Vermont Peak Oil Network Newsletter

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February Monthly News and Views -  updated 1/31/07
This page is updated monthly.  Please send submissions by the third week in each month.  Next update scheduled for Feb. 28th.  Contributions on Peak Oil, Relocalization and Sustainability issues and efforts in Vermont welcome!  THANK YOU to all of our contributors.

Special Events
Introducing the VPON Community Pages!
VPIRG Citizen's Meetings on Global Warming
The Food Less Traveled - NOFA-VT's 25th Annual Winter Conference
VPIRG and Vermont’s environmental community 's Citizen Action Day
Permaculture Workshop Series

Under the Golden Dome:
Weekly Energy Related Legislative Activities
Clean Cities Newsletter's Policy Watch
Tracking Legislation in Vermont
Tracking National Legislation

 Quote of the Month:  
"We are having FUN!"

Editorial:
Tip, tip, tip... Are we there yet?

Guest Editorial:
Vermont's Climate and Energy Action Committees - Community Activism at its Best!

Articles:
Climate
VECAN Town Energy and Climate Action Guide Available!
Vermont Legislators move Climate Change to the top of the Agenda
Top Vermont High School Students Attack Global Warming
Bush urged to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution, establish reductions targets
Climate News Updates
Culture
Burlington Sustainable Living Network is born!
Post Oil Solutions - The Solution IS the Community!
The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook
Front Porch Forum Steaming Ahead!
Daylight Savings Time is Changing to Save Energy
Economy
Winter Business Leadership
It's Capitalism or a Habitable Planet - you can't have both (article from the UK)
Energy
Praise for Peter Welch
REV Updates
There's Heat in Them Thar Steam!
Download the Oil Depletion Protocol
Clean Cities Energy Updates
Food
2007 VT Community and School Garden Symposia   
Agriculture in a Post-Carbon Economy
Local Agricultural Community Exchange OPENING FEB. 3RD, in Barre, Vermont
New Local Foods Store in Barre
Winter Lasagne
Health
Vermont Department of Health to Award Over $1 Million to Support Local Health Prevention Programs
Peak Oil Medicine Website
Transportation
UVM Transportation Center has new Director, names Signature Projects
Update from Idle-Free Vermont
Sample "Letter to the Editor" on Idle-Reduction
Transportation Updates from Vermont Clean Cities Program
CarShare Resources

As the Crow Flies:  Reports from Around the State
ACoRN
Bennington Sustainability Outpost
Cabot Peak Oil Network
First Branch Sustainability Project (Tunbridge)
Greater East Montpelier Peak Oil Group
Mad River Sustainability Group
Plan C - Chittenden County
Post Oil Solutions
Route 12 Loop Group
Sustainable Energy Resource Group

Gold Stars to...
Vermont Public Radio

Action!
VECAN Activist Toolkit, and Town Energy/Climate Action Guide
Support the Oil Depletion Protocol
Idle-Free Vermont Campaign
Idle-Not Flyers for Idling Cars
Organize a Peak Oil Book Display
Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper
Write a Letter to a Representative

Plan Ahead
April 14th National Global Warming Demonstration
Community Based Research Institute

Resources - Click here to get there!
    Clean Cities Newsletter
    Climate News Digest
    What's a Citizen to DO? Newsletter
    Welcome to Peak Oil CD
VPON Community Pages - Discussion area for Vermont citizens concerned about peak oil.
VPON Archives (February, 2006 - present)
VT Resources - Sustainability, Food, Farm & Garden, Energy, Local Economy, Community Building, and Transportation. 
National Links/Educational Resources - charts, DVDs, posters, and more.

Fair Use Notice
Information about copyrighted material appearing on this site
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 Special Events
Introducing The VPON Community Pages!
The VPON Community Pages have been created!  This new, interactive area of the website offers visitors a chance to read and, if so desired, engage in discussion of ideas and actions pertaining to peak oil, relocalization, and sustainability.  Registered users can post comments and create their own contents in the Discussion area; members of VPON Regional Groups are invited to create their own pages, and to store documents that may be of use to individuals and groups around the state - and beyond! - in addressing the consequences of Peak Oil.

The VPON Community Pages have their own site administrator.  Information about how to contact the administrator and access posting privilages is provided here.  

A special feature on the Community Pages allows you to be notified by email when contents are added to a folder or an article of interest to you; first login, then click on the "subscribe" link at the bottom of the area of interest.

Please note that the VPON Community Pages are a separate area from the main VPON site:  they look and behave a little differently.  Reading the "Purpose" and "Usage Guidelines" will help you find your way around.

This Month's Featured Article on The VPON Community Pages:
Review of Monbiot's "Heat", part 1
2007-Jan-31
by Moshe Braner
Some thoughts about the book "Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning" by George Monbiot.

Monbiot set out in this book to achieve a narrowly defined, but still difficult, goal. Since, as he says, "nobody ever rioted for austerity", he looked for a way to cut the greenhouse gas emissions of the UK by 90% without crashing the economy nor letting go of essential comforts and freedoms. Given Monbiot's talent in making everybody unhappy, it was interesting to see what he comes up with in an attempt, in a sense, to keep everybody as happy as possible.

My comments are in three parts. Part 1 is on whether he has reached his self-prescribed goal, Part 2 comments on applicability outside the UK, especially in the USA and specifically in Vermont, and Part 3 discusses his goal itself and its wider context.  Read Article.  (Parts 2 and 3 of this article are yet to be posted. You can join the discussion by registering, logging in, and posting comments on the page.)

Top-Level Folders
Discussions
Regional Groups
Events

Recent Articles Posted on the Community Pages
Review of Monbiot's "Heat", part 1  
Who We Are (First Branch Sustainability Project)  
NEEDED GOVERNMENTAL ACTION  
A Personal Action Plan to offset Climate Change and gain Energy Independence
Climate Change, Energy Supply, War and $s and Cents  
Legislative update: Jan. 30, 07, courtesy Thomas Weiss
Legislative update: Jan. 23, 07 courtesy Thomas Weiss
Legislative update: Jan. 16, 07 courtesy Thomas Weiss
Legislative update: Jan. 14, 07 courtesy Thomas Weiss
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(ed note:  The Community Pages are an open discussion area; contents presented are the sole responsibility of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the ideas, beliefs, or actions of the VPON Network, its member groups, or the VPON website/newsletter editor. )


VPIRG Citizen's Meetings on Global Warming
The Vermont legislature has made global warming the number one issue of this legislative session. Now it's up to the people of Vermont to make sure that the solutions they propose match the severity of the problem before us.  We want to invite you to join neighbors, friends and experts in a new campaign to build a clean, safe and affordable energy future for Vermont. VPIRG is part of a coalition of anti-nuke, pro-renewable energy groups supporting legislation that would ensure that our energy needs are met through investments in renewables and efficiency first. We are hosting kick-off meetings across the state in the coming weeks to engage citizen activists, discuss our campaign strategy, and plan for coordinated grassroots action (calling legislators, writing letters to the editor) to support this piece of legislation.  Please join us at a meeting in your area.
Thursday February 1st at 6pm at the Dana. Rec Center, Rutland, in room 22
Monday February 5th at 7pm at the Marlboro College Center
Wednesday February 7th at 6:30pm at the Norwich Public Library
Thursday, February 8th at 6pm at Burlington's City Hall
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The Food Less Traveled - NOFA-VT 25th Winter Conference!
February 10, 2007
Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center, VT.
Pre-registration recommended.
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)’s 25th Annual Winter Conference will be held on Saturday, February 10th at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont. We are very excited to announce the invitation Dr. Vandana Shiva to speak as our keynote.  Dr. Vandana Shiva is an award-winning physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge and Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.  In India, she has established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers' rights.  She is considered a leading figure in the international forum on globalization.  Shiva will address our conference theme, “Re-Localizing Our Food Supply”.
 
There will be 32 workshops taught by experienced farmers and agriculture specialists for farmers, home gardeners, educators and concerned consumers. Some of the many workshop topics include: Local Grain Production, Climate Change & Farming, Heat Energy from Composting Manure, Wildcrafting, Cooking with Grass-Fed Beef, Organic Raspberries, Integrating Livestock into Your Backyard, Rabbits on Pasture, and Maximizing Space in the Garden.           
 
Included in the company of prominent workshop presenters are Vern Grubinger, from the University of Vermont’s Extension Service and Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Michael Phillips, author of The Apple Grower:  A Guide For the Organic Orchardist, Charlie Nardozzi, author of the book, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies, and Linda Faillace, author of Mad Sheep: The True Story Behind the USDA’s War on a Family Farm.
 
Future farmers can attend the Children’s Conference for ages 6 to 13.  The Children’s Conference offers farming related workshops, games and crafts. Also, there is a colorful farmers’ market (open all day featuring educational materials, organic products, crafts, and associated businesses and non-profits), live music, and a silent auction benefiting our Farm to School Mentor Program, a program which builds partnerships between schools, farmers, and their communities through agricultural education.
 
