Power for the People 2/27/26: 2026 Maine Legislative Session Energy Bills

Producer/Host: Steve Kahl

Power for the People: Energy education and solutions for Mainers and Maine communities

This month:
Energy and climate related bills under consideration until April 2026.

Guest/s:
Jack Shapiro, Climate and Clean Energy Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine

FMI:
www.nrcm.org

About the host:

Steve Kahl developed and has hosted Power for the People since 2015. He retired after 9 years as Professor of Environmental Science at Thomas College in 2024, where he taught environmental and energy courses and advised the student sustainability club. He is a member of the Friends of Quarry Road Trails board of directors in Waterville where he is the main advocate for a net-zero energy welcome center. Steve advised the board of WERU-FM on making the station studios 100% solar powered and worked with Sundog Solar in Searsport to make it happen back in 2020.

Steve is a career lake researcher in addition to roles in energy and sustainability, and was a founding member of the Lake Stewards of Maine in the 1990s and is currently back on their board. He is past board President of Maine Lakes, the NH Lake Association, and the Lake Winnipesaukee Association.

Prior to moving home to Maine in 2004, he was a member of the Energy Commission in Plymouth NH where he obtained Dept of Energy funding for the renovation of a town office building to net-zero energy as well as the installation of 160 KW of solar PV panels on town properties, including a major PV array at the sewage treatment plant that offsets 40% of its electrical costs.

Steve’s past positions include Sustainability Director at Unity College where he developed a plan for the college to become 100% solar powered and earned the college the prestigious STARS Gold sustainability ranking with the American Association of Sustainability in Higher Education. Before that, he was Director of Environmental and Energy Strategies for the James Sewall Company of Old Town where he led a Maine Technology Institute research project that found that the Maine electric grid could be 100% solar powered if all suitably-oriented rooftops had solar PV panels. His lake research was done while serving as founding director of the Senator George Mitchell Center for Environmental Research at the University of Maine.

His own 1940s-era home is 100% electric, where he has installed two air-source heat pumps to eliminate heating oil, a hybrid hot water heater to reduce his water heating costs by 70%, and insulated the basement and attic to reduce the ‘stack effect’ of cold air coming in the basement and forcing heat out of the attic. He has solar panels on his summer place at the lake and hasn’t paid for any electricity there since 2011. In 2025, he added 6 KW of solar PV on his main home, with the goal to be net zero energy on an annual basis.

Steve has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Maine.

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Coastal Conversations 2/27/26: Innovations In Materials

Host: Galen Koch
Editorial Help: Natalie Springuel
Theme Music: Paul Anderson – A Following Sea
Most of the music in the episode is by cue-shop.com.

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

Abbey Barrows and Ben Jackson, owner and operators of Deer Isle Oyster Company bought their farm that came with an array of equipment all made out of plastic. Abby, being a marine researcher that focuses on mitigating microplastics in our coastal ecosystems, knew there had to be a different way of farming oysters while reducing their plastic footprint. With collaboration from other people with similar interests and passions, listen in to hear about how they are fabricating their own path to a plastic-free business.

Guest/s:
Abbey Barrows – Owner and operator of Deer Isle Oyster Company.
Ben Jackson – Employee at Deer Isle Oyster Company.
Katie Weiler – Founder and President of Viable Gear.

FMI:
Deer Isle Oyster Company – www.deerisleoysterco.com/
Viable Gear – viablegear.com/
Shaw Institute, Blue Hill – shawinstitute.org

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

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Around Town 2/27/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

LD 1822, An Act to Enact the Maine Online Data Privacy Act
Find Your State Senator (includes contact info)

OUT Maine is hosting the 3rd annual Rainbow Gala & Dance Party tonight in Rockland
On Saturday, the Stonington Opera House invites you to travel back to a galaxy far, far, away with their free screening of The Empire Strikes Back.
Belfast’s Annual Ice Festival is also happening this weekend
On Sunday, Great Pond Conservation Trust will hold their monthly meet up at the Joost Family Preserve on Verona Island, for snowshoeing along the shores of the Penobscot.

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

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Around Town 2/26/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Following up on yesterday’s report, today organizers of The Consequence of Palestine- (Maine Coalition for Palestine, www.mvprights.org/ -weigh in on the controversy in a press release.

Resources included with the press release:

“[E]stablished case law pertaining to nearly identical conferences and academic events” provided by organizers

“Trump Administration Concedes U.S. Researchers may Talk with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Despite Sanctions” – “The First Amendment generally forecloses the government from using its sanctions authority to suppress the exchange of ideas—and it certainly prohibits the government from preventing scholars from engaging with one of the foremost experts in their field,” says Xiangnong (George) Wang, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “The Treasury Department’s concession is a significant reprieve to the many American scholars, journalists, and advocates that have been chilled from exercising their rights because they fear liability under U.S. sanctions laws.”

