At the start of every legislative new year the governor speaks to a joint session of the House and Senate to describe his priorities for the legislative session. This is a formal speech marked by carefully crafted remarks designed to inspire.

When cultural historian Kenneth Clark sought to highlight the most representative example of the 18th century Enlightenment, he singled out a twenty-eight volume French reference work with the unwieldy title Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts. It was an extraordinary accomplishment - a readily accessible summary of the range of human knowledge at the time.

Governor Phil Scott’s proposal to provide free tuition for Vermont National Guard members to attend Vermont state colleges and universities is a fine idea… but it doesn’t go far enough.

I wrapped up the fall semester at the Community College of Vermont by asking my students to react to “Imagining Vermont,” a report from the Vermont Council on Rural Development. It was a Vermont History Course and since it was online, it drew students from across the state, who concluded their study with thoughts about both their own future and that of the state.

As a candidate for Michigan Attorney General, Detroit lawyer Dana Nessel made the case that given there could be an all female democratic ticket next year for several big races in Michigan, being a woman should not be a disadvantage.

About this time, I start fretting about filing my yearly tax return. I try to make sure that enough is withheld from my middle-class paycheck, but sometimes I get a nasty surprise in April, and have to send the feds more money.

So it’s official: I’m not crazy. My iPhone has indeed lost its zip. It really is slow, sluggish, low energy. It’s unable to learn new things because its brain has reached its maximum storage capacity, resembling mine.

For me, 2017 was “The Year of Anxiety.”

The wind that blew away the last snowstorm died during the afternoon. And as the sun sank into the hemlocks, the dog and I walked through the woods in the deepening cold.

Although our collective individual commitments to improving our communities and environment are important in offsetting the negatives of over-consumption and pollution, scientists warn us that by themselves, personal efforts like recycling, heating with renewables, and reducing consumption are not enough to move the dial on planetary survival.