Category: environment

Way to Go! sparks carbon reduction

Posted on May 14, 2012 |

• Addison County
• energy
• environment
• events

By Andrew Stein

ADDISON COUNTY — The eighth annual Way to Go! commuter challenge kicked off on Monday morning, as people around the state headed to work on foot, by bike and by bus.

The weeklong event, which this year runs from May 14 through 18, invites participation from individuals, schools and businesses, offering awards to those who conserve the most. Last year, the city of Vergennes and the Goodrich Corp.’s Vergennes office both won recognition.

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Law bans popular fertilizers: No more 'P' on Vermont lawns

Posted on April 23, 2012 |

• Vermont
• environment
• Featured
• fertilizers
• Lake Champlain
• legislature
• phosphorus

By Andrew Stein

VERMONT — When Gene Nolette, owner of Leicester-based Gene’s Property Management, went to buy the popular fertilizer mix “10-10-10” for lawn application this month, he was surprised to find that he wasn’t able to.

The fertilizer, aptly labeled for its three main nutrients, is comprised of 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium. But a Legislative act passed in 2011, which took effect Jan. 1, has outlawed the application of phosphorus fertilizers on lawns, with a few exceptions.

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Milfoil problem still growing in Dunmore

Posted on February 27, 2012 |

• Leicester
• environment
• invasive species
• Milfoil

By Christian Woodard

LEICESTER/SALISBURY — When the last ice melts off, the annual battle for Lake Dunmore will begin again. On one side: an army of volunteers, paid divers and milfoil specialists. On the other: an underwater invasive plant called Eurasian watermilfoil.

The population of milfoil in Lake Dunmore and Fern Lake has grown tenfold since 2009, and is expected to double again this season, according to Jay Michaels, a trustee of the Lake Dunmore and Fern Lake Association (LDFLA)

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McKibben: Expect more storms

Posted on February 13, 2012 |

• Vermont
• Bill McKibben
• environment

By Dave Gram

MONTPELIER (AP) — With Vermont still working to recover from Tropical Storm Irene’s torrential rains and flooding, environmental activist and writer Bill McKibben went before a panel of state lawmakers on Tuesday to say the storm was at least partly the product of climate change and a likely harbinger of a troubled future.

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