THE HILL 07/31/20 By Michael Shank The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now needs bipartisan Senate support, is the bellwether for what’s possible in tackling systemic racism in America. The bill, which targets racial discrimination and excessive use of […]
BRANDON REPORTER 07/29/20 By Lee J. Kahrs BRANDON — The Town of Brandon now has the strongest animal control ordinance it has ever had, and supporters are hoping it’s enough to prevent troubling animal welfare cases in the future. The Brandon Select Board on Monday unanimously approved the updated ordinance, […]
SENTIENT MEDIA 07/17/20 By Clair Hamlett Money makes the world go round, as the saying goes, but follow its flow and you’ll often end up at the door of a company responsible for causing and accelerating planetary-scale destruction. In March this year, a report by NGOs revealed that 35 banks […]
RUTLAND HERALD 06/02/20 By Keith Whitcomb Jr. BRANDON — A local man who organized an environmental film contest for local students is now hosting a writing competition, also with cash prizes. Michael Shank, communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, adjunct faculty member at New York University Center for […]
RUTLAND HERALD 06/30/20 By Keith Whitcomb, Jr. BRANDON — Several months after more than 100 animals were removed from a property on Kimball Road, the town is working on updating and improving its animal control ordinances. Last week, the Select Board started talking about the new draft ordinance that would […]
Drafted by Dr. Michael Shank The Need for a Center on Climate Conflict Climate conflict and climate security are quickly becoming dominant themes in national and international discourse and policymaking circles given climate change’s ability, via its corresponding and worsening extreme weather, to destroy infrastructure and livelihoods, destabilize and displace […]
RUTLAND HERALD 06/25/20 By Patrick McArdle Green Mountain Power kicked off a program Wednesday that will allow customers to donate solar credits to small businesses recovering from the loss of income caused by the pandemic. It joins an enhanced rebate program as ways to decrease fossil fuel use in responsible […]
DHAARA 06/2020 By Debopriya Bhattacharya In the words of Dr. Michael Shank, “the arts are an emotionally powerful and transformative medium; using them must be done strategically and systematically” (‘Redefining the Movement: Art Activism’, Michael Shank). Art, can hence, be understood as an audio, visual or audio-visual medium that can […]
THE HILL 06/17/20 By Michael Shank It’s time for a global divestment campaign against the factory farming industry. It has now proved itself to be as harmful to human health as the fossil fuel industry. While air pollution is prematurely killing 7 million humans annually — for which fossil fuels, […]
VTDIGGER 06/16/20 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank, of Brandon, who is adjunct faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. It’s time for a global divestment campaign against the factory farming industry, which has now proved itself to be as harmful to human […]