Dear Reader,

Here are a few of the headlines you may have read in these pages in just this past year:

“U.N. report on climate change carries life-or-death warning.”

“World has lost 60 percent of its wildlife over the last 40 years, group says.” (That group, by the way, is the nonprofit World Wildlife Fund.)

“Major Trump administration climate report says effects are ‘intensifying across the country.'”

“Oceans are warming faster than reports had suggested, scientists report.”

“Changing climate to put further pressure on New England, federal report predicts.”

News about the environment grows ever more alarming. But far from freezing – or perhaps broiling – in fear, we’re taking a more optimistic approach. We are pleased to announce the opening of the Fifth Annual Source Awards, which celebrate Mainers who are taking action – large and small – to reverse, or at least slow, urgent environmental problems. In past years, our awards have recognized a range of impressive Maine individuals and organizations, from a locally focused independent grocer to a prison warden who teaches inmates to grow vegetables, from a green energy company advancing solar projects to a model farmer promoting midscale farms by word and deed, from a smartly run composting company to a university food services director who has worked tirelessly to get local food into school cafeterias.

Nominations open today and close March 20. You may nominate yourself or any other individual, business, nonprofit or team that is working to make Maine a greener, more sustainable place. To make a nomination, go to pressherald.com/SourceAwards.

The winners will be announced April 21 in a special section of the Maine Sunday Telegram and will be feted May 1 at the annual Source Maine Sustainability Awards ceremony at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the immense environmental challenges we face in the world, and by extension in Maine. But as the proverb says, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We are eager to hear from you about the state’s toughest, most effective environmental advocates. And we are eager to recognize their exceptional work.

Peggy Grodinsky

EDITOR