Emma Cotton
-
Useful beetles are back in Vermont
In Vermont, 45 species of lady beetles have been identified, including 36 native species, but 12 have been missing from the state since the 1970s.
-
Scott vetoes Act 250 update
Phil Scott has vetoed a bill that would have updated Act 250, Vermont’s broad land use and development law, over concerns that it would impede efforts to alleviate…
-
Gov. Scott vetoes climate change bill
Gov. Phil Scott on Friday vetoed the clean heat standard, which is widely viewed as the largest climate change bill of the session.
-
Changes would limit lawsuits against farms
Legislators in the state’s Senate Committee on Agriculture are discussing a bill that would limit the types of nuisance suits property owners can bring against farms.
-
Pay farmers not to pollute the waterways
Vermont farmers who are working to reduce phosphorus pollution from their fields into local water bodies will soon be eligible for a new kind of compensation.
-
Horizon Organic to stay a little longer
Horizon Organic, which plans to stop taking milk from Northeast producers, has announced it will extend contracts by six months, giving farmers more time to find new markets.
-
Vt. is getting millions for water infrastructure
Vermont will receive $63 million in the 2022 fiscal year from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for water infrastructure, the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced Dec. 2.
-
What Horizon’s exit means for Vt. farmers
The Hescocks, who milk 325 cows at their Shoreham farm, have been producing for Horizon since 1999. It’s been about a month since they received the letter, and…
-
Middlebury College solar farm hits a snag
MIDDLEBURY — A Burlington-based solar development company has worked for more than a year to gain approval for a large-scale solar array on farmland owned by Middlebury College,…
-
Clippings by Emma Cotton: Truths are found through listening
I appreciate journalism as an occupation because it provides an opportunity to dive into perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have a reason to understand. Sources open the door and…
-
What do Act 64 regulations mean for Addison County farmers?
This is Part III in a three-part series. Alongside pressures like falling milk prices and increasing production costs, farmers are charged with the financial, physical and emotional task of remediating…
-
The Giving Stream: A Three-Part Series by Emma Cotton
About this series: Week 1 (Sept. 5) — The Otter Creek, Vermont’s longest river, runs through the state’s most heavily cultivated land, and thereby contributes more non-point source…
-
The Clean Water Act sets goals for Otter Creek, but is it enough?
This is Part II in a three-part series. Vermont’s Clean Water Act (2015) has established regulatory and incentive-driven programs to address the web of nuanced water quality issues…
-
When does a river qualify as impaired?
ADDISON COUNTY — At 7:15 a.m. on May 1, a member of the Addison County River Watch Collaborative stretched a long pole with a plastic cylinder into the…
-
The Otter Creek’s legacy is commerce — and pollution
This is Part I in a three-part series. The Otter Creek, Vermont’s longest river, runs through the state’s most heavily cultivated land, and thereby contributes more non-point source…
-
Phosphorus is the key to algae bloom explosion
VERMONT — Phosphorus, an element on the periodic table like iron and gold, is an essential part of all living beings. It’s part of the structure of DNA…