Registration is available in advance or at the door the day of the conference. Pre-registration is recommended.   To receive a conference brochure and registration form, please call the NOFA-VT office at:  (802) 434-4122 or email a request to info@nofavt.org.  $35.00 for members and $45.00 for nonmembers. $5.00 discount for farmers. The conference will begin at 8:30am with the keynote at 9am and an organic ice-cream social at 5 p.m.  For more information about this event, visit the NOFA-VT website.  Brochures will be mailed the first week in January. 
 
To register for the farmers’ market, inquire about sponsorship opportunities, or donate a silent auction item, please contact Meg at the NOFA-VT office, (802) 434-4122 or info@nofavt.org.  
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VPIRG and Vermont’s environmental community 's Citizen Action Day
Thursday, February 15, 2007 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, 9am to ­3pm.
Register online at www.VTActionDay.org
Vermont's environment is in trouble:  More than 50% of our electricity is generated by fossil fuels and nuclear power that warm our climate, pollute our environment and threaten our economy.  100% of our lakes, streams and ponds are so polluted with Mercury that women and children are advised not to eat the fish. Fossil fuels burned to heat our homes released more than 320 metric tons of global warming pollution in the year 2000 alone.

VPIRG is leading the charge to protect our environment and public health. So far we've introduced three major bills that will help stop global warming, reduce our exposure to mercury in the environment, and invest in a clean, safe and affordable energy future. But we need your help to ensure the bills passed by our legislature. Be a part of the solution by attending this year's Citizen Action Day: a one-day event that will give you the information, training and materials you need to defend Vermont's environment. Registration starts at 8:30am. For details, directions or to sign up go to: www.VTActionDay.org.
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Permaculture Workshop Series
February 17th - March 24th (Six Saturdays), East Montpelier
Design for Ecological Living, Saturday Workshop Series, February 17th - March 24th, AllTogetherNow! Living Arts Center, East Montpelier, VT
Permaculture is an evolving, holistic design system that integrates plants, animals, buildings, energy systems, people, and communities. These six Saturday workshops will explore permaculture principles to help us create sustainable, productive, and beautiful human environments that are modeled on natural ecosystems. The workshops will feature experiential, participatory, and classroom learning. We will engage in hands on-site analysis and develop ecological designs that can be applied to sites anywhere in our area, using techniques and under-acknowledged species particularly suited to Vermont and the Northeast. Instructor: Claude William Genest is the founder of the Green Mountain Permaculture Institute and Producer/Host of the upcoming Vermont  ETV program "Regeneration - The Art of Sustainable Living." Plus special guests. Fees:  Sliding scale, $200 - $500 for six 6-hour classes. For more information, call (802) 223-1242.
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Full VPON Calendar Listings - events for February and beyond, updated weekly.
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Under the Golden Dome

“The most important political office is that of the private citizen.”
                                                                            - Louis D. Brandeis  


Energy Related Legislative Activities
submitted by Vermont Citizen Thomas Weiss
Weiss' legislative updates feature announcements of hearings and activities as well as reports on energy and climate change issues, initiatives and proposals in the Vermont Legislature.  Please go to this section of the VPON Community Pages for the most recent announcements and reports, as well as the report archives. You may want to bookmark that page; Weiss updates weekly. Thank you, Thomas.
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"Policy Watch" - From Clean Cities Newsletter:
Governor Douglas' inaugural address and biofuels
Governor Douglas devoted most of his inaugural address to describing his "Vermont Way Forward" approach, which includes environmental leadership, particularly in the realm of greenhouse gas emissions. He noted that emissions from motor vehicles make up 45% of Vermont's greenhouse gas emissions. His four proposals to address this problem were a purchase and use tax rate reduction on fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles; a tax rate reduction on biodiesel for transportation; a rebate for home heating biofuels; and an increase of alternative fuel use by state government for both transportation and heating. [Source: Governor Douglas press release]

Transportation in VT legislature hearings
Plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), gas taxes, mass transit, and growing biofuels were transportation-related strategies that cropped up during the climate change hearings at the Vermont legislature. [Source: Burlington Free Press: 1/18, 1/19, 1/26] --- see VPON Community Pages for additional coverage:  http://www.vtpeakoil.net/community/folder.php?id=15

No idling
Committees in both the Vermont Senate and House have been hearing testimony on idling this session. School buses (S.0013, H.0058), motor vehicles over 5 tons (S.0025, H.0069), and motor vehicles (H.0143) are being discussed. Check for bill status here.  [Sources: Idle-Free VT, St. Albans Messenger]
 
VTrans Long Range Transportation Business Plan
Working papers reviewing state and national transportation policy and state agency policy are online here. [Source: VTrans]
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To subscribe to VT Clean Cities Newsletter: send a blank email to clean-cities@snellingcenter.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.


Keep Track of what's happening with legislation in Montpelier:  http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/database2.cfm  
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And, on the National front, you can follow the trail of activity at:  http://www.govtrack.us/  - GovTrack is a noncommercial project unaffiliated with the U.S. Government or any other group. You're welcome to reuse any material on their site. "Transparency in government is key for a healthy democracy. Transparency is achieved through spreading information about government, and making that information accessible to everyday citizens."
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Quote of the Month

We are having fun! In all my years as a community organizer, I have never been involved with such a wide variety of people,
or with a project so positive and satisfying (however exhausting, at times) as Post Oil Solutions.
- Tim Stevensen, founding member of POS.
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(...read more about the fun they are having here.)

Editorial
Tip, Tip, Tip... Are We There Yet?
by Annie Dunn Watson.
Among the many books recommended to me this year, one of my favorites would have to be The Tipping Point:  How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell.  For those interested in nudging social change along, it is a must-read (and a quick one). Many of us have puzzled over what it takes to create a positive social "epidemic", Gladwell's term for the seemingly out-of-the-blue sweeping changes that can shift a large group of people in an unexpected new direction. This book shows change-makers the ropes. And, what less than a social epidemic will launch a mitigation strategy in response to Peak Oil?

All across Vermont, there are social epidemics of varying shapes, colors and sizes, arising out of citizen concern that peak oil and global climate change must be addressed. Windham County's Post Oil Solutions has a number of engaging strategies in place; the Localvores are spreading their message and their methods; town energy and climate committees and sustainable living networks are establishing themselves in communities all over the state. There's an Idle Free Vermont campaign, and Bill McKibben initiates one action after another in his effort to reawaken us to our environmental responsibilities (follow the links to read more about these efforts in this month's VPON edition).

Certainly, watching the impressive parade of presenters on Global Climate Change and Energy Issues in the Vermont Legislature this past month, one would think that a social epidemic might be underway.  Representatives availed themselves of the hearings and are preparing to sift through the multitude of facts and recommendations they've received (comprehensive reports on these and other legislative activities are being posted/archived on the VPON Community Pages). 

But, out on the street, the response to these legislative priorities remains mixed.  Regarding the hearings, as well as the time that will be spent deliberating in committees, some citizens are expressing dismay that our tax dollars are being so foolishly spent --- alongside the coverage of these hearings by the Burlington Free Press, readers offered their opinions about whether or not Global Climate Change was even a real concern. Imagine what they'd say about Peak Oil.

What to do?  

According to Gladwell, and to many of the epidemiologists, psychologists and sociologists whose work informed his own, a social epidemic - the vehicle for sweeping change within a community or even a country - rests first upon the efforts (and perhaps good fortune or fortunate placement) of a few specific kinds of people:  Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. Mavens are the idea and information people --- Richard Heinberg, for instance, or James Howard Kunstler.  Oil geologist M. King Hubbert should be recalled as a true Maven in the oil depletion arena.  Colin Campbell, Kenneth Deffeyes, and Representative Roscoe Bartlett might also fit the Maven profile: these are the people who acquired the information about Peak Oil, were able to intuit and/or identify its consequences, and wanted others to know about it, too. And none of them sat on their laurels once they found out; their passion to understand their subject keeps them engaged, and their desire to communicate knowledge to others keeps us informed.  (Critics say they just want to sell books; we think we know better.)

And who are the Connectors in this movement?  According to Gladwell, Connectors are people who know lots of people. I would add they make it possible for other people to know lots of people, too! They're resource people, acting as ambassadors between the many overlapping social circles in which their lives take place. With the advent of the Internet (and especially the Blogosphere), these people have a new tool for bringing folks together - witness the incredible reach of Move On! Connectors are an important element of any social change movement, because once they understand the message, they naturally gravitate toward others who "need to hear the news." And, they genuinely find people interesting. In the exchange that occurs between a Connector and yourself, you can be sure that s/he is ferreting out all kinds of thing about you, and - perhaps unconsciously - storing them away for another day, or more accurately, for a conversation with someone else whom they will decide just has to get to know you!  Connectors bring together people who have the same interests and concerns, and who may not otherwise stumble into one another's lives. A host of Connectors in Vermont are continually sharing information through the Internet to keep Peak Oil, relocalization, and sustainability issues on the map. In social movements, this builds momentum, and is what makes Grassroots Organizing such a pheonomenal tool.  

