Issue Position: Vermont's Environment

Issue Position

Vermont's environment is our single greatest asset. Our mountains, valleys and streams, clean air and clean water are a good part of the reason we live here and why others want to join us. It is also our single biggest economic driver. Our environment and our economy are inseparable and interdependent. When people talk about balancing the economy and the environment, they are setting up a false choice. A vibrant, forward-looking economy requires that we maintain our farm and forest lands, our mountainsides, streams and community centers.
By focusing development in downtowns we build the vibrant communities in which young people want to live and work. By increasing density for housing we make renting or owning a home affordable for people currently struggling with those costs and we use land far more efficiently than the outmoded system of large lot zoning. When I was previously in the legislature I was an early proponent of the Housing and Conservation Fund which has since conserved thousands of acres of farm and forest land and created hundreds and hundreds of permanently affordable homes. It is a national model and one I intend to support if elected this November.

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