Living

Living story sections

Dealing Rationally With Environmental Apocalypse

by Lise | Nature

Unless you’ve really been living in deep media seclusion, you probably already know the planet is in big trouble. The planet’s troubles, expressed as record heat waves, epic wildfires, prolonged droughts, biblical rainstorms, and erratic weather patterns, have led to all kinds of disruption here below.  Mother Nature isn’t just angry — she’s in crisis.  Which isn’t surprising since humans have been systematically trying to kill her off pretty much since the dawn of mankind.  Clearly she can’t take it anymore.

But elaborate metaphors aside, I’ve been worrying more than usual about the state of the environment and the decline of the natural realm, from the changing climate to the alarming loss of wildlife around the world.  Although it’s easy to forget these things living in Vermont, we do not live in a bubble.

The World Is Too Much With Us

by RDavis | Nature

When the world is too much with us I turn to the birds. Most of us have been in need of some sort of refuge these past few years and I have found the observation of the bird population to be an activity that has helped to clear my head and get a better perspective on the world.

I am not what might be called a birder. I do not count species and I do not make birding treks to look for rare species. Quite simply, I have put up a suet feeder and a hummingbird feeder in my yard so that I can watch the activity from my deck.

At first I wondered if feeding birds year round was a bad thing for birds. My research has shown me that there are pro’s and con’s but that, overall, birds are not usually harmed by having a handout on a regular basis.

IPCC Interactive Climate Map + New Report

by cgrotke | Nature

Here’s a new interactive climate map from the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:

https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch

They describe it as” A novel tool for flexible spatial and temporal analyses of much of the observed and projected climate change information underpinning the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, including regional synthesis for Climatic Impact-Drivers (CIDs).”

Survey Alert: Have You Eaten Food from Foodworks, Edible Brattleboro, or Retreat Farm? We want to hear from you!

by Stephen Dotson | Food

We’re looking for shoppers (past and present!) and stakeholders from Foodworks, Retreat Farm, and Edible Brattleboro. We’d love to hear your thoughts about visiting these three places. If you’re interested, you can continue the conversation in an interview about your experiences. This is a chance to partner with the collaborative as we create a 5-year vision for an equitable, resilient, food system in Brattleboro. We’re hoping to build a broad coalition and welcome you to join us!

The Delta Variant

by SK-B | Health

I superficially looked at the CDC site, and learned 2 things about delta:

1. CDC sayszz the Delta Variant is one and a half times as contagious as Alpha (which I understand is the first new iteration after original Covid-19. What they mean is that if a person infected with Alpha would (under a particular set of circumstances) infect 2 additional persons; then a person infected with Delta, under the same set of circumstances, would infect 3 people. (Of course a major epidemic management goal would be to get the that number down to .9 or less.).

Wildlife Rescues at WCHS

by cgrotke | Nature

Some news from the Windham County Humane Society:

” Many of us in Windham County know the awesome work done by local wildlife rehabilitator, Patti Smith. Patti has worked for decades with Dr. Ron Svec (WCHS’s newest board member!) of the VT-NH Veterinary Clinic when wildlife needed medical care. When Dr. Svec recently retired, Patti called up the shelter with what she thought was a big ask – would we be willing to allow vets to use our surgery space for wildlife?

The answer was a resounding YES! Former board member and veterinarian Dr. Susan Kelly was also up for the challenge. So when an opossum was injured by a dog, Dr. Kelly gave us a call. Momma possum had four joeys in her pouch. The babies were healthy but mom had a nasty injury 2/3 of the way down her tail. Baby possums need the entire tail because they sometimes hang by their tail. Adults use their tail to gather brush but don’t hang by their tails.

Ocean Clean-Up

by cgrotke | Questions & Answers

Why don’t we task the U.S. Navy with cleaning up the oceans? 

The program is paid for, they have boats and people, and they are out in the oceans of the world all the time.

Okay, so you want some naval defense. Fine. If not 100%, why not 50%, or 10% of their assignment be ocean clean-up?

Only 55.8% In Windham County Are Fully Vaccinated, Says CDC

by cgrotke | Health

According to the CDC’s website, 64.4% of the total population of Windham County has had at least one does of a COVID vaccine.  55.8% are fully vaccinated.

Keep this in mind as we crow about Vermont’s high vaccination rates.  We haven’t hit 70% in Windham County yet. We’re much closer to “half way there” than the “almost 100%” people like to assume.

Brattleboro Senior Meals To Open 5 Days a Week

by KathrynT | Food

Beginning Monday,  August 2nd,the Brattleboro Senior Congregate Meal program will be operating five days a week (Monday – Friday).