“OFAC SIGNALS POLICY CHANGE ON HOLDING CONFERENCES WITH SANCTIONED SPEAKERS” – “Marking what appears to be a reversal of previous policy, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) determined that US persons can, subject to certain limitations, include sanctioned persons as speakers at overseas conferences without specific authorization.”
“The authority granted to the president of the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the regulation or prohibition of most types of communication that do not involve the transfer of anything of value (50 USC § 1702(b)(1)). The Berman Amendment, added to IEEPA in 1988, stipulates that the president cannot regulate or ban the import or export of “informational materials” to or from adversarial nations or individuals.”
“By reversing its stance in the GPE case, and by issuing the letter as part of the public record in the court proceedings, OFAC appears content to publicly clarify and refine its position on this issue: allowing sanctioned individuals to speak at events organized by US citizens is not a service so long as no financial transactions or other exchanges of benefits take place”

Letter to Middle East Studies Association from OFAC

Media Advisory – The Consequence of Palestine, February 16

Support for Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories:

30 Jewish Organizations: We Support UN Human Rights Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Independent Jewish Voices, Canada, November 5, 2024

“Jewish Voice for Peace strongly condemns the Trump administration’s announcement of sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese. This is a blatantly political attack that seeks to silence Palestinian rights advocates and undermine international law”, social media post

“Impunity will end: Francesca Albanese keeps hopeful”, Jewish Voice for Liberation, Wed 28 Jan 2026

Links from Part 1 (aired 2/25/26):
“The Consequence of Palestine” Conference Coming to USM, Munjoy Hill News, Portland, 18 February 2026 (NOTE: CANCELLED)
Press Statement, US Imposing Sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, 9 July 2025
Report: “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime” by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, United Nations
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories
Global: European states must retract outrageous attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Amnesty International, 13 Feb 2026
They tried to silence her – they failed, Jewish Voice for Liberation, 23 Feb 2025

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

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World Ocean Radio 2/25/26: The Energy Grid

Host: Peter Neill
Producer: Trisha Badger

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
How do we generate the energy we need to meet the demands of consumption for the future? Any plans to meet future climate challenges and technological advancement will require not only sustainable sources of energy, but must also include the grid: our national transmission system that delivers energy to homes, businesses, data centers, and manufacturing. This week we’re discussing the energy transmission network in the USA, including policy decisions, environmental impacts, land ownership, mineral demand, and the realities of an already overwhelmed grid.

WORLD OCEAN RADIO
5-minute weekly insights dive into ocean science, advocacy and education hosted by Peter Neill, lifelong ocean advocate and maritime expert. A catalog of more than 730 episodes offering perspectives on global ocean issues and solutions, and celebrating exemplary projects. Available for RSS feed and broadcast by college and community radio stations worldwide via Exchange.prx.org and Audioport.org. Visit WorldOceanObservatory.org for the full catalog, searchable by theme.

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Around Town 2/25/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

“The Consequence of Palestine” Conference Coming to USM, Munjoy Hill News, Portland, 18 February 2026 (NOTE: CANCELLED)
Press Statement, US Imposing Sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, 9 July 2025
Report: “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime” by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, United Nations
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories
Global: European states must retract outrageous attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Amnesty International, 13 Feb 2026
They tried to silence her – they failed, Jewish Voice for Liberation, 23 Feb 2025

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

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Wabanaki Windows 2/24/26: Wabanaki Alliance, Part 2

Host: Donna Loring
Other credits: Technical assistance for the show was provided by Joel Mann of WERU, and Jessica Lockhart.
Music by Ralph Richter, a track called little eagles from his CD Dream Walk.

Wabanaki Windows is a monthly show featuring topics of interest from a Wabanaki perspective.

This month: History and purpose of bill before the Legislature this session.

Guest/s: 
Mualian Bryant, Executive Director of Wabanaki Alliance. www.wabanakialliance.com
Darren Ranco is a member of the Penobscot Nation and a scholar of Native American studies. He knew Charles as an elder and community leader and has worked to ensure that Charles’s story is understood within the larger context of Indigenous service, sovereignty, and survival.
Chief Clarissa Sabattis of the Houlton Band of Maliseets.
Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation.

About the host:
Donna M Loring is a Penobscot Indian Nation Tribal Elder, and former Council Member. She represented the Penobscot Nation in the State Legislature for over a decade. She is a former Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Governor Mills. She is the author of “In The Shadow of The Eagle A Tribal Representative In Maine”. Donna has an Annual lecture series in her name at the University of New England that addresses Social Justice and Human Rights issues. In 2017 She received an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humane Letters from the University of Maine Orono and was given the Alumni Service Award. It is the most prestigious recognition given by the University of Maine Alumni Association. It is presented Annually to a University of Maine graduate whose life’s work is marked by outstanding achievements in professional, business, civic and/or Public service areas. Donna received a second Honorary Doctorate from Thomas College in May of 2022.

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Outside the Box 2/24/26: “Upbeat”

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger

About the host:
Larry Dansinger (no pronouns) of Bangor came to Maine in 1974 and has been here ever since. Some of Larry’s activities since then: Done community organizing on numerous issues through INVERT and then Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), committed civil disobedience several times, grown a garden yearly since 1977, joined various food cooperatives and two men’s groups, refused to pay federal income taxes for war, lived on a community land trust for 23 years, and met a wonderful partner whom Larry has loved for over 40 years. Larry has produced Outside the Box features on WERU since 2007 and continues to look for unique ways of seeing almost any problem or situation.

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