Sustain This

by Jonathan Reisman

At the heart of green liturgy is the holy concept of sustainability. Everyone wants to be sustainable, but actually defining it in practice has proven wholly unlikely. Sustainability is often explained with the saying, “Don’t eat the seed corn,” or managing our resources in a manner that doesn’t reduce the opportunities of future generations. As a practical policy matter, what is or is not sustainable depends on baseline and future assumptions about technology, human behavior, and the planet/nature.

Read More

Comity and Contretemps

by Jonathan Reisman

Amid increasing contretemps over Trump, tariffs, taxes, and transgender toxicity, I watched the Soros backed, matching blood-red shirt, pro-Hamas/anti-Israel/antisemitic protest/rant at Trump Tower in Manhattan Thursday afternoon, followed by the blood-red lunar eclipse moon at 2 a.m. Friday. 

Read More

Climate Agonistes

by Jonathan Reisman

I drove down to Augusta under the theory that showing up at the work session for LD 495, requiring the DEP to issue an estimate as to how much adverse climate change their policies were averting and at what cost to consumers in terms of energy prices, might influence the outcome. The DEP testified neither for nor against, admitting that the estimates could be provided at minimal cost.

Read More

Pronouns, Partisan Politics, and Power

by Jonathan Reisman

Read More

February Follies

by Jonathan Reisman

In an act of optimism, I started leeks last week. I’m not sure if my other activities reinforced or reduced that optimism. I spent a lot of time chipping ice when not writing testimony to find a way to deal with climate alarmism and DEI disregard for the 1st and 14th Amendments. I only found myself muttering to the cats, TV, or mirror once or twice a day.

Legislation Prep: LDs 183 and 495

Read More

Watershed Moments

by Jonathan Reisman

I traveled to Augusta in early February to testify on several climate, energy, and environmental policy bills. The geography of the three-hour drive triggered memories of similar journeys over the past forty years.

Read More

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

I’m headed to Augusta for a Feb. 6 public hearing of some consequence to Washington County, rural Maine, the 2nd Congressional District, and Maine as a whole.

LD 183, An Act to Cap Publicly Owned Land Area at No More than 50 Percent of Any County, is sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, and the entire Washington County delegation. Here’s the summary:

Read More

Semiquincentennial

by Jonathan Reisman

That mouthful refers to America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, now less than 18 months away. I have a feeling that Donald Trump’s TV and showman experience is going to play a big part in what I hope is a huge, happy party. I think there is a lot of work and planning to do for that to happen.

Read More

Opening Moves: Public Advocate, Equity Schadenfreude

by Jonathan Reisman

The opening weeks of 2025 have brought home the consequences of mixing climate alarmism with identity/woke politics. The Energy, Utilities and Technology committee held a Public Advocate confirmation hearing where the Senate Chair ruled that any discussion of Maine’s energy and climate policies would not be allowed. 

Read More

January Alarms

by Jonathan Reisman

January has brought an array of alarms in California, Maine, and North America

Fire alarms in California

The California wildfires are both a natural and human-enhanced disaster. Governor Gavin Newsom’s inferno was made worse by decades of water policies prioritizing endangered snail darters and green liturgy over reservoirs and aqueducts. Controlled burns and fuel load management are apparently not consistent with a conviction that the cause of wildfires is anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change.

Read More

Pages