Energy innovation is crucial right now

Can it be denied that good sources of alternative energy are important to the continuation of life as we know it in the United States today? While conservation should be part of the approach to energy consumption, the demands for power usage grow every day. The more Americans depend on digital devices, for instance, the greater the amount of electrical power that is needed. In order to meet those demands, there will have to be alternative ways to harness power and more creative ways in which to heat our homes, as well.But change doesn’t come easy. The Larsons in Cornwall, as reported in this newspaper by Karen Bartomioli, tapped into an alternative energy source by installing a free-standing wood-burning furnace with which they’ve heated their home and hot water since 2005. Now, there have been complaints from neighbors on the effect the furnace has on the air quality in the area surrounding the Larson home. The safety of the air around the furnace affects all in the vicinity, including the Larsons, so it would be expected that they would want the furnace to be safe from both an environmental and a personal health point of view. No matter the energy source that’s in question, whether wood furnaces or stoves, wind turbines, solar panels, you name it, there are now often objections raised by those in proximity to these energy producers. The Not in My Back Yard, or NIMBY, syndrome, while certainly sometimes justifiable, should not be the basis for obstructing all energy innovation in this country. Something has got to give.There is now a bill pending in the Connecticut Legislature that would impose a moratorium on permits for wind turbines in the state, as reported by Bartomioli last week, until the Connecticut Siting Council adopts newly written regulations covering them. Such regulations would give the council and individual municipalities something concrete for reference in deciding the fate of proposed wind turbine projects such as those under consideration this year in North Canaan and Colebrook. The proposal to North Canaan was rejected precisely because the Planning and Zoning Commission had no regulations by which to judge the viability of the project. The pending bill in Hartford takes a responsible approach to requiring a definition of the parameters for wind turbine projects. This kind of legislation should be the precursor to more of its kind, which will be helpful to state and local officials trying to maintain quality of life for their communities while also giving alternative energy a chance.Some real change will need to be accepted and conservation become a part of our lives, and so addressed by our laws, if there is to be enough energy to go around for all in the long run. That will mean opening our minds to different approaches of energy production. Environmental and health issues, which are inexorably intertwined, have to be considered carefully in assessing the best ways to heat our homes and produce energy. However, there has to be a balance that is fair to all yet still allows for independent alternative energy innovation.

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Legal Notices - 4-18-24

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Fresh perspectives in Norfolk Library film series

Diego Ongaro

Photo submitted

Parisian filmmaker Diego Ongaro, who has been living in Norfolk for the past 20 years, has composed a collection of films for viewing based on his unique taste.

The series, titled “Visions of Europe,” began over the winter at the Norfolk Library with a focus on under-the-radar contemporary films with unique voices, highlighting the creative richness and vitality of the European film landscape.

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New ground to cover and plenty of groundcover

Young native pachysandra from Lindera Nursery shows a variety of color and delicate flowers.

Dee Salomon

It is still too early to sow seeds outside, except for peas, both the edible and floral kind. I have transplanted a few shrubs and a dogwood tree that was root pruned in the fall. I have also moved a few hellebores that seeded in the near woods back into their garden beds near the house; they seem not to mind the few frosty mornings we have recently had. In years past I would have been cleaning up the plant beds but I now know better and will wait at least six weeks more. I have instead found the most perfect time-consuming activity for early spring: teasing out Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle and myrtle, from the ground in places it was never meant to be.

Planting the stuff in the first place is my biggest ever garden regret. It was recommended to me as a groundcover that would hold together a hillside, bare after a removal of invasive plants save for a dozen or so trees. And here we are, twelve years later; there is vinca everywhere. It blankets the hillside and has crept over the top into the woods. It has made its way left and right. I am convinced that vinca is the plastic of the plant world. The stuff won’t die. (The name Vinca comes from the Latin ‘vincire’ which means ‘to bind or fetter.’) Last year I pulled a bunch and left it strewn on the roof of the root cellar for 6 months and the leaves were still green.

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Matza Lasagne by 'The Cook and the Rabbi'

Culinary craftsmanship intersects with spiritual insights in the wonderfully collaborative book, “The Cook and the Rabbi.” On April 14 at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck (6422 Montgomery Street), the cook, Susan Simon, and the rabbi, Zoe B. Zak, will lead a conversation about food, tradition, holidays, resilience and what to cook this Passover.

Passover, marked by the traditional seder meal, holds profound significance within Jewish culture and for many carries extra meaning this year at a time of great conflict. The word seder, meaning “order” in Hebrew, unfolds in a 15-step progression intertwining prayers, blessings, stories, and songs that narrate the ancient saga of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It’s a narrative that has endured for over two millennia, evolving with time yet retaining its essence, a theme echoed beautifully in “The Cook and the Rabbi.”

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