How can Vermont prepare itself to thrive in times of upheaval? What lessons can we learn from the new book Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back?

The Agency of Natural Resources announced Thursday that it's shutting down the Moretown Landfill. The decision to deny the operator's application for continued operation comes after hundreds of odor complaints were filed in the last year and a half. ANR says Moretown Landfill tried to control odor problems but was unsuccessful in reducing the number of complaints.

A new report from The Wilderness Society looks a range of different renewable energy sources that we might use in New England and details the impacts and consequences of each.

Walking on eggshells

Lawmakers reconvene for the second half of the legislative session on Tuesday. And, despite budget woes and federal cuts, some of them are hoping to stay focused on a goal set at the beginning of the session: fighting climate change and promoting energy efficiency at the same time.

A small non-profit group called Rich Earth Institute is researching ways to safely use recycled human urine as a fertilizer.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant did a good job last year in protecting public health and safety. The nuclear agency released its annual assessment report on Thursday.

A House committee will hold a hearing next week on a bill that calls for new protections for the shorelines of lakes and ponds, including buffer zones for new development to prevent polluting run-off. But some property owners are concerned that the bill would infringe on their property rights.

For a wild and wondrous birding adventure, Ted Levin says to grab your binoculars and jacket - and head for Boston.

Along with Town Meeting debates over school budgets and tax rates, some two dozen towns tackled oil companies and the global issue of climate change.

On this Town Meeting Day, voters in one Addison County town have reiterated their strong opposition to a proposed natural gas pipeline, hoping to boost their voice as the Vermont Gas Company seeks permission from the state to expand its service south.

Award-winning plants.

Vermont Gas has changed the route of the proposed extension of its natural gas pipeline through Addison County. The company filed a petition last year for a state permit to build a 42-mile pipeline from Colchester to Middlebury.

The state is looking to cut water pollution that reaches Lake Champlain by imposing new regulations on farms and by enforcing phosphorus limits on a sewage treatment plant in Waterbury.

Owl calls

When the grey clouds are looming and icicles hang down from the eaves, it's nice to have a green plant on your windowsill. We'll learn how to grow salad greens indoors, and how to keep your potted plants thriving.

Crows can recognize faces...

A Shaftsbury-based waste hauler has won state approval for a commercial composting operation in Bennington. Trevor Mance, the owner of TAM Waste Management, says the Act 250 permit granted last week was the last regulatory hurdle for the project.  

Senators have removed a proposed moratorium from legislation regulating large-scale wind projects. But the bill would now require that wind developments be judged under the full criteria of Act 250. Both sides of the wind debate are disappointed in the latest version.

Henry Homeyer is going to consider the environment and other factors this week when he chooses cut flowers for his loved one - and ignore tradition.

The common house finch.

The head of a regional oil pipeline company says he's looking for new projects, including using the line to carry controversial tar sands oil across northern New England. The Legislature is reviewing the pipeline issue amid national protests against a project that would carry tar sands oil from western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Ski resorts can have the most luxurious lodges, the fastest lifts and most exciting terrain. But if they don't have snow in the winter, none of that matters much.

This weekend, start counting!

Hundreds of Vermont schools were closed Friday as a winter storm blanketed the state with snow.