Read the Press
February 27, 2022
Rev. Doretta Colburn: Our constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment are long overdue
Who among us does not treasure the natural beauty of Maine’s landscape from ocean to mountains, lakes, rivers and all the breathtaking wonders we are so fortunate to be surrounded by? It is why we love Maine and why we want to protect it for future generations.
OPINION
Sun Journal
May 22, 2021
Maine winter is always a struggle for me. But this “pandemic winter,” with community events canceled, bars shut down, my work closed repeatedly and my circle of friends shrunk to just three, I was in total survival mode. Without the warmth of human interaction, I looked for love anywhere I could find it.
OPINION
Ellsworth American
April 30, 2021
As Mainers, we have a deep appreciation for the environment and all it can provide for us. Maine wouldn’t be the place we know and love without our scenic coastline, vast forests and snowy mountains. Our heritage industries and the workers who power them, from farmers to fishers and foresters, depend on healthy, thriving ecosystems. Protecting our land, air and water needs to be a priority if we want to keep our economy and our way of life strong for generations to come.
CONTRIBUTED
Bangor Daily News
April 25, 2021
Rev. Richard Killmer and Sue
Inches: Pine Tree Amendment
protects our environmental
rights
If the Pine Tree Amendment passes, we’ll be sending a message to the world that a clean and healthy environment is our identity and our priority — for the long term. It would protect investments in business and real estate by ensuring that the environment will remain healthy and clean. It would protect the health of our children and grandchildren, and ensure that no Legislature, governor or law can take their fundamental environmental rights away.
OPINION
Lewiston Sun Journal
April 02, 2021
Secure our environmental rights, please get vaccinated, let Mainers of French heritage speak for themselves
Maine thrives because of its natural wonders and hard-working people. So much of Maine depends on our environment: tourism, guides, agriculture, outdoor recreation. However, there are no legal protections for our environment in the Maine constitution.
CONTRIBUTED
Bangor Daily News
March 30, 2021
Mainewhile: A healthy state of mind
This place, along with all the other special spots in this amazingly beautiful state we call home, is front and center on my mind this week as the Legislature prepares to consider LD 489, aka the Pine Tree Amendment, which would recognize and establish the right to a healthy environment.
AMERICAN JOURNAL
Portland Press Herald
March 12, 2021
Support the Pine Tree Amendment
An amendment to the Maine State Constitution has been proposed in the Legislature, LD 489. This Pine Tree Amendment seeks to guarantee “the right to a clean and healthy environment” for all people of Maine, now and for all future generations...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Ellsworth American
May 25, 2021
The goal that Peter Triandafillou is discussing in his column on May 18 is protecting this earth. We know that creation is under attack. The water and air are not clean everywhere and the
environment is not healthy for all people in Maine. The Pine Tree Amendment will be a guide for the executive branch, the legislature, municipalities and the courts as they have the job of protecting those elements that make Maine so attractive to Mainers and out-of-state tourists.
CONTRIBUTED
Bangor Daily News
May 21, 2021
Commentary: Pine Tree Amendment would protect environmental rights
The natural beauty of Maine is breathtaking, stretching from salt marshes to forests to rivers to one’s own backyard. And in addition to its beauty and sanctity, Mainers depend on a clean and healthy environment to support quality of life, recreation, economic vitality, property values, and the health and safety of Maine communities. But did you know that in Maine, and in 47 other states across the nation, you do not have a constitutional right to a healthy environment?
COLUMISTS
Central Maine
April 28, 2021
AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - As part of Wednesday’s work in Augusta, state senators discussed a proposed change to further protect the environment.
The “Pine Tree Amendment” would be hold the government accountable for consequences of future projects that may come with unforeseen environmental consequences.
There would also be accountability for not taking enough action towards climate change.
PRESS
Wabi 5
April 23, 2021
Pine Tree Amendment puts Mainers over corporations
The Pine Tree Amendment will be a provision inserted into the constitution that will guarantee these essential protections. The amendment states that, “The people of the State have the right to a clean and healthy environment and to the preservation of the natural, cultural and healthful qualities of the environment …”
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Central Maine
April 02, 2021
Maine Senator Introduces Green Amendment to Secure Clean Air and Water Rights
Senator Maxmin hopes that the Pine Tree Amendment can encourage further discussion on what a fair clean energy transition will look like, specifically for the frontline communities who would traditionally be displaced from an energy transition. "No matter what, the Pine Tree Amendment gives us all the equal rights, the equal foundation and the equal footing to have these conversations," she concluded.
CLIMATE ACTION
Eco Watch
March 29, 2021
Pine Tree Amendment will protect our rights to a clean and healthy environment
Much of the environmental degradation which exists in this world, hurts people. This proposed amendment to the Maine constitution, the Pine Tree Amendment, would guarantee that people have the right to clean air, water and a healthy environment...
CONTRIBUTED
Bangor Daily News
March 09, 2021
Pass the Pine Tree Amendment
The Maine Energy and Natural Resources Committee is considering a proposed constitutional amendment, LD 489. The amendment establishes our unequivocal right to clean water, and I urge people to express strong support to their representatives and senators...
CONTRIBUTED
Bangor Daily News
May 24, 2021
Richard Killmer: A good idea in Maine should be replicated in Michigan
There is an idea coming out of the state of Maine which Michiganders could find very helpful. The Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Maine Legislature passed recently an amendment to the Maine Constitution. It says the following: “The people of the State have the right to a clean and healthy environment and to the preservation of the natural, cultural and healthful qualities of the environment..."
COMMUNITY COLUMNIST
Holland Sentinal
May 21, 2021
Maine Voices: We must seize the chance to protect our environmental rights
My 23-year-old grandson, Iain Kurry, is a lifelong Mainer. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, fishing and hunting, while he spends an equally large portion of his time outdoors working throughout Maine as a geologist for an environmental consulting firm. He is outdoors a lot.
MAINE VOICES
Portland Press Herald
April 25, 2021
AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Maine Senate voted in favor of the Pine Tree Amendment, sponsored by Sen. Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro. LD 489, “RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Establish a Right to a Healthy Environment,” received unanimous support in an initial vote.
PRESS RELEASE
Maine Senate Democrats
April 13, 2021
Pine Tree Amendment Ensures Future for My Generation
My name is Mira Hartmann, I am 13 years old, and I live in Edgecomb. I write regarding The Pine Tree Amendment (L.D. 489) which is very close to my heart.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Portland Press Herald
March 31, 2021
Why we need to pass the Pine Tree Amendment
Growing up on my family’s farm in Nobleboro, I was raised with a deep appreciation for our natural environment and all it provides for us. Here in Maine, we rely on our environment for many things. We depend on it for recreation, from skiing, boating to hiking in the great Maine woods.
THE FREE PRESS
Village Soup
March 27, 2021
Maine Voices: How Pine Tree Amendment could benefit Maine’s environment, economy and future
Did you know that in 48 of our 50 states, people have no legal right to clean air, clean water or a healthy environment? State and local governments can enact policies and permits without considering the air you breathe or the water you drink...
MAINE VOICES
Portland Press Herald
March 01, 2021
Support Maxmin's amendment
I am writing in support of Senator Chloe Maxmin's Pine Tree Amendment, legislative bill LD489. This important bill would establish that Maine citizens have an inherent and inalienable right to clean air, water, and a healthy environment...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Wiscasset Newspaper