Articles by: Michael Shank

VTDIGGER 06/13/21 By Michael Shank This commentary is by Michael Shank of Brandon, communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. There’s been a lot of postponing on the climate front of late. Some postponing has been […]

RUTLAND HERALD 06/12/21 TIMES ARGUS 06/12/21 There’s been a lot of postponing on the climate front of late. Some postponing has been understandable: The annual United Nations-facilitated climate talks, for example — known as the Conference of Parties, or COPs — were postponed because of COVID travel concerns and will […]

REUTERS 06/09/21 By Michael Shank After years of delays in acting, it’s now time for a radical ramp-up in emissions reductions goals There’s been a lot of postponing on the climate front of late. Some postponing has been understandable: The annual United Nations-facilitated climate talks, for example – known as […]

RUTLAND HERALD 04/21/21 TIMES ARGUS 04/21/21 By Michael Shank I want to critique an oft-repeated proposition in Brandon — and throughout Vermont — that you can deal with a grievance by simply “talking with your neighbor.” To be clear, I support sitting down with anyone and, in diplomacy work, believe […]

RUTLAND HERALD 04/13/21 By Keith Whitcomb Jr.  BRANDON — There won’t be a noise ordinance in town, at least not anytime soon, after a 4-1 rejection voted by the Select Board on Monday. For the past several months, the town has debated whether to draft a noise ordinance. Two public […]

RUTLAND HERALD 04/13/21 TIMES ARGUS 04/13/21 By Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke President Joe Biden’s long-awaited American Jobs Plan has finally arrived, weighing in at $2.3 trillion in spending over 8 years. In today’s dollars, this is almost five times the new funding provided in President Obama’s 2009 […]

NEWSWEEK 4/12/21 By Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke President Joe Biden’s long-awaited American Jobs Plan has finally arrived, clocking in at $2.3 trillion in spending over eight years. In today’s dollars, this is almost 5 times the new funding provided in President Obama’s 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment […]

THE HILL 04/09/21 By Michael Shank Everyone in America deserves the right to clean air, clean water and clean environments in which to live. Achieving these basic human rights for all of us would be a major milestone in building an environmentally just and equitable society — and unfortunately, we’re […]

RUTLAND HERALD 03/29/21 By Keith Whitcomb Jr. Staff Writer  BRANDON — Some in town see a noise ordinance as a case of the government overstepping its bounds, meanwhile others think not regulating decibels makes Brandon a hard place to live. The Select Board hosted two public listening forums on March […]

RUTLAND HERALD 09/27/21 TIMES ARGUS 09/27/21 By Michael Shank A local zoning administrator once told me — when I served as chairman of the Brandon Planning Commission — that Vermont was the “Wild West” when it came to rules and regs. He’s not wrong. I’ve witnessed this in the lax […]