Local Analysis

Key Dates for Student Competition Competition announced on September 3, 2019 Submissions accepted until March 1, 2020 Winners announced online on May 1, 2020 Purpose of competition To encourage environmental awareness in the Brandon area To foster Brandon area skills-building in storytelling and environmental filmmaking To support young aspiring filmmakers […]

RUTLAND HERALD 06/15/19 TIMES-ARGUS 06/15/19 This spring, a settlement was reached between the state of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, Vermont’s Toxics Action Center office, and the Brandon-Leicester-Salisbury-Goshen-Pittsford Insect Control District, where I live. While it technically ends a legal dispute over pesticide spraying in Vermont, which originated due to […]

VTDIGGER 05/17/2019 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank, of Brandon, who is the communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. He serves on Brandon’s planning commission and energy committee. Last month, a settlement was reached between the state […]

VTDIGGER 11/28/18 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank, of Brandon, who is the communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. He serves on Brandon’s planning commission and energy committee. Environmentalists have long depended on good data and sound […]

TIMES ARGUS 02/16/18 By Michael Shank and Mary Falcon We don’t need a mega-prison in Vermont. We need a mega-commitment to keeping people out of prison. When Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille proposed building a new $150 million mega-prison in Vermont with taxpayer money — which CoreCivic (formerly the scandal-ridden […]

VTDIGGER 12/10/17 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank, Ph.D., of Brandon, who is the communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. He writes in his personal capacity. Economists love it. Republicans love it. Democrats love it. Big multinational […]

HUFFINGTON POST  5/25/17 By Michael Shank Many Americans don’t know where their trash goes after tossing it. Out of sight, out of mind. They don’t know where their municipal landfill is located or that an incinerator is nearby, ready to burn their waste. That disconnect makes it easy for Americans […]

JOURNAL NEWS 05/22/17 By Michael Shank This year is shaping up to be another “hottest year on record”, as February was the planet’s warmest month ever recorded. These aren’t anomalies. There’s a trend developing. The last few years have been surpassing previous temperature precedents, with 2016 going down as the […]

JOURNAL NEWS 03/21/17 By Michael Shank America has a dangerous addiction to plastic. If recent trends in New York State are any indication, it’s not going away anytime soon, thanks to multi-million-dollar lobbying by the plastics industry. The recent showdown over plastic bag fees in Albany shows the unwillingness of […]

JOURNAL NEWS 02/13/17 By Michael Shank Food and fashion are among the industries contributing to climate change, writer says As climate change becomes more visible, with 2016 as the hottest year ever on record, Peekskill residents, myself included, organized an environmental film series to raise awareness about what we can […]