On to Salesmen (and women!).  I thought about this one for awhile, because, in truth, many Mavens are also Salesmen --- and, of course, there are Connectors who are Mavens, and Salesmen who are Connectors, too. Someone with the information and convincing oratorial skills of, say, a Jim Kunstler might fit both the Maven and Salesman roles.  Richard Heinberg has certainly reached the "Early Adopters" --- another group, often made up of the influential members of a community, whom Gladwell recognizes as being instrumental to societal swings. In the Peak Oil discussion, Daniel Yergin plays Salesman for the other side --- his assessment of the situation and the outcomes he predicts are often closer to what most people (Gladwell might call them "The Late Majority" or "The Laggards") want to hear... after all, it's a lot harder to sell someone a product they need, but don't necessarily want. Salesmen have the ability to convince us; they combine information and presentation in such as manner as to "tip" the scales - one way or the other - and are crucial to social change.  

In Vermont, we have a few Salesmen working on Peak Oil. These people are not just the gifted, informed speakers among us; they are also good listeners, and it is that rapport, a sense they understand you and your concerns, that is going to make you want to open the door and let them in.  Many of them have identified and reached the Early Adopters in their communities; some have even been successful at making it possible for the "Early Majority" to join in. We need more Salesmen, individuals who are able to present the ramifications of Peak Oil as personally relevant, even compelling. The conflicting pull of so many other issues on Vermonter's minds makes it hard for this issue to stick, and stickiness is another important feature of successful social change (think of how successful Governor Jim Douglas was in getting out his "affordability agenda," in the midst of many other pressing issues, and you get the picture).

Stickiness and context support the message, as do the means through which it is translated.  The recent success of the Localvores to raise awareness of local food production and distribution had all of these elements, and a few good Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen to boot. Their movement is off to a great start, in part because they've come up with a sticky title, a context in which to present the message, and a method of reaching other potential Localvores that is hard to resist (we all love to eat, and they make eating local not only a challenge you want to live up to, but also fun - they've demonstrated that eating local can build social capital, address the need to reduce fossil fuel use, and positively affect the local economy all at the same time.)

How did YOU became interested in and concerned about Peak Oil?  What were the "sticking points" for you?  In what context was the issue presented? What was it about that context, or about the presentation (translation) that managed to reach through your other equally critical concerns and convince you that something needed to be done? Change, whether individual or societal, is seldom easy; yet there are social change epidemics underway all the time. Let's see what we can do this year to embolden ourselves and others to grapple with the daunting challenge of Peak Oil. Heck, we were able to put a human on the moon...!
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(In our October Monthly News and Views, Cara Taussig offered a brief review of The Tipping Point.  Read it here.)


 Guest Editorial  
(ed note:  This month, we're giving the Guest Editorial spot to the growing list of Vermont Climate and Energy Action Committee initiatives; this stunning array of activities throughout the state speaks for itself about Vermonters and the creative power of community.  Special thanks to VECAN - Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network - for bringing all of these efforts together and providing the means for citizen energy committees to network, share strategies, and help other towns move forward on energy and climate issues.)

VERMONT CLIMATE AND ENERGY COMMITTEES, PROJECTS, AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Numerous Vermont communities are actively organizing around energy issues at the local level. Below are brief summaries of selected communities, their activities, and who to contact for more information. Continuing updates for these and new committees are posted at www.SERG-info.org.

Addison County Relocalization Network (ACoRN): This countywide initiative is supporting a small-scale hydroelectric proposal (1MW) in Middlebury and is also actively moving forward on the formation of a Renewable Energy Cooperative for Addison County. A small-scale biofuels cooperative will be the first phase of that larger cooperative initiative. Contact Greg Pahl at 802-388-0134 or email gpahl@sover.net.
Bennington: The committee runs a monthly energy column in the local daily newspaper, the Bennington Banner, and continues to work with the cable access channel producer on energy shows. The committee got the Select Board to support SERG, Thetford, and Woodstock in their petition to the Public Service Board regarding streetlights. They are looking at and comparing energy usage of town-owned facilities. And they are planning another public screening of the powerful end-of-cheap-oil documentary, The End of Suburbia. Contact Scott Printz at 802-442-2898 or sprintz@benningtonenergy.org or visit www.benningtonenergy.org.
Brattleboro: The local energy group, Brattleboro Climate Protection, signed up more than 20 local businesses to take the 10% Challenge to reduce energy use by at least 10 percent. They successfully advocated for a switch to biodiesel to power the town's municipal fleet and are sponsoring a no-idling campaign in a local elementary school. They initiated a feasibility study for a biomass district heating system for downtown and are organizing a showing of The Great Warming in a local church. For more information, contact Paul Cameron at 802-251-8135 or pcameron@brattleboro.org.
Burlington: Burlington founded the 10% Challenge program - a multi-layered marketing program encouraging households, businesses, institutions, and the city to take voluntary actions to save energy, reduce waste, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent by 2010. The Alliance for Climate Action, the parent organization of the 10% Challenge, is a group of state, regional, and local governments and non-profits working together to encourage voluntary actions to help achieve target reductions. Any household or employer can estimate emissions using online emissions calculators and take actions by utilizing resources and participating in special programs. Emissions reduction actions are encouraged in three sectors: energy efficiency, solid waste, and transportation. Current projects underway are a city-wide no-idling project, forums on Burlington’s energy future, tabling events, business outreach, and a city-wide transportation planning initiative including December Legacy Town Meeting. Contact Debra Sachs at 802-865-7330 or email dsachs@10percentchallenge.org.
Charlotte: Inventory/energy assessment of all community buildings, regular meetings hosted by Sustainable Living Network, Charlotte Energy Task Force, and Charlotte Conservation Commission. VECAN participated in meetings and provided guidance and technical assistance by phone. July Town Fair—featured materials linking energy efficiency and climate change. Local projects: Light bulb promotion and collaboration with local hardware stores. Charlotte School is in the process of developing a plan to improve energy efficiency with the help of town resident and engineering expert Jennifer Chiodo. The Charlotte Town Hall will be the focus of the Charlotte Energy Task Force. For more information, contact Ed Stone, Select Board and Task Force Chair, 802-425-
3277 or email stones138@gmavt.net.
Greensboro: Greensboro is in the process of getting permitting to use the Greensboro Brook to generate 66 kW of electricity (enough to power about 50 homes). The brook once powered a gristmill and a sawmill that served the community. The generating plant is modelled after a 55 kW plant designed by the same engineer that was installed in Wolcott, Vermont, in 1985 and has been providing the local utility, the Hardwick Electrical Department, local, renewably generated electricity ever since. Greensboro is excited about realizing ways to generate jobs from making electricity from local water resources in ways that won't harm water quality and wildlife. Contact Anne Stevens at 802-533-2941 or astevens@sover.net.
Hardwick: Formed a new committee at the end of summer. Working with Efficiency Vermont on a challenge to reduce overall community electric use by 3 percent and get 35 percent of town residents and businesses participating in the programs. Considering an educational campaign through schools, Chamber of Commerce, public media, web site, and tabling at Farmers' Market. Planning a compact fluorescent bulb campaign, refrigerator challenge, audits of buildings. Contact: Pam Trieb, 888-921-5990 x1133, or ptrieb@veic.org.
Hinesburg: A community-based sustainability workshop was held at the municipal offices, with involvement of town staff and appointed officials. Future project initiatives being considered by town staff and officials include update of municipal plan with energy language, implementing the 10% Challenge program, transportation projects to help make the village more pedestrian friendly, considering use of biodiesel, and helping to promote the Way to Go! Commuter Challenge. For more information contact John McConnell at 802-482-5295 or john@narwhaldesign.com.
Londonderry: Efficiency Vermont did a walkthrough review of the town hall, office, and garage. Recommending full audits - reports are pending. The committee is planning future meeting to discuss next steps. Contact: Lara Berkowski, 802-824-6517, lara8@earthlink.net or Phoebe Mills, phoebemills@yahoo.com.
Middlebury: Middlebury Global Warming Action Coalition recently submitted a 10-year plan for substantially reducing town fossil fuel consumption to the Select Board. The coalition is looking to hire a part-time coordinator to help implement the plan. Most recently, the coalition, working closely with Interfaith Power & Light and other local leaders, screened the global warming film An Inconvenient Truth in six locations. Over 500 people attended. Contact Reverend Paul Bortz at 802-388-2812 or pbortz@gmavt.net.
Montpelier: Montpelier Energy and Climate Action Committee formed in March 2005. More than 45 citizens signed up expressing interest in energy work. A light bulb promotion was launched in connection with Town Meeting and in collaboration with Efficiency Vermont and a local hardware store. The group continues to meet and is collaborating with city officials to identify energy-saving strategies. Contact Cheryl King Fischer at 802-223-4622 or fischer@grassrootsfund.org for more information.
Northfield: Northfield citizens are working with representatives from Efficiency Vermont with a goal of reducing the town's overall electric use by 3 percent or more. Some of the programs being considered include: energy audits of homes, businesses, and churches, electric hot water replacement, compact fluorescent bulb promotion, energy education in the schools, low-interest efficiency loans, and bulk sales of efficient appliances. Contact: Bob Murphy, 888-921-5990 Ext. 1018 or bmurphy@veic.org.
Norwich: The town will vote on a new wood chip boiler project for the Marion Cross School in November. If it passes the committee will see if it is feasible to supply heat to the Town Hall and two adjacent churches. A solar panel/ lighting upgrade for the school was approved in March 2006 and put out to bid. The school board has approved the use of B20 biodiesel in the school buses as long as the cost is no greater than $.10 more per gallon. The committee is coordinating with other towns and school systems in the region to implement biodiesel and looking into the possibility of cleaning up school bus emissions with add-on devices that reduce soot. Contact: Alan Berolzheimer, chair, at 802-649-2857, bercress@sover.net or Ames Byrd, 802-649-1269, ames.byrd@valley.net.
Putney: Putney formed a committee in July 2006 and is planning the following projects: Energy audits of town buildings; supporting mixed-use and energy-efficient housing development at Basketville Village, and envisioning a nearby Energy Park; a welcome letter for new residents, detailing energy and conservation options for new dwellings and resources for existing structures; micro hydro feasibility study for Sackets Brook; purchase and replacement of street lighting with energy-efficient lights and motion sensors; promoting energy efficiency to Putney businesses. The committee is currently engaged in a compact fluorescent bulb sale with a goal of selling 1000 CFLs. Contact: Daniel Hovis at 802-387-2338 or daniel@dosolutions.com.
Richmond: Richmond conducted a green community technology assessment with assistance from Yellow Wood Associates and implemented energy efficiency improvements in their Town Hall. Richmond also piloted a “Safe Routes to Schools’”project, a program to help encourage use of transportation alternatives for students, including walking and biking. The Planning Commission is in the town planning process and is interested in establishing rational energy goals and objectives. Community volunteers continue to look for ways to implement the 10% Challenge. Contacts: Town Manager Ron Rodjenski at 434-5170 or Town Energy Coordinator, Jeff Forward, at 434-3470 or forward@gmavt.net. Contact Virginia Clark for information on the “Safe Routes to Schools” project at vclarke@gmavt.net.
Ripton: Formed subcommittees to work on various efficiency and renewable projects. They are working with Efficiency Vermont to do a review of town buildings and are currently awaiting building reports. Contact Warren King at 802-388-4082 or kinglet@together.net.
Sharon: The Sharon Energy committee arranged a free energy audit for the Sharon Elementary School last summer. The school drew up a budget for improvements that were recommended and an energy audit for the remaining town buildings is in the works. The committee cosponsored a poster contest with the elementary school for Green Up Day and second place went to an energy-efficient transportation poster. They sponsored a town forum in June for Sharon Academy seniors to present their proposal for energy in Vermont; developed a resource file on energy and participated in Sharon's Old Home Day parade under the banner "Imagine a World Without Petroleum" with cars run on vegetable oil, a battery run lawnmower, hand pumped flashlights, and farm animals followed by a methane-producing cart. SERG, VEEP, Efficiency VT and Global Resource Options participated in an Energy Display following the parade. The Committee is working on a list of books on energy for the town library. Plans include : energy education programs for the town, encouraging a biodiesel pump at the local gas station. Contact: Nina Swaim at 802-763-2208 or Nina.Swaim@valley.net.
Thetford: The Thetford Energy Committee is pursuing a docket before the Vermont Public Service Board requesting town ownership of streetlights which will save the town money and allow Thetford to install photocell timers and more efficient streetlights which CVPS's tariff currently do not allow. They got the Select Board to agree to test biodiesel in town vehicles and equipment. They are preparing a letter for residents, detailing energy and conservation options and resources. The committee is working with SERG to organize a weatherization workshop to take place this winter and to review the energy chapter for a new town master plan. The committee is also proposing a by-law provision requiring compliance with the state energy building code before occupancy can take
place. Contact: Bob Walker at 802-785-4126 or bobwalker@valley.net.
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 Articles
Climate
VECAN Town Energy and Climate Action Guide Now Available On-Line!
from Johanna Miller, VNRC and VECAN
The Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network is a project of the Alliance for Climate Action, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Sustainable Energy Resource Group, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, and Vermont Natural Resources Council. VECAN works to support and seed town energy committees in communities across Vermont with the goal of empowering citizens to advance and implement energy-saving, greenhouse-gas emission reduction strategies at the local level. One important resource VECAN has developed to help communities tackle climate change is the Town Energy and Climate Action Guide. The guide provides useful information on how and why to organize an energy committee, ideas on tested energy-saving techniques, and suggestions for advancing initiatives in your community.  Find the downloadable pdf version of the Guide here:  http://www.vnrc.org/article/articleview/14458/1/625/
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Vermont Legislators move Climate Change, Energy to the top of the Agenda
It's been anything but a quiet month in Montpelier.  Legislators have heard from a wide variety of state, regional, and national experts on climate change, in hopes that such information will help them craft policies appropriate to Vermont's unique (and changing) climate, landscape and economy.  Senate President Peter Shumlin and Speaker Gaye Symington spoke at the opening session, noting the importance of these hearings to the Legislator's work this year. Burlington's Free Press featured a write up ("Vermont Being Left Behind in the Renewable Energy Arena") following presentations by NRG Systems' founder Dave Blittersdorf and CCMPO's Executive Director Scott Johnstone; additionally, Sunday January 28th saw a follow-up article, with a "what's next" (from the legislator's perspectives) theme;  here's an excerpt from the former:

