By Fernando T. Nom de plume
“Breakfast is the most important beer of the day”
Daniel “Doc” Davis
Whilst perched upon my barstool today, trying to avoid looking at the angry, flooding, Kennebec and trying to forget the violent downpour outside I happened across a ray of hope on a soggy, mud Season day. MOGA, the Maine Orange Growers Association. MOGA members were being photographed by the Kennebec Journal in conjunction with an article the KJ was about to print. Never being one to miss a scoop and feeling comfortable with the organization since every MOGA officer was holding a beer, I approached them for an interview. Keep in mind that I’m not a professional journalist, I have no shorthand skills, and my memory is probably about what you’d expect from a beer soaked bar towel. Nevertheless, I’ll attempt to recreate our conversation.
FTN: Orange growers in Maine? What’s this all about?
MOGA: It’s about sustainability.
FTN: What do you mean? (an example of my hard hitting journalistic style)
MOGA: The world is changing faster than most people are willing to accept. Look out the window. Some parts of Virginia got more snow than Maine this year. Ice fishing tournaments were fraught with vehicles falling through the thin ice because Maine had the warmest winter in history. Global Climate Change is real and it’s heading our way. At MOGA we are embracing global climate change and are preparing to take advantage of the inevitable. When the rest of the world is bemoaning it’s bad luck Maine will be providing fresh citrus fruit. We’re ahead of this curve and ready to act now for future generations of Mainers.
FTN: So you feel that growing oranges in Maine is a viable proposition?
MOGA: Absolutely. Clearly, the next few years will be hard, but it’s inevitable that we will reach a point of profitability in the near future. Currently we will need to grow in greenhouses but we plan to maintain an overall negative carbon footprint. We plan to use greenhouses that provide an optimum orange growing environment in the summer and use solar hot water collectors to generate enough solar thermal energy to keep the plants above freezing in the winter. Our studies show that when the price of diesel fuel reaches $4.36 per gallon our greenhouse oranges will be more profitable than shipping oranges here from Florida. Californian, Mexican, and Chilean orange growers will have an even more difficult challenge to maintain profitability.
FTN: So you plan to grow enough oranges in greenhouses to supply the entire northeast with oranges?
MOGA: Of course not. That would require thousands of acres of greenhouses. We plan to employ greenhouses now to develop hearty strains of citrus fruits in order to be ready for the future when the climate turns around to be favorable for widespread citrus fruit growing in Maine without the need for greenhouses.
FTN: So you feel that the climate will change that drastically in the near future?
MOGA: Well, if you doubt it you’re listening to the right wing, Fox Network bribed scientists, not the scientists who know what they’re talking about.
FTN: You mentioned that you would have a “negative carbon footprint”, is that possible?
MOGA: Certainly. Your carbon footprint is the difference between the amount of carbon you emit and the amount of carbon you absorb from the atmosphere. We will be propagating plants that absorb carbon dioxide to support photosynthesis and will be using solar energy to heat our greenhouses which means that we will be absorbing massive amounts of carbon from the environment and returning very little.
FTN: How can people get involved in your organization?
MOGA: Anyone can get in touch with us through our facebook page. But, if you are serious about helping the environment, if you are serious about helping the future of Maine’s economy, and if you are serious about creating jobs in Maine, you should consider investing in MOGA carbon credits.
Well, that just about sums up my afternoon at the Liberal Cup. So, if you see me down at the bar, sit down, have a beer, and I’ll help you get in touch with the local MOGA folks. Think orange, it just may be the new green.
Maybe the cup should brew a Blue-Moon-like wheat to support the local orange growers.