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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Health and Protection

Reaching Into The Past For Future Resilience: Recovery Efforts In Maine Rivers And Coastal Waters, John Lichter, Ted Ames Jan 2012

Reaching Into The Past For Future Resilience: Recovery Efforts In Maine Rivers And Coastal Waters, John Lichter, Ted Ames

Maine Policy Review

John Lichter and Ted Ames discuss how analysis of environmental histories of human activities affecting Maine’s estuary, river, and coastal marine ecosystems can shed light on the role key fish species may play. Through Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, a group of researchers from Bowdoin, Bates, Univer­sity of Southern Maine, and Penobscot East Resource Center have teamed up to examine ecological recovery in the state’s waterways and coastal fisheries. Several river restoration efforts were already underway, and others are being planned as a direct result of this inter­disciplinary project.


Student Perspective: Margaret Chase Smith Library 2011 Essay Contest:, Zoe Anderson, Ali Clift, Allaina Murphy Jan 2012

Student Perspective: Margaret Chase Smith Library 2011 Essay Contest:, Zoe Anderson, Ali Clift, Allaina Murphy

Maine Policy Review

Each year, the Margaret Chase Smith Library sponsors an essay contest for Maine high school seniors. The focus of the 2011 contest was environmen­tal protection. The essay prompt quoted a 1972 statement from Sen. Smith: “We must recognize that we’re not going to eliminate pollution overnight. It’s going to be a hard, long fight. It’s going to take a long time and a lot of sacrifice on the part of each one of us.” By happy coinci­dence, the essay contest topic fits perfectly with the subject matter of this special issue of Maine Policy Review on sustainability. We feature here …


The Clean Water Act In Maine: Goals And Financing, Andrew Fisk Jan 2008

The Clean Water Act In Maine: Goals And Financing, Andrew Fisk

Maine Policy Review

Andrew Fisk gives an overview of the history of the federal Clean Water Act and of Maine’s efforts to improve the quality of the state’s lakes, rivers and streams. He describes how the Clean Water Act works and how its provisions are implemented. While the quality of Maine’s water bodies has improved greatly, much work still remains to be done in the areas of rain and stormwater runoff and mercury pollution, and in having adequate financing and infrastructure over the long term.


Maine Implements The Clean Air Act: Federalism, Environmentalism And Interest Group Accountability, Jon Reisman Jan 1996

Maine Implements The Clean Air Act: Federalism, Environmentalism And Interest Group Accountability, Jon Reisman

Maine Policy Review

The implementation of environmental policy initiatives often brings about a complex interplay between science and policy, public opinion, interest groups, federal and state mandates, and political machination. Jon Reisman uses Maine’s recent experience of compliance with the 1990 Clean Air Act to illustrate this complexity. In doing so, he addresses several important, but often ignored, issues, such as stakeholder participation in the policy making process, interest group accountability to implementation, and the long term consequences to the environment if these issues are avoided.


The Complexities Of Decision-Making Related To Health Risk Assessments, Barbara A. Knuth Jan 1995

The Complexities Of Decision-Making Related To Health Risk Assessments, Barbara A. Knuth

Maine Policy Review

Maine, like the nation, has focused a great deal of recent attention on determining acceptable levels of environmental and human health risk. Barbara discusses the role and uses of scientific information in risk assessment and public policy debate. Similar to Kevin Boyle's previous article (featured in the December 1994 issue of Maine Policy Review), Knuth discusses the 1992 Maine Board of Environmental Protection hearings which focused on the human consumption of fish potentially contaminated with dioxin.


Fish Consumption, Exposure To Dioxin, And Health Risk Assessments, Kevin J. Boyle Jan 1994

Fish Consumption, Exposure To Dioxin, And Health Risk Assessments, Kevin J. Boyle

Maine Policy Review

Human health issues have become the focus of much of the environmental debate that continues to occur daily in theU.S.InMaine, dioxin, a by-product of the kraft paper making process, has gathered its share of attention in recent months.UniversityofMaineresource economist Kevin Boyle discusses the difficulties associated with assessing human health risks relative to the consumption of fish tissue potentially contaminated with dioxin. He cautions state regulators to avoid overestimating the potential risks associated with human exposure to toxic substances such as dioxin.