Heavy rains coming in back-to-back storms, sometimes when the ground was frozen, contributed to high levels of untreated storm and sewer water being washed in Maine’s rivers and bays last year, resulting in shellfish bed and beach closures.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inBusiness, Maine, News
Looming flood threat: Maine coastal infrastructure at risk as soon as 2030
The Union of Concerned Scientists predicts that high-tide flooding caused by rising seas will hit critical facilities with a few years if emissions stay the same.
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Posted inNews
Portland Greek Festival celebrates 40 years of faith, friendship and, of course, food
This week’s heat wave and torrential downpours might have kept crowds smaller than usual, but people still lined up around the block for the food and festival music of this Portland tradition.
Posted inMaine, News
Heat wave gives Maine a sneak peek at summers of the future
Maine isn’t used to or prepared for the heat that’s coming our way, experts say, and some communities are more vulnerable than others.
Posted inMaine, News
Report lays out Maine’s latest climate projections. Here’s what you need to know.
Scientists and working groups weigh in on all aspects of climate change, from heat waves to soaring pollen counts to sea level rise, to help the Maine Climate Council set new goals for the second installment of Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s climate action plan.
Posted inMaine, News
Hundreds of Maine households are stranded in PFAS limbo
The state says it can’t afford to mitigate PFAS issues at homes near sludge hot spots that pass state drinking water standards but fail the new federal ones.
Posted inMaine, News
State expects to reach 2045 carbon neutrality goal ahead of time
Maine has met the first of its four climate goals by reducing gross greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from 1990 levels, well ahead of its 10% goal by 2020, but it has a long way to go to meet a 45% cut by 2030.
Posted inMaine, News
A fast-warming Gulf of Maine is rising faster than ever
The gulf is warming 3 times faster than the global average and rising about 2.5 times faster in recent years than it has over the last century, according to the Maine Climate Council.
Posted inMaine, News
Portland Water District files lawsuit against forever chemical manufacturers
The district is seeking compensation to cover the cost of testing and treating wastewater polluted by chemicals used to make goods as varied as waterproof mascara, Teflon, Scotchgard and firefighting foams.
Posted inMaine, News
Maine stocks PFAS-laden waters with fish, warns ‘do not eat’
Scientists worry that some anglers will still consume the trout tainted by forever chemicals. One environmental watchdog group calls the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife practice ‘super disturbing.’