Maine offers a wealth of green retirement options By Andrea Lani Maine’s retirement-age community is robust and growing, with a quarter of the population aged 60 years and older and around 5,700 people 55 and older moving to the state in 2016, according to the US Census Bureau’s most recent data. As Baby Boomers enter…
Good “fit” in small-space renovations By Christy Crocker THROUGH-WALL ENERGY recovery ventilation (ERV) units are relative newcomers to the residential ventilation and high-performance building arena, offering a practical ventilation solution when full-size units aren’t an option. The units are designed to blow in for 70 seconds and then reverse and exhaust out for 70 seconds.…
Text and Photos by Amy Paradysz STEVE KONSTANTINO, the 55-year-old founder and owner of Portland-based Performance Building Supply, considers himself a bit of a futurist technologies geek. Being ahead of the curve occasionally means he’s moved on to something else before the market catches onto what he’s selling—as was the case with heat pumps in…
A window into the not-so-distant future By Darren Fishell Matthew Thomas admits his and his wife, Carrie’s, home in Bowdoin is a little ahead of its time. “Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to have solar panels,” Thomas says. “I’m a big tech guy and was really into Star Trek, and I wanted…
An opportunity for Maine and beyond By Thomas Abello FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES, The Nature Conservancy’s home in Maine has been leased space in the Fort Andross mill complex along the shores of the Androscoggin River. In the fall of 2016, Conservancy staff conducted an extensive review of options to lease or build new office space…
By Tim King THERE AREN’T MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS who can say they’ll graduate virtually debt-free and with multiple job offers. That is, unless you talk with many of the bright, hardworking students graduating from Maine’s Community Colleges. Each year, from nursing to culinary arts, automotive to HVAC, electrical to public safety education and more, Maine’s…
In what is becoming a beloved annual tradition, we turned to our friends at Longfellow Books in Portland and Royal River Bookstore in Yarmouth for their top picks on recently published books about living with compassion for the planet. And they delivered! With something for all ages and interests, here is a list of recommendations…
By Dylan Voorhees Transportation is Maine’s largest source of climate-changing carbon pollution, and it mostly comes from the passenger cars and trucks we drive. While other sources of carbon pollution have declined in the last decade in Maine, carbon pollution from transportation has remained steady. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent an enormous opportunity to change this…
Benjamin Lake Charging an electric vehicle is a key part of owning and operating one. Here’s what you need to know about charging in Maine. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have tripled nationally in the past five years, with more than 500,000 EVs on the road in the US, and all indicators point to considerable…
Meet some of Maine’s EV owners By Heather Chandler As an EV owner since 2014, I’m often stopped when I pull into a parking space by a curious onlooker who says, “Is that an electric car?” This usually elicits a follow up, “Is there a gas back up?” and finally, “How do you like it?”…