Perhaps the pine tree should be replaced on the state seal.
The pine tree was apt and fitting as the emblem of Maine when the British Navy depended on Maine’s giant pines to dominate the world’s oceans. Along with its forest sisters, it deserved its place on the state seal. However, the “Kings Pines” are no longer needed, and lumber and paper production is anemic. Maybe the pine tree should be replaced by a contemporary, more relevant symbol, one that promises to become important to the state’s future.
Water. H20.
Water and Maine have a special history. Water power was the muscle that powered Maine’s growth to “the way life ought to be” Water not only made possible a comfortable life for Lewiston and Biddeford Maineiacs who enjoy La Kermitesse, but also it built many Bangor mansions and Cape Elizabeth oceanfront estates. Without the rivers to power the mills of Augusta, Waterville, Lewiston-Auburn. Biddeford-Saco, Rumford, Westbrook, Lisbon Falls, Jay, Topsham, Westbrook, Sanford, Madawaska and Skowhegan; without flooding streams to transport logs; and without mighty waterways to float ocean-going ships in their lower reaches, Maine would have had to rely on the sale of lobsters to Massachusetts, snow to New Hampshire and lake sports in which powerboat tourist cowboys would pay for the sport of running down local rowboats and canoes.
While we have failed to wring full value from our water – Passamaquoddy of the 1930s or Dickey-Lincoln of the 1970s would have allowed us practically free power today with bucketfuls left over to sell – there is yet hope.
Thanks to a growing world hunger for meat, water is rapidly becoming fugitive and, as a result, exceptionally valuable. Little used for bathing during Maine winters and only in only small amounts for diluting spirits in Portland’s Old Port, it is now cherished for meat production over much of the planet. Meat making requires lots of water – about 12 times more than cereals of equal food value.
Worldwide consumption of meat has increased 400 percent in last 20 years, with further increase certain. Chinese meat ingestion already accounts for half of their potable water consumption, and their wells are pumping 24/7. A few more McDonald’s and the end is in sight – not only in China, but also in Africa, India and the Middle East (“let ’em drink oil” is not the answer). With 21 percent of world population but only 8 percent of usable water, it won’t be long until India and China are at war over the Himalayan snow pack. The time seems certain to come when water-rich countries such as Canada should look to their missile defenses
Maine, fortunately, has water out the kazoo. Fresh water, salt water, running water, still water, pure water, rainwater, snow-melt water, lake water, groundwater – you name it. A recent study by the Lucius Flatley Research Institute of Gorham lists Maine as one of the top three water-rich states -topped only by Alaska (where ice is considered water) and Hawaii (where poi tastes like poor water).
The only problem is transportation. The Flatley institute recommended that our Legislature should create another thought-filled body to develop ocean-going, giant water tankers (powered, of course, with methane gas) to carry our precious liquid to the far corners of the world. The original recommendation suggested the name Water Board Agency (WBA), but since the term waterboard is so closely associated with the present administration, it was thought to be pejorative. Water Shipment Agency (WSA) was chosen instead.
But, there is already a considerable market reachable by rail and road for boutique water. Long before the days of spotted owls, vernal pools, HIV and safety belts, Poland Springs was a respected name in water. Visionaries such as Howard Hughes, an eccentric billionaire who bought most of Las Vegas for his own sandbox, would consume nothing else. Since recent exploration seems to have proven that Poland Springs water can be extracted most anywhere in southwestern Maine, it seems likely that enough of this quality liquid exists throughout the state to satisfy demand throughout much of the interstate highway system.
As water becomes more valuable, a nice additional benefit for our farms could be meat production – which could be profitable beyond the cost of meat itself. Cows produce 3 tons of manure for each American yearly – about 4,500 tons for Gorham’s share – providing a potential source of methane gas which, when captured, could heat the state capital while the Legislature is in session.
The future is ours.
Rodney Quinn, who lives in Gorham, is a former Maine secretary of state. He can be reached at rquinn@maine.rr.com.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
