In a few decades it is possible that vanilla, real non-synthetic vanilla, might be gone, or at least extremely rare.
I found myself in a climate change conversation with an engineer recently.
For those of us still toiling to bring awareness to the same systemic problems, it is notable that Donella Meadows and her colleagues were struck by the same curse we still wrestle with, the Cassandra Dilemma.
Despite the recent rises in oil and propane prices, my wife and I are not paying more to heat our home this winter. That is because we use cold-climate heat pumps.
It pains me a bit to say, massive tree-planting campaigns are under assault as a climate tool, and that the assault seems to have some real merit.
I felt sick watching the sun rise above the mountains: the hazy orange light, the smell of barbecue, the dry rasp in my throat. I had experienced this all before, out on the West Coast.
In Vermont, most of us accept that climate change is real, has profound impacts on our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren, and should force us to change our daily practices.
My wife Judy and I have been growing organic vegetables commercially since 1981 and our daughter Pauline is in the process of taking over the operation in Shoreham.
