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(11/19/15 3:49am)
The U.S. Department of Energy recently released their final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concerning the construction of the New England Clean Power Link, an electric transmission line that would carry power from hydroelectric and wind sources in Canada, under Lake Champlain and into New England for consumption. This transmission line will deliver 1,000 megawatts of power to the region, which is in need of new and renewable energy sources.
While running a massive electric cable under Lake Champlain seems like it may have detrimental environmental impacts, the EIS proved otherwise. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard worked together to create the EIS and have not raised environmental concerns with the project. Receiving this approval serves as the presidential permit necessary to begin an infrastructure project crossing the Canadian border.
Numerous environmental advocates were involved in assuring that the environemntal impact of the cables was minimal. As a result of these negotiations, the developer TDI New England will pay a total of $720 million over the next 40 years to various environmental groups working to improve the health of Lake Champlain. Groups receiving funds include the Clean Water Fund, the newly created Lake Champlain Enhancement and Restoration Trust Fund and the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund.
The New England Clean Power Link is just one of many cables proposed to bring Canadian hydropower into New England through under Lake Champlain. Other proposals are the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), the Northern Pass transmission project in New Hampshire and the Green Line.
The CHPE has already received its presidential permit. This 1,000-megawatt cable was proposed by TDI-NE’s affiliate Transmission Developers, Inc. The Northern Pass Transmission Project, a 1,200-megawatt cable, has not been approved due to public discontent. The Department of Energy is currently waiting to receive the Environmental Impact Statement.
The CHPE cable has many of the same anticipated environmental impacts as the other cables, New England Clean Power Link and the Green Line.
Mike Winslow, a scientist at The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC), which works to protect Lake Champlain and keep it accessible to the public, told The Campus that the environmental effects of such cables are negligible as long as some basic principles are followed.
“We determined that the environmental impacts were somewhat minimal. There will be sediment disturbance during the installation of the cable, though that’s expected to remediate itself in a very short period of time,” Winslow said.
Water temperature is another concern to consider, since even a minimal rise in water temperature can affect the aquatic ecosystem.
“The cable will likely increase water temperatures slightly in the areas immediately around the cable but, that’s going to be very deep in the water and will dissipate quite quickly,” Winslow said.
“There is the potential of electromagnetic fields affecting the fish migration, but that’s more of a theoretical problem, and we weren’t able to find any evidence that it could actually exist or that it would have significant consequences,” Winslow continued.
The Lake Champlain Committee has attended public hearings about the CHPE and submitted comments about the EIS in order reduce the environmental impact. They mainly wanted the CHPE cable to avoid wetlands and the company to establish a fund for the mitigation of environmental impacts.
“One other issue we’re concerned about is whether it would be going through wetlands, and we requested of the folks installing it that they try to avoid wetlands and they did that in their routing procedures,” Winslow said.
To address environmental problems that may arise in the future, LCC requested that the CHPE also set up an environmental mitigation fund for Lake Champlain. The CHPE complied, and has now arranged for a $117 million fund entitled the Hudson River and Lake Champlain Habitat Enhancement, Restoration, and Research/Habitat Improvement Project Trust. According to Winslow, this fund is a “big deal” and “will be helpful to mitigate whatever effects there are” from the transmission line.
These cables are just a few of the many energy options that New England and New York are facing in light of energy shortages. According to the Boston Globe, there are at least eight other proposed sources of energy – including natural gas pipelines or electric cables – that will be considered in the coming years.
“We looked at the cable, we compared it to alternative means of delivering that same energy and it’s much less environmentally damaging that those,” Winslow said. Many residents in the Lake Champlain region worried that a natural gas pipeline would cause damage to the environment, and Winslow believes that these electric transmission cables are relatively risk-free in comparison.
While the cables will be passing through Lake Champlain and Vermont, the impetus for these electric transmission lines comes from farther south. Massachusetts’ legislation requiring more renewable energy and other sources of electricity powering down have created a need for more energy and more clean energy in southern New England.
According to Ed Krapels, CEO of Anbaric, the transmission development company, Massachusetts requires a certain amount of power to come from renewable sources, and gives special priority to wind.
“Our renewable targets require us to access a substantial amount of wind, and so our project was expressly designed to meet that requirement,” Krapels said of the Vermont Green Line, one of the many proposed transmission lines.
“And if Massachusetts utilities don’t meet the requirement they have to pay very heavy penalties,” he continued.
New England has seen the closure of several power sources, and will see more close their doors soon. In December of 2014, Vermont Yankee, a nuclear power plant in southern Vermont, shut down. Vermont Yankee had previously been supplying energy to parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is also slated to close by June 2019. Throughout New England in general, many old coal-powered plants have been shut down, as they cannot afford to update the plants to new, cleaner emissions standards.
