Mainers from every corner of the state are stepping up to the climate challenge. Practical, creative and trailblazing teachers, bus drivers, students, communities, recent graduates and professional athletes alike are taking action to get ahead of the climate curve. Read their stories.
Scarborough native Jessie Rule witnessed climate change’s impact on Maine’s fishing families firsthand as the daughter of a lobsterman. Her coastal childhood experiences and learning about climate change effects on Maine’s ocean, land and people inspired the now 25-year-old to take climate action and pursue a career in renewable energy.
Maine’s first electric bus hit the road this year in Mount Desert Island - and veteran school bus driver Doug Van Gorder drove this clean energy transportation action.
Hall-Dale High School English teacher Brandon Terrill’s climate crisis lightbulb moment occurred while mowing his lawn and listening to a podcast. Terrill’s lawn mower stalled as he realized the urgency of informing young people about our current climate situation. In a new Climate Crisis unit, Terrill is teaching students in his College Composition course about global and local climate threats. The final assignment? Essays describing specific Maine Won’t Wait strategies - and how they can motivate people to take action.
Moise Mulamba Kalonji of Portland, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is an electrical engineering student at Southern Maine Community College. With a passion and global experience in solar, Moise is excited by the opportunities renewable energy presents for his future - and for Maine’s environment and economy.
Why did you choose Maine to live and study?
Matt Lutkus is Town Manager in Damariscotta. The town is taking action to protect its historic downtown from rising sea levels with a comprehensive waterfront infrastructure project to guard against flooding, replace sewer lines, improve drainage and pedestrian access, and build new public restrooms. This work was funded by a $3 million federal grant and $1.3 million in funds raised locally after being planned for a decade — a timeline the Climate Action Plan wants to accelerate for towns through a State Infrastructure Adaptation Fund.