Contact:

Johanna Miller, Energy Program Director and VECAN Coordinator

Vermont Natural Resources Council/Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network

Phone: 802-223-2328 ext 112

Email: jmiller@vnrc.org • Web site: www.vnrc.org or www.vecan.net

Energy Opportunities, Urgency Focus of December 3 Conference
“Community Energy and Climate Action Conference” to Draw Hundreds

Montpelier — Many Vermonters and Vermont communities are wrestling with difficult questions regarding how they will meet their energy needs. The annual “Community Energy and Climate Action Conference” is designed to help them answer those questions. Organized by the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network and UVM Extension, the day offers a great blend of access to expertise and resources on promising energy programs as well as opportunity for deep dialogue on some of more difficult challenging issues.

The issues on the docket for dialogue are many, and this year’s conference is particularly timely.

With the winter heating season upon us and energy prices rising, what are some strategies to help people reduce their energy bills? With a new state ‘comprehensive energy plan’ coming down the pipe, what’s in it, what’s the plan for its implementation and why does it matter to Vermont communities? With painful schisms erupting around renewable energy proposals, how can Vermonters address people’s concerns, overcome obstacles and bring much-needed renewable generation online?

This day is intended to help answer these and many other important questions, in part from overviews of particularly relevant state efforts by Department of Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller as well as Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz.

The conference is geared largely to the growing network of town energy committees and has drawn more than 250 community energy organizers the past two years, but is open to anyone interested. The agenda includes:

14 workshops overviewing some of the most timely, promising opportunities for energy efficiency and renewables.
An overview of the state’s new Comprehensive Energy Plan by DPS Commissioner Elizabeth Miller and of the Vermont Climate Cabinet from ANR Secretary Deb Markowitz.
Roundtable discussions intended to facilitate a deeper dialogue on hot issues like the Smart Grid, wind, biomass and more.
A provocative keynote by Vermont actor, activist and ‘creative roustabout’ Kathryn Blume.
Leadership awards for a deserving energy committee member, energy committee and innovative project.
Unparalleled opportunity for networking and information sharing.
A delicious lunch.

“This conference is all about getting involved in shaping Vermont’s energy future,” said conference co-organizer Johanna Miller, Energy Program Director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “It’s truly a ‘can’t miss’ event for anyone interested in learning how to help friends and neighbors save energy dollars, transition to renewables and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“There are many environmental conferences, but this one actually teaches you something, without fail, to take back home to your energy committee and community and really use,” said Paul Fixx of Hardwick’s energy committee.

The conference is held at the Lake Morey Inn, Fairlee, VT, this Saturday, Dec. 3 from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Find out all the details — including carpooling options — and register today at http://www.regonline.com/2011Energy. The registration is $30, which includes a full lunch and morning refreshments. For more information, contact: Jessie Schmidt, UVM Extension at: 866-860-1382 extension 203 or Email: jessica.a.schmidt@uvm.edu.

About the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network
The Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network (VECAN) is a network of organizations (Community Climate Action, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Sustainable Energy Resource Group, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and Vermont Natural Resources Council) whose mission is to start, support and strengthen town energy committees and their work to help their communities reduce energy costs and climate impacts through conservation, increased energy efficiency and conversion to renewable generation.

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September 22, 2011

Contact: Brian Shupe or Elizabeth Courtney, 802-223-2328

VNRC to Name Brian Shupe Executive Director

Elizabeth Courtney to Take on VNRC’s Legacy Project

Waitsfield — Brian Shupe was named the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council during VNRC’s annual meeting at the Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield on Thursday.

Shupe, of Waitsfield, steps into the position that is being vacated by Elizabeth Courtney who is taking on another role at VNRC.

Shupe, who has served most recently as VNRC’s Deputy Director and Sustainable Communities Program Director, has 25 years of professional planning experience. Since moving to Vermont in 1988, he has served as executive director of the Mad River Valley Planning District, director of planning and zoning for the town of Stowe, and as program director at Smart Growth Vermont. He also was a partner with Burnt Rock Inc., Associates in Community Planning, a consulting firm.

“I am humbled and honored to take over as the new executive director,” said Shupe. He credited Courtney for her years of work on behalf of Vermont’s natural resources, communities, and VNRC itself.