"David Blittersdorf, founder of NRG Systems in Hinesburg, recommended that the state allow those constructing energy-efficient buildings to go to the front of the line for permitting. "You're stimulating with carrots and sticks, a whole new way of doing things." Blittersdorf reeled off other state policies that could drive Vermonters toward using renewable energy. A 50-cent increase in the gas tax could be used to expand mass transit; incentives for building smaller homes and penalties for larger ones would encourage less energy use; setting a standard price for kilowatts produced by wind could stimulate use of the energy as it did in Germany, he said."

"Scott Johnstone, executive director of the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, recommended the state allow regional option taxes to pay for mass transit, so that the cost is not borne by the property tax. As gas prices climb, which he predicted they will, demand for public transportation will increase. Higher gas prices also will change people's housing choices, he said. No longer will it be economically advantageous to live far from the city and commute. The price of transportation will become more of a burden than the price of housing, he said."

(Thanks to Vermonter Thomas Weiss, VPON has been receiving weekly updates on these and other legislative activities; his reports are being archived on the VPON Community Pages at: http://www.vtpeakoil.net/community/folder.php?id=15. )
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(what are your thoughts on how Vermonters could be encouraged to shift towards conservation, energy efficiency, and renewables?  Start or join a discussion on the VPON Community Pages.)


Top Vermont High School Students Attack Global Warming
submitted by Jasmine Lamb.
After a nearly snowless start to winter, climate change is on everyone’s mind. On February 2, 3, and 4, the Governor’s Institute of Vermont will bring together 75 of Vermont’s most motivated high school students, nearly a dozen staff, and 20 visiting experts for a weekend of climate change learning and action. The overarching theme of the weekend is to help high school students understand global climate change from a variety of perspectives; the students will get a sense of the science, as well as a sense of the politics involved in policies and initiatives on both the national and local levels. After learning the basics, the students will work with experts to learn about solutions, both local and global.

Read more about the Institute and its scheduled events here.

Additional contacts are as follows:
For information about the weekend: Professor Paul Bierman, University of Vermont, Professor of Geology and Natural Resources, 802 656-4411; 802 238-6826 (cell) pbierman@uvm.edu (email is the most reliable means of contact).
For scheduling visits to the weekend or interviews with students, faculty or specialists: Christine Massey, Director, Governor’s Institute of Science and Technology, 802 863-3609 cmassey@uvm.edu (email is the most reliable means of contact).
For information about the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont: Director Jean Olson, 802 229-4757; giv@sover.net.

Now in its 24th year, The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing intense learning experiences for motivated Vermont high school students, and serves over 400 students annually in both summer and winter institutes on college campuses across Vermont (www.giv.org).
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Bush urged by business leaders to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution and establish reductions targets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_bi_ge/ceos_climate
"The chief executives of 10 major corporations, on the eve of the State of the Union address, urged President Bush on Monday to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution and establish reductions targets.
...
Members of the group, called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, include chief executives of Alcoa Inc., BP America Inc., DuPont Co., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., and Duke Energy Corp.  ... Also signing the letter to Bush were the executives of Lehman Brothers, PG&E Corp., PNM Resources, FPL Group and four leading environmental organizations. At a news conference, the executives said that mandatory reductions of heat-trapping emissions can be imposed without economic harm and would lead to economic opportunities if done economy-wide and with provisions to mitigate costs. Many of the companies already have voluntarily moved to curb greenhouse pollution, they said. But the executives also said they do not believe voluntary efforts will suffice.

"It must be mandatory, so there is no doubt about our actions," said Jim Rogers, chairman of Duke Energy. "The science of global warming is clear. We know enough to act now. We must act now."
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(do I detect a tipping point?)


