Vermont - The New Green Mountain State

July 15th, 2009 My Front Porch Charlotte, VT

My front porch provides the perfect place to ponder…

I’ve been giving much thought to our state moniker, “The Green Mountain State”, lately. From my perch on the western flanks of Mount Philo in Charlotte Vermont, I can see across open meadows, farmlands, tree tops all the way to Lake Champlain a distance some 4 miles. This time of year it is clear to see how apropos the Green Mountain state nickname applies. Green is everywhere. Come mid-October, when the leaves fall to the ground and the monochrome of gray returns preceeding the monochrome white of winter, the green in Vermont is all but a distant memory.

Beyond that, I was thinking further about what a maverick little state we have here. To me, our smallness seems to be such an asset in so many ways. Our population someone told me the other day is 1/500th that of the entire country. I really like that I thought. In this small maverick little state tucked far from the “centers of the world” we think in sensible terms. We are resilient. We are creative. We are courteous and polite most the time to one another. We care about our environment and we are fully capable, more than most states, to think outside the proverbial box because we ARE outside the box.

We need more of that “out of the box stuff” now I pondered. More thinking and acting outside the box of the mainstream.

That brings me full circle back to the Green Mountain State thingy I was talking about earlier. This is OUR chance. This is it! We sit nervously on the edge of leadership. Our small, maverick, progressive, creative, resilient little state! 1/500th and all the rest! We need to reshape what we’ve been doing.

THE NEW GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE

It’s who we are and who we need to be going forward. As thoughts swirl and focus like clouds clearing from the Adirondack’s High Peaks after a storm, my thoughts turn into hopes and dreams.

I want my children to live in a state that seeks solutions to achieving a balance between growth and sustainability. There is a difference you know. Endless growth is simply not sustainable. At some level, there must be a correction perhaps even a scolding. This is part of what we are going through right now locally, nationally and globally in my humble opinion.

I just read last week on CNN International that Costa Rica achieved recognition as the “happiest nation on earth” by the New Economics Foundation in England for its efforts to forge a new economy based upon human needs and the environment. Bravo!

But wait a minute. We’re the Green Mountain State I declared!! To me, Vermont is the happiest place on earth. Okay no palm trees. No ocean.

As reality set in, I thought of the impact of our choices so far and how much needs to be done.
We need a serious introspective look at who we are and what we want to be. What do we want to stand for in this fiercely independent, resilient little state? What?

To me, it feels like we need to get off the comfort train and join one another to ponder, to solve, to create hopes in our grass roots, to allow this state to lead this country out of her glutonous and consuming ways.

We need young and old, male and female, artists and lawyers, farmers and business leaders, rural, suburban and city dwellers to shed the skins of judgment and division to come together in a diversity of voices allowing us to reach a new potential that is both sustainable and resilient but emminently hopeful for our children and grandchildren.

Climate change warnings aren’t waiting. We have left precious little padding between the fine line of irreversible damage and what brought us to this moment.

I keep thinking about us - The Green Mountain State! Who could have known what potential new meaning this moniker would hold for ALL of us. It’s no longer just about the green verdant beauty of our hills and dales. It’s about something much more profound now.

How soon can we coalesce around central issues? Who will lead? What course will we take? What will we do? When do we all get it? Where will change take place? Will our diversity become our greatest strength? Will we embrace one another on this vital mission?

The Green Mountain State. It’s up to us.

Call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or post your comments at Hurd's The Word or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.

2009 Summer Fun List for Charlotte Vermont

The return of warm weather makes hangin' out on my front porch with its eye popping views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains dreamy. Lazing and pondering ALL that we have to fit in before the inevitable return of YOU KNOW WHAT...

Here we go with my biased and utterly incomplete Fun List of things to do in Charlotte VT this summer. Oh, this really is THE BEST time of year in this amazing little town:

• Wow, this little gem is worth the price of admission. Right now. Don't miss out! For the next two weeks, you have to see it to believe it. The firefly display in the meadows across from Mount Philo State Park is psychadelic. The southern 60 acre meadow at the intersection of State Park Road and Mt Philo Road is where the evening's silent fireworks display takes place. Imagine undulating waves of blinking lights acre after impossible acre. You won't regret it! (let your eyes adjust to the dark for 30 mins prior for the full affect)


• Breakfast sandwich at the Old Brick Store and a latte on the front porch catching up with familiar faces.


• Tennis at the town courts followed by a running plunge off the town docks into Lake Champlain


• Rick's Barbecue Shaved Pork Sandwich for lunch at the Little Garden Market


• Hanging on my front porch for no reason at all


• Uncle Sam's for your dose of burger, fries, shakes and, last but absolutely not least, a cremee


• Take your bike on the Charlotte to Essex NY ferry for a lovely ride and a meal on the NY side. Essex is alive and charming in the summer.


