When A Picture And Caption Are Worth One Thousand Words

I am a word person but the explosion of visuals that digital media makes possible and social media makes visible has been one of the joys of my middle and now elder life.

The image above is one I created after sister peace activist Palma Ryan pointed out the opportunity for messaging created by Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit images growing old enough to enter the public domain.

Maine Veterans for Peace leader Richard Clement is creating buttons based on the design, and I expect to be receiving some in the mail soon. (Let me know if you'd like one by leaving a comment on this blog post.)

Art work by Russell Wray

As the annual Maine Peace Walk gets underway this week, I'm inspired by artist Russell Wray's eloquent banners and sculpture to express where we are and where he'd like us to be.

Banner posted by Mary Ann Grady Flores of protest at Hancock Air Base where she was arrested and sentenced to 6 months in jail for photographing protesters. Her appeal is being heard in Albany, NY this week.

How best to move people to realize we're bankrupting ourselves and killing forms of life all over the planet so a few very wealthy people can become even more wealthy?

Banner by Artists Rapid Response Team (ARRT!) of the Union of Maine Visual Artists

Anthony Freda is one of my favorite artists for the movement. His work ranges over many topics, but nobody does antiwar imaging better.

Here's one he created at my request that I use for the Natural Guard campaign:

Image: Anthony Freda

And a more recent image he created in response to the death wish expressed by the nominal leader of the USA:

As the leaves die brilliantly around me these days, I fear we may be in danger of witnessing the end of our ability to imagine and create images. I hope not.

Vigil At Poland Springs Today With Stop The War$ On Mother Earth Peace Walkers

The 5th Maine Peace Walk arrived in my area in the late afternoon yesterday. It was great for members of my old peace and justice community around Waterville to come together and enjoy the privilege of feeding the walkers and hearing their stories. 

We are older, tireder and grayer these days but our group was enlivened by the presence of 10 year old boy who is on his 5th walk (!), my 20 month-old granddaughter, and a 22 year old musician walking for the first time. Given that the oldest walker is nearly 80, it was a lovely range of humanity that sat down together to be nourished.

Chanting and drumming led by monks of the Nipponzan Myohoji order signaled the walkers' arrival in a quiet residential neighborhood amid the blaze of color that is October in Maine.

The stops planned to connect with the theme "Stop the war$ on Mother Earth" have been rich with connections between corporate profiteering and disrespect for life.

The walk began on Indian Island in the Penobscot Nation in solidarity with the Justice for the River campaign, recognizing the wisdom of Maine's original people advocating for the Penobscot River which has been severely polluted by industrial use. 

Walkers then stood in solidarity outside the Cianbro Corporation in a vigil organized by grandmothers opposed to the East-West Corridor. Cianbro stands to make a lot of money if this private highway and fossil fuel pipeline project ever succeed in slashing through some of Maine's most pristine forests and waterways. 

Just prior to Waterville the walk reached Unity where Maine's environmental school Unity College is found, spending the night on the grounds of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Maine has a long tradition of growing local food communities who recognize that life depends on defending the soil, water and seeds from corporate control.

Today the walkers make their way to vigil outside Poland Spring, the site of international water thief Nestle's faux-Maine brand bottled water plant. 

Nestle pumps out aquifers around the planet and sells the water back to people in little plastic bottles. Even though Maine has been in an historic drought all summer, the pumping goes on. An executive of the company has commented on record that he does not consider access to water a human right. Penobscots and peace walkers disagree with the absurd notion that profits have a higher value than human life.

U.S. militarization has enshrined the notion that profits trump human life, and the walk will end at the southern border of Maine outside the Kittery naval shipyard. Here obscene profits are made building weapons of mass destruction. Walkers will call on the Maine community to recognize that basing our livelihood on "defense" contracts is a dead end street. Advocating for the conversion of our industrial capacity to build for sustainable energy solutions, walkers will uphold a vision of Mother Earth as sacred, her health fundamental to the survival of human life.

If you want to join the walk, details may be found here on the website of Maine Veterans for Peace.

Peace Walk Begins on Indigenous People's Day At Indian Island, Penobscot Nation

Russell Wray's gorgeous banner for this year's Peace Walk

The 5th Annual Maine Peace Walk to Stop the War$ on Mother Earth begins today!

There have been some minor changes to the first day Maine Peace Walk schedule.  Here is the latest:

Day 1 (Penobscot Nation on Indian Island) Tuesday, October 11

- Meet in Bath (212 Centre St) 9:00 am and drive north to Indian Island via I-95 taking exit 197 to Old Town
- Over bridge to Indian Island
- .3 miles Stop sign turn right to Boat Landing just before the school on Wabanaki Way
- 12:00 Lunch at boat landing
- 2:00 pm Talks by Chief Kirk Francis and Sherri Mitchell followed by Orientation meeting in conference room at the Nicholas Sapiel Building at 27 Wabanaki Way, directly across from the parking lot for High Stakes Bingo. The drive to the building is a left just after the Public Safety Bldg.
- 6:00 Pot luck supper in Nicholas Sapiel Bldg as well
- Homestays

Orientation plan:

We’ll first hear from Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis and Sherri Mitchell before beginning the 2:00 pm orientation which will include the following:

~ Introductions

~ Walk theme & messaging (sings, flyers, etc)

~ Daily walk plan & route review

~ Respecting the drums

~ How to integrate new people who join the walk along the route

~ Responsibility of guests at host sites

~ Shuttling plan (Coordinator needed)

~ Van drivers

~ Food & breaks

Peace walkers Frank Donnelly, Bruce Gagnon and Starr Gilmartin at a pot luck supper during the 2015 Maine Peace Walk. More photos and story by Dagney C. Ernest here online at Village Soup.