Climate News Updates
How we solve peak oil will unquestionably have an impact on global climate change.  Many states are planning more coal-fired power plants in response to the cry to reduce our dependance on oil. CO2 emissions certainly won't be reduced by these actions.  CLIMATE TODAY, the Climate e-Newsletter originating in New Mexico, shares these updates on "Risky Coal."

January 26, 2007
Risky Coal
<< States that are planning more coal-fired power plants hopefully will see the CO2 writing in the sky and stop planning more coal plants, while getting serious about energy efficiency and renewable clean energy.>> Climate Today Editor

California Bans Dirty Power Sources
California regulators have banned the three companies that supply most of the state's power from buying electricity from high-polluting sources, including most coal-burning plants. The rules adopted Thursday are aimed at reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases linked to global warming. While there are almost no coal-fired plants in California, about 20 percent of the state's electricity comes from coal plants in other Western states. The Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 to prohibit the utilities from entering into long-term contracts with sources that emit more carbon dioxide than a modern natural gas plant.  California's municipal utilities are not regulated by the commission and will not be directly affected by its decision. Those utilities supply less of California's power, but a greater share of their electricity comes from out-of-state coal plants. The California Energy Commission, which regulates those utilities, is drawing up similar rules expected to be issued by July.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/26/ap3365874.html

Banks are urged not to finance coal power
A new front in the fight to slow down global warming follows trails of money, not wisps of polluting chemicals, straight to the doorsteps of banks. A coalition of environmental groups, including Boston-based Ceres, is demanding that banks reject loan requests for projects that emit high rates of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. The groups say they have won commitments from more than a dozen banks in the last few weeks to turn away from supporting coal-fired electric plants. The issue is coming to a head in a plan by the Texas utility TXU Corp. to build 11 new pulverized-coal power plants at a cost of $11 billion. The plants, most of which would be built on the cattle-grazing plains of central Texas, would release an estimated 78 million tons of carbon monoxide per year, the equivalent of the exhausts of 14 million automobiles...Just one US bank -- Bank of America, which more than two years ago bought FleetBoston -- has committed to cut back all its funding of energy projects that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases. In its energy lending portfolio, Bank of America hopes to show a 7 percent reduction in its investments' greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/16/banks_are_urged_not_to_finance coal_power/

New Mexico battle over Desert Rock coal plant proposal
The Northwestern part of the state already has two coal-fired power plants. And now, there are plans to build a third- called Desert Rock. This one would be much cleaner than the others but a group of Navajo elders want to stop it before it gets off the drawing board...In the last month, the camp has grown to a cluster of tee-pees and campers around a makeshift kitchen and fire circle. Today the grandchildren are pitching in to help cut up a load of firewood dropped off by volunteers...
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00002&segmentID=6

The Coal War- the dirty secret behind America's Energy Future
In Big Coal, Jeff Goodell offers a clear overview of an industry that exerts a tremendous influence on federal policy— and one in which worker safety often takes a back seat to bottom-line efficiency. As he explores the link between electricity and modern living, Goodell enumerates the myriad health problems associated with chemicals, such as mercury, that are spewed into the atmosphere by these coal-burning plants...he warns that if the rush to build new plants is not halted, the chances of stabilizing the climate are virtually zero.
Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
Jeff Goodell Houghton Mifflin, 2006  324 pages. $25.95
http://www.science-spirit.org/newdirections.php?article_id=685
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(You can receive climate news updates from Climate Today - send an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to: ClimateNewsNM@aol.com)


Culture
The Burlington Sustainable Living Network is Born!
as announced by BSLN "midwife" Cara Taussig
PLAN C and the Vermont Earth Institute are the proud parents of the new Burlington Sustainable Living Network (called the “BSLN” for short), born this month in Burlington, Vermont.  PLAN C is a Chittenden County-based peak oil awareness/relocalization group that formed out of concern for our energy-constrained future.  PLAN C is a member of VPON.  The Vermont Earth Institute is a non-profit that coordinates community-based discussions on consumerism, sustainability, and the environment throughout the state.  Together, Burlington-area members of these two organizations are creating the BSLN, a forum to raise community awareness and foster individual habit change and community action around sustainable living.
 
In November 2006, the two groups first publicly announced the long-anticipated birth of the BSLN at their joint screening of “The Power of Community:  How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.” which drew a crowd of about 60 people to Burlington College.  That film was followed by a community discussion on local food and energy security led by Will Raap, founder of Gardeners Supply and the Intervale Foundation, and David Blittersdorf, founder of NRG.  Continuing this theme, the Burlington SLN has a slate of films and workshops planned for 2007, and will meet the last Wednesday of the month (see below and the VPON Calendar section for details!)
 
The Burlington SLN joins six sibling SLNs in Brattleboro, Central Valley, Charlotte, Randolph, Rutland and the Upper Valley.  Other SLNs have grown as Vermont Earth Institute discussion course members realize they want to continue the community experience and individual empowerment they derive from their groups. Most SLNs begin with a focus on local education, skills building and action, drawing on local experts as well as educational films to build awareness and share ideas with their neighbors.  And there is often a strong component of celebration.  For instance, in Rutland, the largest SLN gathering to date was 250 strong for the Rutland Regional Sustainability Network’s local foods supper and Frances Moore Lappe talk on September 22, 2006.
 
In Burlington, the BSLN’s first film will be the powerful “Who’s Counting: Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics,” on January 31st , 7pm, at the Fletcher Free Library. The film explores Waring’s journey to understanding the root causes of environmental, social and economic unsustainability as she served three terms in New Zealand’s parliament, beginning at age 22. Future films include “Kilowatt Ours,” and “The End of Suburbia.”  Workshops will include Planning an Urban Forest Garden, Commuting by Bicycle: how to prepare yourself and your bike, and Putting Food By.  Anyone interested in organizing future events can attend any of the films or workshops to get connected, or contact Cara Taussig at cltaussig@earthlink.net.  Cara can also provide information on Vermont Earth Institute discussion courses, which include a new course on Global Warming, as well as Voluntary Simplicity, Choices for Sustainable Living, Deep Ecology, Globalization and Its Critics, Discovering a Sense of Place, and Healthy Children, Healthy Planet.  For more information on Vermont Earth Institute and Sustainable Living Networks in your area, go to www.vtearthinstitute.org.
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Post Oil Solutions:  The Solution IS the Community!
Tim Stevensen is experiencing some of the most satisfying work of his life - and he has been a community organizer for most of his many years.  Tim is a founding member of Windham County's Post Oil Solutions (POS), a group of individuals from their bio-region that began meeting in June 2005. These citizens have joined together to take what they describe as their "first, modest steps toward creating more cooperative, self-sufficient communities."  Their goal is to learn about and develop sustainable practices in their homes, neighborhoods, and larger communities, so as to begin creating the infrastructure in their region necessary for a post oil society.  And they are proving that the hard work of creating with and within a community not only can be done, but it can be done with a smile.

Given free rein to identify the issues most compelling or of interest to them, POS community members have taken on all sorts of responsibilities, and found themselves initiating, collaborating on and maintaining a host of creative, useful community projects.  What's striking about these projects is their "stickiness" - these initiatives become people magnets.  All kinds of folks show up, sharing ideas,  resources, and forging new friendships and alliances in the bargain, the mainstay of a community in rough times and in good.   Social capital - now that's infrastructure!  

What can a community do?  Whatever its members recognize as important to attend to.  Perhaps because it is fueled by its own community members' enthusiasm as well as a willingness to collaborate with existing resources, the next horizons keep appearing, and POS keeps moving on. 

The following is an outline of projects, initiatives, and collaborations that Post Oil Solutions is presently involved with, sent along by Tim Stevensen:

