NORTH HAVEN -- Bill Parkerton was thinking green when he installed a wind tower on his property -- green as in all the cash he would save on his electricity bill.

For Parkerton, the residential windmill is a way to beat the cost of island living -- one that has cut his power costs by 40 percent since the tower went up in October. He expects to save even more with the insulated concrete and solar water collector that will be part of the house he's building and with a second wind tower that will store power in a bank of batteries.

"I'm not environmentally minded, no," he said. "I'm trying to save money."

While mainlanders have been griping about the escalating costs of food and fuel in recent months, North Haven residents have long contended with high prices for transportation, utilities, groceries and other goods. When prices surge on the mainland, the effect is amplified on the island, and residents are finding ways to cope.

They're planning more carefully to reduce trips to the mainland on the increasingly expensive ferry. They're weighing whether it's best to load up on groceries at mainland supermarkets and have them flown in by an air freight service at $8 per banana box, or shop at North Haven's only store, which also has to deal with freight costs that are reflected in higher prices.

Lobstermen are running their boats less, especially when they don't expect a great catch. Some residents are trying to be more self-sufficient, whether by gathering and burning the plentiful spruce wood on the island to save heating oil, digging more clams, or -- in a throwback to more traditional times -- growing their own food.

These issues aren't confined to North Haven, a Penobscot Bay island town with a year-round population of about 380 an hour's ferry ride from Rockland.

"Affordability is probably the most pressing issue for the island communities off the coast of Maine," said Bill McGuinness, a policy specialist with the Island Institute, a nonprofit advocating for Gulf of Maine island communities. Recent hikes in food and fuel prices only add to the high cost of living that starts with the price of island property, he said.

Agriculture once carried day

On average, Maine islanders pay 30 percent more than mainlanders for their food, when transportation costs and time are factored in, according to a study in which the Island Institute participated.

Traditionally, islanders provided much of their own food, raising both crops and animals, McGuinness said. That way of life has diminished, but there is growing interest in that kind of self-sufficiency, he said.

"Agriculture was always a part of island life," he said. "We don't have nearly what we used to have."

Transporting goods is an issue for residents of less-isolated islands, too. Peaks Island residents, for example, saw non-grocery freight costs from mainland Portland rise about 15 percent last year. Transporting a refrigerator now costs $19.50 in off-peak season and $28.75 in peak season on Casco Bay Lines. Ferrying an 18,000- to 24,000-pound truck costs $145 off-peak and $212.75 peak season for a round trip.

Recently, Peaks residents have petitioned the Maine Public Utilities Commission to investigate whether a new 50-cent fuel surcharge on passenger ferry rates is warranted.

Ferry costs are also going up for islanders farther north. Maine State Ferry Service passenger fares are increasing an average of 12.5 percent next month. A round trip originating from North Haven will cost $8.50 for adult passengers and $25 for a car.

North Haven residents also are riled about a new $325 annual fee for parking at the terminal in Rockland. The fee does not ensure a parking spot.

The gas pump at J.O. Brown and Son boatyard in North Haven village was built before its makers could conceive of today's prices. The spinning numbers only go so high, so a hand-lettered sign warns customers to triple the listed price. It read $1.43 last week -- actual price, $4.29 a gallon. The statewide average that day was $3.75.

Foy Brown Sr., the yard's president, said he's seen the effect on lobstermen like himself, who normally would be working more by now but have been put off by high fuel and bait prices and a scarcity of lobster in their fishing waters. Lobstermen used to using their boats to travel to the mainland must consider whether it's worth $50 or $60 to make the trip, he said. The MacDonald brothers have different strategies to cope with high lobstering costs. Jim is fishing less gear so he won't be chasing traps needlessly. Peter believes fishing harder is the key.

"Two days I hauled, I made $52. That's better than being behind," said Peter MacDonald, who also is a caretaker for a property on neighboring Vinalhaven. The economic downturn has been accompanied by greater demand on charities. More requests are coming in to the Pulpit Harbor Foundation, an organization set up by a summer family that helps with medical bills, said treasurer Janice Hopkins.

At the North Haven Baptist Church, the Rev. Dave Macy keeps track of residents who need help with fuel and utility bills. He said more young people are among the recipients lately. North Haven Sustainable Housing came up with a response to the island's high housing prices and the trend of year-round houses being converted into summer residences. The organization built a house on donated land and retained ownership of the land while tying future sales prices of the house to median income. The organization pays no taxes on land because of its nonprofit status and the homeowners -- a teacher and a plumber -- were able to buy the house for $150,000.

Such a 1,200-square-foot house on that land would normally have sold for at least $450,000, estimated Town Administrator Joe Stone, who is also the organization's treasurer. Future efforts may involve retrofitting existing houses.

From Heineken to Pabst

At Thayer's Y-Knot Boatyard, Alexander Burr and Jason MacDonald, Peter's son, talked about some of the small ways to cut costs. "We used to drink Heineken, but now we drink Pabst Blue Ribbon," said Burr, who came to North Haven for lobstering from Quebec.

"Lots of clams -- like the old days," said Jason MacDonald, who would not reveal his clamming hot spots.

Bill and Becky Bartovics plan to expand the garden on their 34-acre property, where they also raise a small herd of sheep for meat and wool, and are reviving a hayfield.

"We're definitely relying more on what we can grow ourselves. It's a multiple matter of price, convenience and choice," Becky said.

Their other cost-saving measures include switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, burning wood from their land and belonging to a co-op that buys health foods in bulk from the mainland. They are looking to start another co-op for food for agricultural animals. Despite rising prices for dairy and grain products as well as freight, North Haven Grocery is trying to remain a good option for shoppers by keeping prices down for staples like meat and vegetables, said Amanda Frankowski, who owns the store with her husband, Aric.

"We just don't make as much on that, but it helps when they come to buy their meat, they buy other products," she said.

On his deck overlooking a pond, Parkerton, a 63-year-old Army retiree who fishes for lobster and works as a contractor, explained how his second wind tower will likely make him self-sufficient for power. Electricity on North Haven costs 25 cents per kilowatt hour, partly because of a new cable that carries the power, compared to about 15 cents for most residential customers in southern and central Maine.

The windmill cost roughly $15,000, and Parkerton expects it to pay for itself in seven to eight years. His second one will be like the first, with three six-foot blades, but will be placed atop a higher pole.

It is expensive to live in North Haven, Parkerton said. His military upbringing and career took him around the world, and he chose twice to live on the island -- once in the early years of his first marriage to the daughter of an island native, and again after they split up.

Surrounded by the view and a menagerie of fowl, Nigerian dwarf goats and dogs he and his current wife keep, Parkerton said there's no place he'd rather be.

"I love the island," he said.