Articles
Objects in the Mirror: The tail of Earl
As Earl, the fifth named tropical depression of the 2010 hurricane season, organized himself off the coast of Africa at the end of August, and began spinning his way across the Atlantic, he grazed the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean before threatening the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the rest of the Atlantic coastline
Long View: Remembering Matt Simmons
Matt Simmons, a long time friend of the Maine coast and its islands and a student of the winds and waters of the Gulf of Maine, loved to tell the story of his first trip to Maine, courtesy of a labor strike while he worked construction one summer as a college student in his home
Long View: The end of the beginning
When seemingly unrelated news stories from around the country and the globe about the state of the natural world converge on each other, it is important to sit up and take notice. Island Earth is trying to tell us something. One story is global, one is regional and one is local, but their interconnected meaning
Objects in the Mirror: The Cobscook Bay M.A.S.H Unit
Cobscook Bay is like no other embayment in Maine. All of the rest of the bays of Maine trend generally north and south, with their outer edges merging into the Gulf of Maine along their southern margins. Cobscook, however, is formed by three concentric semi-circular inter-connected arms facing east toward Canada’s Passamaquoddy Bay. At the
Long View: Cheap energy is our birthright
As the sickening tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico plays out inexorably day after day, shutting down working waterfronts, encircling and choking island communities and poisoning fish, shellfish and wildlife across four states sharing that Gulf; it is worth taking a moment to reflect on what this national disaster means for the Gulf of Maine
Objects in Mirror: Red skies, dungeon fog and sundogs
As you navigate through the shoals of daily discourse in our travels along the coast and islands of Maine, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the weather with its always interesting and often confusing patterns. That means knowing something about what is likely to be happening on a day to
Long View: What works?
Discussions with leaders in our state or nation’s capitals almost always revolve around developing policies that will shape our future. I guess that’s why we call the people we meet in our capitals “policy makers.” In contrast, discussions in Maine’s island communities almost always revolve around how to test a new idea or a new
Objects in Mirror: Hostages to fate
If you are lucky enough to have children—John F. Kennedy called them “hostages to fate”-who actually tell you what they are thinking and doing, you know that after a certain point usually between middle school and high school, your opportunity for influencing them substantially decreases. How many times have parents said, “I can’t wait until
Long View: Think Locally–Earth Day @ 40
Today, as I write, is Earth Day-a name invented by a marketing genius who thought it memorable because it rhymed with birthday. So let’s take a moment to reflect on how Island Earth looks on the 40th anniversary of America’s collective awakening. A good place to start is with an inversion of Rene Dubos’ famous
Objects in Mirror: Chance, luck and hard work
April is career and/or college month for many, many young people and their families across the length and breadth of this coast, as a new batch of graduates hits the job market. Because I was just asked to submit a “personal statement” for my 40th class reunion report-suggesting respondents summarize reflections and achievements and any