By Jerry Harkavy
Seacoastonline.com
2/17/06

PORTLAND, Maine - Residents of Portland’s "exurbs" - the fast-growing towns on the outer fringes of the metropolitan area - have long commutes that produce a disproportionately high share of Maine’s pollution linked to global warming, according to a census-based study released Thursday.

By contrast, people living in large cities such as Portland, Lewiston and Bangor live closer to their jobs and thus produce lower per-capita levels of carbon dioxide pollution.

"The farther from work you live, the more you contribute to global warming," said Matthew Davis of Environment Maine Research and Policy Center.

The report, coauthored by the Environment Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, was released at an outdoor news conference on a midwinter day that saw temperatures hover around 50 degrees.

While many around town savored the shirtsleeve weather, environmental advocates blamed global warming for extreme temperature changes and cautioned that high pollution levels threaten industries such as skiing and maple syrup production.

The town-by-town study was billed as the first in which census figures on commuting patterns were used to measure contributions to global warming pollution.

To no one’s surprise, fast-growing towns such as Waterboro, Limington and Naples located just beyond the Portland suburbs ranked high on the list.

The study found that the average commuter in those towns travels 17 to 19 miles to work and produces more than 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution per year; the comparable figures for Bangor, Portland and South Portland were four to six miles and less than 2,500 pounds.

The commute to work statewide averages nine miles.

The report produced some surprises, according to its authors, who applauded the finding that 24 percent of residents of Orono residents do not rely on a car to get to work. "That’s just outstanding," Davis said.

Less positively, Jennifer Anderson of the Natural Resources Council lamented that only 3 percent of Portland residents rely on public transportation to get to work, despite the availability of an extensive bus system.

Speakers said the study pointed out the need to develop new transportation options and pursue policies that discourage sprawl that places people farther from their jobs.

Maintaining that Maine’s commuting habits were not sustainable, Steve Linnell of the Greater Portland Council of Governments urged motorists to drive less, join car pools and look to alternatives such as buses, bicycling or walking.

Carey Kish of Go Maine, a state-funded program that matches car and van pool riders, said 3,000 commuters and hundreds of employers have already signed up.

"It’s an immediate solution - low-cost and easy to do," he said. "You can’t ask for anything better that we can do right now."