Here is the nightly pot luck supper & program schedule for the 5th Maine Peace Walk to Stop the War$ on Mother Earth.

The public is invited to attend any and all of these events.  All suppers begin at 6:00 pm.  The programs will last one hour following the supper.

• Oct 11  Penobscot Nation on Indian Island
• Oct 12  Indian Island to Dexter (First Universalist Church next to library on Rt 7)
• Oct 13  Dexter to Pittsfield (164 Lancey St – white house)
• Oct 14  Pittsfield to Unity (At MOFGA grounds)
• Oct 15  Unity to Waterville ( Methodist church at 61 Pleasant St)
• Oct 16  Waterville to Augusta (St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 9 Summer St in Social Hall)
• Oct 17  Augusta to Norway (First Universalist Church at 479 Main St)
• Oct 18  Norway to Lewiston (Episcopal Church on corner of Bates St)
• Oct 19  Lewiston to Brunswick (Unitarian Church on corner of Pleasant & Middle Sts across from library)
• Oct 20  Day off in Brunswick (No supper – 3:00 pm vigil at BIW on Washington St in Bath during shift change)
• Oct 21  Brunswick to Freeport ( Durham Friends Meeting House at 532 Quaker Meeting House Rd)
• Oct 22  Freeport to Portland (State Street Church – UCC at 159 State St)
• Oct 23  Portland to Saco ( First Parish Congregation Church on corner of Beech & Maine)
• Oct 24  Saco to Kennebunk ( New School at 38 York Street)
• Oct 25  Kennebunk to York Beach (52 Freeman St - Green house)
• Oct 26  York Beach to Kittery Naval shipyard (Walk ends with 3:00 pm vigil at Naval shipyard gate on corner of Wentworth & Walker - Rice Public library on corner

For more information please contact globalnet@mindspring.com or call 443-9502

Stop The War$ On Mother Earth: 5th Annual Maine Peace Walk

5^th Maine Peace Walk to Stop the War$ on Mother Earth

Indian Island (Penobscot Nation) to Kittery October 11-26

For immediate Release

Contact:  Bruce Gagnon (207) 443-9502

Peace and environmental activists from Maine and beyond will walk through large portions of our state from October 11-26 in order to bring the issues of endless war, environmental degradation, and climate change to the public’s attention.  The walk will begin on Indian Island (with a supper and ceremony hosted by the Penobscot Nation) and end in Kittery.

“We come together out of our deep concern about the many different wars being waged on Mother Earth, ranging from over-fishing, deforestation, and human-caused extinctions, to climate disruption and endless war,” said Russell Wray of Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST) in Hancock.

According to walk co-organizer Connie Jenkins from Orono, “Close to home we support the Penobscot Nation’s struggle for Justice for the River, opposition to the East/West Corridor, and conversion of war production to alternative energy at Maine shipyards.  We know from past experience of walking through rural and urban Maine that many people will be reached with our messages. We hope this spiritual act of walking and sharing conversation and food will help people in our state feel less isolated and despairing about the future.”  

The peace walk begins on Indian Island October 11 and will pass through Dexter, Pittsfield, Unity, Waterville, Augusta, Norway, Lewiston, Brunswick, Bath, Freeport, Portland, Saco, Kennebunk, York Beach, and Kittery.  The walk will average about 12 walking miles per day. (Some driving will be necessary between some of these communities.) In the evenings walkers will be fed at local churches and will often stay in local homes.)

The walkers will hold a protest at Bath Iron Works on October 20 at 3:00 pm and conclude on October 26 with a protest at the naval submarine yard in Kittery.  Both protests will call for the conversion of the Maine shipyards to alternative energy production such as public rail systems, solar power, wind turbines and tidal power systems. Studies at UMASS-Amherst Economics Department reveal that building needed alternative energy rather than military production would create more jobs.  See the study at http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_military_spending_2011.pdf

Buddhist monks and nuns from the Nipponzan Myohoji order will lead the non-violent peace walk.  Their order does peace walks all over the world.

Maine Walk for Peace is sponsored by:  Penobscot Nation; Smedley D. Butler Brigade Veterans For Peace (Boston area); Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; Maine Veterans For Peace; Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST); Veterans For Peace (National); Peninsula Peace and Justice; Maine Natural Guard; Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks; Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center; Veterans For Peace, Jim Harney Chapter 003; Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine; Alliance for the Common Good; Grandmothers Against the East/West Corridor; Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC); Pax Christi Maine; Friends of the Piscataquis Valley; Concord Massachusetts Peace Vigil; Peace Action Maine; ESTIA Maine; Stop the East-West Corridor (STEWC); Maine Green Independent Party; Mission Board of State Street Church (Portland); Reversing Falls Sanctuary; Peace to All Beings; Waldo County Peace & Justice

The daily schedule and entire walk route can be found at Maine Veterans For Peace   http://vfpmaine.org/

Maine Peace Walk To Begin At A Place Of Indigenous Wisdom About Our Earth

The 5th annual Maine Peace Walk to Stop the War$ on Mother Earth will take place in October again this year. The walk will begin on Oct. 11 at a place of indigenous wisdom about living on the planet: the Penobscot Nation. Walkers will assemble on Indian Island to begin their two week trek through communities that can learn much from Penobscot elders about how to properly be here and live cooperatively as human beings in harmony with air, land and water.

Sherri Mitchell of the Penobscots eloquently expressed this in a recent interview (thanks to Regis Tremblay for sharing):


If you share Mitchell's concern that humanity is currently on a suicidal path, why not join her on the Maine Peace Walk? Here are details from the planning committee.