“Elizabeth has been for many years Vermont’s environmental conscience,” Shupe said. “She has played that role with grace, civility, and deep determination for over two decades,” he said.

Courtney will not be leaving VNRC. She will be heading up the year-long Legacy Project, which will culminate next summer when VNRC celebrates its 50th year. The Legacy Project includes a focused fundraising campaign to assure that VNRC remains on strong fiscal ground for the next 50 years, and beyond. Courtney also, along with Board Member Eric Zencey and VNRC Advisor, Bill McKibben will be writing a book, Toward a Sustainable State, 50 years of the Environmental Movement in Vermont.

Courtney had high praise for Shupe and the staff at VNRC. “VNRC would not be the trusted and respected organization it is today without this incredible staff. It has been an honor to serve with these dedicated and talented individuals,” said Courtney.

The Vermont Natural Resources Council is an independent, nonprofit, research, education, and advocacy organization founded in 1963 to protect Vermont’s environment, economy, and quality of life. Nearly 6,000 households, businesses and organizations have joined VNRC in support of our mission to establish an approach to development that strengthens communities, enhances economic opportunity, and protects Vermont’s irreplaceable natural resources.

Biographical Information

Brian Shupe

Brian has 25 years of professional planning experience. Since moving to Vermont in 1988, he has served as Executive Director of the Mad River Valley Planning District and Director of Planning and Zoning for the Town of Stowe.

For nearly ten years he was a partner with Burnt Rock Inc., Associates in Community Planning. Burnt Rock provided an extensive range of technical services to local governments, state and regional agencies, non-profit organizations and citizen groups. Brian came to VNRC from Smart Growth Vermont, where he served as Director of Programs. In that capacity he was instrumental in the enactment of Vermont’s growth centers legislation and launching the organization’s community planning assistance program.

Throughout his career, Brian’s professional focus has been natural resource protection, growth management and sustainable development. Brian received an M.S. in Urban & Regional Planning from Florida State University. He lives in Waitsfield with his wife, Valerie, where he is involved with several community organizations

Elizabeth Courtney

Elizabeth has been Executive Director of VNRC since 1997.

She is a licensed landscape architect who received her Master of Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Elizabeth served as a Trustee of the Vermont Law School from 1995 to 2004.

She was a member of the Vermont Environmental Board from 1985 to 1994 and was its Chair from 1991-1994. During her nine years on the Board, she participated in many precedent-setting decisions on key Act 250 cases.

In 1995, Elizabeth was awarded a Loeb Fellowship in Advanced Environmental Studies at Harvard University and used the fellowship to conduct research at the Kennedy School of Government.

Elizabeth recently served as one of six members of the Governor’s Climate Change Commission.

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A bill that is pending in the Vermont Legislature would finally allow citizens a voice in environmental enforcement actions for violations that damage the state’s natural resources.

Under current law, when a polluter is found to have violated Vermont’s environmental laws, the polluter and the Agency of Natural Resources negotiate – for all practical purposes behind closed doors – just what the penalties should be.

Vermont government has a long tradition of open doors, not closed doors. A bill pending in the legislature, H.258, would allow citizens with a stake in the outcome to have a chance to weigh in on these environmental enforcement agreements before they are finalized. The bill would not give citizens the right to force higher, or even lower penalties, but it would allow them be able to say their piece before the deal is done.

Today, if ANR finds that a manufacturing facility, for example, has illegally discharged a harmful chemical into a river, that business and ANR negotiate a penalty finalized by a court without any input from the public. Vermont citizens –maybe the residents who routinely swim or go fishing just downstream from the discharge, for instance – have no way to comment on the deal before it’s finalized. Unless they check the ANR website daily, they would never know a settlement has been reached. Or that the complaint that they lodged was even investigated.

Under the pending bill, impacted citizens would have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed sanctions.

Vermonters have a long history of open government. People trust an open government, and trust is critical for a strong democracy. This legislation continues Vermont’s good government tradition in the environmental enforcement arena. It builds trust between our citizens and our regulators by increasing communication among all parties. It sends a message to Vermonters that enforcing our environmental laws in an open, fair and appropriate manner is important.

