February 5, 1999
Middlebury College To Host the “Justin
Brande Symposium on Vermont’s Energy Future” on Feb. 19-21
Middlebury College will host a state-wide
energy conference timed to coincide with the 1999 Vermont legislature’s
debate over utility deregulation. The Feb. 19-21 symposium, titled
the “Justin Brande Symposium on Vermont’s Energy Future,”
will offer lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and films on
utility restructuring as well as simple lifestyle changes that
Vermonters can make in order to consume less energy. Brian Craik,
advisor to the Cree Indians of Quebec, will deliver the keynote
speech—“The Far Reaching Effects of Flicking Your Switch”—at
1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Mead Chapel. The symposium is
open to the public.
The three-day event will be educational
for a general audience and provide a constructive forum for different
sides of the energy debate. Speakers at the conference will include
writers, elected officials, administrators, activists, and industry
leaders. Participants range from Chris Dutton,
president of Green Mountain Power, and Dean Corren, Vermont state
representative, to Steve Crowley, president of the Vermont chapter
of the Sierra Club.
Student organizer Matt Sommerville said, “We
are very pleased with the wide range of speakers representing
all sides of the discussion on our state’s energy sources. People
who attend the symposium will have the opportunity to hear talks
as diverse as “Why Closing Vermont Yankee Makes Cents”
and “The Role of Utilities: Past, Present and Future”
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The conference has been named in honor
of an important figure in Vermont’s conservation history. Justin
Brande, who lives in Middlebury, helped to found Vermont Natural
Resources Council (VNRC) and is a former board member of the Otter
Creek Audubon Society.
A Middlebury College student organization,
Environmental Quality, is the symposium’s sponsor. The Vermont-based
environmental advocacy organization, Project Laundry List, joined
with the students to plan the symposium. Additional collaborators
are Otter Creek Audubon Society, the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra
Club, Free the Planet!, New England Nuclear Pollution Coalition,
VNRC, and the Peace and Justice Center.
The registration fee is $10 for adults.
All students, as well as Middlebury College faculty and staff,
may register for free. Interested participants are encouraged
to register prior to the event. For registration information,
contact student organizers Matt Sommerville at 802-443-4515 or
Josh Onion at 802-443-4301.
Continental breakfast will be provided on Feb. 20-21.
On Feb. 20, lunch will also be provided for all attendees. Those
attending the symposium should bring a cup or mug. Vegetarian
fare will be provided at all of the meals.
Childcare will be provided on Feb.
20-21 by members of Youth Audubon! from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in Mitchell
Green Lounge in McCullough Student Center on Old Chapel Road off
Route 30.
Donations are encouraged and will go
toward meeting the cost of the conference. Remaining donations
go to Project Laundry List.
Schedule of Events:
All events on Friday, Feb. 19 will
take place in Twilight Hall on College Street (Route 125).
On Feb. 20-21, registration, meals,
and selected workshops will take place in Gifford Hall on Hepburn
Road off College Street (Route 125). Most remaining events will
take place in Mead Chapel on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route
125), with the exception of the concert, which will take place
in Ross Lounge (in the Ross dormitory) on College Street (Route
125).
Friday, Feb. 19
On the Middlebury College campus at
Twilight Hall, College Street.
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Registration.
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
James Higgins, board member of the New England Coalition for Energy
Efficiency and the Environment (NECE3); and John Clark,
coordinator for the Vermont Consumers’ Coalition for Energy Responsibility
(VCCER), “Hydro-Quebec’s Effect on the Innu.
7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Films: “Cree Hunters of Mistassini” and “POWER.”
Saturday, Feb. 20
On the Middlebury College campus. Registration,
meals, and selected workshops are in Gifford Hall; all other events,
except the concert, are in Mead Chapel. The concert is in Ross
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8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Registration and continental breakfast.
9 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Welcome
and introduction: Alexander Lee, coordinator of Project Laundry
List. Moderator: Seth Gibson, board member of the Otter Creek
Audubon Society.
9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Michael C. Daley, executive director of the New England Nuclear
Pollution Coalition, Inc., “Why Closing Vermont Yankee
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9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Panel: “The Role of Utilities: Past, Present and Future.”
- Chris Dutton, president of Green
Mountain Power.
- Jenny Carter, of the Vermont Public
Interest Research Group (VPIRG).
10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Morning break.
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Panel: “Vermont’s Energy Future.”
- Senator Elizabeth Ready, (D-Addison).
- Senator Ben Ptashnik, (D-Windsor).
- Dean Corren, Vermont state representative
from Burlington.
12p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch and films: “Cree Hunters
of Mistassini” and “POWER” (second showing).
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Keynote Speaker: Brian Craik, Grand Council of the Crees (of Quebec),
“The Far Reaching Effects of Flicking Your Switch.”
2:40 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Dedication: Justin Brande.
- Abbott Fenn, director emeritus of
the Otter Creek Audubon Society.
3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Afternoon tea.
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Panel: “Energy Alternatives: Sun, Wind, and Negawatts.”
- Jim Schley, editor of Chelsea Green
Publishing, Inc.
- John O’Connor, author.
- Lawrence Mott, president of New World
Power Company.
4:30 p.m. - 5p.m.
Summary session of the day: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
- Steve Crowley, president of the Vermont
Chapter of the Sierra Club.
8:30 p.m.
Concert: The Organic Groove Farmers, a bluegrass band, in Ross
Lounge, Ross Dormitory.
Sunday, Feb. 21
On the Middlebury College campus. Registration,
meals, and selected workshops are in Gifford Hall; all other events
are in Mead Chapel.
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Continental breakfast.
9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Welcome and introduction: Alexander Lee, coordinator of Project
Laundry List, “Why We Are Hanging Out.” Moderator:
Seth Gibson, board member of the Otter Creek Audubon Society.
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Two workshops:
- I. Steve Crowley, president of the
Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, “Strategizing Session.”
- II. Hilton Dier, systems designer
for Solar Works, Inc., “The Nuts and Bolts of Solar Energy.”
10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
Three workshops:
- I. Debbie Katz, of the Citizens’
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- II. Will Everitt, of the Massachusetts
Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG), “Energized
Energy Organizing of College and High School Campuses.”
- III. Lea Terhune, of Member Services,
Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, “Transportation.”
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Reports from workshops.
12 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
Summary and closing by Alexander Lee, coordinator of Project Laundry
List.