Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

The University of Maine

Maine Policy Review

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

The Disposal Mode Of Maine’S Waste Governance, Travis Blackmer, Brieanne Berry, Michael Haedicke, Cindy Isenhour, Susanne Lee, Jean Macrae, Deborah Saber, Erin Victor Jul 2023

The Disposal Mode Of Maine’S Waste Governance, Travis Blackmer, Brieanne Berry, Michael Haedicke, Cindy Isenhour, Susanne Lee, Jean Macrae, Deborah Saber, Erin Victor

Maine Policy Review

Maine’s materials management system is stuck in a disposal mode of waste governance. Despite significant investments in programs and policies designed to reduce the amount of waste the state buries each year, recent shocks and uncertainties have resulted in increased waste generation and disposal. This paper analyzes specific ways through which materials management in Maine has become locked in to a disposal mode of waste governance. We build a framework to help understand various forms of lock-in and how they might be unlocked. This framework is applied to the extended producer responsibility packaging law that is presently under the rule-making …


Technology And Aging: An Emerging Research And Development Sector In Maine, Carol H. Kim, David Neivandt, Lenard W. Kaye, Jennifer A. Crittenden Jan 2015

Technology And Aging: An Emerging Research And Development Sector In Maine, Carol H. Kim, David Neivandt, Lenard W. Kaye, Jennifer A. Crittenden

Maine Policy Review

The authors discuss the importance of research for developing products and services that cater to the needs of a rapidly growing aging population and provide examples of projects underway at the University of Maine. Products designed to improve and protect older adult health and well-being represent a significant opportunity for economic growth in Maine.


Maine’S Three Ring Binder, Fletcher Kittredge Jan 2013

Maine’S Three Ring Binder, Fletcher Kittredge

Maine Policy Review

Although Maine is a rural state, it has had success in keeping pace with technological changes since the rise of the Internet 20 years ago. In this section, authors describe some of these successes and the challenges faced by both consumers and libraries in the new digital environment. Fletcher Kittredge presents the history and promise of Maine’s “Three Ring Binder,” a new and important fiber optic network that will bring high-speed broadband connectivity to rural parts of the state. The Three Ring Binder is expected both to improve economic opportunities for businesses and to increase high-speed Internet access for underserved …


Place-Based Approaches To Alternative Energy: The Potential For Forest And Grass Biomass For Aroostook County, Jason Johnston, Soraya Cardenas Jan 2012

Place-Based Approaches To Alternative Energy: The Potential For Forest And Grass Biomass For Aroostook County, Jason Johnston, Soraya Cardenas

Maine Policy Review

Teams at the University of Maine Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Forth Kent are engaged in evaluating the potential for forest and grass biomass energy in Aroostook County, funded through Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative. The article discusses how this potential is being evaluated and the possible ways in which expanding grass and wood biomass might benefit farmers and residents of The County. It suggests that using some of Maine’s farmland for fuel might be sustainable with appropriate management and with consideration for potential environmental and socioeconomic drawbacks


Research For The Sustainable Development Of Tidal Power In Maine, Teresa Johnson, Gayle B. Zydlewski Jan 2012

Research For The Sustainable Development Of Tidal Power In Maine, Teresa Johnson, Gayle B. Zydlewski

Maine Policy Review

Generating electricity from Maine’s substantial tides has been a dream for generations. Today, the state is poised for a new era in sustainable tidal-power development. A pilot project is already underway in the Cobscook Bay/Western Passage area near Eastport and Lubec. Tidal-power development presents technical, environmental, and social challenges, however, and the authors discuss how the Maine Tidal Power Initiative is working to develop a cooperative framework that integrates stakeholders, developers, and policymakers to tackle some of these challenges.


Development In The Gulf Of Maine: Avoiding Geohazards And Embracing Opportunities, Laura L. Brothers, Joseph T. Kelley, Melissa Landon Maynard, Daniel F. Belknap, Stephen M. Dickson Jan 2010

Development In The Gulf Of Maine: Avoiding Geohazards And Embracing Opportunities, Laura L. Brothers, Joseph T. Kelley, Melissa Landon Maynard, Daniel F. Belknap, Stephen M. Dickson

Maine Policy Review

Mapping for marine-spatial planning is crucial if Maine is to safely develop its offshore resources, espe­cially wind and tidal energy. The authors focus on shallow natural gas (methane) deposits, an important and widespread geohazard in Maine’s seafloor. They describe the origin, occur­rence, and identification of natural gas in Maine’s seafloor; explain the hazards associated with these deposits and how to map them; and discuss what Maine can learn from European nations that have already developed their offshore wind resources. Because the U.S. gives states a central role in coastal management, Maine has the chance to be proactive in delineating coastal …


The Maine Shore And The Army Corps: A Tale Of Two Harbors, Wells And Saco, Maine, Joseph Kelley, Walter Anderson Jan 2000

The Maine Shore And The Army Corps: A Tale Of Two Harbors, Wells And Saco, Maine, Joseph Kelley, Walter Anderson

Maine Policy Review

By discussing the problems of beach erosion and sand movement at Wells and Saco, Maine, Joseph Kelley and Walter Anderson demonstrate how single-minded, engineering approaches to complex, interdisciplinary coastal issues can create bigger problems than previously existed. As Kelley and Anderson explain, at both Wells and Camp Ellis, the Army Corps of Engineers was brought in to construct a harbor at no local cost to the community. This was accomplished by constructing jetties, and the result has been a persistent and serious problem of beach erosion. Over the years, the Army Corps has offered further technical solutions that have served …


Electric Utility Restructuring: What Does It Mean For Residential And Small Retail Consumers In Maine?, Lewis Tagliaferre, Susan Greenwood Jan 1999

Electric Utility Restructuring: What Does It Mean For Residential And Small Retail Consumers In Maine?, Lewis Tagliaferre, Susan Greenwood

Maine Policy Review

On March 1, 2000, Maine will offer electric power through open competition, a restructuring that poses both advantages and disadvantages to residential and small retail consumers. While electric restructuring in Maine has been thoughtfully developed, the basic question of whether electricity rates will be lower for the average consumer will remain uncertain for some time. This uncertainty is linked not only to Maine’s electricity rate bidding process but also to potentially oligopolistic national trends. In addition, whether individual consumers achieve savings in their electricity costs will be determined, in part, by their choice of electricity supplier. While some consumers may …