Essex
What does Vermont mean to you?:
A place with a rich and proud history, plenty of forest and water for recreation, and open-minded, generally progressive people. It is also a place under attack by developers out to make a quick buck.
What common values do Vermonters share?:
Most Vermonters care about the environment and maintenance of our dairy and sugaring heritage. There are fewer blindly patriotic people here than elsewhere in the country, but enough to make war a divisive issue, and memorials to the fallen the most common form of public art (rather depressing given all the inventive and creative Vermonters of the past 2.5 centuries).
What challenges and opportunities do we see for our communities and state?:
Global warming and declining fossil fuels will pound Vermonters during the next few decades- we need to adapt. Especially important will be increased public transportation, greater use of rail, greater centralization of villages (less suburban sprawl), increased local agriculture and small businesses. The benefits will be closer, more friendly communities and less stressful lives.
What should our priorities be as we work together to prepare Vermont for the future?:
Vastly expanding public transportation and bike paths; discouraging further suburbanization; creating urban parks and gathering areas to relieve the need to drive into the countryside; finding alternative energy sources; reserving land for market agriculture or family garden plots.
How do your thoughts about Vermont's values, future challenges and priority issues apply to YOUR community?:
Essex Town may be the worst example of a Vermont town on the wrong track. While the Town plan is progressive, it is ignored by Town governance, which is obsessed with promoting development and economic growth at any cost. Farm and forest land is being turned into suburbs and almost no one has a sense of Town history. Residents work and recreate elsewhere.
