The world is at a turning point. Gone are the enormous reserves of fossil fuel energy, metals, minerals, forests and cropland. Costs are rising as a result of shortages and climate change. At the same time, oceans have been fished out and polluted with plastic. Aquifers are being depleted and surface water degraded. Climate change is resulting in heatwaves, floods and droughts. Social unrest is breaking out around the world. L.D. 2003 represents a growth agenda policy that is anti-environment.

Sawyer Mountain in Limington, seen in background, and much of the land surrounding it are preserved by the Francis Small Heritage Trust. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer, File

On the local level, our taxes are going up close to 15 percent in the coming year. Elderly and low-income people will struggle to pay taxes, heating bills and food. At the end of 2021, there were 171 property tax balances due in my town. Population growth increases taxes by requiring increased service costs above the taxes collected from new homes.

The commute to the Portland area is already a congested nightmare for many. We are a rural community offering few jobs and without walkable services. A car is a necessity. We would like to keep our clean water, clean air and rural character, not become a suburb of Portland. L.D. 2003 creates another bureaucracy for a misbegotten cause.

Growth is not the answer. The best objective for Maine and the planet would be to strive for a no-growth strategy and learn to do with less consumption. If you have to build, do it where there is mass transportation and walkable services. Leave the rural areas alone to provide food, clean water, natural habitat and ecological services.

Ed Auden
Limington