Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

The current edition of UMaine Today features the research of two SSI graduate students. Spencer Meyer is featured for his work on the Maine Futures Community Mapper, which earned him and his advisors the 2014 President’s Research Impact Award. A member of the “Mapping a Sustainable Future” team, Spencer graduated with a PhD from UMaine […]

Two studies by researchers at UMaine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) uncovered compelling data on women’s knowledge of both the dangers and health benefits of eating fish while pregnant. The first study found that Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) advisory led women to decrease their consumption of fish, while a follow-up study found […]

Karen Hutchins Bieluch’s doctoral research focused on building smarter, stronger community partnerships to promote sustainability. It went to the heart of the mission at UMaine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the Sen. George J. Mitchell Center. Take her survey of municipal officials in the state of Maine. Her work with these critical stakeholders resulted in an […]

Note: A previous version of this story did not clarify that the research project described below is not yet complete and has not undergone peer review. This version of the story includes this clarification. Forest certification was created 20 years ago to accomplish a noble, but market-minded goal: foster environmental stewardship in the nation’s privately-owned […]

A Senator George J. Mitchell Center researcher was part of a team that discovered lakes in the Northeast U.S. are recovering from the effects of acid rain more rapidly now than they did in the 1980s and 1990s. Sarah Nelson, assistant research professor with the Mitchell Center and cooperating assistant research professor in Watershed Biogeochemistry in […]

A news piece on the Maine Futures Community Mapper (MFCM) is featured on Forests for Maine’s Future website. MFCM, a project of  Sustainability Solutions Initiative’s (SSI) Alternative Futures Team, is a cutting edge online tool that allows town planners, conservationists, developers, and the general public to visualize what the landscape in their area may look like […]

Research being conducted through the University of Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) was highlighted in the National Climate Assessment report recently released by President Barack Obama, which found global warming is directly affecting life in Maine and other New England states. See full UMaine News post…

Cusk don’t have much charisma. The cod-like intruders slide out of lobster traps with bubbling skin, regurgitated stomachs and bulging eyes. They have no real commercial viability and virtually no name recognition. But in the Gulf of Maine, these bottom feeders are bellying into the klieg lights. Cusk, which are hauled to the surface offshore […]

When tourists visit Monhegan Island this summer, they may get a trip to the virtual future. Armed with digital tablets and headphones, a group of UMaine student researchers will offer willing participants a chance to immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of a scenario that could impact their experience of the island: the proposed […]

This winter, teams of Maine high school students trudged through harsh conditions to measure snow depths at different sites around the state. It wasn’t a typical science class exercise. The students and their teachers were engaged in serious research, scientific inquiries that could have real impact in the state. Guided by their teachers, the students […]