It is odd how you can entirely agree with someone on the one hand, and entirely disagree with them on the other.

George Plumb of Vermonters for a Sustainable Population has penned another op ed that seems to be accusing the Vermont Natural Resources Council, the Lake Champlain Committee and the entire “modern day environmental movement” of somehow having abdicated their mission because they do not make “better” the victim of “perfect.”

As an example, he once again cites the VNRC’s 50th anniversary comment which he finds objectionable:

“It is commendable that we’ve found a way to grow our economy while maintaining the health of our environment.”

Plumb quite rightly observes

“…the concept that we can grow forever with finite resources makes no sense.”

I doubt that you will find anyone who has dedicated his or her work to sustainability, who would disagree with that statement; including the environmental organizations he is challenging.

However, there are two components to the discussion which Mr. Plumb seems to ignore.

One is a simple matter of semantics.  

“Growth” has come to mean different things to different actors.  There is, of course, the macro on which Wall Street and the consumer economy is built; a fundamentally flawed model that ultimately is unsustainable.  But “growth” has another significance in the environmental community.

Recognizing how ingrained is society’s acceptance of “growth” as a positive,  Vermont environmentalists have co-opted the term and the aspirations behind it, reshaping them to refer to expansion of sustainable practices and the economic benefit available through their responsible exercise.

And that brings us to another important component of the environmental message, that seems to have escaped Mr. Plumb: the necessity to recruit support in order to effect change.

If groups like the VNRC had taken the perspective that their mission was to arrest development altogether; not only would they have been doomed to complete failure, and remained largely irrelevant in a world overwhelmingly dominated by growth initiatives; they would have seen few recruits to such a radical position and been unable to do much of anything to affect even incremental improvements over the status quo.

Mr. Plumb looks back at the Vermont he remembers from his arrival in the state in the early 1960’s and is understandably dismayed by the losses it has suffered in terms of open space, clean air and water, and the natural world.

It is a tragedy; that can’t be denied.

But to say that environmental groups have failed, and that their message should be all about acknowledging a failure, demonstrates a true disconnect with reality.

Mr. Plumb’s cup may be half-empty, and he may be preparing to leave the table; but Vermont environmentalists must necessarily view the cup as half-full, and their job: to work positively toward a better future.

We have a whole lot of work to do and face tremendous odds.  No one recognizes that more intensely than do I, as I watch my surroundings disappear into the concrete gullet of Walmart.

But forgive me if I am not yet prepared to say we failed.  We make ours a mission to mitigate, to educate and to advocate for meaningful reforms…a slow, thankless job that someone has to do.  

We celebrate whatever and whenever we can because that is how the human spirit goes on.

I do not see any lack of acknowledgement for the overwhelming gravity of our environmental situation from either the VNRC or its sister organizations in Vermont.

And there truly are things to celebrate; like how much better Vermont has done in resisting the scale of development that is practiced throughout the rest of the country.

Sack cloth and ashes may make the wearer feel more worthy, but they do little to cultivate improvement in others.

Perhaps the zero growth model favored by Vermonters for a Sustainable Population works in some alternative universe where there is no opposing force.  I, for one, could probably inhabit that universe in complete contentment.  

Here in latter-day Vermont we must accept the hand we’ve been dealt and do what we can to play it well.

 Riding Shotgun is a story in Seven Days about the recent deer hunting trip reporter Paul Heintz was taken on by Governor Shumlin. Reading it made me wonder just a little – and by that I mean not a lot, but still a little – about his closeness to the politician he covers.  

It all started with an apparent off the cuff manly taunt from the governor about hunting but led fairly quickly to a serious invitation.

Five days later, I was riding shotgun in Shumlin’s Dodge Ram pickup truck along the back roads of East Montpelier. It was three days into rifle season, and the governor had finagled an afternoon off after speaking at a Veteran’s Day ceremony in Burlington.

The uneventful politician/reporter hunting trip during which no deer were taken is related in a friendly, all-in-good-fun manner.  

While sharing a snack with his new hunting partner, Heintz might have been thinking back to the term ‘reporter on the tire swing’ coined back in the ’08 McCain presidential campaign as he wondered:

Oh, shit, I thought, I’ve been co-opted. What would Bob Kinzel say if he could see me now?!

However I’d worry less about Kinzel and more about the possible double meaning of the quip the Governor reportedly made earlier to his team

“I told my team I’d have you gutted out and hung up by 4:30,” Shumlin said.

So who’s fair game now?  

  Riding Shotgun is a story in Seven Days about the recent deer hunting trip reporter Paul Heintz was taken on by Governor Shumlin. Reading it made me wonder just a little and by that I mean not a lot-but still a little about his closeness to the politician he covers.  

