Maine Resolves... YES!
Supporting the Creation of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Maine Says Yes to Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Maine is the second state in the nation, after California, to pass a resolution supporting the creation of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. This was a signal victory for Third Act Maine, which asked state representatives and senators to sponsor the resolution to complement the Paris Treaty and establish “a concrete, binding plan to end the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and manage a global transition away from fossil fuels.” (See more here.) Introduced by Rebecca Millett in the House of Representatives and Stacey Brenner in the Senate, both chambers resoundingly passed FFNPT on January 18 and 23, respectively.
In introducing the resolution on the Senate floor, Senator Stacey Brenner said,
We find ourselves in a pivotal moment in history, where the choices we make today will determine the future of our environment and the quality of life for all living beings. The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Agreement represents a groundbreaking initiative aimed at addressing the urgent need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels have undeniably powered our progress and our economic growth, but the environmental costs have been staggering. Climate change, the degradation of ecosystems, and extreme weather events like the last three historic storms that resulted in devastating flooding events in Maine are all consequences of our reliance on these finite resources.
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Agreement recognizes the severity of this challenge and seeks to forge a path forward toward a sustainable and cleaner energy future… It is a commitment to the health of the planet and the health of its inhabitants.
While COP28 started to address the need to transition away from fossil fuels, Third Act Maine believes that the COP process is moving too slowly. With the passage of this resolution in the great state of Maine, Third Act Mainers will be asking Third Act (national) to consider taking up this resolution across the United States in hopes of spurring action toward an international, binding treaty.
Do the Right Thing, Costco!
On January 21, Third Act Maine delivered a national petition with over 40,000 signatories to Costco’s newest warehouse store, located in Scarborough. The petition urges Costco to tell Citibank, its credit card issuer, to stop funding fossil fuel extraction. The concern has been recently buttressed by a Portland resident’s eloquent letter to the editor.
Citibank is the world’s second largest funder of new fossil fuel extraction. Our petition delivery was part of a nationally coordinated effort; the same thing is happening at numerous Costco stores around the country.
Third Act, along with other environmental groups, made its presence known at the recent Costco shareholder’s meeting in Washington state where the petition was delivered in style. Several shareholders advocated that Costco find a greener business partner, and that Costco, as the third largest retailer in the U.S., should pressure Citibank to stop funding new fossil fuel projects.
Costco is one of Citibank’s most influential credit card clients. We say: Costco, live up to your company motto and “Do the Right Thing”!
Greater Farmington Hub takes on TD Bank
The Greater Farmington Hub continues its focus on TD Bank, a Canadian-based bank that is the largest funder of Canada’s tar sands extractions. They contacted bank staff, gave out holiday cards and provided bank management with a letter expressing our discontent with the bank’s choice of investment and urging divestment. They also wrote to a corporate executive with TD bank.
Severe weather in January turned Farmington into a temporary island with flooded, shuttered stores and no access to Route 2, yet the protests at TD Bank continue. Information is being distributed, and members are having quiet conversations with friends, sharing concerns and urging people with bank accounts in TD Bank to close out their accounts.
Third Act Maine member Willow Embry closed her TD accounts. She explains, “The expansion of fossil fuels should be illegal. What are our government leaders and corporations thinking? And why aren't they being held accountable? I can at least take responsibility for myself by withdrawing my alliance with a bank that is funding climate collapse. And I can hope for the return of a kind and caring world."
Feeling Hearty—and Hardy!—and Ready to Stand Out?
Bill Rixon is a stalwart Third Act Mainer and remains very active in protests in the Greater Portland area even in cold weather--and he loves company. If you would like to join him in protests, email him at rixonw9@gmail.com to connect. He stands out:
Many weekday mornings (early!) at the L.L. Bean Corporate Offices in Freeport
Most weekday afternoons outside the new Chase Bank branch in Yarmouth
Most weekends, outside L.L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport
Rixon is protesting L.L. Bean's partnership with the Citibank credit card (which is the second worst bank on the planet, for its funding of fossil fuel projects), as well as Chase Bank (which is the #1 worst bank on the planet for its enormous investment in fossil fuel projects).
Record Number of Climate Disasters in 2023
A record-breaking 28 massive weather and climate disaster events in the United States tallied a total cost of at least $92.9 billion and claimed the lives of 492 individuals. That’s the information from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information’s. 2023 Billion-dollar disaster report, which tracked drought and heat waves, flooding, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, winter storms, severe weather and hail events, and a firestorm.
Since 1980 the U.S. has sustained 376 separate billion dollar weather and climate disasters, each of which reached or exceeded $1 billion, according to the report. The number of events has skyrocketed in recent years. From 2018-2022 there were just an average of 18 days between billion-dollar disasters, as compared to 82 days in the 1980s. The cumulative cost since 1980 exceeds $2.660 trillion.
These estimates do not reflect the total cost of all U.S. weather and climate disasters - only those associated with $1 billion in damages.
30-Second Call to Action
Third Act Maine and other organizations are calling on the Maine Public Employment Retirement System (MPERS) to divest from fossil fuel investments. You can help by contacting Henry Beck, Maine’s State Treasurer. A personalized email, Stop the Money Pipeline, can be sent here. It takes less than a minute!
Packing Bags for Washington, D.C.
With train tickets in hand and bags packed, a group of Third Act Mainers will head to Washington, D.C., for a large-scale February 6-8 protest against expanding Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in the Gulf Coast. Their focus is the office of Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. She has the responsibility of licensing (or denying licenses) for LNG terminals. They will join activists from across the country in peaceful protest and nonviolent civil disobedience. Their plans have drawn interest from the Maine media.
Charting the Future of Maine’s Coast
Sandy beaches, dramatic cliffs, and salt marshes line the Maine coast. These treasured places are vulnerable to sea level rise. A lone beach house sits at the edge of a salt marsh, with solar panels on its roof as the family seeks to mitigate their environmental impact.
The stacked bar graph behind the house represents Maine’s increasing use of renewable energy from 1960 to 2018. Encroaching on the house and the marshes, however, is the steady sea level rise data from 1880 to present. Projections for added rise by 2100 (in 76 years) have a large range that directly correlates with how fast we adopt renewable energy consumption. The dashed lines on the right represent drastic and severely different outcomes. The lowest prediction, 8 inches of sea level rise by 2100, would have dire consequences. The intermediate-low estimate jumps to 19 inches, and an intermediate estimate leaps to a staggering 47 inches.
Note: Jill Pelto is an artist and science communicator. Currently based in Washington state, she lived in Maine for a decade. She incorporates scientific data directly into her paintings to engage the view with climate change graphs.