Environmental Policy & Law

Sad tales of our failures in society to be adaptable, remarkable stories of the intricate ways in which natural organisms have survived and thrived for billions of years on an unpredictable planet, and hopeful examples of how all sorts of people, organizations, corporations and bureaucracies have learned to be adaptable.

Vermonters speak their piece about local issues on Town Meeting Day, but some people want to be heard on controversial national issues. This year more than 50 towns are taking up a resolution on corporate personhood, and in past years the war in Iraq and genetically modified foods have been on Town Meeting warnings, or they've been debated under "other business." Monday on Vermont Edition, we'll discuss whether town meeting is the right place to debate issues that reach far beyond your town line.

Sen. Barbara Boxer seems to have achieved the impossible by crafting a transportation bill that is overcoming partisan gridlock in the U.S. Senate. Recently, the Senate voted 85-11 to advance Boxer's transportation bill, MAP-21, to a floor vote that is expected to be scheduled when Congress returns to Washington on Feb. 27. Read the full op-ed

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The Northeast Recycling Council Inc. (NERC), based in Brattleboro, Vt., has adopted a policy position in opposition to the use of degradable additives in plastic packaging. “The board determined that this practice currently has a negative impact on plastics recycling markets and the effectiveness of plastics recycling in general,” reports Sarah Kite, president of the NERC board. Read the article

What will cost $7 billion; will snake across the country from Alberta to the Gulf Coast, carrying 700,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude oil; and seems (at least from the animated assertions of Congressional Republicans and the American Petroleum Institute) a perfect solution for the flagging U.S. economy? Answer: TransCanada’s Keystone oil sands pipeline expansion project. Imagine a river of dirty oil running right through the country’s mid-section. Read the entire piece

We urge all candidates for public office at national, state, and local levels, and all New Hampshire citizens, to acknowledge the overwhelming balance of evidence for the underlying causes of climate change, to support appropriate responses to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, and to develop local and statewide strategies to adapt to near-term changes in climate(5). Ignoring the issue of climate change places our health, our quality of life, our economic vitality, and our children’s future at risk. Read the letter

Susan Ornelas stepped down as Mayor of Arcata, California, recently. Her husband, former mayor Bob Ornelas, was seriously injured in a cycling accident a month earlier (in November 2011), and the following email was in response to our best wishes for his speedy recovery. When we asked Susan's permission to share it with the Switzer Network she wrote: "Yes! One of the things I love the most about being involved with the Switzer Foundation is the network of wonderful people, where so many people are both soulful and scientific.