How are the people and landscape of Vermont changing, and what do we want to preserve?

The People

Much has been made of the "youth flight" from Vermont - the trend of young people leaving the state, and older people moving here in retirement. We examine the reality of youth flight, whether it is a phenomenon that Vermont is experiencing and how our state's experience differs from other regions. Significant imbalances in a state's population can have significant repercussions for the kind of services the state needs to provide, and the available workforce to keep Vermont's economy strong. Click here to post your thoughts about this topic.

The Land

Vermonters have prided themselves on forward-thinking attitudes toward rehabilitating and protecting the natural environment of the state. But a quick tally of Vermont's most significant environmental laws finds one searching the history books: Act 250, the Bottle Bill, the Billboard law and Green Up are all innovations of long ago. The Legislature this year did make ground water a public trust, but has Vermont been resting on its environmental laurels? We examine the big environmental challenges that the state could take on - curbing global warming, developing a local food economy, and protecting farmland and forests from fragmentation.

Guests:

• Pat Parenteau, professor at Vermont Law School, expert in environmental policy and former commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

• Andrew Meyer, Vermont Soy Farm, former policy aid to Senator Jim Jeffords for agricultural issues