Follow the science. Follow the facts. Change the world.
I have great news for anyone feeling helpless in the face of the current environmental crisis. In just a few hours, you can learn how simple everyday decisions can have huge and escalating effects on the health and well-being of the planet. I recommend Extinction is possible by eating our way, CowspiracyAnd SeaspiracyThese films are great choices to start with. These films offer difficult information about our planet’s future and health. They also give insight into how a few individual choices can drastically reduce and even reverse the environmental destruction occurring around the world. Simply by NotYour actions can have a significant impact on your life, whether you do more or less.
These films show that animal agriculture is far more important than transportation and fossil fuels to climate change. They show the unsustainable natures of the seafood, meat, and dairy industries as well as their impacts on water consumption, deforestation and climate change. It is possible that similar documentaries exist about how the meat and seafood industries are better for our environment, but I haven’t found any.
Many people who eat meat are not comfortable or dismissive of the idea of eating plant-based foods. They are often passionate about the reasons they choose to eat meat. The documentaries Forks Over KnivesAnd The Game ChangersThese are great places where you can start to learn more about plant-based eating. They provide compelling arguments, backed up by science, that a plant based diet is beneficial for one’s health and the health of the planet.
This note does not aim to judge anyone’s dietary choices. However, it is about food. If people feel helpless about the state of the world, there are meaningful choices they can make. I am 53 years old and want to leave my children and future generations with hope for a better planet than the one we have left them at current consumption. These shows are great for entertainment and education. Your kids will appreciate you for being part of the solution. It could help you make better choices.
Brendan Hickey
Lebanon
This new school budget is absurd for Croydon students. It is just not enough to provide a positive and valuable learning environment for students. This budget is not sufficient to maintain a public school in operation, and it is not sufficient to pay tuition for other schools.
There are two options that the school board members offered: micro-schools and learning pods. This would allow small groups of students to be monitored by a guide online. This learning method didn’t work as the COVID-19 lockdowns and school closings in 2020 showed. Most students don’t have the ability to learn this way. Those who can do it well don’t enjoy it.
A part of being on a school board is to make decisions that best serve students’ interests. This was obviously not the case. The budget cut and school closure would have a greater impact on students than on the Free Staters. The goal of Free State Projects is to minimize government. Reducing education is just one step in this direction. Today’s students will be the leaders of the country within a few decades. How can we expect them to do this if they aren’t educated or experienced? This issue will eventually affect all people, so everyone should be aware of it. Education is one of our most valuable resources. It should be available to all students in a way that encourages learning and understanding. The school board must do what is best for students and not focus on their own personal gain. Because they failed to do this, another town meeting is being held, which will be centered on the school’s budget.
On Saturday, May 7th, the meeting will take place at Camp Coniston starting at 9 a.m. This unrealistic budget could be modified if 283 Croydon residents (50 percent of registered voters) attend the meeting.
Delia Leslie
Croydon
I am a Croydon resident (16 years old) and a Sunapee Middle High School student (10th grade). Little Red taught me more than academics. I learned how I could be part of a group, formed lasting friendships, and acquired a solid foundation in core subject areas. Croydon was a great place to learn academically, and I chose Sunapee because of that. It has been a crucial part of my learning and development.
Honors English and math classes are my major. I was shy and reserved at first when I started at SMHS. However, the community helped me become a better public speaker. I have participated in debates and public speaking events. I am a varsity athlete and have learned teamwork and dedication. I have volunteered many hours in my community and hope to join National Honor Society next year.
Working online during COVID was difficult. My mental health was affected by being isolated and the sub-standard internet in Croydon. Although I had a structure to my day, it was difficult for me to make decisions about when and how to complete my schoolwork. Online learning and micro-schools would not provide me with the right education.
I am one of the faces of Croydon’s future. I beg you to support me and allow me to continue to thrive so I can become a responsible member of the community in the future. Please vote on May 7, at Camp Coniston at 9 a.m.
Grace Prunier
Croydon
It was fascinating to see that Rep. Becca White, D-Windsor-4-2, is running on an affordable housing platform after she had lost her house to foreclosure. But that is a completely separate issue from what she is trying to address.
Becca is only a little older than me, and she is nine years younger than my oldest granddaughter. This issue can be addressed in a variety of ways that no politician wants to discuss.
Here are a few.
Eliminate all current usage. This has not saved any family farms, and has been turned into a scam by millionaire sugaring operations and land owners out-of-state.
Second, tax professionals are based on the actual cost of real estate and not on what a person with a calculator thinks it is worth. The working class of Vermont cannot compete with West Coast and out-of-state dollars. Stop letting ineffective members on our Supreme Court legislate off the bench. Let the Legislature do its job.
Third, remove all restrictions from the land that is suitable for building. There is too much of this in Vermont. It must stop. You own property but don’t want it developed. The situation ends when you decide to sell it. With these land grabs, the federal and state governments, as well as the land trusts/nature conservancies, have lost control. This must stop.
You will see land prices and housing prices rise in Vermont if you stop wasting tax dollars on this issue. Simple and straightforward. We will see the true value of an acre in Vermont if everyone pays the same taxes.
A Florida family with a lot of money buys Pomfret farm for $6.2 million. The $900,000. tax is paid on the $900,000. I bought my house for $80,000, and am now taxed off $250,000. Anyone with half of a brain can see this issue. They do not. I work for a living. I live here, they don’t. Their land is currently in use and posted for no trespassing. Mine is not.
Douglas J. Tuthill
West Hartford
Anyone who has walked the greenway that used to be Hanover golf course north of Dartmouth Outing Cub or along Route 10 may have noticed excavators, construction activity, or deconstruction activity. Officials from the college removed the high bridge that connected two sections of the decommissioned golf courses. To reach the other side, Walkers will need to descend into Pine Park’s wooded section, then follow the Girl Brook stream bed.
The college also has been busy at the north end Rope Ferry Road. There, they have removed asphalt and prepared ground to allow for a new entrance into Pine Park. Some of these areas overlap with former fairways.
In fact, the Hanover Country Club’s demise has led to the expansion and renewal of Pine Park, the 100-acre wooded woodland that is Hanover’s oldest conserved land. It is a central park that has been loved by students, joggers as well as hikers and skiers for decades.
Plans are in progress for a more welcoming entrance to the park and a wider, more gradual pathway leading into the woods, so that elderly residents, children, and the disabled can access this beautiful preserve more easily.
Pine Park is part of the nonprofit Pine Park Association. This association was founded in 1905 to save riverside forest from the axe of Diamond Match Company. It does not belong either to Dartmouth College nor the Town of Hanover. However, both have generously contributed to its management over the years. However, funds for its preservation and maintenance have not been guaranteed.
The association must increase its efforts to ensure the park’s survival. This is a task made more urgent by the fact that hundreds of pines, some of the oldest and tallest in the state, were effected by disease several years ago.
The park’s capital improvements, which are estimated at $300,000. Trustees of the park feel that the Upper Valley community values the natural asset and ask residents to contribute to the Pine Park Association to ensure its resilience and health. Please visit pinepark.orgYou can find a link to PayPal at. Send a donation to The Pine Park Association PO Box 406, Hanover, NH 03755.
Kathryn Stearns
Hanover
The writer is a Pine Park Association trustee.
