Dear Editor:

On July 10, 1911, North Bridgton Maine set a record high of 105 F. A headline, two days later, noted that 221 people died from heat in New York that month. On Aug. 12, 1936, Seymore, Texas set a record of 120 F. An earlier headline noted that 3,000 had died in that U.S. heatwave. Both records still stand.

Little has changed after another year of warming headlines. Twelve Maine towns and cities have high temperature records of 100 degrees and above. Seven of the records were set in 1975 including Newcastle at 101 F. The remaining five were set in 1897, 1935, 1955, 1955 and 2011.

The U.S. data is like Maine’s. Three states set an all-time record high in the 1800s. In the following three decades ending in 1929, another 10 states set their record. In the 1930s, by far the hottest decade, 23 states were added. In the next three decades ending in 1969 three more states were added. In the three decades ending in 1999, another eight states were added. Only two states have set high records in this century, three, including Maine, have set new lows.

Earth’s data also does not show a dramatic trend. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), divides the world into 11 regions for recording “highest temperature.” The following is a list of the dates of those records; 1931, 2017, 1905, 1913, 1960, 1942, 1977, 1982, 2020, 1989, and 2020.

The WMO lists other records - “Greatest 12 Month Rainfall” (1860-1861), “Longest Dry Period” (1903 to 1918), and “Highest Mortality Tropical Cyclone” (1970). Official data does not point to a planet in extremism. Maine is making multi-million dollar decisions that have severe environmental impact, questionable net positive results, short lifetimes, and will be an expensive nightmare to dismantle and bury. It is time to stop these massive projects until we have all the answers. Maine can’t afford this.

Information for this article came from: www.plantmaps.com, World Meteorological Organization, and nooa.gov.

Joe Grant

Wiscasset