Scenic View Across Dunes, Carmel, California, Guy Rose 1918⁣
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#California, #Early20thCentury, #Gold, #Green, #GuyRose, #SandDunes⁣
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Vintage ◦ Classic ◦ Historical | Art ◦ Design ◦ Inspiration | Restored ◦ Enhanced ◦ Remixed⁣
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Prints, T-Shirts, Stickers, & More by @rocketshipretro via RedBubble → https://bigplanetprints.com/go/srPlWh

Gaze upon the breathtaking Dune of Pilat from the light tower of Lège Cap Ferret and discover its impressive dimensions and global significance.

Read my post of today here: https://discovermyeurope.eu/the-majestic-dune-of-pilat-europes-largest-sand-dune/

Bills revive debate over #SearsIsland port plan

Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published March 12, 2025

"Lawmakers heard more than five hours of testimony Wednesday from both sides of a debate over preserving Sears Island in the Town of #Searsport.

"A pair of bills from state representative Reagan Paul would extend a #ConservationEasement across the island and restore #SandDuneProtections in a 330-acre parcel set aside for development.

"The Winterport Republican said it's time to end decades of controversial port proposals for the island in the town of Searsport. The latest plan is a floating offshore wind port by the Maine Department of Transportation that has so far failed to attract federal funding.

"'And yet #MDOT refuses to face reality, doubling down on failure and proving this is not about offshore wind, it is about pushing #IndustrialDevelopment at any cost,' Paul told members of the legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

"Local #conservationists support the proposal and said the highest and best use of the island is as a wild area. Any commercial development, including the wind port, can be done at nearby #MackPoint, a fuel and materials terminal."

Read more:
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2025-03-12/bills-revive-debate-over-sears-island-port-plan
#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies

Mesquite Dunes

Not far from Stovepipe Wells is Mesquite Flat Dunes. One of 5 areas in Death Valley that sand dunes form and easily the most accessible. The sand in these dunes is some of the finest sand that I have had the pleasure to walk on. The sand is very soft and certainly provides a good work out.
The sun was low in the sky creating a nice high contrast look.
https://pixels.com/featured/mesquite-dunes-bill-gallagher.html
#MesquiteDunes #BillGallagherPhotography #BuyIntoArt #AYearForArt #DeathValleyNationalPark #SandDunes

SUVs are converting beaches and sand dunes into highways without guardrails

The rolling sand dunes and long, quiet beaches of the South Australia's Limestone Coast:

"National park rangers launch helicopter to catch 4WD vehicles breaking rules four-wheel-drivers breaking the rules in national parks and on private properties."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-05/national-park-rangers-drones-catch-4wd-vehicles-breaking-rules/104671822
#cars #SUVs #mindsets #destruction #harm #SandDunes #beaches #Canunda #biodiversity #Australia

Good! Build it on #MackPoint, not #SearsIsland! Feds reject Maine’s request for $456 million to build proposed wind port at Sears Island

by Stephen Singer
October 22, 2024

"Rolf Olsen, vice president of the board of #FriendsOfSearsIsland, which manages a portion of the island set aside for #conservation, and an opponent of the Sears Island proposed site, said the federal decision 'would appear to be a significant financial blow' to develop the manufacturing facility.

"'We’re somewhat encouraged that the state’s port development grant application was turned down, especially since it only considered developing Sears Island and not Mack Point,' he said.

Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/22/feds-reject-maines-456-million-request-to-build-wind-port-at-sears-island/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/ej9E4

#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #Maine #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies

Before I inundate you with autumn colors, here is a shot from early March at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Blika by Brynjar Agustsson | Nature

Photograph: Brynjar Ágústsson/Drone Photo Awards 2024

@photography
#SandDunes

#Searsport information session addresses questions about offshore #WindPort

By Marleigha Clipston
Published: Aug. 13, 2024 at 9:11 PM EDT

SEARSPORT, Maine (WABI) - "The Searsport Select Board held an informational meeting with representatives from #MaineDOT and the Maine Port Authority to discuss the state’s proposed offshore wind port.

"At Tuesday night’s meeting the select board asked questions that were submitted ahead of time regarding the wind port and the impacts it would have on the area.

"In February, the state announced the preferred location for the wind port is #SearsIsland.

"Many residents have spoken out against the wind port being built on Sears Island suggesting #MackPoint as an alternative location.

"Representatives from the state say they are still very early in the process which will take years.

"'Local people should be listened to in this process and heard that we really need to have an undeveloped Island to go to and for the animals and plants,' said Chris Buchanan, Campaign to #ProtectSearsIsland.