We at the Vermont Natural Resources Council have a long-standing commitment to robust enforcement of our environmental regulations. In fact, in 2007, VNRC undertook the first ever evaluation of enforcement of the Agency of Natural Resources stormwater construction permit program. We visited almost 70 construction sites all over Vermont to assess how this water quality protection program was working. We documented numerous cases of non-compliance with permit requirements (almost all of the sites were in violation of this one particular permit) in this program – which is designed to keep pollution from washing into Vermont’s lakes and streams – and issued a report outlining our findings. To its credit, ANR is purported to have stepped up oversight, in part because of VNRC’s report and advocacy by VNRC and other conservation groups.

The environmental enforcement legislation under consideration in the State House is narrow in scope and straightforward. And because so few enforcement actions are brought each year, it would have an impact only in a few cases. For example, in 2010 – a typical year – ANR received approximately 1,000 complaints about possible violations of environmental laws. For that same year, ANR took formal action on only approximately 30 of them – the worst of the worst violations.

This modest bill is congruent with Vermont’s conservation ethic. It is congruent with our tradition of open government, and congruent with our eminently marketable Vermont “brand” because a clean and healthy Vermont is a place where people with creative ideas, lots of energy, and financial capital want to be. That’s good for the long-term vibrancy of Vermont. The legislature should pass this bill and the Governor should sign it into law.

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CONTACT:
Elizabeth Courtney
Executive Director
802-223-2328

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Natural Resources Council Executive Director Elizabeth Courtney announced today that VNRC has made several changes to its staff responsibilities and titles.

VNRC’s Sustainable Communities program director Brian Shupe has taken over as deputy director from Steve Holmes, who retired from VNRC at the end of 2010. Shupe has been the director of VNRC’s Sustainable Communities program since joining VNRC in 2008. He will continue to direct that program in addition to serving as deputy director.

Holmes remains under contract with VNRC to manage special projects.

Jamey Fidel, VNRC’s Forest and Biodiversity program director, will become VNRC’s general counsel while continuing to direct forest and wildlife related programs.

Jon Groveman had served as general counsel and water program co-director until January when the Shumlin administration tapped him to serve as the general counsel of the Agency of Natural Resources.

Additional VNRC staff, and their titles include:

• Jake Brown, Government Affairs & Communications
• Kim Greenwood, Water Program Director
• Johanna Miller, Energy Program Director
• Stephanie Mueller, Development Director
• Nina Otter, Membership & Outreach Coordinator
• James Sharp, Office Manager & IT Coordinator

About VNRC

The Vermont Natural Resources Council is an independent, member-based, nonprofit research, education, and advocacy organization founded in 1963 to protect Vermont’s environment, economy, and quality of life.

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Over the past four decades, Vermont has enacted a patchwork of planning and regulatory systems to guide land development while protecting our natural resources. And although the state’s planning and zoning laws, water quality standards, Act 250 and other regulations might be protective, effective and user-friendly in and of themselves, they often work poorly together, costing Vermonters and state government more than we can afford.

There are many of us in Vermont who think it’s time to make some structural adjustments to our permitting process.

A new entity — the Department of Environmental Quality — could be established to hear appeals from Agency of Natural Resources permits and Act 250 land-use and local-zoning decisions.”

It’s been 40 years since Act 250 was passed, and in the years since, many state and federal laws have been put into place. Yet we have never taken the time to step back from these regulatory processes to assess their redundancies and inefficiencies, nor their cumulative effectiveness in protecting natural resources.

As a result, Vermont does not have a “permit process” per se. We have many individual permit processes — and therein lies the problem.

Our permit systems have become more redundant and litigious, requiring legal assistance, stamina and capital. This shuts many Vermonters out of the process. There are inefficiencies, issues of fairness and access, and unnecessary time and expense to all participants, including applicants.

The 1970s and the 1980s were the years when most of our environmental regulations and planning laws were passed. This era of intense legislative action was a response to rampant growth and pollution. Climate change and energy security were hardly on the radar screen and were barely part of our vocabulary until the 1990s.

Today we have a very different set of economic and environmental concerns that arise from the effects of climate change and the transition into a new energy future. Energy conservation and efficiency, increased transportation options for Vermonters, affordable housing, smarter land-use patterns that concentrate growth in town centers and leave working landscapes for the production of food and fuel — all could help Vermont flourish in the 21st century.

