Back-to-back snowstorms ended the old year and rang in the new leaving trees overburdened with a weighty white coating. Their bending and breaking branches caused power and phone outages in the Cranberry Isles. Luckily, the inconveniences of these storms did not last long. Our efficient Islesford and Great Cranberry snowplow operators, Cory Alley and Blair Colby, kept the roads clear and sanded. Steve Palmer made sure the Bangor Hydro truck was running well and cleared of snow when the crew arrived to make repairs. When the electricity fails on Mount Desert Island, we are often at the end of the line for power restoration; but with only three miles of water between us, there is usually a way to get a repair team to the islands relatively quickly.
It becomes a trait of those who live here to monitor the local weather forecasts. We are especially aware of approaching storms and we do what we can to be ready. The first thing is to make sure to fill extra containers of water for cooking and drinking. It’s best not to forget to have some on hand for flushing toilets, too. Unlike areas with a town water system, we all have wells. When the power goes out, so do our water pumps. While the lights are still on, it’s a good idea to prepare a meal that could be heated on a gas range or on top of a wood stove. Those with generators can make sure they are operable and that they have extra tanks of gasoline on hand. If the power goes out for longer than a day, some people move their generators around by truck to help others cool down their refrigerators and freezers. It also gives them a chance to draw more water. We learn to be flexible with off-island plans. If the sea is rough, the mailboat might make only one round trip run during a storm. Most of us know someone we could stay with if we couldn’t get back to the island. When in doubt about the weather, just take a small bag with your essentials in case you get stuck overnight.
During the second week in January the islands experienced a thaw for several days with temperatures reaching the high 40s. This warmth created a pervasive ground fog that ate away a lot of the snow. Rain and sun dissolved even more of it and we started to see bare ground for the first time since early December. The April-like air inspired thoughts of greener times to come.
“Thinking green” in another form has nothing to do with the season we’re in. On Islesford in October and December, Amanda Ravenhill and Jeff Cramer facilitated the first two meetings of the Islesford Sustainability Initiative. (For more information, check out the islesford.com Web site.) I’ll admit that the word “sustainability” had me feeling a little confused as to what it was. I’d heard it enough to be embarrassed by my ignorance, and was too timid to say, “What?” It all comes down finding ways to take care of the islands that we love, so that future generations will have an opportunity to continue living here. According to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site: “Sustainable development marries two important themes: that environmental protection does not preclude economic development and that economic development must be ecologically viable now and in the long run.” Sustainability “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
A big group of islanders already participate in some good environmental practices. Think of the cloth bags that many of us use to carry our groceries home from the store. We may have started using them because they are sturdier and easier to identify on the boat than plastic or paper bags, but the cloth bags have helped our town cut back on the amount of un-recyclable plastic that goes into our trash and has to be taken back off-island. I’m not the only one who uses more of those plastic produce bags at the grocery store than I need to. If anyone designs a small net produce bag that could be carried back and forth, I’ll take a dozen. We would be good stewards of our environment if we all cut down on the electricity we use. Did you know that for a few pennies more per kilowatt hour you could have Bangor Hydro deliver your electricity from a renewable energy source? After the sustainability forum, several residents made the change to green power for their electricity. (See mainerenewableenergy.com.) In December, on Great Cranberry Island, Richard Beal installed a 6.6-kilowatt wind turbine at Skeldale Farm, which supplies all of the power he can use and more. He makes it clear that he was not inspired by any environmental concerns but by his frustration with island power outages. (Though he still earns big sustainability points for living “off the grid!”)
With the approaching 12″ or more snowfall predicted for Jan. 14, we will once again get ready for the power failures that often accompany storms on the islands. We can dream of the greener spring to come, but we can act now to have a “greener” winter. As for all that water you drew to prepare for the storm: if you still have it, dump it into the washing machine to start your next load of wash. That way you won’t waste the power your water pump used to get ready for an outage.
Islesford
Jan. 14, 2008