Many people join the walk for one day or a few days at a time. There are provisions for those unable to walk the whole way on any given day. This is an uplifiting experience of community that you will not forget if you are fortunate enough to participate!

The itinerary for the walk thus far:

Oct 11 Orientiation at Penobscot Nation Council Chambers on Indian Island

Oct 12 Dexter

Oct 13 Pittsfield
Oct 14 Unity
Oct 15 Waterville
Oct 16 Augusta
Oct 17 Norway
Oct 18 Lewiston
Oct 19 Brunswick
Oct 21 Freeport

Oct 22 Portland

Oct 23 Saco
Oct 24 Kennebunk
Oct 25 York Beach
Oct 26 Kittery

To get the flavor of this experience, here's my report back from the final day of last year's 4th annual Maine Peace Walk. 

Onward!

Maine Peace Walkers Call For Portsmouth Naval Shipyard To Convert From Building Weapons Of Mass Destruction

I was delighted to have a day to join the Maine Peace Walk: Militarization of the Seas on Saturday October 24, 2015. A high energy opening circle kicked off the final day of the walk which began two weeks prior in Ellsworth, Maine. Jun-san's joyful dancing and her leadership along with other members of the Nipponzan order of Buddhists was much appreciated. And everyone enjoyed the tunes offered by the Leftist Marching Band.

The band followed the walk all the way to the front gate of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine where we stood across the street during the shift change. Hundreds of workers saw our message:

Concern for our fellow species was a major theme of the peace walk drawing attention to the Pentagon's abuse of the world's oceans. 

Crossing Memorial Bridge from Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, Maine. Veterans for Peace flags flying make me remember those brave enough to stand up to war machine.

Once the peace walk was standing on the sidewalk across the street from the gate of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, local police showed up and photographed us. They hung around for about an hour until the walkers departed. 

Mary Beth Sullivan of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space opened the remarks by saying "compassionate commitment -- that's why we walk."

Doug Bogen spoke about his 20 years of advocating for the shipyard to stop building weapons of mass destruction and start building renewable energy systems, such as offshore wind turbines.

Bob Klotz of 350 Maine spoke about the deep connection between climate change and militarization of the planet.

Veteran for Peace Eric Wasileski spoke movingly of the moral injury of participating in war, and how this is a factor in the 22 veterans suicides per day in the U.S.

I spoke on the folly of depending on building weapons of mass destruction as a jobs program. When I find a video of my remarks, I will add it in. 

With much gratitude to Bruce Gagnon and Jason Rawn, lead organizers of this year's walk, I dedicate this blog post.

Maine Peace Walk On Militarization Of The Ocean Underway, Kids Join In Belfast

The Maine Peace Walk: Militarization of the Seas -- Pentagon's Impact on the Oceans is underway, accompanied by a van with artist Russel Wray's banner and rooftop sculpture of Maka the dolphin. 

Marine animals are harmed by sonar used by the U.S. Navy, and all life in the oceans and on the planet is harmed by the Pentagon's immense carbon footprint.

Day two of the walk ended at Community Radio WERU's office in Blue Hill.

On day three as the walk passed through Belfast, Maine, some young peace walkers joined in for a part of the journey. Anyone can join the walk through Oct. 24 for an hour, a day, or all the way to Portmouth, NH. Full details may be found here on the Maine Veterans For Peace website.

This young peace walker appears to be carrying a koi nobori, a traditional Japanese fish banner flown to honor the energetic spirit of young boys. Japan's oceans have been severely impacted by ongoing U.S. military presence, and we have seen vigorous resistance from its citizens, including residents of the island of Okinawa. Japan's water table, offshore fisheries and the Pacific Ocean entire are being seriously polluted by the ongoing meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Fukushima (built by U.S. corporation General Electric) in the years since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami damaged it. High levels of radiation are still interfering with any clean up efforts, and 20-50 times higher than "normal" levels of thyroid cancer in children around Fukushima are already manifesting.

For all the children of the planet, consider raising up your voice in defense of the oceans. The seas do not belong to the Pentagon or any other country's military -- they belong to the life forms that thrive there! If we fail to recognize this and act soon, the result may be the demise of all life on Earth.

Here is the pot luck supper schedule for the peace walk for the remainder of the journey:

Day 4 (Camden) Monday, October 12 - Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church (7 Union St) Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Home stays needed. Host: Maureen Kehoe-Ostensen 763-4062

Day 5 (Rockland) Tuesday, October 13 - Potluck supper and program at Unitarian church (345 Broadway) at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed. Host: Midcoast Citizens for P & J (Steve Burke 691-0322)

Day 6 (Damariscotta) Wednesday, October 14 - Friends Meeting House (77 Belvedere Rd) Potluck Supper and program at 6:00 pm. Sleep at Meeting House. Host: Friends Meeting (Sue Rockwood 570-854-4458)

Day 7 (Bath) Thursday, October 15 - UCC Neighborhood Church (corner of Washington & Centre) Potluck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed. Host: Bruce Gagnon 904-501-4494 & Karen Wainberg 371-8190

Day 8 (Day off) in Bath Friday, October 16 - Stay at same homestays again this night. Potluck supper at Addams-Melman House (212 Centre St) at 6:00 pm. Host: Bruce Gagnon 904-501-4494 & Karen Wainberg 371-8190

Day 9 (Brunswick) Saturday, October 17 - Pot luck supper at Sternlieb home (21 McKeen St) at 6:00 pm. Walker music program. Home stays needed in Brunswick. Host: Selma Sternlieb 725-7675

Day 10 (Freeport) Sunday, October 18 - Pot luck supper at First Parish Congregation Church (on US 1) at 6:00 pm and program. Sleep at church. Host: Paula O’Brien 865-6022 & Sukie Rice 318-8531 & Cheryl Avery 865-0916