There is a broad cross-section of lawmakers, interested groups and individuals who have worked during the past year to build consensus on an approach to aligning the various permitting processes that is comprehensive and addresses a changing Vermont. Last year this idea was drafted into two bills sponsored by the chairs of the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources and House and Senate Natural Resources and Energy committees, but failed to progress for lack of time. However, earlier this month, the Senate began discussing a similar version of that legislation.

The basic proposal calls for a consolidation of three state agencies: the Vermont Environmental Court, the Vermont Natural Resources Board and the permitting functions of the Department of Environmental Conservation at the Agency of Natural Resources. This new entity would be called the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). A three- to five-member professional board appointed through a judicial nominating process would be established to hear appeals from Agency of Natural Resources permits and Act 250 land-use and local-zoning decisions.

The proposal also would begin to integrate the myriad local zoning standards and processes with state regulations through better growth-center planning and modifications to the criteria of Act 250 to address today’s land-use and environmental concerns.

We have grave needs resulting from the threats of climate change and energy insecurity, economic contraction and a shortage of affordable housing. Yet these demands bring with them unique opportunities to rethink Vermont’s permitting infrastructure and criteria.

This proposal would save Vermonters money and better protect our invaluable natural resources. It would create incentives to develop and redevelop our town centers, streamline cumbersome elements of permitting and result in better outcomes for the economy, the environment and all Vermonters.

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DECEMBER 22, 2010

CONTACT:

ALEXANDRA MACLEAN

Governor-elect Shumlin Announced Patrick Berry to be Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife; Kim Royer to be Deputy Commissioner

Montpelier, Vt., – Governor-elect Shumlin today announced that Patrick Berry will be the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife; Kim Royer will be the Deputy Commissioner.

“Pat Berry is a dedicated hunter and angler and possesses a broad background and expertise in Fish and Wildlife issues,” said Shumlin. “Pat’s skills combined with Kim’s expertise of the department and wildlife biology will make them an amazing team. I thank them both for their service”

Pat worked as a fishing guide for almost 10 years, during which time he undertook graduate work in fisheries and freshwater ecology at the University of Montana in Missoula. His research was funded in part by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and Montana Trout Unlimited. Upon returning to Vermont, Pat worked on a host of Fish and Wildlife issue for the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and gained extensive expertise in relevant legislative and policy issues critical to the Fish and Wildlife Department. Pat will leave his current job as the Director of Governmental Affairs and Environmental Advancement at Vermont Law School. He received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College. Pat made sure that both of his young sons had lifetime Vermont hunting and fishing licenses before they turn a year old, and they have become his favorite fishing partners. As Commissioner, Pat’s salary will be approximately $88,000.

“I’m excited about the great team and I look forward to working with all Vermonters who are interested in continuing our strong tradition of hunting, fishing and protecting our wildlife,” said Secretary-designee Markowitz.

Kim Royar has been a wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife for 29 years. She began her career with the Department as a habitat biologist providing technical assistance to private landowners with the goal of enhancing wildlife habitat on private lands. Since 1991 she has been the furbearer project leader, responsible for the conservation and management of Vermont’s 14 furbearer species. To that end she has worked with trappers to promote humane, safe, and efficient trapping practices. Kim’s other passion has been working with private landowner organizations such as Coverts and Vermont Woodland Owners Association to promote wildlife habitat enhancement, education, and conservation on private lands. In addition, she has participated as part of a team working to manage state owned lands for wildlife and public enjoyment. Kim is committed to the conservation of all wildlife species for future generations of Vermonters. As Deputy Commissioner, Kim’s salary will be approximately $72,000.

“I’m excited about the great team and I look forward to working with all Vermonters who are interested in continuing our strong tradition of hunting, fishing and protecting our wildlife,” said Secretary-designee Markowitz.

