What is it about climate change that elicits such a panic in us? Perhaps it is the unrelating force of nature? The overwhelming sense of powerlessness we feel when storms, wind, fire, and water encroach upon our lives. In the face of such (un)natural disasters, maybe we clutch to whatever agency we can muster? Or, could it be that the prospect of our grandchildren not experiencing the same planet we did terrifies us. It could be a bit of both, or a whole host of other reasons.

The House Corrections and Institutions Committee took up water quality on Wednesday, hearing from Eric Blatt (Director of Engineering, Water Investment Division). Chairwoman Emmons noted that Appropriations usually includes 1:5 matching funds for the revolving loan fund as well as a state match for clean water and drinking water grants.

Wow, it has been a year, hasn't it?

Between major federal costly government initiatives, the delta wave, workforce shortages, historic inflation, and supply chain nightmares I think it is safe to say we are all exhausted. And that was just the last six months. It almost seems like 2020 never ended, it just continued right on through 2021 and will end... who knows?

At the state level we are not immune to the national headwinds, we feel all of those developments here as well. In fact, we have a few of our own to add to the list: our waterways continue to degrade while our attempts to eliminate point-source pollution fail to find meaningful success, we have spent another year debating pension reform after the deficit in our pension obligations grew by $1B in 2020, affordable housing is impossible to find, emergency measures to connect rural Vermonters to broadband internet have ended long ago but the need is still painfully apparent, and our state college system is still in financial crisis and needs transformation into a vibrant educational ecosystem.