Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

The Portland Press Herald interviewed Dianne Kopec, a PFAS research associate and special project assistant, on data from the state aquatic toxicology unit rendering fish unsafe to eat after a month of exposure to forever chemicals in water. “Their data should be taken seriously by officials deciding where to encourage fishing and how to alert […]

Mitchell Center Senior Faculty Fellow Linda Silka has been voted in as President-Elect for the environmental division of the American Psychological Association. Division 34: Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology members apply psychological knowledge and practice to improve interactions between humans and our natural and built environments. Topics of interest include (1) human behavior […]

Organic waste, which constitutes over 40% of solid waste in Maine, poses serious environmental, economic, and societal issues. In December 2023, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection commissioned an extensive study to gain deeper insights into the origins, quantities, types, and quality of surplus food, food scraps, and food waste tied to processing practices. The […]

Aroostook is Maine’s biggest creator of farm food waste, study finds A recent article in the Bangor Daily News featured a newly released Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2024 Food Loss and Waste Generation Study. The DEP worked with Resource Recycling Systems, faculty Susanne Lee and Travis Blackmer from the UMaine’s Senator George J […]

A recent study led by Adam Daigneault, E.L. Giddings Associate Professor of Forest Policy & Economics and Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow at UMaine, titled “Valuing the Economic Benefits of Maine’s Great Ponds in the 21st Century” was featured in a report from The Maine Monitor. It found that Maine’s lakes and ponds provide approximately $14 […]

MACHIAS, Maine — Help reduce food waste by enjoying a free meal and good company during the Machias Area Community Suppers held at 5 p.m. on Thursdays at the Center Street Community Room, 9 Center St. The next weekly supper will be on May 16.  Hosted by the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell […]

Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Dianne Kopec was quoted in a Portland Press Herald article on PFAS in birds and wildlife. The article, “High levels of forever chemicals in Maine birds add to concern about food chain” discusses the work researchers in Maine are conducting to try to understand how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, […]

The 2024 Maine Sustainability & Water Conference featured presentations on numerous research projects related to sustainability and water resource issues in Maine. The event’s poster session featured 44 posters, 36 of them led by students. Several students received awards and recognition for their posters which were judged on the definition of the research problem, use […]

Along the rocky shores of Acadia National Park are 24 known archaeological sites that preserve the history and heritage of Wabanaki people. Many of the sites house pottery sherds, tools, animal bones and other artifacts that showcase ancient Indigenous culture from a bygone age.  Sea level rise, flooding and storms are eroding these sacred and […]

In the United States, more than 133 billion pounds of food are thrown away each year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste is responsible for 33% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Maine, and about 11% of emissions nationwide.  Kate Flynn, a fourth-year political science student at the University of Maine, was exposed […]