Given the current emphasis on transitioning to renewable energy sources, and the closure of other sources of electricity, New England is in a need of some sort of energy solution. Transmission lines from hydroelectric and wind power sources in Canada and northern New England seem to be the answer to New England’s uncertain energy future.
(11/05/15 3:46am)
At the end of September, the Burlington Police Department formally severed ties with a Department of Defense program responsible for transfering excess military gear to United States police departments. The department returned two pairs of night vision goggles, the only two pieces of equipment they had received, and Police Chief Brandon del Pozo announced that the department would not accept more equipment in the future.
“The militarization of local police departments is a genuine concern in our nation,” del Pozo said in a press release. Despite policing the largest urban area in the state, the Burlington Police Force was among the least involved departments in the redistribution program.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger supported the decision, which he believes “cements the Burlington Police Department’s long-standing practice of avoiding the use of military equipment, in contrast to many other police departments. Our focus instead is on the basics of good policing in the 21st century: foot patrols, strong relationships between the officers and the community, and the use of modern tools to increase public transparency and police effectiveness.”
Although military equipment could be essential in rare emergency situations, Weinberger and del Pozo opted to rely on the Vermont National Guard and the Vermont State Police in such a situation.
“Collectively, in the state, we have all the equipment to handle all but the most inconceivable situations, and it’s all on call,” del Pozo said in an interview with WCAX News. “Secondly, as a matter of our track record, we have not used this equipment to the extent that justifies having it, that justifies a relationship that people point to as the militarization of police departments.”
Although unprecedented in Vermont, Burlington’s change in policy reflected just one reaction to the nation-wide militarization of police. The issue that has been at the forefront of a controversial public debate since the militarized response to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting of Michael Brown.
“I think Ferguson was one of the real things that brought attention to this. If you are a hammer, then everything you see is a nail,” del Pozo said in the same interview with WCAX. “I think that’s the worry about military equipment in the hands of local police.”
The program responsible for equipment transfers is known as Defense Department Program 1033. Established in 1997, the program was intended to support the war on drugs, and later to aid in the fight against terrorism.
Since its inception, the program has distributed an estimated five billion dollars worth of equipment to police departments in the United States.
The program has delivered 610 Mine-Resistant Armored Trucks (MRAPs) around the country, as well as surplus night-vision goggles, scopes, body armor, and weapons, such as AK-15s and M-16s.
In the Spring of 2014, Vermont recieved it’s first and only MRAP. The vehicle, which weighs 40,000 pounds, stands ten feet tall, and is capable of deflecting roadside bombs, is currently housed in the National Guard’s armory in Windsor. After careful consideration, state police chose to remove the machine gun turret from the top of the vehicle.
According to an online database compiled by the news agency Seven Days Vermont, Addison County has received seven items of military gear through the program, including five M-14 Rifles and two M-16 Rifles. The Middlebury Police department has two of the M-14 variants.
Neighboring Orange County has received far more: 66 items in total, including two Humvees, a thermal sight, two industrial trailers, four M-14 Rifles and a variety of other accessories and training aids.
Critics of the redistribution programs argue that the presence of these military vehicles, guns and accessories is more likely to escalate violence than curb it.
“Amassing a worst-case scenario arsenal of military equipment results in officers seeing everyday police work through a military lens,” del Pozo said. “When I realized what a small role the military played in equipping our police, I concluded it was better to return the items and let our 1033 program memorandum of understanding expire.”
“There are times when military style equipment is essential for public safety, but they are very rare,” he explained.
Del Pozo admitted that the decision was largely symbolic, considering how little the department had actually received through the program, but that the department wanted to “make a statement.”
Not everyone in Vermont agreed with del Pozo’s decision. Critics have claimed that during natural disasters, or other crises, such equipment would be crucial for the safety of residents and officers.
In 2014, State Police Director Tom L’Esperance said that Vermont’s mine-resistant armored truck “... will help troopers get close to and help defuse a dangerous situation without exposing them to life-threatening danger. It’s a great piece of equipment,” he said, “however we hope we never need it.”
In fact, the MRAP was used during a murder investigation in February.
If purchased outright, mine-resistant vehicle normally costs around 500,000 dollars. Vermont’s MRAP cost just 8,000 dollars, or roughly the cost of transporting it from its military base. Vermont acquired a similar Bearcat vehicle in 2011. Both vehicles had to be repainted and customized for police use.
At the time, the acquisition made some Vermont residents nervous. In an interview with WCAX, former Marine Corps Col. Stephen Pomeroy said that, “From a former military guy’s point of view, it looks like an awful lot like the state police (are) escalating their firepower capabilities against a threat I don’t perceive to exist.”
