Polar Bear Survival Tour headed to Portsmouth

Unless the human race takes quick action to reverse current climate trends, North America’s polar bear population will likely be gone in as few as 50 years. According to scientists, the Arctic sea ice that these majestic creatures depend on for survival is melting at a hazardous pace. The plight of the polar bear is just one of the alarming impacts attributed to global warming.
The good news is that people can still take the necessary steps to rescue polar bears from extinction. On Friday, Feb. 15, the Polar Bear Survival Tour will swing through Portsmouth to educate guests about what is happening to the bears and how they can be saved. Author and Arctic explorer Chad Kister will bring the tour to St. John’s Episcopal Church at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Kister is currently touring the United States with a multi-media presentation detailing the latest data pertaining to Arctic warming. He will explain the most recent climate change legislation and discuss local community actions that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The presentation will also include pictures of polar bears and other threatened flora and fauna of the Arctic.

The event is part of St. John’s Stewardship of the Earth Committee’s Down to Earth Series, which brings a variety of forums and presentations to Portsmouth for the purpose of educating Seacoast residents about climate change. It takes place at St. John’s Parish Hall at 101 Chapel St. in Portsmouth. For more information, email Sara Brown at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or call 207-438-9160.

Rumor has it that a giant “walking” polar bear will be roaming around Portsmouth’s Market Square an hour before the presentation. After promoting the event for an hour, the creature will mosey on over to the church to attend the presentation. Whether it is a real polar bear or just a person disguised as one is unclear at this time. —MK 

loan will aid green building

The Jordan Institute and the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning appreciate a good thing when they see it. It only takes a glance at New Hampshire’s vibrant fall colors to realize how lucky we are. That is why the two organizations are taking steps to protect New Hampshire’s diverse and beautiful ecosystem. Their newly developed Granite State Energy Efficiency program provides public facilities with funding to plan more efficient operations. The main goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for triggering climate change.

Maura Adams, communications director for the Jordan Institute, explained the program’s significance.

“The driving reason for this fund is climate change,” she said. “(Climate change will) affect the animals and plants that live here if we don’t stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.”

The program creates a revolving loan fund designed to support various endeavors to increase the efficiency of public buildings. Primarily, funding will come from the U.S. Department of Energy, with the OEP providing the remaining balance.
The three-year, $711,000 loan will focus on improving energy efficiency at schools and municipal buildings. According to the OEP, buildings make up 59 percent of the state’s energy use.

According to Adams, the program is still in its initial phase, which includes assessing the efficiency of targeted buildings. Inefficient aspects of each building will then be reviewed and fixed accordingly. While the loan will cover oversight of the repairs, it will not include the cost of materials or labor. The actual cost of building repair will be in the hands of private investors, but most commitments from investors have not yet come to fruition.
The program aims to reduce each building’s energy consumption by 25 to 35 percent.

South Berwick’s interactive diner

In simpler days, people used to know their neighbors. It was far more than a passing wave or the ability to identify someone’s car as it flew by. It meant truly knowing your neighbor, and knowing that you could depend on that neighbor at the drop of a hat. Molly Colman may not be pining for those simpler days, but she would like to resurrect the traditional sense of community that once connected a town.

Her hopes led to the formation of www.the236diner.com, a blog focused on anything pertaining to South Berwick, Maine. In an email, Colman recalled the chief motivation for the blog’s construction. “I started the blog because I was frustrated with how hard it is to get information about what’s happening in South Berwick,” she said. “It is fairly easy technology and seemed like a format that would be accessible for people.”

The site includes local news regarding schools, economic development, environmental issues, elections, government and places to go. There are additional links to articles in local dailies like Foster’s Daily Democrat and the Portsmouth Herald.
Colman loves South Berwick, but felt like she knew very little about the town she and her husband have called home for nearly 20 years. Since its inception, the blog has given Colman an opportunity to delve into the town’s central issues. “The blog is sort of a chronicle of my own exploration of the town I live in,” she said.

Colman, however, is not the only beneficiary, as the blog format provides all South Berwick residents with an interactive line of communication. According to Colman, the site is steadily growing in postings and visits.

“I do think people are already seeing it as a reliable source of information,” she said. “People are sending out broadcast emails to their friends about it. I’m getting requests to post notices about meetings on it.”

Colman said she chose the blog’s name because she thought it was a stark representation of the site’s objective. “I used the metaphor of the diner because it used to be a place where you would go to meet your neighbors, find out the news and gossip, debate issues, tell jokes and hang out,” she said. “Route 236 is the route we all take when we head to Portsmouth, our schools are on it and it is a source of some of our thorniest issues, like sprawl and traffic.” 

Rye man appointed state’s health commissioner

Nicholas Toumpas, of Rye, has officially taken over as commissioner of the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services. Toumpas had been serving as interim commissioner since September, when he replaced former commissioner John Stephen, who is running for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st District. Gov. John Lynch formally swore in Toumpas as the state’s health commissioner last month. 

Toumpas previously served as the state’s deputy health commissioner, and Lynch nominated him to take over the top post after Stephen announced his intention to resign. The N.H. Executive Council unanimously confirmed Lynch’s nomination.
Toumpas, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration at the University of New Hampshire, has worked for several private companies, including Digital Equipment Corp. and Lucent Technologies. He worked at the Department of Health and Human Services in various capacities from 1976 to 1980, and he became deputy commissioner of the department in 2002. Lynch feels that the Rye resident’s extensive business and technological background will prove an asset for the state.

“Nick Toumpas is a leader who will work to bring people together to find solutions, a quality I believe is essential if we are to continue to make progress,” Lynch said in a release. “I am confident Nick will ensure the Department of Health and Human Services fulfills its mission of providing quality services to our most vulnerable citizens and protecting the public’s health.”
Stephen will compete with fellow Republican and former Congressman Jeb Bradley to unseat U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a Rochester Democrat, in November.