Current News

A new study from the University of Vermont shows that removing native forest and starting intensive agriculture can accelerate erosion so dramatically that in a few decades as much soil is lost as would naturally occur over thousands of years. Had you stood on the banks of the Roanoke, Savannah, or Chattahoochee Rivers 100 years ago, you’d have seen a lot more clay soil washing down to the sea than before European settlers began clearing trees and farming there in the 1700s. Around the world, it is well known that deforestation and agriculture increases erosion above its natural rate.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Among lawmakers’ top environmental priorities this session will be reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving Lake Champlain’s water quality. Meanwhile, advocacy groups will press lawmakers to pass first-in-nation policies designed to protect the climate. Vermont lawmakers plan to craft a new renewable energy program requiring utilities to own power generated from wind, solar and other renewable resources.

The policy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned to produce electricity. Greenhouse gas emissions are one of the causes of climate change.

The Shumlin administration is proposing a new policy that would also affect the heating and transportation sectors, which together account for most of the state’s carbon emissions.

Concept2, the company famous for its rowing machines and based in Morrisville, has been named a Vermont Green Business by the State of Vermont for environmental stewardship and sustainability efforts. The Vermont Green Business Program (www.vbep.org) provides assistance to businesses desiring to “green up” their operations and recognizes businesses of all sizes for meeting a set of environmental standards.

Sterling College, already known for growing 20 percent of its own food on campus, has been confirmed as the top college in the US that eats food that is local, sustainable, humane, and fair-trade. This ranking comes from the Real Food Challenge, which surveyed over 160 colleges and universities throughout the US.

After reviewing all of the food used in the Sterling College kitchen from June 2013 to June 2014, the college found that 76 percent of its food met the real food qualification for production methods. In comparison, the next-highest ranked institution eats only 34 percent real food.

Vermont Tax Commissioner Mary Peterson issued the following statement following on-line retailer Amazon's decision to pull advertising from companies located in Vermont: "Amazon has precipitously cut advertising contacts with Vermont online companies. Amazon's regrettable actions have nothing to do with the cloud issue, which refers to sales tax on some software. Instead, Amazon purported to act on the basis of Vermont's "click through advertising" law; a law that was passed in order to put pressure on Congress to enact the Marketplace Fairness Act – legislation Amazon publicly supports – and level the playing field for Main Street businesses. The governor has been outspoken in urging Congress to act."

National and local economists will explore the 2015 economic environment in the coming year with a focus on what shape the national and state economic recovery will take this year and beyond. The 24^th (and final) annual Vermont Economic Conference will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015, at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center and is hosted by The Vermont Economy Newsletter and sponsored by TD Bank, KPMG, and Entergy Vermont Yankee. The times and topics for the speakers follow:

9:10 – 10:10 Gus Faucher, Vice President and Senior Macroeconomist at PNC Financial Services Group, will speak on The Economic Outlook for the U.S. and Vermont. Mr. Faucher is often quoted in the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and NPR.

Middlebury College has kicked off 2015 with a new look and family of names for its schools and programs. The Vermont institution today introduced a brand identity system that embraces the full breadth of its educational endeavors by placing the Middlebury name on each of its schools and programs. While best known for its undergraduate liberal arts college, which was founded in 1800, Middlebury has, over the last 100 years, built itself into a more complex institution that meets the educational needs of many types of students around the world. Today Middlebury educates as many graduate and summer students as it does undergraduates.

Vermont Business Magazine Under the proposed plan, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will be decommissioned through the SAFSTOR alternative at a total cost of $1.2 billion and will be completed in 2075. Employment, which generally ran about 600 workers through its operating cycle, will drop over the next few years to about 125 workers while the plant is put into a dormant state and then employment will stay under 50 workers for the next 40 years until several hundred workers are needed for the final dismantling of the plant starting in 2068. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments on the report submitted by Vermont Yankee owner Entergy outlining its decommissioning plans for the Vernon plant.

by Tom Pelham Among the great centers of volunteerism in Vermont are local school boards. For decades, Vermonters have stood for election to local school boards to help guide these vital community institutions. Some run as parents, seeking the best education possible for their children and their neighbors’. Others run to contribute management skills to assure their local school district is efficient and property taxes kept under control. And others run simply to serve.

The countless Board meetings are often a grind, sorting through personnel actions, facility maintenance decisions, state regulations, ever changing methods of standardized testing, and the annual budget cycle, among others. Yet, in the end, these volunteers must be recognized by their results, which rank Vermont as one of the best education states in the nation.

Governor Peter Shumlin may have dropped his support for a single-payer healthcare plan, so advocates are turning to the Legislature to keep the effort alive. Hundreds of people from across the state are planning to come to Montpelier tomorrow morning to fill the halls of the Vermont State House on the opening day of the legislative session and call on elected representatives to respect Act 48, which commits the state to move toward a universal, publicly financed healthcare system. Specifically, the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign will be asking the Vermont Legislature to take up Governor Peter Shumlin's financing proposal and hold a public hearing.

The state of Vermont is attempting to use the clout of its pension investments to get one of the world's largest corporations to change its business practices. Vermont and a coalition of 47 global investors are challenging the ExxonMobil Corporation to adopt quantitative goals for reducing total greenhouse gas emissions from its products and operations. Upon the request of State Treasurer Beth Pearce, the Vermont Pension Investment Committee recently approved the co-filing of a shareholder resolution asking ExxonMobil to report to shareholders by the end of November on its plans to achieve these goals.

“As a shareholder, VPIC can request that ExxonMobil examine its practices,” explained Pearce. “We believe that clear greenhouse gas emission reduction goals will make Exxon more competitive and in turn protect shareholder value and address climate risk. By requesting this as part of an investor coalition, Vermont has a significant seat at the table to advocate for change.”

The Board of Directors at Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union located in Bennington, and VSECU, a statewide credit union for everyone who lives or works in Vermont, have announced a plan to merge the membership of the two credit unions. This is the second recent Bennington CU merger for VSECU.

Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union serves approximately 450 EVEREADY employees and their families. At Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union there is a growing desire to expand services and increase access to technology for its members. The plant management supports the Board’s decision to present this merger opportunity as a solution to bring additional services and benefits to their employees.