Please note that there will be a limited capacity and reservations will be required. To make a reservation please call Cynthia at 802-267-1236. No later than 10 am.

An Open Letter To The Unvaccinated

by RDavis | Health

If you are choosing to not get the COVID vaccine then you need to accept complete responsibility for your behavior. That means acknowledging the fact that you may be responsible for the suffering and death of others. It means that you should make an effort to keep away from other people while you wear a mask. But your selfish behavior has made it clear you will not make the effort to protect others.

American society is putting a lot of effort and money into trying to convince the unvaccinated to get the shot, but those efforts are resulting in less than adequate outcomes. The time has come to give up on the unvaccinated and start punishing them for putting the rest of us in danger.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

by Lise | Health, Nature

It’s an ill wind that blows no good…  Just kidding. As most of us are probably aware, there’s been a lot of smoke in the air recently, although what zephyr it blew in on I have no idea.  We noticed it last night around sunset, and by the time we went to bed, we could see this strange fog enveloping the area, detectable even in the dark.  The trees seemed really distant, we could only see one star, and when a car drove by, there was complete white-out and all the trees disappeared.  Although the National Weather Service forecast was calling it “haze,” it seemed pretty smoky to me.

This morning, it cleared off, but after noon, it rolled back in like gangbusters.  I was surprised to discover that not only can you see the smoke, you can smell and taste it too. I even noticed my eyes burning which is normal if you’re in a smoky environment, but frankly, you just don’t expect to be in a smoky environment as a result of a fire 2500 miles away.  

Cutting to the chase, it’s worth noting that for this afternoon at least, out air quality puts us in an Orange zone as indicated on the EPA air quality web page; this means “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.  If you cross the river to NH or drive over to NY, the adjacent areas there are Red zones — which is simply “unheathy air.” You can see the regions highlighted on the map at the link below.

Brattleboro VFW Breakfast/Lunch Info. Public Welcome to All Meals

by LisaL | Food

Breakfast at the Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road every Wednesday and Saturday from 6 am – 10 am. Public welcome for our meals!
Breakfast menu includes homemade pancakes, corned beef hash, eggs cooked to order, home fries, bacon, sausage and more. Wednesday’s have breakfast specials, and Wednesday July 28th will be a waffle with strawberries for $5.50. To-go’s are welcome by calling 802-257-0438. Attached is our Saturday menu with pricing, which is slightly different than the Wednesday menu. Come in, socialize, have a chat while drinking a coffee, relax. We don’t care. Just come in and be civil.

The Eve Of Destruction

by RDavis | Activism

It is helpful to step back every once in awhile and try to look at the big picture. What we see when we look at the human species and the planet is not pretty.
Living organisms are programmed for survival. But the great paradox is that so many human activities are geared toward destruction. One of the most glaring example has to do with climate change.

There have always been naturalists and conservationists among us. I would consider them people who understand that our behavior has an effect on all other living matter around us. Their voices have been small and not very loud over the ages, yet they possess the knowledge that all of us need to help preserve the natural world that we live in. Humans have never given science the respect it is due and that attitude is proving destructive to everything we interact with.

In the 21st century it is not enough for there to be naturalists pointing the way because humans have become so arrogant and selfish that the only way they will move to change their behavior is if it effects their pocketbook or their selfish way of life.

Minority Rules in Government and COVID

by RDavis | Health

It’s bad enough that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his band of idol-worshipping Trumpies are controlling much of what goes on in congress, but many of their supporters around the country are also in control of the course of COVID.

Federal politics has always been less than representative of the will of the people and that kind of imbalance has increased over the last few years. Even though Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate they have great difficulty passing any significant legislation because of issues like the filibuster and the need for 60 votes for bill passage. This situation has all but crippled the body politic and it will continue for the foreseeable future.

That future is starting to look at little grimmer when it comes to COVID in this country. A minority of Americans are determining the course of COVID because of their refusal to get vaccinated. The unvaccinated are not a monolithic group but it seems clear that states that lean Republican and places that have bought into the Trump lies have the lowest vaccination rates.

Brattleboro Celebration Planned for the Resumption of Amtrak Service

by Not Signed In | Travel

The Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced the resumption of Amtrak Service to Vermont beginning on July 19, 2021. A celebration is planned for Monday, July 19 at 12:45pm to be held on the green adjacent to the Connecticut River, across from Whetstone Station restaurant. The festivities are provided by the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) and will include free gelato and a performance by a local band, the Detrani Brothers. The event is free and the public is welcome. An official from Operation Lifesaver of Vermont will be on hand to give a brief talk on train safety, and other local dignitaries will also address those in attendance.