BRATTLEBORO — Kurt Daims of Brattleboro Common Sense managed the bureaucratic quicksand late in Brattleboro's Representative Annual Town Meeting to bring a new energy-related measure to a vote.
With only slight urging, the tired assembly agreed in an overwhelming vote to advise the town manager to purchase all electricity for the town's buildings from Cow Power, a program of Green Mountain Power which arranges electricity generation from renewable sources like hydro-power and methane generation from manure on dairy farms.
The advisory measure was researched by the local group Brattleboro Common Sense and was endorsed by the environmental group 350.org and works in accordance with the Town Plan.
It is the first and very quick official action to build momentum on the broad statewide environmental resolution of 350.org that was approved only 19 days before the meeting.
Town administration is expected to order the change in electric service soon. The Brattleboro Common Sense measure is a specific implementation of the second term of the broad state resolution, which recommends investment in renewable energy.