Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • Recycling Matters: The Science of Garbage

    By Sally Chappell Bridgton Recycling Committee The Bridgton Recycling Committee notes a certain amount of pushback on the prospect of the town converting to a Pay Per Bag system. Fear of the unknown may be driving the concern. Also, with no restrictions on the amount of trash presently deposited, it is understandable that a service […]

  • Earth Notes: Competition kills, cooperation heals

    By Rev. Robert Plaisted Guest Writer At her death in 2011, Lynn Margulis was Distinguished Professor of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She had been an Associate Professor at Boston University while I was in seminary there. Sadly, our paths never crossed. It would have been great to have known her personally. She […]

  • Recycling Matters — Questions asked, BRC provides answers

    By Maureen McDevitt Bridgton Recycling Committee The Recycling Committee recently received a letter with the following questions. These were great questions that we thought everyone would be interested in, and we will answer them here. I’ve attempted to put as much information as I could find. If anyone has more information that I’m missing, or […]

  • Recycling Matters: Composting to reduce trash

    By Maureen Harpell, RN, MSN, FNP Bridgton Recycling Committee I am passionate about avoiding unnecessary waste, of any kind. Perhaps, it is a lesson learned from my grandmother, who survived the Great Depression, but my husband and I work on the old Yankee adage of, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or […]

  • Earth Notes — Longing for nothing to do

    By Marian Caiem Guest Columnist We have entered extended winter in Maine. My friends down South are starting to appear in shorts and sandals in their photos, and me? I’m hoping for another solid snow to play in before this period of dormancy awakens. Each season offers new ways to experience myself in Nature’s healing […]

  • Recycling Matters — Pay Per Bag is about equity

    By Sally Chappell Bridgton Recycling Committee      In dealing with municipal solid waste, the financial and environmental benefits of Pay Per Bag (PPB) are well documented. The equity factor also plays a role in the appeal of PPB. How often have we wondered why people bringing in a trailer full of bags of trash to the […]

  • Recycling Matters — Explaining Pay Per Bag proposal

    By Kate Fitzcharles Bridgton Recycling Committee What is Pay Per Bag? PPB is an incentive to encourage the average citizen to recycle more. It is a way for consumers to control their solid waste expense, rather than blindly pay a portion of their property tax for the municipality to transport and dispose of their solid […]

  • Earth Notes: A new bird for a New Year

    By Mary Jewett Guest Columnist My last Earth Notes column, back in October, explored the difference between birdwatching and “twitching.” In the spring, my birdwatching hobby sees me up at dawn, traveling locally to see my favorite migrants on their northward journey. I also spent a very pleasant day on Dec. 28 participating in the Christmas […]

  • Earth Notes: Searching for Birds

    By Mary Jewett Guest Columnist In 2014, I was excited for a trip to Nebraska, for the sole purpose of experiencing the epic sandhill crane migration. Each year, about 500,000 sandhill cranes gather to rest and fuel up along the Platte River and cornfields outside of Omaha. A friend and I paid to stay in […]

  • Earth Notes

    By Megan-Mack Nicholson Guest Columnist I’m the director for a wilderness school that mainly serves high school students as they navigate that precarious and tender time of one’s life. It’s a full-on type of gig and I often leave after a long stint in the woods to visit our family camp.  “Camp” is located on […]