Priorities Camden Can Adopt For a Climate-Resilient Future
Mar 26, 2024
Laite Beach sea-level-rise and storm erosion (left) and granite steps rearranged by winter storms, March 2024. Our town planning office is looking into sustainable ways to rework these spaces.
We live in a time affected by a rapidly changing climate. This impacts every corner of Camden, and will continue to do so throughout our lifetimes. Whether it’s poor air quality, rising sea level, scorching heat, flooding rivers, collapsing biodiversity, ocean acidification, overtopping dams, drought, wildfire, or hurricanes—we’re in for the all of it.
The good news is that, not only can we limit the damage by reducing our carbon emissions, we have solutions for dealing with the inevitable impacts. We can prepare. We just need to choose to prepare, make a plan, budget for those priorities, then act.
How Do We Work Toward a Camden Climate Action Plan?
The current town budget conversations—for FY25—hint at climate change. There’s talk of things needing to be different, of the challenges of Harbor Park, of the need for a 5-year plan for the Snow Bowl. Yet no one in last week’s discussions—which you can listen to here—used the phrase “climate change.”
Our climate is changing—this is our reality. We need to admit, out loud, that our continued reliance on burning fossil fuels is making Camden’s climate resemble that of Maryland.
We’re pretending that this trend to warmth is just an aberration. We’re acting as if the Snow Bowl can continue to make snow in a world where the winter overnight temperature won’t necessarily fall below freezing. Camden winters are warming rapidly (see the Climate Reanalyzer to further explore these trends).
Ironically, 2023 may be coldest winter of the next decade.
As a byproduct of this reality, the Snow Bowl lost $230,000 this season and $80,000 the previous season. The current budget proposal is to subsidize the Snow Bowl with another $150,000 for FY25.
We’re not asking the right questions as we face the climate catastrophe and spend taxpayer money. We should be asking where we can invest to mitigate the damages of climate change and how to protect us from losing more money from climate emergencies.
A climate action plan would tackle climate change proactively. Money would be added to a Climate Adaptation Fund so that Camden is prepared for climate impacts (broken dams, culvert repair). Money would also be spent to mitigate our emissions (EV chargers, a municipal EV fleet), instead of subsidizing endeavors—however popular in an earlier, colder Camden—that don’t fit in a warming world.
Camden’s June 24 election warrant is due to include a multi-year, multi-million dollar Infiltration and Inundation bond to fund the continued reworking of the sewer/groundwater lines. This is climate-related—and critical. Rain and runoff is infiltrating our sewer system and that’s costing us money because the water goes through our wastewater treatment plant. We hope the Select Board insists on green standards for how this work is done (permeable services, low emissions), with some performance metrics in place—not an open checkbook.
The March 14, 2024 update to Maine’s climate plan frames current realities in a succinct fashion. The last section, on the Science of Hope (pages 55-58), will be particularly important to educators, parents, and leaders. We encourage you to listen to the full presentation here.
Camden’s Priorities for 2024, Leading to the FY26 Budget
While we don’t yet have a climate action plan, there are many climate policies, initiatives, and strategies we’re hoping to see reflected in 2024 town work so that the FY26 budget reflects Camden’s dedication to climate action.
The town staff and select board is unlikely to take these up unless we ask them to. You can help by emailing our select board to push for specific climate actions. Letters to the editor of the Free Press, PenBay Pilot, or Camden Herald are also effective. Help us harness the power of the people to move toward a resilient Camden. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment.
- Clean transportation infrastructure to support EVs for residents, tourists, and town fleet: a plan for EV chargers. There is a charger at the fire station for the chief’s E-vehicle and one at the town office for the planning department’s EV. There is money available for this: Maine received a $15 million federal grant to help with EV chargers. Thomaston, Rockland, and Belfast have all created public EV charging stations. Owls Head is putting one in at its library. St. George has one at its library. (In Camden Lyman Morse, Maine Stay, and Hawthorne Inn have Tesla charging; there are also chargers at the Country Inn, and Hannaford.) Send a note to the selectboard (tocselectboard@camdenmaine.gov) and tell them you’d like EV chargers for the public. CamdenCAN can help steer those discussions—email a reply to this newsletter if you’d like to work on this initiative.