It all started with an apparent off the cuff manly taunt about hunting from the governor but led fairly quickly to a serious invitation.

Five days later, I was riding shotgun in Shumlin’s Dodge Ram pickup truck along the back roads of East Montpelier. It was three days into rifle season, and the governor had finagled an afternoon off after speaking at a Veteran’s Day ceremony in Burlington.

The uneventful politician/reporter hunting trip during which no deer were taken is related in a friendly, all-in-good-fun manner.  

While sharing a snack with his new hunting partner Heintz might have been thinking back to the term ‘reporter on the tire swing’ coined back in the ’08 McCain presidential campaign when he wondered

Oh, shit, I thought, I’ve been co-opted. What would Bob Kinzel say if he could see me now?!

  However I’d worry less about what Kinzel might think and more about the possible double meaning of the quip the Governor reportedly made earlier to his team

“I told my team I’d have you gutted out and hung up by 4:30,” Shumlin said.

 

So who’s fair game now ?

Earlier this week, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters announced the hiring of a new CEO. Brian Kelley will be coming to Waterbury from Atlanta, where he’s a top executive at Coca-Cola. It would seem to be a great hire for GMCR, which faces big challenges due to the expiration of key patents on its single-brew coffeemaker. (Wall Street certainly thought so; GMCR stock rose quickly on the news.) Kelley has handled some big chores at Coke, including the development of its “still beverage” line (non-carbonated drinks) and the integration of its North American corporation with its bottling operations, which was considered a big deal. He was due to become CEO of Coca-Cola Refreshments – the current name for Coke’s North American arm – in January.  Instead, he’s up and moving to Waterbury in early December.

Having essentially given two weeks’ notice.

His sudden departure for the wilds of Vermont has prompted a rather ambivalent response from the mothership:

A Coca-Cola spokesman would not comment on whether Kelley’s sudden departure came as a surprise or whether Coca-Cola tried to keep him.

Steve Cahillane, Coca-Cola Refreshments’ current president and CEO, announced Kelley’s departure Monday in a memo to staffers. Cahillane, who soon will lead Coca-Cola Americas, said he had “mixed emotions” about Kelley’s departure and said his contributions were “important to improving our operating effectiveness and efficiencies.”

“Would not comment.” “Mixed emotions.” Huh. That might simply be the corporate self-protective instinct, not wanting to admit that Kelley’s departure is either a loss or a surprise. But, given the circumstances, it might have a deeper meaning as well.

Kelley’s transition seems odd to me in a number of ways. And frankly, I’m surprised that nobody else has asked any questions about the unusual process of his hiring.  

By top-executive standards, it’s awfully quick. Kelley’s hiring was announced on November 19. His start date is December 3. As I said above, that’s basically two weeks’ notice plus Thanksgiving. Which would be normal if you were, say, a cashier at McDonald’s; but executive transitions at major corporations are usually a matter of months, not weeks. Has there ever been such a small amount of time between the announcement of a top-executive hire and the exec’s departure from his current post?

It’s a very unusual career move. Kelley has been a top corporate exec at General Electric, Ford, SIRVA (formerly North American Van Lines), and Coke. He was about to become CEO of Coke’s North American operations; his promotion was announced in September, and would have taken effect in January. He would have headed a workforce of 68,000. GMCR employs less than 6,000. I don’t know how much he would have earned at Coke, but I’d guess it was more than what GMCR can afford to pay.

According to Fortune Magazine, it appears he is no longer considered a future head of the global corporation; that he might have just hit his own personal glass ceiling. That might prompt him to start looking around for greener pastures. But if that’s the case, you’d think he could do better than GMCR.

Out of the La-Z-Boy, into the fire. Kelley leaves one of America’s biggest companies and most established consumer brands for a small firm with an uncertain future. GMCR has grown rapidly because of its exclusive rights to the Keurig single-cup brewing system. Not any more. It’ll have to fight some very big competitors entering its market. Those environmentally-unfriendly plastic cups may well become a commodity item with much lower profit margins. And how many single-cup machines can people buy, anyway?

Maybe Kelley loves a challenge instead of a maintenance job. Maybe he likes to ski, which Atlanta is not known for. But there’s something more going on here.  

 Riding Shotgun is a story in Seven Days about the recent deer hunting trip reporter Paul Heintz was taken on by Governor Shumlin. Reading it made me wonder just a little – and by that I mean not a lot, but still a little – about his closeness to the politician he covers.  

It all started with an apparent off the cuff manly taunt from the governor about hunting but led fairly quickly to a serious invitation.