“'You know, we talked about carbon sequestration, having mature ecology, like an intact ecosystem, is way more important than building out offshore wind. We could do that on industrial sites that already exist,' said Buchanan.

“'Its still an ongoing process. I mean, the permitting process here, we anticipate to take a minimum of two years. We hope to do that concurrently with the NEPA process,' said Matthew Burns, Maine Port Authority’s Executive Director.

“'And I mean, ultimately, you know, the final decision is to find the least #environmentally damaging, practical alternative. We’re committed to doing that. and have devoted a lot of resources to make sure we do right,' said Burns.

"Over 70 questions were submitted and many were not addressed due to time constraints.

"The town and the state plan to hold more meetings going forward."

https://www.wabi.tv/2024/08/14/searsport-information-session-addresses-questions-about-offshore-wind-port/

#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

CALL TO ACTION!

Can you attend this event for
#Wahsumkik / #SearsIsland?

"Floating Offshore Wind 101 - An Educational Panel with Q&A."

Wednesday, August 21st
Bucksport 5:30-7:30pm

Center for Professional Mariner Development
24 Mariner Way
Bucksport, #Maine

FMI -
https://www.facebook.com/events/826271572971739/

#WindPort #MackPoint ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

Proposed offshore #WindPort on #SearsIsland raises new conflicts for coastal Mainers, environmental activists

Residents concerned about both #ClimateChange and preservation are conflicted over plans for a facility on Sears Island that could be key to launching Maine's offshore wind industry

Annie Ropeik, The Maine Monitor
July 14, 2024

"Dow and activists like Huber want the port built instead at a #SpragueEnergy-owned oil and logistics terminal across the water known as #MackPoint. It was considered as an alternative in lengthy public processes in recent years, and Sprague and opponents of the Sears Island proposal have continued to urge reconsideration for it so far this summer.

"Offshore wind has taken some big steps forward in Maine this year. Federal regulators approved a state research array of floating turbines, which generate power in deep waters far offshore, and are nearing leasing for commercial projects.

"A new state law calls for #Maine to procure 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2040, using union- standard labor to build the projects and a floating wind-focused port.

"Formal environmental assessments and site analyses are still pending. But state port authority director Matthew Burns wrote in June that Mack Point’s 'physical and logistical constraints, need for significant dredging, and increased costs to taxpayers for land leasing and port construction would result in an expensive and inferior port for Maine compared to a versatile, purpose-built port on Sears Island.'

"Still, opponents worry that #wetlands and #forests on Sears Island could be disrupted by port construction, even if most of the surrounding #ecosystem remains intact.

"'Because we have to sacrifice something, let’s sacrifice something irreplaceable, instead of cleaning up a dirty old existing port?' Huber said outside the event. 'That’s just ridiculous.'"

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/07/14/proposed-offshore-wind-port-on-sears-island-raises-new-conflicts-for-coastal-mainers-environmental-activists/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/HBPgT
#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

#SearsIsland Bird Images
by Karl Gerstenberger

"To date, birders have spotted 222 species of birds on Sears Island, representing 47% of all bird species recorded in #Maine. In Derek Lovitch’s 2017 book #Birdwatching in Maine, he states that 'Sears Island…is by far the shining gem of Maine coastal birding' in the area of #coastline between Rockland and Mount Desert Island..'"

https://friendsofsearsisland.org/explore/bird-gallery/

#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag #WednesdaysForWildlife

#SearsIsland: The Answer to Green Energy, Or Home to #Biodiverse #Wildlife?

by Freyja Grey
Jul 16, 2024

"The #Wabanaki people indigenous to the area named Sears Island #Wassumkeag, or Shining Beach. The tribes used the island to hunt and fish for centuries.

"McCarthy said, 'They've been documented archeologically to have had a presence here for at least thirty-five hundred years.... There's a bio-regional perspective that considers all the relations: the #insects, the #grasses, the #trees, the #eelgrass, the #birds, the critters that roam these woods — if you really want to speak for Sears Island, it's incumbent, not just for poets and photographers and old hippies, it's incumbent for all of us to be mindful of all that is happening here.'

"McCarthy said he gets why the island is an attractive place for development. 'We're in a time where wind energy is important,' he said. 'We need to find green sources of power, but the narrowness of that human perspective needs to be challenged.'

"Both McCarthy and Lawless join the group #FriendsOfSearsIsland in maintaining that #MackPoint is better situated for development.

"Even though 600 acres of the island are protected by a conservation easement, industrial disruption to the peaceful island could lead to #environmental impacts that may not be fully realized until after development, according to McCarthy."