Day 11 ( Portland) Monday, October 19 - State Street Church-UCC (159 State St.) Pot luck supper & program at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed. Host: Grace Braley 774-1995

Day 12 (Saco) Tuesday, October 20 - First Parish Congregation Church on corner of Beech & Maine. Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Home stays needed. Host: Tom Kircher 282-7530

Day 13 (Kennebunk) Wednesday, Oct 21 - New School (38 York Street). Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Sleep at school. Host: Olive Hight 207-590-9505

Day 14 (York Beach) Thursday, October 22 - York Beach (52 Freeman St) Supper, music program & sleeping spot at 6:00 pm. Host: Pat Scanlon 978-474-9195 & Smedley Butler Brigade of Boston-area VFP

Day 15 (Portsmouth) Friday, October 23 - Supper and program at St. John’s Episcopal Church (100 Chapel St) at 6:00 pm. Home stays needed, Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243 (Meet at Prospect Park at 5:00 pm for rally)

Day 16 (Finale in Portsmouth) Saturday, October 24 - Meet at Market Square 10:00 am. Walk thru downtown and back over bridge to Kittery. Vigil & speakers at shipyard gate (deliver letter). Walk back to Market Square for final closing circle around noon. Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243
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Call to Walk:

The Pentagon has the largest carbon footprint on our Mother Earth

Waging endless war consumes massive amounts of fossil fuels and lays waste to significant environmentally sensitive places on the planet – particularly the oceans.

The oceans are inhabited by a multitude of different life forms, from microorganisms to whales, many of whom are able to sense sound and use it to find food, navigate, communicate, and avoid predators. Navy sonar blasts wreak havoc on these creatures, disrupting their lives, leaving animals more susceptible to disease and lowered reproductive success, and sometimes injuring and killing them.

Because Navy sonars are extremely loud, depending on ocean conditions, that noise can travel at harmful levels for tens or even hundreds of miles, impacting huge numbers of animals. By the Navy’s own estimates, sonar noise can still be as high as 140 decibels 300 miles from the source, a level that is a hundred times more intense than the level known to result in behavioral changes in large whales.

Some of these exercises will even take place inside designated critical habitat for the already endangered right whale, frequenter of Maine waters. In fact, the Navy is now constructing a 500 square mile instrumented range off the coast of Georgia where it intends to conduct 470 sonar exercises annually - the Navy chose this site just offshore of the only known calving grounds of the right whale! In March 2015 Navy sonar testing near Guam led to the stranding of three beaked whales.

Shipyard Impacts in Maine

Pier-side testing of sonar occurs at Bath Iron Works (BIW) and at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery which results in significant fish kills. Navy off-shore weapons testing exercises puts toxic chemicals and hazardous materials and waste into Maine’s marine environment.

The Kennebec River that BIW fronts is often dredged in order to allow the deep hulled destroyers built there to get into the ocean. Dredging takes a heavy toll on aquatic life.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has caused serious pollution of the local environment. The shipyard is on an island that the Pentagon considers as one of their facilities most vulnerable to climate change, particularly their dry-dock facilities. Rising sea levels could affect shipyard toxic waste sites which are now mostly right on the shoreline and would seriously impact water quality and sea life.

Ocean Acidification

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the early 1800s, fossil fuel-powered machines have driven an unprecedented burst of human industry and society. Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused by human fossil fuel emissions. Oceans currently absorb approximately half of the CO2 produced by burning fossil fuel. An estimated 30–40% of the carbon dioxide released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, rivers and lakes.

Arctic Militarization Due to Climate Change

In early 2014 Maine’s Sen. Angus King went on a nuclear submarine ride under the Arctic Sea ice which is now melting due to climate change. Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations was on the sub and said, “In our lifetime, what was [in effect] land and prohibitive to navigate or explore, is becoming an ocean… We need to be sure that our sensors, weapons and people are proficient in this part of the world,” so that we can “own the undersea domain and get anywhere there.”

When Sen. King returned from the trip he told his constituents that there has been "a 40% reduction in ice as a result of global warming." He reported that "previously inaccessible" gas and oil reserves were now going to create "new opportunities". King concluded, "I am convinced we need to increase our capacity in the region, something I intend to press upon my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee as we work on our military priorities for the coming years."

Rather than drill for more fossil fuels in the Arctic, and create a new arms race in that environmentally sensitive region, the US should be working to convert our military industries to build offshore wind turbines, rail, solar and tidal power. According to studies done by theUMASS-Amherst Economics Department shipyards in Bath and Portsmouth could nearly double their number of jobs by building rail or wind turbines. The Gulf of Maine has more wind power generating potential than any other place in the US.

Help Save Our Seas

If the seas die so do humans on Earth and much of the wildlife. Now is the time to speak out for ending the massive military impacts on the world’s oceans and for conversion of our fossil fuel dependent military industrial complex to sustainable technologies. We will walk to bring attention to these crucial issues. Please help us carry this message to the public by joining with us.

Maine Walk for Peace is sponsored by: Maine Veterans for Peace; PeaceWorks; CodePink Maine; Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST); Peace Action Maine; Veterans for Peace Smedley Butler Brigade (Greater Boston); Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space

Contact: 207-443-9502 or 207-422-8273

Demilitarize Our Oceans To Sustain Life On This Planet -- #Maine Peace Walk Oct 9-24

Banner for the bus that will accompany the Maine Peace Walk this year, by Russell Wray.

October 9-24   Ellsworth, ME to Portsmouth, NH
Pentagon’s Impact on the Oceans

The Pentagon has the largest carbon footprint on our Mother Earth.  Waging endless war consumes massive amounts of fossil fuels and lays waste to significant environmentally sensitive places on the planet – particularly the oceans.