Five days later, I was riding shotgun in Shumlin’s Dodge Ram pickup truck along the back roads of East Montpelier. It was three days into rifle season, and the governor had finagled an afternoon off after speaking at a Veteran’s Day ceremony in Burlington.

The uneventful politician/reporter hunting trip during which no deer were taken is related in a friendly, all-in-good-fun manner.  

While sharing a snack with his new hunting partner, Heintz might have been thinking back to the term ‘reporter on the tire swing’ coined back in the ’08 McCain presidential campaign as he wondered:

Oh, shit, I thought, I’ve been co-opted. What would Bob Kinzel say if he could see me now?!

However I’d worry less about Kinzel and more about the possible double meaning of the quip the Governor reportedly made earlier to his team

“I told my team I’d have you gutted out and hung up by 4:30,” Shumlin said.

So who’s fair game now?  

Those of you who missed reading the caramelized musings of “Campaign for Vermont’s” Bruce Lisman over the past few months will be pleased to learn that Mr. Lisman has at last emerged from the underbrush.

You can almost imagine him thoughtfully plucking the burrs from his flanks and the twigs from his beard as he considers which way forward.

The ham-handed ways of “Vermonter’s First” may have been a little too outre for his delicate sensibilities; but now that the Vermont GOP is a smoldering ruin, the path lies clear for some lucky fella to breath life into it once again.

Will it be the unimpeachably dull Phil Scott? Or will it be Bruce Lisman himself?

In his newest op-ed, built around the departure of Energizer from the state, Mr. Lisman is clearly at a loss for a cohesive message.

His favorite dog whistle just won’t work for this one, and he knows it.  

Offering grudging praise for Governor Shumlin’s efforts to forstall the company’s departure, he even admits that the “carrot” approach failed to do the trick with Energizer:

It has been reported that Energizer isn’t leaving because of the business climate here. They politely declined relief on electricity costs (among the highest in the nation), or work force training (that has slipped far behind other state’s programs), or economic incentives. And newspapers reported that the governor spoke with Energizer at least twice after their intentions became known. We want our governor to be active with our employers, so that’s good.

He goes on to suggest that the real problem is a lack of outreach by the state businesses beyond its borders.  

I’m sure this is news to the Governor, who undoubtedly prides himself on outreach as he steps into the Chairmanship of the National Governors’ Association.  

Says Lisman:

…no one systematically calls on our largest non-Vermont based employers. No one regularly visits their headquarters; no one builds relationships with key decisions makers about expansion and relocation. We should have a team of people focused on this relationship building activity; individuals who come to understand the company’s needs, what drives their decision making, and how to help when they share their challenges.

So it appears that Mr. Lisman is advocating, in this era of belt-tightening, for creation of yet another layer of bureaucracy, a sales staff devoted solely to massaging  out-of-state employers of Vermont workers.  

Even Mr. Lisman has to admit that this wouldn’t have made one bit of difference to Energizer unless the “massaging” included a guaranteed  workforce of laborers willing to accept third world wages.

Could Mr. Lisman be hinting to the Governor that he might be just the dude to head-up this travelling sales team?  

Or have we finally plumbed the depths of Campaign for Vermont’s idea puddle?

You’ve got to love Ben Cohen’s personal determination to remain rooted in the counter-culture, no matter how globally corporate his namesake, Ben & Jerry’s, has grown to be.

I don’t say this with so much as a drop of sarcasm or irony.   Here’s someone who made good in corporate America; and actually continues to try to do good.  That he has the resources to pursue this end is delightful.  

Mr Cohen is who most of us day-dream believers hoped to be one day, when the world would surely be at peace and our benevolent genius amply rewarded.

Focussing on Mr. Cohen’s latest adventure in grassroots activism, Stamp Stampede, which advocates for a Constitutional amendment remedy to Citizens United, Seven Days Ken Picard offers this overview:

“Some people think that all we need to do is overturn Citizens United and everything will be fine. That’s not true,” Cohen adds. “You overturn Citizens United and you go back to pre-Citizens United, when money was still corrupting politics. So we need to go deeper.” To do so, he contends, requires eliminating the right of corporate personhood altogether.

The idea is to use currency itself as a vehicle to carry the demand for reform.  To that end,  Stamp Stampede is distributing rubber stamps to be applied to paper money, carrying messages like

“Money is not free speech,” “Corporations are not people” and “Not to be used for bribing politicians.” The goal is to get as many people as possible to stamp their paper currency with these messages.

And in conjunction with another group that seeks to reverse the impact of Citizens United, Move to Amend, Mr. Cohn has personally invested $60,000. to take the show on the road.

a rolling, Rube Goldberg-esque contraption he describes as “a piece of traveling kinetic art.” Part sculpture, part political roadside attraction, the Amend-O-Matic is like a food truck, but for money stamping. Mounted on the back of a van, it stamps bills of various denominations with pro-amendment slogans.