Kim Royar has been a wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife for 29 years. She began her career with the Department as a habitat biologist providing technical assistance to private landowners with the goal of enhancing wildlife habitat on private lands. Since 1991 she has been the furbearer project leader, responsible for the conservation and management of Vermont’s 14 furbearer species. To that end she has worked with trappers to promote humane, safe, and efficient trapping practices. Kim’s other passion has been working with private landowner organizations such as Coverts and Vermont Woodland Owners Association to promote wildlife habitat enhancement, education, and conservation on private lands. In addition, she has participated as part of a team working to manage state owned lands for wildlife and public enjoyment. Kim is committed to the conservation of all wildlife species for future generations of Vermonters. As Deputy Commissioner, Kim’s salary will be approximately $72,000.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Dec. 22, 2010

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Gov.-elect Peter Shumlin on Wednesday appointed Patrick Berry, Vermont Law School ’s director of Governmental Affairs and Environmental Advancement, to be commissioner of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

Berry is the second VLS employee to be tapped by the Shumlin administration to lead an environmental agency. On Dec. 6, Associate Professor David Mears was named commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.

“Each will contribute immeasurably to the benefit of the people of the state of Vermont,” said VLS Dean Jeff Shields. “Each will be greatly missed by me personally and by the many VLS programs, students, faculty and staff who benefitted from their efforts here.”

Berry led VLS’s fundraising efforts in recent years, reaching out to government agencies, Vermont ’s congressional delegation and foundations with great success. He previously worked in communications and development for Middlebury College and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. He also was a fly-fishing guide in Montana.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department protects the state’s fish and wildlife resources by implementing species management plans, informing and educating the public and performing basic research. The department’s staff oversees administrative activities, including fiscal control, hunting, fishing and trapping license distribution, access development, public affairs and federal aid.

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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service, a Master of Environmental Law and Policy degree and two post-JD degrees, the Master of Laws in Environmental Law and the LLM in American Legal Studies (for international students). The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center and the South Royalton Legal Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.

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Mackay Positive Choice for Long-Term Vitality of Vermont Communities

Montpelier, Vt – (December 15, 2010) The Vermont Natural Resources Council today hailed the appointment of Noelle Mackay to head the Department of Economic, Housing and Community Affairs.

“With the appointment of Noelle Mackay, Governor-elect Peter Shumlin is demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting the economic vitality of Vermont’s downtowns and working lands,” said Brian Shupe, Sustainable Communities Director at VNRC. “Vermont’s landscape sets the state apart from so many other places, but even here sprawling development patterns are eroding Vermont’s brand, and therefore our competitive advantage,” Shupe said. “By appointing Mackay, an expert in ‘smart growth’ planning, Gov-elect Shumlin has demonstrated that he recognizes this problem and is prepared to address it.”

Over the long term, “smart growth” planning will result in giving Vermonters more options besides driving alone in their cars. That will have the effect of insulating them from the ever-rising cost of fuel, and also reducing Vermont’s contribution to climate change. Currently, transportation is responsible for about half of Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions every year.

“Noelle Mackay’s skills and background will serve the long-term interests of Vermont as we continue to confront the economic, energy and climate change challenges of the 21st Century,” Shupe said.

The Vermont Natural Resources Council is a nonprofit research, education and advocacy organization founded in 1963 to protect and restore Vermont’s natural resources and environment for present and future generations through research, education, collaboration, and advocacy. For more information go to www.vnrc.org.

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Vermonters, and many other citizens of this nation, have been justifiably angry about the gridlock in Washington and in state capitols around the country, as this fall’s election results attest.  On the energy issue, for instance, many of us have been deeply disappointed to find that even our favorite elected officials are unable to enact the legislation necessary to move us out of the oil age into a new energy future.

Hermann Scheer, the German parliamentarian who was responsible for the passage in 2000 of the Law for the Priority of Renewable Energies, (also known as an Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources), didn’t call it gridlock. He called it a fight, a structural fight.  And fight he did to pass the law that allows individual Germans far greater opportunity to generate their own renewable energy, giving them new autonomy. The law has revolutionized the way Germany powers itself. Ten years after its passage, according to Scheer, Germany operates 50 percent of the world’s photovoltaics, most of them on the rooftops of homes and businesses.

Scheer saw a structural fight between the status quo tyranny of the oil and coal cartels on the one hand, and the German people on the other, and in that fight he saw democracy itself at risk. Citing the industrial countries’ addiction to fossil fuels, Scheer warned: “Energy dependency endangers democratic constitutions.”

What Vermont has been lacking is a unified voice and a comprehensive plan for how we will create energy security and renewable energy autonomy for the people of the Green Mountain State. For this, we have needed leadership at the top.

