Independent Journalist
Going back in time can reveal how far we still have to progress. In researching per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for a recent article series, I found myself ricocheting between the present and the...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Health / Sense of Place
by Marina Schauffler · Published July 31, 2022 · Last modified January 15, 2023
In forests, we expect slow change. Trees gain height and breadth by small degrees, and the mix of species shifts gradually over decades. But reality no longer conforms to our expectations. Many tree species...
Ecological Values / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices / Technology
by Marina Schauffler · Published July 15, 2022 · Last modified July 16, 2022
The soft clouds of gray lint that slide off clothes dryer screens are tangible evidence of the dryer’s tumbling abrasion. Each handful comes at a cost, shortening the lifespan of garments. But the true...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published June 5, 2022
The vacation promised to be high in enjoyment and low in carbon. Rather than flying somewhere and staying in a hotel, we would sail to a cabin powered by solar electricity. Our only fossil-fuel...
Ecological Values / Food / Housing
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 22, 2022 · Last modified June 5, 2022
Spreading like dandelion fluff, a “No Mow May” initiative to support bees and other pollinators is taking seed in Maine. It began when two Rockland residents sent City Councilor Nathan Davis a New York...
Ecological Values / Pollution/Waste / Slower Living / Sustainable Practices / Technology
by Marina Schauffler · Published May 6, 2022 · Last modified June 5, 2022
We are consumers of convenience. Offer us a faster, easier, wrinkle-free, nonstick option, and we’re sold. We need no convincing that convenience is an inherent good; a lifetime of ads has done that...
Climate Change/Energy / Ecological Values / Food / Health / Pollution/Waste / Sustainable Practices
by Marina Schauffler · Published March 27, 2022 · Last modified April 3, 2022
During the growing season, I periodically join a crew of volunteers on a local farm, harvesting crates of vegetables headed for food banks. It lifts our spirits knowing that all this beautiful, wholesome produce...
Ecological Values / Food / Health / Sense of Place
by Marina Schauffler · Published March 13, 2022 · Last modified April 3, 2022
Maine farmers are resourceful and resilient, but nothing could have prepared them for this invisible and insidious disaster. “We are… the human collateral of PFAS-contaminated biosolids,” observed organic farmer Nell Finnegan of Albion, casualties...
