Vermonters have prided themselves on forward-thinking attitudes toward rehabilitating and protecting the natural environment of the state. But a quick tally of Vermont’s most significant environmental laws finds one searching the history books: Act 250, the Bottle Bill, the Billboard law and Green Up are all innovations of long ago. The Legislature this year did make ground water a public trust, but has Vermont been resting on its environmental laurels? We examine the big environmental challenges that the state could take on – curbing global warming, developing a local food economy, and protecting farmland and forests from fragmentation.
Bob Kinzel’s guests are Pat Parenteau, professor at Vermont Law School, expert in environmental policy and former commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and Andrew Meyer, Vermont Soy Farm, former policy aid to Senator Jim Jeffords for agricultural issues.