- A plan for a pedestrian-friendly downtown, with non-fossil fuel alternatives for commuters (ebikes, ride sharing, etc.). ME Dot is highly focused on helping communities revision their bike and pedestrian traffic. Submit your suggestions to the Camden-Rockport Pathways plan—ask them to host an ebike expo or work with the town/library on ebike lending or grants. Could Hannaford or other businesses be encouraged to offer discounts to customers who arrive without an internal combustion engine?
- Municipal solar: Camden should invest in enough more municipal solar to cover our needs, thus bringing down the town’s emissions and reducing our town’s electricity expenditures. Hope (see here), Lincolnville (fire station and library, see here), Belfast (see here), and Rockland (see here) all have solar that meets the needs of their municipal buildings. CamdenCAN will be researching this further and creating a proposal. Reply to this newsletter if you’d like to join this effort. We’ll create a study group.
- Town-wide agreement on a plan for the Snow Bowl in the wake of shorter, warmer winters. The town manager has said she is investigating a better way for governance of this recreation area. Send her an email (acaler@camdenmaine.gov) and ask about that effort, then ask to join the conversations. (And feel free to forward this newsletter to town staff and select board with your comments.)
- Town-wide agreement on a plan for reworking the Public Landing, Harbor Park, and the Yacht Club parcel. Town has grants totaling $60,000 to get this going. In a year from now we hope we have the start of a plan. (When the Woods Vulnerability Report was completed in 2019 the price tag for public landing redo was $6 million—we suspect we’ll need to invest a fair amount more to create a truly resilient public space around the landing and Harbor Park.) Read the Woods report, get ready to attend town-wide meetings.
- Agreed-upon plan for making the Megunticook River flood resilient with restored watershed biodiversity. Town has a grant for this, with ongoing fees being paid to a consulting group and regular advisory group meetings. Find out more here. This group is due to present something to vote on in the November election.
- Town-wide discussions of increased housing to accommodate climate migrators and workers. State law has changed so that we can build more densely in the village district. There is a newly created midcoast housing trust. What town committee has taken up this priority? What can we hope to see from them a year from now? Email the select board to ask them to make this a priority and put it on their work list for 2024.
- Expanded fleet of electric school buses. We’ve had a few discussions with folks who are interested in making a push for this. There are funds available—email us if you’d like to help.
- Create a framework and social network so that our most vulnerable populations have help as the climate crisis accelerates (elderly, income limited, those with health issues). Climate change impacts different populations differently. If/when the power is out for three days will your neighbor who needs oxygen be OK? Who’s reaching out to that neighbor whose basement has flooded again and doesn’t have the funds to do anything about it? As the costs of climate change increase how will we help those on limited incomes? We understand the town has funds that can be used—how are we letting our residents know about them? We have a public service of police checking in on the elderly in the winter; how might we improve social connections in town year-round? Where is our community warming (or cooling center) if the power is out for days? Who in town is working on this?
- Help for Camden residents who want to: weatherize their homes (follow this link to see how the Brooklin Climate Response committee is doing this—they have a neighbor-to-neighbor program), install heat pumps, re-wild their lawns, plant more trees, deconstruct buildings and provide materials for reuse, improve the permeability of the surfaces on their property. (See Portland and South Portland’s One Climate Future—they have incredible initiatives—and outreach—on these topics.) Could a town committee take up these initiatives with outreach to residents and creating a series of public events? Maybe in a year from now we’ll have a more informative town website and town communicator promoting these initiatives? (Again, see the town of Brooklin’s website.)
- Other earth-friendly actions our town could be helping homeowners with: home solarization; repairing home appliances (repair cafes); education on composting and food waste reduction. (This help could be via volunteers corps or instructive programming, or fiscal help—and a town website that pointed out links for these sustainable actions.)
