Fine Vermont tradition of town meetings

When I first heard about Bill McKibben he was introduced as both a conservative and an environmentalist. That allowed him to have the respect of other conservatives and talk about environmental issues using their language. I hear he’s gotten quite a ways with that strategy, though not with much success with the current crowd in control of Washington. He’s written a dozen books about the environment, some aimed at a general audience.

McKibben also founded 350.org which advocates for the environment. That 350 refers to the parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a value we should not cross if we want to avoid large effects of global climate change (the site says we’re now above 400 ppm). The main efforts of the site is to advocate to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

McKibben has now written fiction, a novel. It’s Radio Free Vermont, a Fable of Resistance. It is the story of Vern who is a radio announcer about to retire, Perry who is a tech whiz, Sylvia who is a lesbian who teaches classes to newcomers on how to live in Vermont (this is how you drive in mud), and Trance who is an Olympic biathlete with a gold medal.

Vern is asked to do his radio show at the opening of a new Walmart. He is to go around talking to workers and customers. But he plants a few people he “encounters” who talk about who Walmart exploits to keep it profits low. From the safety of Sylvia’s house Vern starts releasing folksy podcasts decrying huge international corporations and promoting local coffee shops and micro brew ales. This turns into the start of a secessionist movement, especially after Trance takes over the microphone from the Governor at another opening event, talks about small being better than big, and runs an independent Vermont flag up the pole.

As one might guess McKibben started writing the story after the nasty guy was inaugurated.

There is some nice discussion of the virtues of small and of building community. There is also talk about what we’re really getting (or not getting) from Washington. We also hear about the fine Vermont tradition of town meetings. The town as a whole (or at least those that show up) meets once a year to discuss town business (time for a new snowplow?), schools, the budget, taxes, and anything else townspeople want to put on the agenda – such as advising the legislature what the town thinks of the idea of secession.

The story is rather laid back (as is Vermont) and the tense moments are usually resolved with brains rather than violence. A breezy read.