Read more:
https://www.freepressonline.com/news/sears-island-the-answer-to-green-energy-or-home-to-biodiverse-wildlife/article_b9f01324-3ed0-11ef-8f73-2f4dbf7e4a56.html

#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #WednesdaysForWildlife #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #Maine #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #GovernorJanetMills #GreenEnergy

Letter: Save #SearsIsland

by Opinion Contributor
June 17, 2024

"The article '#SpragueEnergy pushes #WindPort' in the June 15 Bangor Daily News Business section highlights the perfectly reasonable argument that #MackPoint should be reconsidered as the site for the proposed wind port. According to Jim Therriault, vice president of materials handling for Sprague, new information is available from research and studies. Things have changed since the state first targeted Sears Island. The arguments of dredging, construction costs and environmental concerns all have new facts and figures since the state (prematurely?) made the executive decision to use Sears Island for the wind port.

"Those who want to save Sears Island from the wind port construction that I believe would be the destruction of that beautiful local treasure sincerely hope that the state will do the responsible and reasonable thing. That they will take a good, strong look at what Sprague is offering.

"Hopefully, the decision to use Sears Island is not cast in stone and is reversible if facts warrant it.

"Too much is at stake to allow the state to stubbornly refuse to reconsider a decision this important. Someone in an impartial position needs to come to the table and study the facts. The new facts. If possible, let’s save Sears Island!"

- Sue Shaw
Penobscot, Maine

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/06/17/opinion/letters/save-sears-island-wind-port-mack-point/

#ProtectNature #Nature #GulfOfMaine #Environment #EndangeredSpecies #ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #WabanakiAlliance #Wassumkeag #CorporateColonialism #PenobscotBay #Greenwashing #JanetMills

#SpragueEnergy offers alternative plan for offshore #WindPort at #MackPoint

Story by Katie Delaney
June 11, 2024

"The State of Maine is planning to build its first offshore wind port on Sears Island in #Searsport, but Sprague Energy is pushing for its facility at Mack Point to be reconsidered as the site for the project.

"Leaders of Sprague Energy held tours Tuesday to show people their plan for offshore wind at Mack Point which they say is a lower-impact alternative to #SearsIsland.

"'This is a technology we've been serving for 20 years; we know what we do, we know our plan is rational,' Sprague Energy Vice President of Materials Handling Jim Therriault said.

"Sprague Energy has been working on #WindTurbines for the land, but it’s ready to take them to the sea.

"Therriault said the plan will impact the land less than the Sears Island project while still preserving their current operations.

"'We came up with a plan that gives you the same, if not more, capability and we did it with greatly reduced dredging, probably about an 85 percent reduction,' Therriault said.

"Sprague would make money on the deal. It would lease 100 acres of its facility to the State of Maine. Sprague says its site would be cheaper than Sears Island.

"'That lease fee will likely be lower than the state financing fees,' Sprague Energy President and CEO Dave Glendon said."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sprague-energy-unveils-plan-for-alternative-offshore-wind-port-at-mack-point/ar-BB1o2UwV

#Maine #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #SaveSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #Wahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #GovernorJanetMills #Wassumkeag

#SpragueEnergy Unveils Alternative, Lower-Impact Plan for Floating #OffshoreWind at Its #MackPoint Terminal in #Maine

Harnessing Existing Infrastructure, Sequestering Tons of #Carbon Per Year and Protecting 100 Acres of Undisturbed Natural Habitat on and off #SearsIsland

June 6, 2024 /PRNewswire

"'Building a wind port on Sears Island means more than 75 acres of upland forest will be cleared, graded, and compacted. It also means filling 25 acres of pristine #PenobscotBay to extend the shoreline where a previously protected ocean sand dune is located,' said Rolf E. Olsen, vice president of #FriendsOfSearsIsland, a volunteer nonprofit organization that manages the conservation area on behalf of the people of Maine and supports the idea of a #WindPort in #Searsport.

"Olsen continued, 'That estimate by the State does not include the additional impact from a new and greatly expanded approach road and rail bed to get to the facility. This seriously damages the island's #ecological, recreational, and economic value. Re-developing Mack Point - which has thrived as an industrial site for more than a century - is a far better and less disruptive decision, and the State has previously stated that it meets the requirements for the port.'

"On April 24, the #MaineDOT issued a request for information seeking public input on Maine's commercial offshore wind solicitation approach and implementation. Public opinions should be emailed to geo@maine.gov before the June 21st deadline. More information is available on the Maine.gov website."

https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2024/06/06/10024531.htm

#ProtectNature #Nature #GulfOfMaine #Environment #EndangeredSpecies #ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #WabanakiAlliance #Wassumkeag #CorporateColonialism #PenobscotBay #Greenwashing #JanetMills