• Hike up Mt Philo for the best sunset hang out around


• Berry picking at the Charlotte Berry Farm


• Join one of Charlotte's CSA farms (Community Supported Agriculture) for yummy, healthy, local, organic vegetables all summer


• Pizza on a picnic table at Pizza on Earth on a warm, summer evening. Wonderful!!


• Bicycling Charlotte's roads. Sublime.

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Charlotte Vermont Real Estate.

Summer 2009 Top Ten Fun List For Lake Champlain's 400th Anniversary

Wow!

This IS the year for Lake Champlain. We will all be celebrating the 400th year since Samuel de Champlain first explored our region on his daring expedition. Lots will be happening so don't miss out!!! Have fun and we'll see you there!

• Burlington Vermont Celebrates Lake Champlain (July 2nd - 14th)


• Independence Day Fireworks Celebration Burlington Waterfront (July 3rd) (tip: get there early)


• Sailing Regatta for Lake Champlain (July 25th)


• Lake Champlain Maritime Festival (August 14, 15 & 16)


• Take A Sailing Lesson at the LCCSC on the Waterfront in Burlington VT


• Take your boat to the Basin Harbor Club for the day or overnight


• Sunset and Cookout at North Beach in Burlington VT


• Take One of the Lake Champlain Ferries for a Sunset Cruise, Full Moon Rise or both!!


• Rent a Kayak or Canoe at North Beach in Burlington Vermont


• Dinner & Drinks & Sunset at Splash Cafe on the Community Boathouse Docks in Burlington

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word.
If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.

My Summer 2009 Top Ten Fun List for Shelburne VT

Unashamed and completely subjective with additions all the time (hopefully with a few by you). Grab a friend, your spouse, a significant other, your child(ren), all of the above and celebrate summer in Shelburne, Vermont:

• Large Triple Latte, 2%, with a shot of vanilla, extra hot and a Apple & Cinnamon Muffin while sitting on the steps in the morning sunshine at The Shelburne Wine & Coffee Shop.


• Paddling up the LaPlatte


• Vermont Symphony Orchestra and/or Mozart Festival Concerts at Shelburne Farms


• Cycling Shelburne's backroads


• Playing Tennis at the Town Courts


• Dinner at the Inn at Shelburne Farms before a concert (don't forget to place your blanket on the ground before dinner so you have great seating for the music)


• Walking the trails at Shelburne Farms


• Outdoor Summer Concert Series at Shelburne Museum


• Running into familiar faces at the Shelburne Supermarket


• Dinner on the patio at Sauce Bistro on a warm evening


• Saturday's Farmer's Market


• Being in anything that floats on Shelburne Bay


• Summer Trains into Burlington


• Go to the Shelburne Meat Market and pickup their incredible Marinated "House" Tips for grilling at the Shelburne Beach just in time for a sunset

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Shelburne Vermont Real Estate.

My Summer 2009 Top Ten Fun List for Burlington VT

My completely random, highly subjective FUN LIST of things to do this summer in the Queen City. Enjoy and, MOST OF ALL, have fun!!

• Vermont City Marathon (Memorial Weekend)


• Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (June 5th - June 14th)


• Burlington's International Waterfront Festival (July 2nd-14th)


• Independence Day Fireworks - Burlington Harbor (July 3rd)


• Hanging out & people watching on the Church Street Marketplace


• Sunsets and a cold drink at the Community Boathouse or anywhere along the waterfront


• Concerts everywhere


• Dinner at an outdoor cafe


• Biking along the rec. path on Lake Champlain


• Saturday Farmer's Market in City Hall Park on College Street


• Watching Thunderstorms lumber across the lake from behind the Coast Guard Station


• Take a lesson or rent a boat at the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.

Shelburne VT is a great livable town close to Burlington

Elements of community differ amongst people.

Last week while attending the National Association of Realtors Green core curriculum course in Montpelier, the topic of “Smart Growth” was discussed. “Smart Growth” is the notion that a community has certain elements that contribute to its sustainability, resiliency and vitality. These elements include the following essential components as outlined by The Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative:

• Maintaining the historic development pattern of compact village and urban centers separated by rural countryside,
• Developing compact, mixed-use centers as a scale appropriate for the community and the region,
• Enabling choice in modes of transportation,
• Protecting the state’s important environmental, natural and historic feature, including natural areas, water quality, scenic resources and historic sites and districts,
• Serving to strengthen agriculture and forest industries and minimizes conflicts of development with these industries,
• Balancing growth and the availability of economic and efficient public utilities and services,
• Supporting a diversity of viable businesses in downtowns and villages, including locally owned businesses,
• Providing for housing that meets the needs of a diversity of social and income groups in each community.

