think the town has a solution. But can you come to consensus with the other members on the team? Can you compromise on issues near and dear to your heart, for the sake of the town?