Windham Energy Group: Organized by POS in Oct 06, it is currently in the early stages of a wind power project in Marlboro, and will be considering an energy park project in Putney at our next meeting.
A CSA in Every Town: After successfully organizing a CSA in Wilmington this past fall, we are currently involved with efforts in Westminister West and Winchester, NH, that are expected to be operational shortly
Winter Localvore Challenge: Though smaller in participation than the nearly 200 folks who participated in our August Challenge, we nevertheless had a very satisfying challenge 7-13 Jan that included a number of potlucks and a featured story on VPR. We will begin planning the August 07 Challenge this Spring, that will have a special focus upon children.
2007 Learning to Feed Ourselves food workshops: So far we have planned workshops over the course of the growing season in backyard chicken raising, bread making, a mushroom walk, medicinal and edible plant identification, bee keeping, canning (with and without a pressure cooker), and seed saving.
No-Idle Campaign: In collaboration with Brattleboro Climate Protection, we are currently organizing a no-idle ordinance petition campaign, the results of which will be presented to the Brattleboro Selectboard in the Spring, along with a presentation that will include PSAs done by students at neighboring high schools.
Local Foods Action Conference: In collaboration with the Fair Winds Farm and Vern Grubinger, director of UVM's Sustainable Agriculture Center and a vegetable and berry specialist at UVM's Brattleboro extension, POS is sponsoring a conference 16 March for area farmers around the issue of producing more food for the local area as the market for such grows, with the goal being 3/4 on-going projects to coming out of this conference
Mobile Meat Processing Facility: Responding to the meat processing crises in our region (and throughout the state), POS has organized a gathering of area meat producers with Randy Quennville of the State Ag Dept's Meat Programs Section for 30 Jan in Brattleboro.
Initiatives with Area Schools: POS has helped an area 4th grade with a local foods project; is currently working with area high schools around the No-Idle Campaign and the 14 April Bill McKibben call for action day; has entered a collaborative relationship with the Marlboro College Grad Center that includes co-sponsoring our new monthly forum (see below); and is working with students from the School of International Training.
Winter Farmers' Market: After successfully initiating a winter farmers' market, POS is currently collaborating with the Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market for the 2007-08 winter season, with the goal to eventually transition the winter market under the BAFM umbrella.
VEI Sustainability Course: POS is sponsoring an 8-week Vermont Earth Institute Choices for Sustainable Living Course for its members.
Monthly Column in Brattleboro Commons
Monthly Forum: In Jan, POS began a monthly forum entitled, "Building Sustainable Communties," at the Marlboro College Grad Center, that will features films, presentations, talks, etc., that is intended to engage the larger community with our concerns. In January, we screened Crude Impact before a packed house, with a lively and inspiring discussion that followed. February will feature a video from the Community Solutions in Yellow Springs, OH, entitled, "Plan C--Curtailment and Community.
In Addition...POS is active with the Windham Regional Commission's Energy Committee; the Eat Local Committee of the Brattlboro Food Co-op; has 2 members on the Brattleboro Development Review Board; and has one member on the Brattleboro Selectboard with another as a candidate for the March election.
Community Gardens & Building Hoop Green Houses...on the horizon come Spring!
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(visit Post Oil Solutions at http://www.postoilsolutions.org/)


The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide And Cookbook:
Recipes for Changing Times by Albert Bates
2006; 286 pages; 7.5 " x 9 "; paperback; ISBN 0-86571-568-8
(submitted to VPON by the Sustainable Living Network)
Albert Bates is a leading activist and teacher in the growing ecovillage movement and has long been a pioneer on the frontiers of sustainability. He is therefore uniquely qualified to act as our guide to what lies on the down slope of our post-petroleum future. In this book, he offers a great array of strategies and skills that will enable us all to move easily into the new realities of life after oil.

What is contained in these pages is practical, sustainable and healthy advice for meeting our needs as we encounter the challenges on our path. Writing in a very down to earth and conversational style, the author shows us how to live high while leaving a low impact on the world. He covers what we need to know about such essential topics as water, fuel, shelter and taking care of our other physical needs. The book also covers the broader skills needed to build vigorous local economies and communities.

And, oh yes, this is also a cookbook. The recipes emphasize organic, good-tasting, locally-grown food. There is excellent information on how to use basic, wholesome foods in interesting ways. There are also recipes that emphasize the link between growing and cooking your food and that show the possibilities offered by food preservation.

Information, catalog, ordering
http://store.ic.org/bookshelf
Community Bookshelf
RR 1 Box 156
Rutledge MO 63563
800-995-8342 - bookshelf@ic.org
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Front Porch Forum Steaming Ahead!
FRONT PORCH FORUM MONTHLY CHECK-IN
By Michael Wood-Lewis, support@frontporchforum.com
Tue, 02 January 2007
Front Porch Forum closed it's 4th full month and 2006 with a full head of steam.  More than 3,000 local households have signed on now and folks are making great use of their neighborhood forums.  Several recent examples of this were covered by local media in December, including VPR, Channel 5 News, Seven Days, Charlotte News, Colchester Sun, Shelburne News, North Avenue News, and Essex Reporter.  Check out the coverage (including video and audio) at:  http://frontporchforum.com/about/press.php

Of the 130 FPF neighborhood forums, about one-third have lots of members and activity.  The remainder each have a few neighbors on board and are in need of a resident or two to spread the word to get more neighbors to join.  Dozens of folks are playing that role across the county, handing out flyers door-to-door, emailing neighbors, writing letters to the editor, etc.  People's desire to contribute to their neighborhood inspires.  Can you reach out to a few of your neighbors?  Send them to:  http://frontporchforum.com

COMMUNITY SUCCESS STORIES
More than 3,300 local households signed onto home-grown Front Porch Forum in its first five months.  Recent sample messages:

"I just received, delivered to my door, 3 packages of diapers for my son. A wonderful member of my forum did not want to throw away unused diapers, so she posted on Front Porch Forum.  I will be thanking her with some of my homemade bread this week. What a great way to connect, reuse, recycle and overall develop a wonderful sense of community!"  -H.A.

"Thanks to all neighbors who responded to my car for sale ad. A successful transfer of ownership was made to one of our neighbors! It really was quite fun and easy. Not only did we sell our car, we met a new neighbor. The forum works!"  -D.L.

"I was one of the new faces at game night last month and I had a great time. Thanks to this forum I was reminded about it and went... it was so great to meet some neighbors. We don't have kids, just dogs, and we find that it can be hard to stay connected to the community without kids in the school. We really appreciate this forum as a way to hear what our neighbors are up to and to stay connected.  It is also nice to learn about the available high speed Internet options. By the way, my husband and I are avid Cribbage players looking for a group."  -B.P.

More forum stories at http://frontporchforum.com/blog/?cat=9 and http://frontporchforum.com/testimonials

INNOVATIVE BURLINGTON
Front Porch Forum was invited to speak at a Harvard conference on MLK Day about innovative local uses of the internet - one of 25 from across the country - and we were surprisingly well received.  Others in the dot.com world are starting to tune into what's going on across greater Burlington through this free community-building service.  Congratulations!  You're on a cutting edge of the internet.  ;-)

Thank you for your ongoing participation and support.  Happy New Year!  - Michael and Valerie at Front Porch Forum.
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(What is Front Porch Forum?  See our article, "Good Neighbors Cut Petroleum Use", in the December VPON Monthly.)


Daylight Savings Time is Changing to Save Energy
Taken from AMC Outdoors, November, 2006 p. 15
Beginning in March of 2007 you’ll have four more weeks of DST to play with every year. Under the 2005 Energy Policy Act, DST will begin three weeks earlier in Spring and one week later in Fall.  The provision is designed to conserve energy by taking advantage of daylight and by some estimates could save a lot of juice.

Dr. David Prerau, who consulted with Congress, says adding an entire month of DST would shave 1% - 3 billion kilowatt hours – off the nation’s power bill.  Similar measures in 1986 saved the energy equivalent of 300,000 barrels of oil, according to a DOT study. “More people use lighting in the evening rather than the morning,” says Prerau, author of Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Savings Time. “By moving an hour of light to the evening, it saves energy.” …..Under the new regulations... people will set their clocks forward three weeks earlier on March 11 and will fall back on November 4th.
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Economy
Winter Business Leadership
(from Clean Cities E-Newsletter) - To subscribe to VT Clean Cities Newsletter: send a blank email to clean-cities@snellingcenter.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.
Businesses are among those in the lead of energy-saving efforts. Recent recognition has been garnered by Sugarbush and Smuggler's Notch, for implementing strategies such as biodiesel-powered machinery, carpooling incentives, and no-idling rule for cars. [Sources: Rutland Herald, WCAX]
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It's capitalism or a habitable planet - you can't have both
Robert Newman
Thursday February 2, 2006
The Guardian (UK) - http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1700301,00.html

Our economic system is unsustainable by its very nature. The only response to climate chaos and peak oil is major social change .

There is no meaningful response to climate change without massive social change. A cap on this and a quota on the other won't do it. Tinker at the edges as we may, we cannot sustain earth's life-support systems within the present economic system.

Capitalism is not sustainable by its very nature. It is predicated on infinitely expanding markets, faster consumption and bigger production in a finite planet. And yet this ideological model remains the central organising principle of our lives, and as long as it continues to be so it will automatically undo (with its invisible hand) every single green initiative anybody cares to come up with.

Much discussion of energy, with never a word about power, leads to the fallacy of a low-impact, green capitalism somehow put at the service of environmentalism. In reality, power concentrates around wealth. Private ownership of trade and industry means that the decisive political force in the world is private power. The corporation will outflank every puny law and regulation that seeks to constrain its profitability. It therefore stands in the way of the functioning democracy needed to tackle climate change. Only by breaking up corporate power and bringing it under social control will we be able to overcome the global environmental crisis.

On these pages we have been called on to admire capital's ability to take robust action while governments dither. All hail Wal-Mart for imposing a 20% reduction in its own carbon emissions. But the point is that supermarkets are over. We cannot have such long supply lines between us and our food. Not any more. The very model of the supermarket is unsustainable, what with the packaging, food miles and destruction of British farming. Small, independent suppliers, processors and retailers or community-owned shops selling locally produced food provide a social glue and reduce carbon emissions. The same is true of food co-ops such as Manchester's bulk-distribution scheme serving former "food deserts".