Of course, these are the goals. The Gold Standard.

Armed with new sensitivites relating to Smart Growth and what comprises Green Homes, I have been mulling over communities that come close to meeting these criteria. It is quite the process I must say…

I have been taking a closer look at Shelburne Vermont in the days since my course last week and she seems to plug into the Smart Growth equation pretty darned well.

If I were to be actively considering a place to live, Shelburne Village would be VERY high on my A-list.

A budding local organization called Transition Towns (this organization originates from the UK) is taking root in Shelburne and in Charlotte among other Vermont cities and towns, nationally and globally.

This group’s centerpiece is the notion that “Peak Oil” has been achieved on our planet and the complexities confronting us by way of Global Warming/Climate Change compel us to re-think our patterns. We see current fuel prices creeping back up again. No new refineries coming on line in decades is a sign the oil industry isn'’t even willing to invest in itself. What does that tell you?

Transition seeks to build local resiliency at the town/neighborhood level. Its goal to strengthen community via an interconnected awareness and reality that we must transition to a new notion of community, sustainablity and resiliency in the face of exponentially growing challenges.

Of course, there are many elements to these assertions and it will be in our collective best interest to open constructive dialogue with a plenitude of diverse voices around these important matters. Start by reading Rob Hopkins book entitled “The Transition Handbook.” In his book, Hopkins lays out the challenges and solutions in a format that is virally spreading across the globe.

Ultimately, if you accept these notions, Transition Towns is all about dealing with these matters now before we’re forced to or before it’s too late.

“Smart Growth,” “Green Homes” and “Transition Towns” are part of an emerging new vocabulary leading us down a path of enormous opportunity and hope. I urge you to read the following link/article from the New York Times Magazine Earth Day Edition from last month about the Transition Towns Initiative.

Call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or post your comments at Hurd's The Wordor go to my website at Charlotte Vermont Real Estate.

Being a Green Real Estate Agent Takes on a Whole New Meaning!

Used to be if you were Green in anything, it meant you were completely lacking in experience. In 2009, that can mean very, very different things.

Last week, I took a major step forward towards “greening” my professional practice as a Realtor. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) very recently began offering a new designation. This designation, entitled “Green”, will aid Realtors who seek to understand what sustainable homes and communities look like. Terms like “Smart Growth” and features such as “walkability” become important when discussing options around sustainability. PV’s (photovoltaics) for net metering depending upon your utility and for hot water use, use of CFL’s or LED’s become integral parts of the new ”smart, green homes.” Understanding steps that can be taken to retrofit existing properties via home energy audits, thermal imaging, blower door tests and understanding Energy Star ratings go a long way towards making me a truly valuable resource for my clients.

The course began with these three words, “The New Paradigm.” Indeed, long overdue forces are conspiring to bring all of us to our collective knees.

Our historic economic collapse, rising fuel and heating costs because of dwindling supplies (peak oil), and unsustainable global issues surrounding warming & climate change & food distribution are opening up amazing opportunities. Opportunities whose time is now.

I believe Green Homes are the next major trend in home purchases and retrofits. Consumers are going to want and, in fact, demand these new features as a part of their home investment. And if a home doesn’t have energy saving features, it will lower the value and marketability of that home.

A new lexicon is unfolding. I am taking aim at understanding it, being a pivotal resource and bringing it to you.

Much, of course, is underway and there’s a whole lot more in the works. I am delighted to know that Vermont has some of the most stringent building standards when it comes to “Green Homes.”

Last Saturday, I was in a Green Home development of six homes in Hinesburg. Chuck Reiss, the builder, informed me that LEED certification came to Vermont to incorporate what Vermont had already been doing. In fact, Vermont’s standards now exceed LEEDs’. What is important to know is Vermont is in the forefront in this thinking and practice. Our walk exceeds the talk but we are not resting on our laurels. Reiss indicated that Vermont is “looking to further those standards as part of an on going process.” Yea for Vermont! The Green Mountain state. Who would have known how prophetic our state slogan would become…

I was one of 12 Realtors who attended the two day, first ever ”Green” core currliculum class last week in Montpelier being offered by NAR. One of the reasons I was so eager to take the course was it was being taught by one of the founding curriculum designers!

To my surprise, there were only 12 Realtors taking the class and seeking this new professional designation. That attendance figure represents 1% of Realtors statewide. This number will surely grow in the future. However, I am thrilled to be on the cutting edge 1% moving in this important direction now.

Call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or post your comments
at Hurd's The Word or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.