Central Maine Hub

Central Maine Hub actively focused on defending democracy. Hub members attended a big rally at the State House, a smaller gathering outside Senator Susan Collins’ office in Augusta, two demonstrations near Tesla chargers at the Waterville Elm Plaza (One of which was mentioned on the Racheal Maddow Show!) and a “Dump Trump” rally with 50 other protesters on downtown Main Street in Waterville. The Hub is coordinating with Indivisible. They’re emailing, calling political representatives, and writing letters to the editor.

Western Mountains

Well over 200 concerned citizens rallied at a standout organized by Western Mountains Third Act on March 1 in downtown Farmington. Protesters were greeted frequently with beeping horns and waves from passersby. There were very few dissenters. Protest participants cited reasons for standing up:

“I’m very frightened and angry for our democracy” – Wendy

“We have to speak. Silence is capitulation” – Ellen

“I’m a queer woman, and I have a non-binary child.” – Sara

Lincoln County Hub

In Lincoln County, Third Act Maine has teamed up with Indivisible, Maine Dems and other groups for weekly demonstrations at the Damariscotta/Newcastle bridge on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. When the gathering of democracy advocates began several weeks ago, only a handful of folks participated. After Trump and Musk took a chain saw to the federal work force, 400+ people have been showing up.

“This is the new normal, and for the sake of future generations and all life on this beautiful planet, if we want a fighting chance, the time to show up is NOW” –  Marnie Sinclair, Third Act Maine

Greater Portland Hub

Greater Portland Third Act Maine members have been protesting in Augusta and in Monument Square in Portland week after week. Television interviews and meeting a woman, 80+ with her granddaughters,  are a few highlights.

“I think you would have your gas tank partly refilled by this raucous group of mostly elders. It was lots of fun and my batteries are recharged.” – Tom Mikulka, Third Act Maine

On February 23rd, ten members of Third Act Maine sang their way into the Portland office of Senator Collins. They met with her representative and expressed grave concerns about the powerful senator’s deafening silence on cuts to federal services, veterans, and USAID.

They presented a letter to Collins, pressing her to:

• Speak out against the arbitrary cruelty of Elon Musk’s unconstitutional actions
• Speak out to defend the Constitution and Congress’s power of the purse
• Lead efforts to build coalitions with Republican and Democratic senators against cuts of crucial programs and grants
• Schedule a Town Hall Meeting with constituents to hear questions and concerns.

For more news and ways you can can get involved and make a difference check out our March newsletter.

Video: newscentermaine.com

Third Act Mainer Tom Mikulka described the joint action with Divest Maine

“It was supposed to rain but it turned into a hot, humid day in the Parking Lot of MainePERS in Augusta.   However, the main heat came from 40-50 protesters from Divest Maine. About half of those were Third Actors from Midcoast, Central Maine, Western Mountains and Greater Portland. It was also great to be joined by students. The mood was joyful as Marcia Taylor, accompanied by Chuck Spanger, ended the protest with music and a Conga line of protesters singing and carrying signs.  News Center Maine also came through with accurate coverage of the event. It was telling that MainePERS executives refused to comment about the event or their need to divest from fossil fuels. Let the Summer of Heat continue!”

Maine Public’s Peter McGuire covered the event for Climate Desk: Climate activists push Maine pension fund to divest from fossil fuels

“…Divest Maine campaign manager Hope Light said the agency has dragged its feet. Switching from oil, gas and coal will bring the same or better returns for Maine retirees, Light said, and would limit the system’s risk as the public turns away from fossil fuels.

“So in the future it is not going to be the safe return on their investments that they see. Folks are trying to electrify their homes, they are trying to electrify their vehicles, they are really as a whole moving away from big oil and gas,” Light said.”

Maine Morning Star’s Emma Davis was there too, read her story here: Activists and Maine Public Employee Retirement System at odds over fossil fuel divestment progress,

“The group rallying Thursday, which ranged in ages, concluded the event with a song summarizing their stance.  “We’ll have a say so, in how our money grows, in our retirement plan,” the crowd sang. “We who are older, we’re getting bolder, foot dragging we refuse, and we who are youthful, we must be truthful, we’ve got the most to lose.””

Keenan Mills of WABI Channel 5 also reported on the rally, with video.

”Divestment is not only a moral imperative. It’s easy to lean into the moral imperative, we shouldn’t fund the climate crisis,” said Maine Youth Action Advocacy Director Anna Siegel. “But, it’s more than that. It’s an action that we must be taking to protect pensioners, folks whose retirement funds are invested in the fossil fuel industry, and as a result, they are losing money.”

And the Kennebec Journal put us on the front page today, July 12, 2024.

Maine must pick up the pace of climate preparations by redoubling its efforts and opening up its wallet to prepare for the warmer, wetter, stormier future that scientists say, in many cases, is already here, according to the Maine Climate Council.

One council member after another emphasized the urgency of the climate crisis at its Tuesday meeting, where the council received a 268-page climate science report and proposals on how to cut emissions to soften the blow and prepare the people, economy and natural places for what is coming.

“We are in a fight against the climate,” said Linda Nelson, a council member and the economic development director in Stonington. “We have blown past mitigation where I live. All we can focus on is adaptation. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. It’s nice to say that, but that adaptation, well, that is really difficult.””

Read more here (GIFT LINK)

Report lays out Maine’s latest climate projections. Here’s what you need to know.

Here we are singing along with Marcia Taylor for the world debut of  “L. L. Bean Ain’t So Green!”

LL Bean ain’t so green;
let me tell you what I mean:
It’s their Citibank credit card–
Cut it up–it won’t be hard. (repeat)

More drilling and more fracking,
that’s what your Bean Bucks buy;
to be a REAL ‘outsider’,
tell Citibank good-bye.