All hail BP and Shell for having got beyond petroleum to become non-profit eco-networks supplying green energy. But fail to cheer the Fortune 500 corporations that will save us all and ecologists are denounced as anti-business. Many career environmentalists fear that an anti-capitalist position is what's alienating the mainstream from their irresistible arguments. But is it not more likely that people are stunned into inaction by the bizarre discrepancy between how extreme the crisis described and how insipid the solutions proposed? Go on a march to the House of Commons. Write a letter to your MP. And what system does your MP hold with? Name one that isn't pro-capitalist. Oh, all right then, smartarse. But name five.

We are caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of climate change and peak oil. Once we pass the planetary oil production spike (when oil begins rapidly to deplete and demand outstrips supply), there will be less and less net energy available to humankind. Petroleum geologists reckon we will pass the world oil spike sometime between 2006 and 2010. It will take, argues peak-oil expert Richard Heinberg, a second world war effort if many of us are to come through this epoch. Not least because modern agribusiness puts hundreds of calories of fossil-fuel energy into the fields for each calorie of food energy produced.

Catch-22, of course, is that the very worst fate that could befall our species is the discovery of huge new reserves of oil, or even the burning into the sky of all the oil that's already known about, because the climate chaos that would unleash would make the mere collapse of industrial society a sideshow bagatelle. Therefore, since we've got to make the switch from oil anyway, why not do it now?

Solutions need to come from people themselves. But once set up, local autonomous groups need to be supported by technology transfers from state to community level. Otherwise it's too expensive to get solar panels on your roof, let alone set up a local energy grid. Far from utopian, this has a precedent: back in the 1920s the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Battersea had their own electricity-generating grid for their residents. So long as energy corporations exist, however, they will fight tooth and nail to stop whole postal districts seceding from the national grid. Nor will the banks and the CBI be neutral bystanders, happy to observe the inroads participatory democracy makes in reducing carbon emissions, or a trade union striking for carbon quotas.

There are many organisational projects we can learn from. The Just Transition Alliance, for example, was set up by black and Latino groups in the US working with labour unions to negotiate alliances between "frontline workers and fenceline communities", that is to say between union members who work in polluting industries and stand to lose their jobs if the plant is shut down, and those who live next to the same plant and stand to lose their health if it's not.

We have to start planning seriously not just a system of personal carbon rationing but at what limit to set our national carbon ration. Given a fixed UK carbon allowance, what do we spend it on? What kinds of infrastructure do we wish to build, retool or demolish? What kinds of organisational structures will work as climate change makes pretty much all communities more or less "fenceline" and almost all jobs more or less "frontline"? (Most of our carbon emissions come when we're at work).

To get from here to there we must talk about climate chaos in terms of what needs to be done for the survival of the species rather than where the debate is at now or what people are likely to countenance tomorrow morning.

If we are all still in denial about the radical changes coming - and all of us still are - there are sound geological reasons for our denial. We have lived in an era of cheap, abundant energy. There never has and never will again be consumption like we have known. The petroleum interval, this one-off historical blip, this freakish bonanza, has led us to believe that the impossible is possible, that people in northern industrial cities can have suntans in winter and eat apples in summer. But much as the petroleum bubble has got us out of the habit of accepting the existence of zero-sum physical realities, it's wise to remember that they never went away. You can either have capitalism or a habitable planet. One or the other, not both.
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(ed note:  Environmentalists have been able to influence corporate behavior; how?  For one example, see FOREST ETHICS ("When we find that Endangered Forests are being destroyed, we determine which corporations are purchasing the products of that destruction. If a corporation refuses to change its practices, we hold that company publicly accountable—with protests, websites, email campaigns, national advertisements, and more. And when a company is ready to protect Endangered Forests, we help them implement sound policies through our Corporate Action Program.")  If you'd like to start a discussion on the relationship between peak oil, climate change and concerns for Vermont's economy, register and log on to the VPON Community Pages.)

Energy
Renewable energy and energy efficiency can have the most immediate and longest lasting positive effect on energy availability, stable prices, and greenhouse gas emissions.
- from the Congressional letter to President Bush, December, 06

Energy Activists Praise Welch for Sponsoring Peak Oil Resolution
Press release issued by Peak Oil Awareness
Carl Etnier - carl (at) etnier.net
Energy activists around the state are praising Peter Welch for highlighting the critical issue of peak oil. Welch was an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan House Peak Oil Resolution, HR.12 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr110-12.  The Resolution, if passed, puts the US House of Representatives on record as saying that the US and its allies should cooperate to develop an energy efficiency and renewable energy plan with the same level of effort and creativity as the Apollo program put into landing a human on the moon.

The resolution notes that US oil production peaked in 1970, that North American natural gas production is also beyond peak, and that "a growing number of petroleum experts believe that the peak in the world's oil production...is likely to occur in the next decade." This reduction in the availability of oil is about to occur when the US is the world's largest importer of both petroleum and natural gas, and worldwide demand is still rising.

The resolution highlights the importance of the legislation which passed the House yesterday, ending subsidies given to oil companies and using the savings to fund renewable energy development. The Clean Energy Act of 2007, H.R. 6, passed 264-163.

More than ten local and regional groups have formed in Vermont to address the challenges of peak oil. Carl Etnier, a founding member of one of the local groups, the Greater East Montpelier Peak Oil Group believes that a peak and decline in world oil production is likely to have unprecedented consequences. "Our worldwide economic system has been built on an abundance of cheap oil. When declining world oil production causes heating oil and gasoline prices to jump to $5 or $10 per gallon, how is a typical Vermonter who uses 1,000 gallons of oil to keep the house warm going to afford it?" asked Etnier. Etnier praises Welch for sponsoring the Peak Oil Resolution.  "Peak oil is too scary for most politicians. Politicians talk about an affordability agenda, but most of them don't even hint to voters that rising energy prices may soon make property taxes seem almost insignificant. On his first days in Congress, Peter Welch is standing up and telling the nation and the world what an urgent problem peak oil is." Etnier acknowledges that though the resolution does not commit a course of action, it argues that the need is great to reduce energy use and transition to renewables. "The resolution is an important first step," he says. "Peak oil has not previously been taken seriously in Washington--or by very many people in Montpelier, for that matter."

Peter Welch has also joined the bipartisan House Peak Oil Caucus, where he is positioned to offer continued leadership on this issue.

Vermont's local and regional peak oil groups have joined together to form the Vermont Peak Oil Network (VPON). Annie Dunn Watson, who edits VPON's web site (vtpeakoil.net) and monthly newsletter, comments, "I hope Peter Welch's leadership on peak oil will raise awareness of the issue among businesses, policy makers, and advocacy groups in Vermont. It is difficult for most people to grasp consequences that don't seem to be immediately upon them, particularly when many other dire situations clamor for attention. But Peter Welch gets it."

The Addison County Relocalization Network (ACoRN) is one of the largest and most active peak oil groups in the state, with task forces working on energy and food issues. Ron Slabaugh, a founding member of ACoRN, says, "I have come to believe that global warming and peak oil are the most important challenges faced by the human race at this point. They are related, of course, and each has the potential to create a full-blown, unprecedented crisis on the old home planet. I believe that Welch's sponsorship of the Peak Oil Resolution will elevate his status as a statesman and will support the work of the peak oil and climate action groups in Vermont."

Henry Swayze helped found the First Branch Sustainability Group, which is working to achieve independence from fossil fuel in the area surrounding Tunbridge and Chelsea by 2020. He concentrates on local actions, but he welcomes Congress thinking globally. "We have a project to put over 50 new solar hot water systems on local houses by May, and we are doing that largely with local resources. To do what is really needed, we need government to grease the skids for all renewables and reduce our use of fossil fuel."

Notes and contact information:
For more information, contact
    Carl Etnier (rhymes with "BET higher") 498-4443 (cell)
    Annie Dunn Watson newsletter@vtpeakoil.net
    Ron Slabaugh (pronounced SLAY-baw) 388-9857 ronslabaugh (at) hotmail.com
    Henry Swayze 889-5556
    Peter Welch 202-225-4115
    Andrew Savage, Communications Director for Peter Welch 202-225-4115
Co-chairs of the House Peak Oil Caucus:  Lisa Wright on the staff of Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Maryland) at 202-225-2721 or lisa.wright@mail.house.gov or Johanna Polsenberg (from Vermont) on the staff of Rep. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) at 202-225-6190 or johanna.polsenberg@mail.house.gov. Roscoe Bartlett's speeches on the House floor on peak oil and other pertinent information about peak oil are on his web site: http://bartlett.house.gov/EnergyUpdates/
Information on the Vermont Peak Oil Network: vtpeakoil.net
Information on peak oil in general: energybulletin.net, theoildrum.com

The Peak Oil Resolution was previously introduced in the 109th Congress as HR 507.  Please see this pdf for text version.
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Renewable Energy Vermont's Links to this past month's Notable Sites and Stories
visit REV at:  http://www.revermont.org

http://tinyurl.com/y9cee2
Wind power has a future in Vermont.
An op-ed by Jeff Wallin – Burlington Free Press. Published: Saturday, December 30, 2006

http://www.tinyurl.com/yjn6zy
Wood-chip Power Facility Considered for Ludlow
Rutland Herald

http://www.tinyurl.com/ybx8jt
Senate Victory for Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Jesse Broehl, www.solaraccess.com

http://tinyurl.com/yglgfv
Vermonters Consider Hydro Revival
Candace Page, Burlington Free Press

http://tinyurl.com/ybpp6x
Net Metering Helps Vermonters Rank High for Home-Grown Power Use
David Gram, Burlington Free Press
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There's Heat in Them Thar Steam!
Letter to the BFP, from Moshe Braner
Dear Editors:

On January 18 the BFP included a quick note (and nice picture) titled "All steam, no heat".  That "steam" comes from the cooling tower of the McNeil plant.  Like all power plants, it generates more heat than electricity.  That "waste" heat, currently discarded, about 300 million BTUs/hour, could heat the houses of the Old North End.  Think of it as the mother-of-all outdoor wood-fired boilers.  The only cost would be the initial investment in a network of steam pipes and radiators.

