We’re All in This Together
Global Climate Concern & the Pine Tree Amendment
By Tom Berry
Like most, I didn’t become aware of the climate crisis until 2006, when Al Gore came out with “An Inconvenient Truth.” At the time, I was working in the Kennebunk area schools and, following that ominous wakeup call, whenever I observed young students (e.g., on the playground or just walking down a hallway) innocently oblivious to the looming threat, I often found myself wondering: What kind of world will these kids be inheriting from us? (A common experience to many who are reading this, no doubt.)
Still, it wasn’t until after the Presidential election in 2016 that I felt impelled to stop merely taking notice of the growing dire situation and to join efforts to actively engage with it. Several like-minded members of the Kennebunk community and I formed a group, The Planeteers of Southern Maine, to take on a range of Environmental issues, including climate change, at the community level.
One of the earlier events our group hosted was a presentation by someone from Citizens’ Climate Lobby. This organization’s practical approach for pressing Congress to pass legislation to markedly reduce our national carbon emissions had definite common-sense appeal for me. In addition, its well-organized methods provided the kind of focus I needed to turn my anxiety into purposeful action. And, after a while, I joined up.
Then, last year, a colleague brought the proposed Pine Tree Amendment to my attention.
Pine Tree Amendment
After reading what proponents were saying about it, a question rose in my mind: How would advocating for the Pine Tree Amendment factor for me in the face of the global climate crisis? In other words, shouldn’t the unfolding planet-wide disaster demand my full attention?
I thought about this, and then remembered: Having a destabilized climate with high potential for global catastrophe does not mean that regional environmental concerns have become less important.
The natural features of our home state – the forests and waters, the ecosystems therein, and the clarity of the air we breathe – have perennially been at risk. And, as negative effects of climate change increase, those vulnerabilities will only become starker. These features are iconic of the spirit of Maine and form the foundation upon which our state’s economy is built. Officially declaring a healthy environment to be a constitutional right would place this undergirding principle beyond the vicissitudes of politics.
The answer to my questions then? I guess, for me, attending both the global and the regional will have to be do-able. It may just require a little more coffee, is all.
What you can do!
So, my recommendation for concerned WEN readers: Do what you can to stabilize the climate and contact your state representatives and senators. Urge them to support the Pine Tree Amendment, LD 928.
Tom Berry is a retired speech-language pathologist and 30-year resident of Kennebunk.