The oceans are inhabited by a multitude of different life forms, from microorganisms to whales, many of whom are able to sense sound and use it to find food, navigate, communicate, and avoid predators. Navy sonar blasts wreak havoc on these creatures, disrupting their lives, leaving animals more susceptible to disease and lowered reproductive success, and sometimes injuring and killing them.

Because Navy sonars are extremely loud, depending on ocean conditions, that noise can travel at harmful levels for tens or even hundreds of miles, impacting huge numbers of animals. By the Navy’s own estimates, sonar noise can still be as high as 140 decibels 300 miles from the source, a level that is a hundred times more intense than the level known to result in behavioral changes in large whales.

Some of these exercises will even take place inside designated critical habitat for the already endangered right whale, frequenter of Maine waters. In fact, the Navy is now constructing a 500 square mile instrumented range off the coast of Georgia where it intends to conduct 470 sonar exercises annually - the Navy chose this site just offshore of the only known calving grounds of the right whale! In March 2015 Navy sonar testing near Guam led to the stranding of three beaked whales.

Shipyard Impacts in Maine

Pier-side testing of sonar occurs at Bath Iron Works (BIW) and at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery which results in significant fish kills. Navy off-shore weapons testing exercises puts toxic chemicals and hazardous materials and waste into Maine’s marine environment.

The Kennebec River that BIW fronts is often dredged in order to allow the deep hulled destroyers built there to get into the ocean.  Dredging takes a heavy toll on aquatic life.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has caused serious pollution of the local environment. The shipyard is on an island that the Pentagon considers as one of their facilities most vulnerable to climate change, particularly their dry-dock facilities. Rising sea levels could affect shipyard toxic waste sites which are now mostly right on the shoreline and would seriously impact water quality and sea life.

Ocean Acidification

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the early 1800s, fossil fuel-powered machines have driven an unprecedented burst of human industry and society. Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused by human fossil fuel emissions. Oceans currently absorb approximately half of the CO2 produced by burning fossil fuel. An estimated 30–40% of the carbon dioxide released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, rivers and lakes.

Arctic Militarization Due to Climate Change

In early 2014 Maine’s Sen. Angus King went on a nuclear submarine ride under the Arctic Sea ice which is now melting due to climate change.  Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations was on the sub and said, “In our lifetime, what was [in effect] land and prohibitive to navigate or explore, is becoming an ocean… We need to be sure that our sensors, weapons and people are proficient in this part of the world,” so that we can “own the undersea domain and get anywhere there.”

When Sen. King returned from the trip he told his constituents that there has been "a 40% reduction in ice as a result of global warming."  He reported that "previously inaccessible" gas and oil reserves were now going to create "new opportunities".  King concluded, "I am convinced we need to increase our capacity in the region, something I intend to press upon my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee as we work on our military priorities for the coming years."

Rather than drill for more fossil fuels in the Arctic, and create a new arms race in that environmentally sensitive region, the US should be working to convert our military industries to build offshore wind turbines, rail, solar and tidal power.  According to studies done by theUMASS-Amherst Economics Department shipyards in Bath and Portsmouth could nearly double their number of jobs by building rail or wind turbines.  The Gulf of Maine has more wind power generating potential than any other place in the US.

Help Save Our Seas

If the seas die so do humans on Earth and much of the wildlife.  Now is the time to speak out for ending the massive military impacts on the world’s oceans and for conversion of our fossil fuel dependent military industrial complex to sustainable technologies. We will walk to bring attention to these crucial issues.  Please help us carry this message to the public by joining with us.


Maine Walk for Peace is sponsored by:  Maine Veterans for Peace; PeaceWorks; CODEPINK Maine; Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST); Peace Action Maine; Veterans for Peace Smedley Butler Brigade (Greater Boston); Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; (List in formation)*

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We would like for you to let us know if you plan to be with us for any part of this peace walk so we can more effectively make our logistical plans. Contact us at danellis@vfpmaine.org and let us know the date(s) you plan to join us, your name, and contact information for each person. For more info please call (207) 443-9502 before the walk begins or (904) 501-4494 during the walk.

What to Bring?

If you plan to walk we recommend you bring: good walking shoes; water bottle; rain gear (including rain pants); sleeping bag & pad (some nights we will be provided with home hospitality); sun screen, moleskin for blisters; and hat.

We will have a covered vehicle to haul all walker gear so you will not have to carry anything.We will also have a minibus to give people rides when they get tired during the walk.

If you have specific location questions you can call the name listed for the local coordinator in
each town below or call the VFP walk organizers at numbers listed above. Thanks and see you
along the road. This will be a community building experience for all of us.

Banner for the Peace Walk created by the Artists Rapid Response Team (ARRT!) of the Union of Maine Visual Artists

Pot Luck Supper Schedule

Day 1 (Ellsworth) Friday, October 9 -   Ellsworth Unitarian Church (121 Bucksport Rd) Evening potluck and kick-off program at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed.    Host: Starr Gilmartin 667-2421

Day 2 (Orland) Saturday, October 10 - Potluck supper 6:00 pm and program at H.O.M.E (90 School House Rd.) Homestays and sleep at H.O.M.E.  Host: Starr Gilmartin 667-2421 or Lawrence 415-565-9867

Day 3 (Belfast) Sunday, October 11 - First Church UCC (104 Church St) Pot luck supper (unadvertised) 6:00 pm, public program 7:00 pm.    Home stays needed & sleep at church: Cathy Mink 323-5160 & Bev Roxby 669-2903.      Host: Joel 338-2282 or 323-0940 at the UCC Church

