From the 7/25/2010 Times Argus
By Elizabeth Courtney

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?” 

Others, including author and Vermont Law School professor Gus Speth, encourage us to move in a different direction, where “working life, the natural environment, our communities and the public sector are no longer sacrificed for the sake of mere economic growth.” It’s a point of view that suggests an integrated approach, a jobs and the environment approach. 

And many Vermonters get that concept. 

People and families in communities across the state are changing their lives in ways that result in increased overall wellbeing, as opposed to a single-track economic imperative that eats away at many of the things that define quality of life in Vermont. Individual and community efforts are necessary, but at some point we need motivated leaders who set state policies to ensure that we as a society move in a direction that values both economic and environmental well-being. 

How do we sustain, restore and enrich our natural and cultural resources, while keeping and growing good jobs for Vermonters? That will be the challenge for the Green Mountain state’s citizens and for our next governor and legislative leaders. Here are a few suggestions:



Bust the myth of either/or

In its June 27 editorial, the Burlington Free Press opined that either growing jobs or protecting the environment would require a choice, since the trade-offs leave one side, more often all sides, unhappy. I believe the jobs-versus-the-environment polarized mentality is what, quite frankly, has brought about many of the economic, environmental and social problems of today. The sooner we embrace the reality that the marketplace is an engine that can help restore damaged and deteriorating ecosystems and struggling downtowns, the better off we will all be. We need an informed citizenry that demands services and products from its leaders, and marketplaces that add to the quality of Vermont’s natural and human resources.



Reinvent the economy 

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility took the lead last year in advocating legislation to enable Vermont Benefit Corporations, a new legal entity whose fiduciary duty is redefined by requiring consideration of interests beyond shareholders, including the corporation’s employees and suppliers, the local and state economy, and the environment. The passage of this bill last spring is a great step towards reinventing the economy by hitching jobs and environment together. We need public support for such initiatives to help put Vermont in the forefront of the new economy innovation.



Rebuild the regulatory framework

The backbone of Vermont’s environmental regulatory system is the 40-year-old Act 250. This legendary legislation is ready for an update. A thoughtful regulatory rebuild can help Vermonters address 21st-century environmental, economic and social problems, such as energy and employment insecurity, climate change, deteriorating ecosystems and increasingly limited citizen access to the permitting process. 

Act 250 has served Vermont well over the decades but has always suffered from a lack of connection to a comprehensive land use plan and from inconsistencies with many of the Agency of Natural Resources permitting programs. Citizens continue to have less access to land use cases in an increasingly byzantine court system. And several of the 10 Act 250 criteria need updating, such as higher thermal and electric energy efficiency standards, smart growth criteria and changes in the traffic criteria to include more mobility options for Vermonters who either choose not to or cannot drive. 

Done right, moving beyond polarized thinking, redefining our economic well-being and restructuring the planning and permitting functions of the state, could save Vermonters money while facilitating development that actually improves environmental quality.

Elizabeth Courtney is the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont’s leading statewide environmental organization, and served on Act 250’s Environmental Board from 1985 to 1994. She can be reached at ecourtney@vnrc.org; see also www.vnrc.org.