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 […]
VTDIGGER 03/26/21 MOUNTAIN TIMES 04/01/21 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. A local zoning administrator once told me — when I served as chair […]
THE HILL 03/19/21 By Michael Shank Undoing former President Donald Trump’s legacy of environmental damage and degradation — and his administration’s many regulatory rollbacks — has been high on President Joe Biden’s 100 days to-do list. The impressive lineup of environmental leaders appointed across energy, transportation, environment and interior departments […]
RUTLAND HERALD 03/12/21 By Keith Whitcomb Jr. Staff Writer BRANDON — Citing a belief in term limits and differences of viewpoint from that of town leadership, the chairman of the Planning Commission resigned last week. Michael Shank sent his resignation letter to the Select Board on March 3. At Monday’s […]
FAST COMPANY 03/09/21 By Michael Shank Now that Tom Vilsack is back at the helm at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for his second stint as secretary, receiving Senate confirmation last month, he’s been promoting conservation and a new bank to convince farmers to support climate action by paying […]
Conflict Resolution after the Pandemic Building Peace, Pursuing Justice Edited By Richard E. Rubenstein, Solon Simmons 2021 Book Description In this edited volume, experts on conflict resolution examine the impact of the crises triggered by the coronavirus and official responses to it. The pandemic has clearly exacerbated existing social and […]
RUTLAND HERALD 02/27/21 TIMES ARGUS 02/27/21 By Michael Shank Since receiving President Joe Biden’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack has indicated he’s newly committed to a USDA that prioritizes sustainable, regenerative and climate-resilient agriculture. It’s a welcomed shift from previous stints as USDA secretary under […]