Day 4 (Camden) Monday, October 12 - Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church (7 Union St) Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Home stays needed. Host: Maureen Kehoe-Ostensen 763-4062

Day 5 (Rockland) Tuesday, October 13 - Potluck supper and program at Unitarian church (345 Broadway) at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed.  Host: Midcoast Citizens for P & J (Steve Burke 691-0322)

Day 6 (Damariscotta) Wednesday, October 14 - Friends Meeting House (77 Belvedere Rd) Potluck Supper and program at 6:00 pm. Sleep at Meeting House.  Host: Friends Meeting (Sue Rockwood 570-854-4458)

Day 7 (Bath) Thursday, October 15 - UCC Neighborhood Church (corner of Washington & Centre) Potluck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Homestays needed.  Host: Bruce Gagnon 904-501-4494 & Karen Wainberg 371-8190

Day 8 (Day off) in Bath Friday, October 16 - Stay at same homestays again this night. Potluck supper at Addams-Melman House (212 Centre St) at 6:00 pm. Host: Bruce Gagnon 904-501-4494 & Karen Wainberg 371-8190
Day 9 (Brunswick) Saturday, October 17 - Pot luck supper at Sternlieb home (21 McKeen St) at 6:00 pm. Walker music program. Home stays needed in Brunswick. Host: Selma Sternlieb 725-7675

Day 10 (Freeport) Sunday, October 18 - Pot luck supper at First Parish Congregation Church (on US 1) at 6:00 pm and program. Sleep at church. Host: Paula O’Brien 865-6022 & Sukie Rice 318-8531 & Cheryl Avery 865-0916

Day 11 ( Portland) Monday, October 19 - State Street Church-UCC (159 State St.) Pot luck supper & program at 6:00 pm.  Homestays needed. Host: Grace Braley 774-1995

Day 12 (Saco) Tuesday, October 20 - First Parish Congregation Church on corner of Beech & Maine. Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Home stays needed.  Host: Tom Kircher 282-7530

Day 13 (Kennebunk) Wednesday, Oct 21 - New School (38 York Street). Pot luck supper and program at 6:00 pm. Sleep at school.  Host: Olive Hight 207-590-9505

Day 14  (York Beach) Thursday, October 22 - York Beach (52 Freeman St) Supper, music program & sleeping spot at 6:00 pm. Host: Pat Scanlon 978-474-9195 & Smedley Butler Brigade of Boston-area VFP

Day 15 (Portsmouth) Friday, October 23 - Supper and program at St. John’s Episcopal Church (100 Chapel St) at 6:00 pm.  Home stays needed, Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243 (Meet at Prospect Park at 5:00 pm for rally)

Day 16 (Finale in Portsmouth) Saturday, October 24 - Meet at Market Square 10:00 am. Walk thru downtown and back over bridge to Kittery. Vigil & speakers at shipyard gate (deliver letter). Walk back to Market Square for final closing circle around noon. Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243

Walk Route

Day 1 (Bath to Ellsworth) Friday, October 9, 2015
- Meet in Bath (212 Centre St) 9:00 am and drive north to Ellsworth Unitarian
Church (121 Bucksport Rd)
- Lunch at church
- Walk thru Ellsworth downtown area – turn right on Hwy 3 and walk until McDonald’s
and turn around and walk back to church – total 4 miles
- Meet at church for walk orientation (3:30 pm-ish)
- Evening potluck and kick-off program at 6:00 pm
- Homestays
- Host: Starr Gilmartin 667-2421

Day 2 (Ellsworth to Orland) Saturday, October 10
- Begin walking from Unitarian church on US 1 South at 9:00 am
- 2.9 AMHC on left (Break)
- 6.0 Vacant gas station on left (Lunch)
- 8.7 Flea market on left (Break)
- 11.6 WERU radio station
- Shuttle ahead to H.O.M.E (3.4 miles on the left)
- Potluck supper 6:00 pm
- Sleep at H.O.M.E (90 School House Rd.)
- Host: Starr Gilmartin 667-2421 or Lawrence 415-565-9867

Day 3 (Orland to Belfast) Sunday, October 11
- Start walk at H.O.M.E. at 8:30 am
- 2.8 Irving station on left (Break)
- 2.8 Left onto bridge
- 3.9 River park at end of bridge
- 4.3 Left on Hwy 1
- 5.8 Cemetery on left
- 6.8 Sand Point Beach Park on left (Lunch spot)
- 9.6 Sunoco station on left (Break)
- 9.9 Great Maine Food on left
- 11.7 Searsport town line
- 12.4 Rug Hook store on right
- Shuttle to Belfast
- 14.6 Citgo on left
- 17.5 Belfast town line
- 19.8 Bridge over river into Belfast
- 20.2 Right to town on Hwy 7/137/1/3
- 20.7 Waterfall Arts building on right
- Unload and walk thru town
- 21.0 Right at road split becomes Church St
- 21.2 First Church UCC (104 Church St)
- Pot luck supper (unadvertised) 6:00 pm, public program 7pm
- Home stays & sleep at church: Cathy Mink 323-5160 & Bev Roxby 669-2903
- Host: Joel 338-2282 or 323-0940 at the UCC Church

