Covering the cost of blood tests for more than 600 households in areas where farms used sludge to fertilize their fields represents a turning point in the state’s response to the crisis, from tracking to direct medical intervention.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Is the drought draining your well? What Mainers can do.
Maine state geologist Ryan Gordon answers well water questions as the statewide drought deepens and the number of dry wells increases.
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Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Persistent drought takes toll on Maine farmers
After a wet spring, farmers hoped for blue summer skies, but also got a drought that caused crop losses and may last through winter.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Outdoors
How Maine’s environment is being reshaped by longer, hotter summers
The Portland Press Herald spoke to two dozen experts this summer about the ways increasing heat is affecting Maine’s natural world.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Federal cuts threaten Maine environment, leaders say
Concerns were outlined by the Maine Climate Council and in a new report from the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Posted inLocal & State, News
UNE maps loss of Maine beach dunes from 2024 winter storms
More than a quarter of coastal dunes at 4 southern Maine beaches were lost during the historic January 2024 storms and researchers say the dunes have yet to fully recover.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Local & State, News
What do ever-hotter summers mean for Maine’s economy?
As the state charts increasingly warm and longer summers, businesses across all industries are planning for more weather extremes.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Maine public water supply complies with law, but is it safe?
A national advocacy group says federal limits for three carcinogens found in tap water from public systems in Maine and across the U.S. are too low. Water districts say it’s not fair to expect ratepayers to fund improvements to meet its lower recommended levels.
Posted inLocal & State, News
EPA and Brunswick Executive Airport clinch chemical spill deal
The deal gives the airport board 2 years to clean or replace fire suppression systems, but does not hold the board responsible for off-campus pollution or levy a fine for the largest firefighting foam spill in Maine history.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine scientist skis Greenland to document climate change
A Freeport climate scientist is enduring minus 40-degree temperatures while skiing across Greenland to document the fastest warming section of the Arctic and install sensors that can help predict the rate of sea level rise and ocean warming around the world.