Bill McKibben’s 350.org is almost a household word now and this Saturday the 24th is International Day of Climate Action… and here’s the dope:

… It looks like the International Day of Climate Action this Saturday October 24th will be the single most widespread day of political action the planet has ever seen–we’re closing in on 170 nations, and more than 4,000 rallies and events. There’s something happening near you–if you’re not sure what, this link will let you find out quickly and easily: .

People in all those cities and towns all around the world will be saying the same thing: science tells us that we can’t have more than 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere if we want a planet like the one we were born onto. That sounds complicated, but it isn’t–350 is the bottom line for the earth.

Across Vermont, there are dozens of fantastic events that will happen. Early in the day, the Vermont Natural Resources Council is partnering with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and NRG Systems and National Wildlife Federation for a Town Hall meeting-esque discussion with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and local grassroots activists. In attendance will be many members of grassroots “Town Energy Committees” from across the state – the local citizens on the ground who are actually bringing down our collective carbon footprint one town at a time. Sound like fun?

Wish you could make it? Well you can, because the event will be webcast at vnrc.org. Join us at 10AM this Saturday to take part in the conversation through the stream and by emailing your questions to Senator Sanders and the panel at climateaction@vnrc.org. We can’t guarantee we’ll get to all the questions, but we’ll do what we can. Or, if you want to be there in person, call VNRC at 802-223-2328. Spread the word and thanks for doing your part to combat global climate change.

(These things are great.  Keep them coming. – promoted by JulieWaters)

Here’s an invitation to GMD readers to check out the Vermont Natural Resources Council’s Dispatch from the Statehouse for February 20th, 2008. This is the latest in our weekly vlog series of reports on the progress of environmental legislation under the Golden Dome, and this week’s dispatch includes guest cameos from Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and Progressive Representative Sarah Edwards. Be sure to stop by vnrc.org each week for another installment of Dispatches from the Statehouse.

Thanks! (Video runtime is 3:51)

(I’ve been pushing VNRC to post here for a while – hopefully other nonprofits will follow suit… – promoted by odum)

Crossposted from the Vermont Natural Resources Council website

A large-scale commercial bottled water operation is being proposed in central Vermont.

The Montpelier Spring Water Company has, in recent weeks, approached the East Montpelier selectboard and the Montpelier City Council for general statements of approval and right-of-way permissions for the project.

Landowner Daniel Antonovich and project manager Steve Kerr (who is the former secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture) want to capture water from a spring off North Street in East Montpelier and, using a pipeline they hope to build, transport the water to an industrial park in neighboring Montpelier. There they would bottle the water and send it out on trucks.

Vermont must be careful about putting its groundwater up for sale.

For several years, VNRC, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Water 1st! and others have been sounding the alarm over corporate commodification, privatization and potential depletion of groundwater, one of Vermont’s most important natural resources. Big withdrawals of groundwater threaten neighbors’ wells (more than half of Vermonters get their home drinking water from groundwater) and also endanger nearby streams and ponds that are fed by groundwater.

Vermont lags far behind many states, including neighboring New Hampshire, in protecting its groundwater and until Vermont has a groundwater protection program in place, Vermont is a sitting duck, vulnerable to big water withdrawals, like the one proposed in central Vermont.

VNRC sits on a governor-appointed task force studying the groundwater issue. By January of 2008, the task force will make recommendations to the Legislature for consideration in crafting a groundwater protection program. This timeline, however, leaves proposals like the water bottling operation in Montpelier moving forward with limited public scrutiny and potentially insufficient analysis of the impact it could have on the resource and community.

So far there aren’t many specifics on this East Montpelier project, but VNRC will continue to ask the questions and evaluate the science on this and similar proposals that could affect this finite and fundamental resource.

Montpelier and the state of Vermont must move forward swiftly and thoughtfully as opportunities to commercialize, bottle and sell the state’s water unfold. In an increasingly thirsty world, communities have a lot to lose with lack of foresight and caution on how the state’s fresh water resources are used.

Read the Times Argus story about the recent meeting at Montpelier City Hall here:

http://www.timesargu…

For more information about VNRC’s work to protect groundwater in Vermont or to get involved, contact Water Program Director Jon Groveman at 802-223-2328 ext. 119 or jgroveman@vnrc.org