Day 4 (Belfast to Camden) Monday, October 12
- Start at UCC church – take immediate left on Miller St at 9:00 am
- 0.1 Right on High St
- 1.4 Left onto Hwy 1 South
- 3.1 Los Amigos on left (Break)
- 6.2 VFW hall on left
- 6.9 Gas station on right (Break)
- 9.3 Swan Island Shop on right
- 10.1 Point Lookout on right
- 10.5 Lincolnville town line
- 11.4 Bayshore Baptist Church on right
- 12.0 Lincolnville Beach & Park (Break)
- Shuttle to north side of Camden
- 14.4 Camden town line
- 14.9 Birchwood Motel on right
- 16.1 State Park
- Resume walking thru Camden
- 17.2 Whitehall Inn on right
- Thru downtown
- 18.0 Left on Union St
- 18.1 Veer right to church on right
- Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church (7 Union St)
- Pot luck supper at 6:00 pm
- Home stays
- Host: Maureen Kehoe-Ostensen 763-4062

Day 5 (Camden to Rockland) Tuesday, October 13
- Start walking from Good Hope Catholic Church on US 1 at 9:00 am
- 3.1 Fresh Off the Farm Stand on right (Break)
- 4.7 Shell station on right (Break)
- 5.5 Glen Cove rest area on left by water (Lunch stop)
- 6.1 Rockland town line
- 6.9 Continue straight at McDonald’s
- 7.4 Road splits walkers bear left on Main St (vehicles follow US Hwy 1 South)
- 8.0 Right on Park Dr
- 8.4 Right on Broadway (at light)
- 9.1 Unitarian church on right (345 Broadway)
- Potluck supper and program at 6:00 pm
- Homestays
- Host: Midcoast Citizens for P & J (Steve Burke 273-3247)

Day 6 (Rockland to Damariscotta) Wednesday, October 14
- Start walking from Unitarian Church on Broadway at 9:00 am
- .7 Right onto Hwy 1 South (Park St)
- 1.5 Thomaston town line
- 2.1 McDonald’s on right (Break)
- 2.6 Cement factory on left
- 4.3 Coffee shop on right/Episcopal church on left (Break)
- 6.0 Wood lot on left (Warren town line)
- 8.2 Steve Burke’s home on left – barn has sign ‘Liberty Hall’
- Lunch spot
- Shuttle
- 14.0 Waldoboro town line
- 15.8 Old Mill Mall on right
- Resume walking
- 18.8 Nobleboro town line
- 19.5 Wayside Tea Room House on right (Break)
- 22.7 Damariscotta town line
- 23.5 Jct 1 Business route
- 24.0 Right on Belvedere Rd (blinking light)
- 24.2 Friends Meeting House (77 Belvedere Rd) on right
- Potluck Supper at 6:00 pm
- Sleep at Meeting House
- Host: Friends Meeting (Sue Rockwood 570-854-4458)

Day 7 (Damarascotta to Bath) Thursday, October 15
- Begin walking at Friends Meeting House at 8:30 am
- .2 Right onto Hwy 1 South
- 3.2 Citgo station on right (Break)
- 5.3 Park on left (Break)
- 8.5 Over bridge
- 9.1 Red’s East on right in Wiscasset (Lunch spot)
- Shuttle
- 9.5 Town hall on right
- 12.4 Shaws on left
- 16.8 Woolwich town hall on left
- Resume walking into Bath
- 18.7 Bridge over river
- 19.5 BIW on left (Washington St)
- Vigil as work gets out at 3:30 pm
- Deliver letter to BIW and Local 6 union
- UCC Neighborhood Church (corner of Washington & Centre)
- Potluck supper and program at 6:00 pm
- Homestays
- Host: Bruce Gagnon 904-501-4494 & Mary Beth Sullivan 443-9502

Day 8 (Day off) in Bath on Friday, October 16
- Stay at homestays again this night
- Potluck supper at Addams-Melman House (212 Centre St) at 6:00 pm
Day 9 (Bath to Brunswick) Saturday, October 17
- Meet at UCC church (Washington & Centre) at 9:00 am
- Walk toward BIW on Washington St
- .3 Turn right on South St
- .5 Left on High St
- Immediate right onto Richardson
- .9 Left onto State Road
- 3.0 Mobil gas station on right (break stop)
- 5.8 Brunswick Landing on left (Lunch stop)
- 7.8 Veer right into downtown on Maine St (cross street)
- 8.2 Tontine Mall on right
- 8.5 Flashing yellow light/ cross to other side of street and walk to Bowdoin College
- 9.0 Chamberlain statue at Bowdoin on left
- 9.2 Right on McKeen St
- 9.3 Stop at 21 McKeen St on left
- Pot luck supper at Sternlieb home at 6:00 pm
- Home stays in Brunswick
- Host: Selma Sternlieb 725-7675

Day 10 (Brunswick to Freeport) Sunday, October 18
- Meet at Chamberlain Statue at Bowdoin College 9:00 am – walk thru college
- .1 Right on McKeen St
- 1.4 Left onto Church Rd
- 1.5 Right on Greenwood Rd (right after Hammond Lumber)
- 2.4 Turn right at rise in road
- 2.5 Left onto Durham Road – US Hwy 1
- 2.9 Hot dog stand on left (Break)
- 4.1 Ray Labbe & Sons on left
- 4.6 Country Inn on left (Lunch spot)
- 6.1 Maine Idyll Motor Court on right (Break)
- 8.8 First Parish Congregation Church on left
- Pot luck supper at 6:00 pm & program
- Sleep at church
- Host: Paula O’Brien 865-6022 & Sukie Rice 318-8531 & Cheryl Avery 865-0916

