Becoming part of the natural gas supply chain is high on Maine Governor John Baldacci's to-do list. The only way for Maine to become a player is for the state to lend its ample coastline as a docking and conversion station for cargo ships carrying Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG. The governor outlined his interest in building a LNG terminal in Washington County during his State of the State Address and urged provincial leaders in neighboring Nova Scotia to support Maine's push toward clean or renewable energy.

If it's promising, why do our Canadian neighbors — and many Mainers — reject LNG proposals?

Natural gas may be the cleanest-burning fossil fuel known to man, yet transporting the fuel from source to consumer requires the matter exist as both gas and liquid. Freezing natural gas near its source, transporting it in its liquid form via cargo ship, and then re-gasifying the LNG on land is the most cost-effective way to use increase use of natural gas.

Virginia Thorndike authored "A Level-Head Look At Liquefied Natural Gas," published by Down East, and earned high praise for placing complex energy and maritime issues into laymen's terms. Further, the book has been suggested as a must-read title for anyone policymaker tasked with weighing the pros and cons of LNG Professor Jerry Havens of the University of Arkansas said, "[This book]Should be required reading for policy makers and the public, both of whom are subjected to more spin than helpful information on this critically important topic."
 

Raising Maine, By the Numbers

In 2008, one in five Maine children under the age of 5 lived below the federal poverty level. This data, and more, was released this week in Maine Kids Count 2009, the annual publication of the Maine Children's Alliance.  The report is a county-by-county assessment of the phycisal and mental health of Maine's children and its findings help shape state funding initiatives for coming years.