And while you are at it,
tell everyone you know
to write a note to Stephen Smith,
LL Bean Ceo–

and tell him:

LL Bean ain’t so green;
let me tell you what I mean:
it’s their Citibank credit card–
Cut it up–it won’t be hard.
Cut it up, it won’t be hard!

Music by Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappeli.
Lyrics by MarciaTaylorMusic.

Part of the discussion focused on federal approval of a 2 million-acre wind energy area off the coast of Maine, and Governor Mills’ announcement that Sears Island is the preferred site for a port to support those windmills. Some might bemoan the port siting, and others may wish that the area’s size was not diminished by 80%. And it is going to take time—until the mid 2030s or 2040—for the project to be completed. But… perhaps the perfect is the enemy of the good in a time of climate emergency.

Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act, supports the project and its siting on Sears Island. He wrote an opinion piece in the Bangor Daily News and elaborated in a webinar earlier this month (sponsored by the York Public Library):

“We’ve got to be willing to make some changes. Some of those changes will need sacrifices. I know right now people in Maine are fighting over whether Sears Island should be a port for servicing the off-shore wind industry. I understand why people don’t want change of that kind. The point I’m trying to make is: We are in an emergency… The scientists tell us we have about six years to cut emissions in half… 2030 isn’t far away. It will take an all-out effort to get it done.” 

Cletis Boyer co-chair of Third Act Maine’s Steering Committee, affirms this stance. 

“This is clearly Third Act’s position now, and while individuals are free to disagree, and even work to reverse the decision, the state working group [Third Act Maine] must accept this position.”

See McKibben’s entire talk (Minutes 2-26) below, and Third Act Maine’s presentation, too (Minutes 26-33).

KATHLEEN SULLIVAN says she really “woke up” to climate activism two years ago when she joined Bill McKibben’s organization, Third Act and helped found the Maine chapter. She has subsequently formed Freeport Climate Action Now which now has 1,000 members.  “It is about much more than my own grandchildren, it has to do with the deeper question of how we think of ourselves as human beings in relation to the earth.  We have a moral responsibility to do the right thing.

Via GBH, Cambridge Forum continues its “Living on Borrowed Time” climate series with Dana R. Fisher, renowned climate researcher and self-proclaimed ‘apocalyptic optimist’ discussing her belief that we can no longer wait for governments to pass the laws we need, businesses to do the right thing, or technological silver bullets to maintain a livable planet. Each of us must take action to save ourselves and save the planet. She’ll be joined in the conversation by Pennie Opal Plant and Kathleen Sullivan, and polar explorer and scientist, Dr. Susana Hancock.

At our Climate Change Event in Freeport, I found  a lot of hope and faith that we can take action to prevent the gathering storm that we see happening all around us and share a little joy doing it. We all have worked so much online. It makes an in-person event that much more special. At our teach-in I met so many Third Act Mainers from other towns along with the people I have been working with in the Portland area. It was in a wonderful venue at Wolfe’s Neck which just brings to mind how lucky I am to live in Maine. There was a smorgasbord of yummy cuisine—and enlightening ideas. There was a meeting of minds and hearts. It feels great to occasionally turn being a worrier into being a warrior. — Renee Givner

This article was originally published in Third Act Maine’s Newsletter of September 14, 2023

We talked about President Biden’s approval of the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska, which would not come online for 10 years. To get their investment back, ConocoPhillips would have to pump oil for at least 20 years. If we are still burning massive amounts of oil by that time, our climate will be out of control. So it is time to stop financing and building new fossil-fuel infrastructure. We will need more energy, but we can build new solar farms and windmills and battery banks much more quickly than we can drill for oil. We need to manage our resources more creatively and with more wisdom, if we want to keep our planet livable. As voters and as bank users, we can start insisting on this.

Farther to the east in Belfast dozens of additional Maine Third Actors were demonstrating at the Bank of America branch. One of the organizers gave this report:

Over 50 seniors and their younger allies gathered in Belfast early on the morning of March 21 to kick off Third Act’s National Day of Action at the Bank of America call center. Coming from as far away as Bar Harbor, Unity, and Rockland the crowd gathered alongside Route 3 with big bold signs to inform commuters and BOA to “Stop Funding Fossil Fuels.” Folks signed petitions to the Bank, gathered for a group photo, and proceeded on a very lively march to the front door of the bank. We were met by the Bank of America’s representative who accepted our petitions and copies of letters we had written to Bank of America. The finale consisted of a spirited group song and dance to the tune of “Wake Up, Little Suzy” (with new words: “Wake Up, Little Snoozy”).

It was a joyous hour very well spent on behalf of our planet and all life that abounds here. Participants agreed:  “We will be back!”

Media Coverage

We are making an impact. Two news channels (WABI and News Center Maine) covered the Belfast event, as did The Republican Journal and Pen Bay Pilot. You can find photos of the Belfast and Waterville events here.

We’ve only just begun to make noise! Last Sunday one of our Third Act leaders had his opinion piece “Banks Must Be Forced to Keep Their Word On Climate Change” published by The Portland Press Herald. On Wednesday, two other Third Act leaders got their opinion piece, “How Older Mainers Can Take Action On Climate Change” in The Portland Press Herald.

If you missed the podcast “Geezers Get It Done for Democracy and the Planet” with two of our other founders in the Maine Beacon you can find it here.

Doug Rawlings, who spoke at our Portland Event on behalf of Veterans for Peace, had his words published in this edition of Peace and Planet News.

Podcast: ‘Geezers’ get it done for democracy and the planet