Supporters of the program, on the other hand, claim that the program could be utilized for non-lethal support, at subsidized prices. According to the Congressional Research Service, the program offers a variety of law enforcement tools, such as “handcuffs, riot shields, holsters, binoculars and digital cameras.”
As a leader in this national dialogue, President Obama has pushed for revamping a ‘community-based’ model of policing. In May, when he visited Camden, New Jersey, he lauded their approach as a “symbol of promise for the nation.”
“It takes a special kind of courage to run towards danger,” he said in a speech, referring to police officers. “To be a person that residents turn to when they are most desperate. When you match courage with compassion – with care and understanding of the community like we’ve seen here in Camden – some really outstanding things can begin to happen.”
Obama contrasted Camden’s police with a militarized force: “We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like there’s an occupying force,” he said, “as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them.”
Between 1990 and 2015, violent crime rates across the United States have declined. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crime dropped 14.5 percent between 2004 and 2013. During this time, equipment transfers from the military have increased, largely due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq winding down.
In August of 2014, in response to unrest in Ferguson, Obama ordered a review of the Defense Department Program 1033. According to a CBS News Report, the goal of the review was to ascertain “whether these programs are appropriate; whether state and local law enforcement are provided with the necessary training and guidance; and whether the federal government is sufficiently auditing the use of equipment obtained through federal programs and funding.”
The review was led by both members of the White House Staff and US agencies, from the National Security Council, Congress, the Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury and Defense.
President Obama eventually decided to keep the program.
(10/22/15 2:53am)
The Fighting Breed: Heroic Horses of the Civil War is a new documentary that premiered in July 2015. It focuses on the immense role that the Morgan Horse played in the Civil War, and is the third part of a six-part documentary that chronicles the roles of the Morgan Horse in American history. The subsequent parts are still in production. The film is directed by Steve Murphy and produced by Douglas Lazarus, a Middlebury resident. Their project team consists of other Morgan horse historians.
The inspiration for this documentary was the creation of “a unique documentary of the story of America told through this breed’s involvement with that history,” according to Lazarus. Morgans have been present in American history since 1789, and are used to this day by farmers, pleasure riders and even in equine therapy.
Because of their unique role in history, Lazarus and his team hope to distribute the movie quite widely as an educational and historical aid that will raise awareness for the breed. The impacts of this breed are innumerable. According to Lazarus, “wherever you look in American history, you find Morgans.”
The film will be screened at the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky with an audience of about 200,000 people. Lazarus hopes to continue this connection throughout each of the six installments of the documentary. Eventually, the team hopes to expand the documentary to an hour-long show to be used by PBS, The History and Learning Channels and other educational TV channels.
Each of the six segments focuses on a different portion of the history of the Morgan Horse: the first on the origin of the breed, the second on how Morgan Horses earned their fame and their involvement in the Pony Express and the Oregon Trail, the third on the horses’ involvement in the Civil War and the importance of the Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, the fourth on the importance of Morgans in the Indian Wars, the fifth on the transition from horses to automobiles and how the Morgans’ influence lived on even as technology advanced, and finally, the sixth on the role of equine therapy for veterans from Vietnam. The last episode also addresses the Morgans’ continuing role in the culture of the United States.
The Morgan Horses’ history actually began in Central Vermont, where Justin Morgan first popularized the breed. Because Morgan did not want the horse but could not sell it due to its small stature, he began to loan the horse to other farmers. The farmers were impressed with the intelligence, strength and adaptability of this horse, so they began to breed him with their mares. Thus, the Morgan Horse was born.
Due to the genetic dominance of Morgan Horses, the breed can be mated with almost any other mare and the offspring will have essentially Morgan characteristics. Morgans were thus irreplaceable to the farmers of Vermont, and breeding Morgans became a thriving business. They were sold to southern farmers, although this trade ended with the beginning of the civil war.
As a result of the importance of the Morgan Horse in the history of Vermont and the United States, there is a museum in downtown Middlebury focused solely on the Morgan Horse called The National Museum of the Morgan Horse. According to the website of the museum, its mission is to educate the public about the Morgan horse, urge for more research into the history of the Morgan and to collect and display artifacts about the Morgan Horse.
Another essential part of the culture of the Morgan Horse in Vermont is the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm. The U.S. government originally created this breeding farm when the population of Morgan Horses was dangerously low due to the number of horses killed in battle.
In subsequent years the farm was turned over to the University of Vermont, and to this day this “line of Morgan Horse is considered one of the best in the world,” according to the farm’s website. Morgan Horse breeding is the second largest agricultural industry in Vermont, and the impact of the Morgan Horse on the Vermont economy is approximately $27 million per year. As these statistics attest, the Morgan Horse has played an integral role in the history of Vermont and the U.S., which Lazarus hopes to celebrate in his documentary. He sums up the Morgan Horse as “a horse that did it all.”