The following is a list of commentaries by VNRC Executive Director Elizabeth Courtney that have appeared in the Rutland Herald/Barre-Montpelier Times Argus Weekly Planet column, which focuses on environmental issues.

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The Either/Or Myth of Jobs and the Environment   July 25, 2010
Our economic crisis lingers, and environmental and social disasters continue to occur – from urban runoff to tritium leaks and from underemployment to childhood hunger.  In these times many Vermont leaders are tempted to pit one worry against the other, with the refrain, "Do we want to grow good jobs or protect the environment?"...

Letting a Crisis Go to Waste?   June 13, 2010
There is certainly a lot to worry about these days. The catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico — which is devastating the livelihoods of thousands, drowning wildlife in oil and irrevocably ravaging ecosystems — is the most recent and deeply disturbing of our nation's worrisome events.... 

An Environmental Foundation for Sustainable Economic Prosperity   March 14, 2010
Last week, in honor of the 25^th Anniversary of her inauguration as Governor of the State of Vermont, Madeleine Kunin and the University of Vermont held a symposium on the role of government. I was asked to participate on a panel discussing whether and how economic prosperity and environmental quality can coexist in Vermont.... 

Why Risk Our Economy for Vermont Yankee?   January 25, 2010
The Vermont seal of quality carries with it a cachet that few other states can claim. Over the years we've done a great job leading the country on issues that affect the common good, such as land stewardship, energy efficiency and environmental conservation.... 

Vermont Fails to Meet Its Own Carbon Reduction Goals   December 13, 2009
Today is the sixth day of the Copenhagen Climate Summit. This summit follows decades of scientists' climate change warnings dating well before 1989, when Bill McKibben chronicled the implications of rising atmospheric carbon levels in his book "The End of Nature...." 

A Vermont Staycation   August 9, 2009
This summer my husband and I are treating ourselves to a stay-in-Vermont vacation in the Green Mountain state. Our decision to "staycation" was pretty easy, given the uncertain economy, climate change considerations and energy costs discouraging much travel, a daughter in college and a gorgeous Vermont town and countryside at our doorstep....

Getting There  June 28, 2009
Question: If you had to go from your home in, let’s say, Williamstown, 20 miles to Randolph for a dentist appointment — without your car — how would you get there?  Of course, the challenge here in this very rural state is the without-your-car part....

The Value of Building Consensus  May 17, 2009
As we look back over the 2009 legislative session, we witness a familiar pattern of behavior in Montpelier – one that reflects the inevitable, excruciating endgame in a highly competitive, high-stakes contest to create the laws of the land in Vermont.  What happens under the gold dome has been called sausage-making at worst and, at best, messy democracy in action....

The Great Transition?  April 12, 2009
Last month I read with interest a New York Times commentary by Thomas Friedman where he reflected on the economic crisis: “What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model that we’ve created over the past 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall – when Mother Nature and the market both said: ‘No more’....” 

What's Your Watershed Address?  Mar 9, 2009
Most folks who live in Vermont have a Lake Champlain watershed address, as waterways in 11 of the state's 14 counties drain into the big lake. Many people who visit Vermont are drawn here because of this stunning natural resource....

Beware of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy  January 26, 2009 

In an editorial I wrote recently, I cautioned about the temptation we have in economic hard times to make shortsighted policy decisions that risk sacrificing our core values over the long haul....

A Wal-Mart Déjà-Vu?  December 2008

I’ve been in the environmental field for some 35 years now.  And sometimes I have to laugh (or cry) when I realize that an issue we’re currently working on is the same or similar to one that we’ve struggled with years earlier.... 

Ethic Makes for Bright Path Ahead  December 21, 2008
At this time of year, when the landscape is going to rest in the dark of winter, we tend to reflect. We give thanks, celebrate the bounty of summer and resolve to take certain actions in the coming New Year....

Vermont, Let's Get Serious About Climate Change  October 2008
October 2008 marks the first anniversary of the release of the Vermont Governor’s Climate Change Commission’s much heralded report. At that time, the six-member commission summarized its findings and those of its 31 member plenary group with these words: “The time for debate over the realities of global climate change is over...."

Is Vermont Crafting an Energy Plan for Success?  September 1, 2008
 These are challenging times, marked by skyrocketing fuel costs, surging food prices and a planet increasingly threatened by the brutal vagaries of climate change. Vermont, and the world, must employ the best tools possible to meet these challenges....