Alternatively, the steam could be piped to UVM which already has a campus-wide system of central steam heat.  Such "district heating" setups are common in Europe, and save enormous amounts of energy and money.  The only thing standing in the way of doing it here is the lack of political will.  If UVM were truly an "environmental university" as it clamors to be seen, it would join with the BED to do this, not just the small and insignificant windmill perched on too-low a pole near the Sheraton for PR reasons.

But directing the heat to the Old North End would be even better, since it is close by, and many of the residents there are financially strained by their heating bills.  If they suffer the negative impacts of the power plant (which have been thankfully ameliorated over the years), they should get some of the benefits.

Another energy-saving idea from Europe: "domestic combined heat and power".  Instead of a boiler or furnace at home making only heat, it could make electricity and heat, using the heat locally and sending the excess electricity into the grid.  This, along with other forms of "distributed generation" using small wind turbines and solar panels, would add capacity to the grid, increase its reliability, reduce the need for more transmission lines, save energy and money, and reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses.  Again, the only thing missing in the political will.  The current so-called "net-metering" state law should be called zero-plus-metering, since at the end of the year any credit on the account reverts to the utility.  We need to change the law to allow a small generator (using renewable energy sources or co-generation) to actually sell excess power to the utility (at a reasonable price, not necessarily retail).

- Moshe Braner
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(Moshe Braner, PhD, is a peak oil educator with a background in physics and mathematical ecology.  Read and join his discussion on George Monbiot's book Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning on the VPON Community Pages.)


Download the Oil Depletion Protocol Here:  

                                                
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Clean Cities Energy Updates
provided by Clean Cities Vermont e-newsletter; To subscribe: send a blank email to clean-cities@snellingcenter.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.
Fuels: Home Grown Fuels
A new Vermont-made handbook drawing national attention helps farmers understand and assess their options for producing their own energy, including biodiesel and ethanol. The "Farm Energy Handbook" is available through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. You can listen to an interview with the author online. [Sources: Forbes, Burlington Free Press, VPR Switchboard]

Fuels: Biodiesel
Lamoille Valley Transportation has become the first carbon-neutral private motor coach operator in the world. LVT has been using a biodiesel blend for a year, and has begun offsetting its remaining greenhouse gas emissions by buying credits through Native Energy. [Source: Vermont Guardian]

Fuels: Ethanol
The national push for ethanol may be one of many factors contributing to the financial pain of Vermont dairy farmers. The economics of corn, ethanol, oil, and dairy products are all intertwined in a web of market forces that make for an interesting but worrisome story. [Source: Times Argus]
 
Fuels: Oil from algae
The Vermont Biofuels Association is predicting that within 2 years, systems which make biodiesel from algae may become commercially viable. This technology would have two benefits to Vermont: reducing eutrophication pollution in Lake Champlain, and local production of fuel. [Source: Addison Independent. More info.]
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Food
2007 VT Community and School Garden Symposia   
The 2007 Vermont Community and School Garden Symposia begin February 3rd. During February and March, regional gatherings of the Vermont Community Garden Network are planned in four different corners of the state. The first of the VT Community and School Garden Symposia will be held February 3rd at Gardener's Supply in Burlington, to be followed by VCGN Symposia in Rutland (Feb. 17), Springfield (Feb. 24), and Newport (March 10). Registration is FREE - but space may be limited, so please sign up and send in your form early. For more information and to download a registration form, just click on this link: http://www.burlingtongardens.org/2007_VCGN_Registration_Form.pdf.  Community and school garden organizers, coordinators, and volunteers interested in applying for a 2007 VCGN Mini-grant are especially encouraged to attend a VCGN Symposium. Details regarding the 2007 mini-grant program will be announced during the afternoon workshop at each Symposia, and strategies for preparing a successful mini-grant application will be presented. During the morning sessions, 2006 VCGN Mini-grant recipients will have an opportunity to share the successes and challenges of their garden projects in an interactive format. To help facilitate the dialogue and create a "virtual garden tour," symposia participants who are able to are asked to bring a basic 3-panel display to showcase their community or school garden project. For questions or to share ideas for the Symposia in your area, please contact the VCGN Organizer, Jim Flint, at 861-4769 or jimf@burlingtongardens.org. Please feel free to share this announcement with anyone interested in developing a community or school garden project that has a food growing component. Jim Flint, Executive Director Friends of Burlington Gardens 180 Flynn Ave Studio 3 PO Box 4504 Burlington, VT 05406-4504 802-861-4769 www.burlingtongardens.org
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Agriculture in a Post Carbon Economy
from the NOFA VT Winter Conference Brochure
Agriculture in a Post Carbon Economy is the title of Allan Baer's offering at the upcoming NOFA VT winter conference.  "Food security dictates that the dependence of farming on fossil fuels must be reduced," the memo reads.  "Substituting on-farm resources for commercial farm inputs and adopting renewable energy and energy conservation technologies can do this."  This workshop will begin with an overview of world energy production and consumption highlighting the dual challenges of energy security and food security.  Time permitting, the workshop will culminate with a discussion of a proposed state-wide, on-farm energy resource mapping project in Vermont planned in conjunction with SolarQuest and Vermont Technical College.  Allan Baer is the President of SolarQuest, a not-for-profit international agency which educates American and International communities on the benefits of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and advanced information and communication technologies.
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(Here at the VPON editorial corral, we hope Mr. Baer will initiate a broad discussion of renewables, to include solar, wind, geo-thermal, biomass, on-farm methane, as well as biodiesal, but also invite discussion of complimentary, less energy-intensive ways to conduct some of our agricultural endeavors.)

 
Local Agricultural Community Exchange OPENING FEB. 3RD, in Barre, Vermont
The goal of "Local Agricultural Community Exchange" (LACE) is to provide a commons for Family Farms and their community to Celebrate LOCAL FOOD, LEARN from one another, and BUILD COMMUNITY TOGETHER. At the heart of LACE is the Vermont Fresh Market located in downtown Barre. Upon entering the Market, shoppers can rest assured that all the products were grown, raised and processed in Vermont.

LACE is hosting a fine dining and entertainment fundraiser February 3rd featuring New England Cooks of Vermont, CVTV, and live music from Judevine. Tickets can be purchased on the LACE website.
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New Local Food café in Barre
Kismet! opened on the Winter Solstice, on Barre Street in Montpelier (behind Hunger Mountain Coop). Enjoy their breakfast and lunch menu Wednesday through Sunday. Owners Alanna Dorf and Crystal Maderia are natural food chefs. They have incredible delights like dandelion root lattes, maple lassi, house made kombucha, lavender lemon blueberry scones, and build your own crepes;  they make their own butter, have both meat and miso broths, and feature fare from vegan to free-range local meat.  Visit Kismet! at  www.kismetkitchen.com
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Winter Lasagna RECIPE
submitted by Laura Phillips
Winter Lasagna
Mix together noodle dough: 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 eggs (beaten), water if needed to form dough. Knead and let rest, beneath bowl, while preparing other ingredients.

Filling:
1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 1/2 pumpkin puree
1 1/2 canned diced tomatoes (if you don’t have local canned tomatoes, increase pumpkin to 3 cups)
1 cup cooked pinto beans
1 minced jalapeno pepper, seeds removed (optional).

Sautee onions in butter until translucent, add carrots and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer while mixing lasagna topping.

Topping:
    1 cup ricotta cheese
    1 cup plain yogurt
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    generous pinch pepper
Mix together in a small  bowl.

Roll out dough into flat sheets using pasta maker (you can do this with a rolling pin, but you won’t enjoy it). Cook noodles 2 or 3 at a time in boiling water until they rise to the surface. Note: to save
time you can layer the noodles raw and let them cook in the oven - ­ it just won’t taste quite as good.

Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13” baking pan with 1?2 of pumpkin mixture. Cover with 1/2 noodles. Repeat. Top with ricotta cheese mixture.

Bake at 400-degrees 30 to 40 minutes until beginning to brown on top.
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Health
Vermont Department of Health to Award Over $1 Million to Support Local Health Prevention Programs
For Immediate Release: January 24, 2007
Media Contact: Communication Office
Vermont Department of Health
802-863-7281
BURLINGTON – The Vermont Department of Health will issue grants totaling more than $1 million beginning in July 2007 to fund community wellness initiatives statewide.