A lot has changed since 1998, when Vermont last adopted a Comprehensive
Energy Plan. Now, that plan is being upgraded. We’ll talk to Senator
Virginia Lyons, the Chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee,
and Elizabeth Miller, Commissioner of the Department of Public Service,
who are both closely involved with the development of the new energy
plan, about goals and strategies that are being discussed. Several of
the biggest issues that will come into play: greenhouse gas emissions,
transportation and land use, and renewable energy.
Also on the program, more in depth data from the 2010 U.S. Census is
being released on a state-by-state basis over these first few months of
2011. When Vermont’s figures came out late last month, we looked at
shifts in population in the Green Mountain State. Now, Valley News
political editor John Gregg analyzes the newly-released numbers for New
Hampshire.
And we hear from Iraq’s ambassador to the United States, Samir
Sumaida’ie. Ambassador Sumaida’ie is in Vermont speaking to Vermont
National Guard soldiers who served in Iraq and to state lawmakers about
the challenges in post-transition Iraq. We hear an excerpt from his
Monday evening speech to an audience for the Vermont Council on World
Affairs.