In the fall of 1970, 11-year-old Suzanne Clune wrote a letter to her United States senator.
She lived on the banks of the Little Androscoggin River, a once-pristine tributary where deer could see their reflection when drinking from the water and where spring pine and chokeberry blossoms “filled the air with the sweetest smell on earth.” That was before toxic chemicals polluted the waters and before noxious waste formed swells of thick discolored foam that ran downstream and coated the river banks.
“Now in any season,” Suzanne wrote to Senator Edmund S. Muskie, “you can smell the most sickening smell on earth, a stench that left frogs ‘gasping for air.’ I am sick of the river like this. Please do something about it.” Suzanne signed her letter, “One who loves Maine.”
Suzanne’s letter sparked Senator Muskie’s career-long fight for clean air and clean water. Today, as a result of his actions, the Little Androscoggin River is restored as a pristine waterway, like the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, and the Penobscot rivers — places where we now fish and sail and swim, places we love. I am grateful that Suzanne did not wait to act.
Before us now is another threat — one that jeopardizes not only Maine’s natural resources but our state’s economic and social well-being, too. From our rocky coast to the western foothills, our pine tree forests, our bountiful farmland, and the people and creatures of all kinds who call these places home, the climate crisis poses a direct and immediate threat.
When I think about the current crisis, I think about Suzanne. I think about Senator Muskie, Senator George Mitchell, Senator William Cohen, and former legislators like Harry Richardson, Hoddy Hildreth, and Sherry Huber — environmental champions bound not by ideology or political party but by a shared commitment to preserve and protect our cherished home, Maine.
I think of Maine’s indigenous people whose longtime stewardship and connection to the land is threatened by global warming. I think of thought leaders like Pope Francis, who requested an international conversation about the future of the planet, a conversation “which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all." I think of our children and grandchildren and of generations yet to come.
With this crisis on our doorstep, we — like Suzanne Clune — can’t wait.
We must act now to honour the legacy of Maine’s environmental stewards who bequeathed this precious place to us, to preserve our state for our children and grandchildren to enjoy as we do, and to build a thriving economy with opportunities for growth far into the future.
Maine can’t wait to heed the warnings of scientists who tell us we cannot delay reducing carbon emissions to stem climate impacts or preparing our communities to withstand extreme weather events, flooding, and warming that climate change is causing as we speak.
Maine can’t wait to improve the lives of Maine people through climate action: weatherizing homes and installing heat pumps to provide both comfort and savings; improving transportation options; increasing access to broadband; and creating greater energy efficiency to lower the maintenance and costs of our homes, cars, buses, and businesses.
In the fall of 1970, 11-year-old Suzanne Clune wrote a letter to her United States senator.
She lived on the banks of the Little Androscoggin River, a once-pristine tributary where deer could see their reflection when drinking from the water and where spring pine and chokeberry blossoms “filled the air with the sweetest smell on earth.” That was before toxic chemicals polluted the waters and before noxious waste formed swells of thick discolored foam that ran downstream and coated the river banks.
“Now in any season,” Suzanne wrote to Senator Edmund S. Muskie, “you can smell the most sickening smell on earth, a stench that left frogs ‘gasping for air.’ I am sick of the river like this. Please do something about it.” Suzanne signed her letter, “One who loves Maine.”
Suzanne’s letter sparked Senator Muskie’s career-long fight for clean air and clean water. Today, as a result of his actions, the Little Androscoggin River is restored as a pristine waterway, like the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, and the Penobscot rivers — places where we now fish and sail and swim, places we love. I am grateful that Suzanne did not wait to act.
Before us now is another threat — one that jeopardizes not only Maine’s natural resources but our state’s economic and social well-being, too. From our rocky coast to the western foothills, our pine tree forests, our bountiful farmland, and the people and creatures of all kinds who call these places home, the climate crisis poses a direct and immediate threat.
When I think about the current crisis, I think about Suzanne. I think about Senator Muskie, Senator George Mitchell, Senator William Cohen, and former legislators like Harry Richardson, Hoddy Hildreth, and Sherry Huber — environmental champions bound not by ideology or political party but by a shared commitment to preserve and protect our cherished home, Maine.
I think of Maine’s indigenous people whose longtime stewardship and connection to the land is threatened by global warming. I think of thought leaders like Pope Francis, who requested an international conversation about the future of the planet, a conversation “which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all." I think of our children and grandchildren and of generations yet to come.
With this crisis on our doorstep, we — like Suzanne Clune — can’t wait.
We must act now to honour the legacy of Maine’s environmental stewards who bequeathed this precious place to us, to preserve our state for our children and grandchildren to enjoy as we do, and to build a thriving economy with opportunities for growth far into the future.
Maine can’t wait to heed the warnings of scientists who tell us we cannot delay reducing carbon emissions to stem climate impacts or preparing our communities to withstand extreme weather events, flooding, and warming that climate change is causing as we speak.
Maine can’t wait to improve the lives of Maine people through climate action: weatherizing homes and installing heat pumps to provide both comfort and savings; improving transportation options; increasing access to broadband; and creating greater energy efficiency to lower the maintenance and costs of our homes, cars, buses, and businesses.
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