But most notably, Scheer, who died suddenly this October, at the age of 64, recognized that the movement must come from the local and regional level, because, as he put it, “it is in fact a revolution that will decentralize power production.”

Decentralizing power production will decentralize the powerful, as it gives power to the people.

Perhaps Vermonters can learn something from Hermann Scheer and the German people. In many ways Vermont’s already caught on. We have over 100 town energy committees up and working on solutions for their energy future. Vermont instituted the nation’s first energy efficiency utility, passed a bill that would allow municipalities to create clean energy assessment districts, so that property owners can borrow at low cost for weatherization and renewable power generation. Vermonters have the country’s first state-wide feed-in-tariff, encouraging small scale renewable energy projects.

But this doesn’t seem to be enough to get us where we need to be. We’ve missed many opportunities to become more energy independent. We’ve nowhere nearly reached our full energy efficiency or conservation potential. There are fierce battles fought for every wind project in Vermont, there is waffling on whether to relicense a crumbling Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and there are challenges to the idea of biomass power production. We’re all over the map.

What Vermont has been lacking is a unified voice and a comprehensive plan for how we will create energy security and renewable energy autonomy for the people of the Green Mountain State. For this, we have needed leadership at the top. Now we have a new governor, ready to craft an energy plan, so let us tell him what we need and help him to lead us to our new energy future.

Please let our new Governor and lawmakers know that Vermont needs: a comprehensive energy plan that outlines a clear commitment to investing in efficiency, conservation and decentralized, home-grown, clean, renewable power production, a strategy to get there and the leadership to deliver.

It might be a fight, perhaps even a structural fight, but surely a fight that we can and must win, if we are to pursue a strategic and efficient solution to our energy future.

All references to comments made by Hermann Scheer in this essay are found in an Amy Goodman interview on Democracy Now, aired on October 15, 2010.

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From Vermont Natural Resources Council
http://www.vnrc.org/

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Contact:
Johanna Miller, Vermont Natural Resources Council and VECAN Coordinator
Phone: 802-223-2328 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              802-223-2328      end_of_the_skype_highlighting • Email: jmiller@vnrc.org • Web site: www.vecan.net

Vermonters to Gather to Shape State’s Energy Future
Annual Conference Is Preeminent Confab of Grassroots Energy Leaders

Montpelier — On December 4, nearly 300 Vermonters are expected to gather at the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee, Vermont for the annual “Community Energy and Climate Action Conference” co-hosted by the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network, UVM Extension, VPIRG and Peak Oil Awareness.

“This conference offers energy-interested Vermonters one of the best opportunities to learn about the most promising programs and policies to support clean energy innovation, as well as an opportunity for strategic dialogue with experts and peers about how to move those programs forward successfully,” noted Johanna Miller, coordinator for the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network, one of the hosts of the conference.

Vermont’s Governor-Elect Peter Shumlin will launch the day, outlining his vision for Vermont’s energy future.

“Vermont can and must be a leader in creating jobs through developing renewable, community based power and implementing the most aggressive energy efficiency programs in the country,” noted Gov-Elect Shumlin in a recent interview. “The imperative for our planet’s future and the success of our economy is to move as swiftly as we know how. I’m looking forward to speaking with Vermonters on December 4 because I know that to accomplish this mission it will require as many Vermonters as we can enlist as foot soldiers in this transformation.”

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will also attend and, prior to the keynote, make a special announcement.

The event keynote is Jared Duval, a 10th generation Vermonter, accomplished climate action leader and author. Duval’s recently published book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change, is already receiving rave reviews.

The day also includes ‘Regional Energy Roundtables’ and over a dozen workshops, such as:
 Local Energy Efforts — A Smorgasbord of Successful Community Projects
 Communities Go Solar!
 Making Alternative Transportation a Reality in Vermont
 The Landscape of State and National Policy
 Energy Planning + The Renewable Energy Atlas = Opportunity
 And many more!

The event is open to the public. The cost for the day is $25. Find out more and register online at – http://www.regonline.com/2010Energy

About the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network
VECAN is a network of organizations working to help start, support and strengthen town energy and climate action committees and their efforts to implement successful community-based initiatives that help advance a sustainable, clean energy future. VECAN support organizations include Community Climate Action, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Sierra Club, Sustainable Energy Resource Group, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

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