The Amend movement is not without its detractors, however.  Representative of the wet-blanket contingent is South Burlington attorney, James Leas:

As Leas points out, hundreds of constitutional amendments have been proposed since the Bill of Rights was ratified 221 years ago but only 17 have been adopted. Pushing for one to end corporate personhood, Leas says, is “a wild goose chase” that will do nothing to get corporate cash out of elections.

Then there is the legal question: does stamping messages on dollar bills constitute defacement, and is it therefore against the law; or is it, too, protected as free speech?

It’s doubtful any action can be taken against Mr. Cohen’s money stamping activities, and if such a thing came to pass, it would only bring more attention to the message of the campaign.

I, for one, think it’s a great idea whose time has come.  As Mr. Cohen points out, a dollar passes through an estimated 1,750 hands in its lifetime, so it is an ideal petition vehicle; a “petition on steroids,” as he puts it.

So what if it won’t be easy winning a constitutional amendment?  It shouldn’t be easy!  And campaigning for such an amendment doesn’t preclude action on other fronts against the impact of the Citizens United decision.  

Bring on the dollar stampers and Ben’s infernal machine!  I’m all for this object lesson in how money “talks.”

The newest threat to family Thanksgiving celebrations makes football look all warm and fuzzy by comparison.

No longer content with midnight line-ups, proponents of the “door-buster” sale have advanced launch time  to 8:00 PM, just in case the family might be tempted to wash some dishes or lie down for a post turkey snooze and accidentally sleep through the night.

It doesn’t take much imagination to guess that before long there will be “pre-dinner door-busters;”  or (even more likely) “pre-game door-busters,” with free turkey dinner giveaways to the first 400 in line.  Pretty soon “Black Friday” will just be a memory and “Black Thursday”  will become the unabashed leader in sales.  

We might then consider moving Thanksgiving closer to the harvest; like the Canadians do in October. Traditional Thanksgiving could then enjoy the uncontested spotlight as the pageant of retail miracles it has come to be.

There still would be the Gold Rush ambiance folks know and love so well on that first official day of Christmas shopping.  People just love to stand in line for hours before making a mad break for the door so that they can spend their ever dwindling cash reserves on electronic junk that will be landfill within a couple of years…tops.

Mind you, I don’t much care how folks choose to spend their Thanksgiving…so long as it is they who are doing the choosing.  

When I was a kid, retail workers could count on one day each week when they knew they would not be called into work.  Somehow, generations of Americans survived Sundays without shopping.  They practiced the lost art of planning ahead and most followed the convention of spending that time with their families.

But we sure loved shopping.  ‘Didn’t do it all that often; but shopping was a form of entertainment whose day was nearing.

We were overjoyed when Sunday became available as a shopping day.  Not only could we drop that planning business, but we had a new excuse to avoid quality time with kith and kin.  

A lot of retail workers weren’t too happy because expanded retail hours meant less time with their own families; but as manufacturing jobs disappeared they had little choice but to gladly accept employment under any terms at all; and that increasingly meant poorer wages and conditions for all.

But we loved shopping and we wanted more, more, more.  Department stores begot shopping centers; which, in time, begot malls.   Those malls begot superstores who smote the department stores and begot supercenters.  

Now, with internet sales poised to shut-down even the supercenters, “door buster” sales are one way to forestall the collapse of bricks and mortar retail.  As usual, it’s the little guy at the bottom of the pay scale who must bear the brunt by pulling a forced all-nighter on the day set aside for thankfulness.

And here we are again, penniless and mortgaged to the hilt; lining up like lemmings to hurl ourselves over our own personal fiscal cliff.

Gramma would have been so proud.

(Another cloud to hover ominously over the holiday table.   – promoted by Sue Prent)

Lost in all the St. Albans hoopla is that the Berlin Mall’s largest anchor tenant is about to metastasize.

…the 65,000-square-foot store is the discount retailer’s smallest in the country. The addition of more than 90,000 square feet will include an expansion into the Berlin Mall, as well as adding on to the current building. The town approved the extension but is waiting to issue a zoning permit until it receives traffic drawings.

Thanksgiving open thread

One portion: The restoration of the wild turkey here in Vermont is thanks to tax dollars and a government run program.

The wild turkeys we see in Vermont today originated from just 31 wild turkeys stocked in Rutland County by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department in 1969 and 1970. Vermont’s forest habitat was once again capable of supporting turkeys. State wildlife biologists moved groups of these birds northward, and today Vermont’s population of turkeys is estimated to be about 50,000.