Day 11 (Freeport to Portland) Monday, October 19
- Begin at First Parish Church on US 1 South at 8:30 am
- 1.1 Left on US 1South at light
- 3.1 Mandy Custard on right with shelter (Break)
- 4.3 Rest stop with toilets across from Delorme
- 6.1 Mobil gas on left in Yarmouth
- 7.4 Cumberland town line
- 9.4 Hawks Ridge on left
- 9.6 Friends School on left (Lunch spot)
- 11.7 McDonald’s on left (Break)
- 13.6 Bridge into Portland
- 14.1 Cross to right side & go straight on Veranda St
- 14.8 Cross Washington Ave go straight
- 14.9 Right on Baxter around Back Cove
- 15.5 Brick benches half way around Back Cove (break spot)
- 16.8 Stay on Baxter (cross Preble)
- 17.0 Left on Forest
- 17.3 Cross Marginal Way & then Portland St
- 17.8 Right on Congress St
- 17.9 Break at park on left
- 18.0 Left on State St
- 18.1 Church on left
- State Street Church (UCC) 159 State St
- Pot luck supper & program at 6:00 pm
- Homestays
- Host: Grace Braley 774-1995

Day 12 (Portland to Saco) Tuesday, October 20
- Meet at Monument Square on Congress Street at 8:30 am
- 0.3 Pass Congress & High Streets
- 0.5 Congress St to State St (Hwy 77 South) and turn left
- 0.7 Mercy Hospital on right
- 1.0 Over bridge into South Portland (walk on left side)
- 2.1 Right on Broadway
- 2.4 Laundromat on left
- 3.3 Amato’s on left (Break)
- 4.0 Left onto Hwy 1 by Uhaul (on left)
- 4.1 Dairy Queen on right
- 6.3 Elevation Center/Medical Clinic on right (road splits for short while)
- 7.4 Lois’ Natural Market on left (Lunch spot)
- 8.6 Scarborough Downs on right
- 9.2 Irving station on right (Break)
- 9.6 Cross salt marsh
- 11.1 Cemetery on right (Break)
- 12.0 York County/Saco line
- 14.3 Irving station on left (Break)
- 14.5 Funtown Splashtown on right
- 15.1 Silver Spring Camping on left
- 15.7 Green highway overpass
- 16.6 At road split, church on left corner at lights
- First Parish Congregation Church on corner of Beech & Maine
- Pot luck supper and program
- Home stays
- Host: Tom Kircher 282-7530

Day 13 (Saco to Kennebunk) Wednesday, Oct 21
- Meet at First Parish church corner Beech & Main at 9:00 am
- Resume walking on Rt 9 south to Biddeford
- .6 miles over bridge to Biddeford
- Thru downtown (stop following Rt 9) stay on Main St
- 1.1 Left at light (Junction Hwy 1) on Elm St
- 2.2 Burger King on left (Break spot)
- 3.1 Another cemetery on left
- 4.0 Shell station on left (Break)
- 5.7 All Safe storage on left
- 6.6 Arundel Slacktide Café on left (Lunch spot)
- 8.0 Citgo on right
- 8.3 Kennebunk town sign on right
- 9.0 McDonald’s on left (Break spot)
- 9.6 Downtown Kennebunk
- 10.1 New School (38 York Street)
- Pot luck supper & sleep at school
- Host: Olive Hight 207-590-9505

Day 14 (Kennebunk to York Beach) Thursday, October 22
- Continue from New School on US 1 South at 8:30 am
- 1.7 Johnson Hall Museum on left
- 3.0 Big Daddy’s Ice Cream on left (Break)
- 4.5 Cumberland Farms on left
- 5.8 McDonald’s on right (Break)
- 7.3 Sunoco & Dunkin Doughnuts on left
- 9.0 Lobster Pound Restaurant on left (Lunch spot)
- 11.8 Elks Lodge on right
- 13.9 Left on Rt 1A, Cape Neddick Rd
- 14.8 Bear right on Main St
- 15.0 Left on Atlantic Ave
- 15.2 Left on Freeman St (Green house 2nd on the left)
- York Beach (52 Freeman St)
- Supper & sleeping spot
- Host: Pat Scanlon 978-474-9195 & Smedley Butler Brigade of Boston-area VFP

Day 15 (York to Portsmouth) Friday, October 23
- Resume walk from house taking right on Freeman St at 9:00 am
- .2 Left on Hwy 1A
- Bear right into town and then left
- .6 Right at stop sign south on Hwy 1A
- 2.2 Sunrise Motel on right
- 3.5 Trinity Episcopal Church on right (break)
- 4.7 Thru York village
- 5.6 Left onto Hwy 1 South
- 5.9 Irving station on right (break)
- 7.1 Goodrich Park on right (Lunch spot)
- 9.2 Sunoco station on right
- 9.9 Burger King on left (break)
- 10.2 Kittery Trading Post on right
- Cross Rt 1 at traffic Light/Wilson Rd (Rt 101) intersection
- 10.6 At the traffic circle, continue straight onto State Rd (still Rt 1)
- (Drivers take By-pass to Portsmouth)
- Walkers take left on Bridge St just before bridge
- At fork, stay right on Government St
- Go thru village & pass thru light on Wentworth St
- Right on Wipple Rd (Hwy 103)
- Right at first major stop sign (Shapleigh Rd)
- Shipyard gate #2 on right
- 12.7 Cross Memorial Bridge to NH
- 13.0 Sharp right on Marcy St after getting off the Memorial Bridge
- 13.2 Prospect Park
- Supper and program at St. John’s Episcopal Church (100 Chapel St) at 6:00 pm
- Homestays needed
- Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243

Day 16 (Finale in Portsmouth) Saturday, October 24
- United Nations Day
- Meet at Market Square 10:00 am
- Walk thru downtown with Leftist Marching Band and back over bridge to Kittery
- Rally & speakers at shipyard gate (deliver letter)
- Walk back to Market Square for final closing circle around noon
- Host: Doug Bogen 603-617-6243

School Visits along the walk route
- Friends School Rt 1 in Cumberland (Sukie Rice contact) (Oct 19)
- New School in Kennebunk (Oct 21)