Articles
Something in the Water
Some island communities are cohesive, others less so, a few not at all. History has something to do with it, but size matters. An island with a very small year-round population can lead to excessive familiarity, which everyone knows can breed contempt. An island community with a large population can easily split into factions on
Energy Subsidies – You Decide
Recently a friend sent a copy of an editorial from the Wall Street Journal, “Gouged By the Wind,” regarding the cost of wind industry subsidies to consumers. “With natural gas prices not far from $2 per million BTU, the competitiveness of wind power is highly suspect. If Congress allows a tax subsidy for renewables to
The Real Digital Divide
If you are a student in one of the islands’ one-room schoolhouses, how do you meet and interact with other kids who are not on your island? Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? Skype? How about videoconferencing with each other during school hours? For the past year and a half, approximately 30 island students have been sharing videoconferencing
Objects in Mirror – Pssst! Wanna Buy an Island?
One of the recent mini-dramas reported in the international press concerns whether the Greek government has put some of its legendary islands up for sale as part of its obligations under the European Union’s bailout plan. “We give you cash, you give us Corfu,” as one British tabloid tartly put it. Before you are tempted
Why is Blue Power Green and Green Power Blue
The governor’s energy policy is simple to explain, but has been harder to sell—at least to legislators this past session. The policy is to bring cheaper electricity into Maine and lower costs to Maine residents. What’s not to like about that? That depends on who you ask. This year, in addition to bringing more inexpensive
From Cape Split to Cape Lookout
The first Maine island I ever visited was a dream come true. A lobsterman dropped me on a beautiful rugged island off the Washington County coastline midway between the treacherous waters of Petit Manan Point and the sheltering harbor of Cape Split to collect ecological data for The Nature Conservancy. Flint Island had everything an
Bird Cuisinarts
Bird Cuisinarts, avian blenders, aerial chopper—these are a few of the words and images that wind turbines have conjured up in the minds of local citizens and bird conservationists anxious about the siting of turbines in their communities. And because wind energy has been promoted as an environmentally friendly source of electric power by many
Joining the Choir
I was 10 and an enthusiastic member of the boys’ choir when the church hired a new choirmaster. After the second rehearsal, the choirmaster, Mr. Powell, a small, intense and proper figure of a man, asked me to come sit next to him at the piano. He struck the white middle C key and asked
The Speed of Spring
Twenty-two years ago, a Vinalhaven summer resident, Peter Richards, who is one of the country’s gifted teachers, had an idea about how to teach important math and science concepts to his fourth and fifth grade classes in Atlanta. Instead of just memorizing their times tables and long division, Richards asked his class to write postcards
Forecast: Warm, Wet and Windy
Brain doctors tell us that our short-term memory capacity is more acute, but also more fleeting, than our long-term memory, which, by definition, is persistent but spotty and unreliable. Perhaps this basic neurological fact helps explain why we have such a hard time distinguishing between weather and climate. Weather is what happens to us on