Down with LePage

Do you guys remember how a bunch of people at Chewonki were angry in early November when Governor LePage got elected? I just got this email from the Natural Resources Council of Maine (yeah, I networked at the Common Ground Fair. What of it?) and now I understand why...

[you should all join to stop him!!!]

Dear Ben, As I write to you, an all-out assault on Maine’s environment has begun. On January 24th, 2011, Maine’s newly elected Governor, Paul LePage, announced aggressive plans to gut safeguards for Maine’s land, air, water, and human health. We must keep this from happening. You can help by joining the Natural Resources Council of Maine. For 50 years, we have been the most effective member-supported group working to keep Maine, Maine. And we’re not about to back down now. Like you, we know and care deeply about what’s at stake. Governor LePage's anti-environmental positions are the most extreme that I have ever heard from an elected official in Maine. Just how severe is his view? His plans would: Eliminate Maine's Kid-Safe Products Act that phases out the worst toxic chemicals in everyday products that threaten children’s health. Require at least three million acres of Maine’s irreplaceable North Woods be zoned for development. Imagine our state’s spectacular wilderness trampled by big box stores, casinos, sprawling subdivisions, and shopping malls. Eliminate Maine's ban of the use of toxic bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles, water bottles, and sippy cups. BPA can reduce immunity, impair brain development, and contribute to diseases like breast and prostate cancers later in life. Abolish Maine's product stewardship laws, including our e-waste recycling law that has saved taxpayers more than $9.6 million and prevented more than 3.3 million pounds of lead and other toxic materials from entering the waste stream and our environment. Get rid of Maine's right to choose its own environmental safeguards by lowering our state’s protections to bare minimum requirements in federal law. This would put Maine on the fast track to becoming more like the places people come to Maine to get away from. Governor LePage’s 64-point document would roll back decades of work protecting Maine’s environment — safeguards NRCM helped put in place with the concerned people of Maine. Where are these proposed rollbacks coming from? A recent report revealed undeniable proof — tracking codes on circulated documents — tying the Governor’s wish list to corporate lobbyists with direct ties to out-of-state industries and trade groups with much to gain. Please help us in our work to ensure natural resources protections remain solidly in place. Please join the Natural Resources Council of Maine today. Sincerely, Lisa Pohlmann Executive Director