By Ken Cadow Editor’s note: Ken Cadow of Norwich is co-principal of Oxbow High School in Bradford, a board member of Green Mountain Economic Development Corp., and author of a book, “Gather,” that’s coming out in October. When I tell people from away that I work in a school with around 400 kids, grades…

   Editor’s note: The following is a joint statement from the leaders of Vermont’s local United Ways, which each contribute funding to Vermont 211.   State officials repeatedly urged Vermonters to call 211 to report damages and get connected to resources in the days and weeks following July’s catastrophic flooding. Ten days before the disaster,…

  By Tom Rogers Editors note: Tom Rogers, of Stowe, works for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont.  Vermont’s increasingly destructive flooding disasters are happening because our rivers are doing exactly what we have spent more than 200 years intentionally designing them to do — rush water off the land as quickly as possible.  As the…

  By Elizabeth Sawin Editor’s note: Elizabeth Sawin, of Hartland, is the founder and director of the Multisolving Institute, a think tank helping implement solutions that protect the climate while improving equity, health, biodiversity, economic vitality and well-being. In the aftermath of the July floods, my home state of Vermont faces a daunting path to recovery. Flooding…

  By Angelo Lynn Like the rain in Vermont these past two weeks, signs of climate change are everywhere. From record heat waves to record rainfall, melting icecaps to Canadian forest fires so extensive the residual smoke from 1,000s of miles away has become a health concern up and down the East Coast. Almost no…

  By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication of the Mountain Times.  As Vermont braces for more rain again later this week, state, municipal and volunteer crews are working miracles to restore devastated downtowns, get commercial and retail buildings cleaned out, and…

  By Bill McKibben Editor’s note: Bill McKibben is an internationally known climate activist and writer who lives in Ripton. In Vermont, the scent of wood smoke on a late fall afternoon is an iconic smell. It’s not like that here today, in the first week of June — it’s more like sitting on the…

  By Richard Rawson Editor’s note: , Ph.D, is a research professor at the UVM Center for Behavior and Health. He lives in Brandon. He also is a professor emeritus in Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In a June 8 commentary, Jim Tomczak poignantly described the impossible situation he faces in caring…

  By Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak  Saving for retirement should be easy, but tens of thousands of Vermont workers lack access to a workplace retirement plan. Many of these workers are not saving a penny for retirement, and this is a major threat to Vermont’s economic future. That’s why I am so excited my new…

  By Anore Horton and John Sayles Editor’s note: Horton and Sayles are executives at Hunger Free Vermont. Hunger is a solvable problem, yet in the federal debt limit deal, one of the negotiated “tradeoffs” is to take food off our neighbors’ tables. People over 50 and under 55 who receive SNAP benefits, known in…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication of the Mountain Times. Gov. Phil Scott’s expected veto of the budget last week, and his more recent veto of a legislative pay raise, struck their mark with the expected outrage by the Democratic-dominated Legislature.…

  By Guy Payne  Editor’s note:  Guy Payne is executive director of SEON (Sustainable Energy Outreach Network). Embodying the New England dream entails not only appreciating the region’s natural beauty, history and culture, but also actively engaging in the community and building a sustainable home. To live the New England dream, you must first build…

  By Veronica Raussin Editor’s note: Veronica Raussin is the community outreach coordinator for Addicted.org. On Memorial Day, millions of American families took  time to honor the memory of those who lost their lives fighting in one of the nation’s wars. It can be challenging for families who recently lost a loved one.  We must…

  By Jim Hurt Editor’s note: Jim Hurt is a resident of Woodstock. Here is the gist of recent recommendations to the Vermont Climate Council calling for the profitable renovation of Vermont’s two wood plants, McNeil and Ryegate, thereby transforming them into negative-emission power and storage stations. These stations will emit very little but remove…

  By John McClaughry Editor’s note: John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute (ethanallen.org). He has served in both the House and Senate.  One interest group fared extraordinarily well during the just-completed legislative session. That’s the interest group comprised of representatives and senators. Unlike other interest groups, who have to lobby legislators…