- Staffing changes in town so that climate work is undertaken by a dedicated Climate Change and Sustainability Manager. Could we create a proposal for a part-time position shared with Rockport? St. George and South Thomaston are currently working on funding and creating this shared position for their towns. Rockland has a full-time sustainability coordinator.
- Help for businesses that want to: solarize; become B-corporations; install EV chargers; provide housing or transportation help for employees; deal with sea level rise; offer discounts to shoppers who aren’t using fossil fuels; install heat pumps and electric water heaters and other appliances; weatherize buildings. A functioning Economic Development Committee could be working on these initiatives with local businesses.
What initiatives would you like to add to this list? Send us an email to let us know.
Any Election is a Climate Election
We’ll be electing two select board members in June. Can you step into this role? If not, ask these questions of candidates:
- Does the candidate see the fiscal responsibility of incorporating climate risk and vulnerability assessment for all new capital budgets and infrastructure projects? Will they speak up for that?
- Are they open to discussing climate change and its impact in town affairs?
- Do they understand their role to promote town-wide conversations about Camden and its future in a warming world? Can they help Camden get back to functioning committees and forums for effective town input?
Camden Homeowner’s Solar Event
CamdenCAN held an informative evening conversation earlier this month about home solar panels, net metering, and the value of buying into the many community solar options around. (Yes, you can save on your electricity bills.) Here’s a link to the recording.
Upcoming CamdenCAN Events
4/3/24 and 4/17 at 5 pm and 4/4 and 4/18 at 1 pm, Camden Public Library. Climate Conversation Circles. Read more about these here.
4/4/24, Thursday, 6:30-8:00 pm, Camden Public Library Maritime Month, Camden Talks Climate Panel, Kerry Emanuel, emeritus professor of atmospheric science at MIT, “Hurricanes In Mid-coast Maine: Past, Present, and Future.” After reviewing the long and interesting history of hurricanes that have affected Maine, Emanuel will talk about recent scientific advances that say something about how hurricane risk is changing in mid-coast Maine, focusing on Camden. He will also discuss the recent destructive winter storms. See the library’s listing here.
4/25/24, Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, First Congregational Church, CamdenCAN Climate Potluck. Come celebrate Earth Week, meet other climate-concerned neighbors, and share a meal. Come learn about climate action initiatives including a possible home energy tour, green burials, municipal solar, youth climate stewardship, composting and food waste initiatives to name just a few.
Other Local Climate Events
3/28, 6:30-8:00 pm, Thursday, Belfast Public Library, “Solar Energy: Retrofitting and New Construction with ReVision Energy.” Read more about it here.
4/2/24, 12 -1 pm, Tuesday, Merryspring Nature Center, Jeremy Bell, Nature Conservancy, “Climate Change and Adaptation.” See here. Zoom only.
4/2/24, 5:30-9 pm, Tuesday, Camden Budget and Select Board Meeting. In person at the French Conference Room, or via zoom. Let them know what you think the budgeting for the Snow Bowl and other topics. Go here to see more.
4/25/24 (note change of date), 4:00-5:30 pm, Thursday, Camden Snow Bowl Lodge. The Town of Camden welcomes the public to an open house to discuss an ongoing trails master planning for the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area. This is a drop-in event—please come at your convenience and prepare to spend 15-30 minutes learning about the project and providing valuable insights. Representatives from the Outdoor Sport Institute, professional trail consultants partnering with the Town to develop this plan, will be on site to answer any questions.
Concluding Thoughts
We’d like to hope that Camden residents are bound together in this work because we care about our small town by the sea.
We’d like to hope we can collectively use our imaginations, and our commitment, to solve our way through this crisis. On the way we hope we can build social cohesion and trust, reinforcing community solidarity as we work together.
We can do this—and yet it’ll truly take all hands to move us toward sustainability. Each of us plays a role—guiding Camden on a resilient path—creating a Camden we can proudly leave to future generations.
Small steps matter. Start by sharing this newsletter with other Camden residents, town staff, and anyone who else who cares.