Photo taken by Peter Gould
Brattleboro: At Sierra Club’s 2023 Winter Gathering in Brattleboro on December 16, the Sierra Club honored Vermont State Representative Mollie Burke of Brattleboro and Brattleboro Community Leader Nancy Braus. As a grassroots organization, the Sierra Club acknowledges leaders working within their communities to build a movement necessary to tackle the most difficult issues.
“This past summer, the historic flooding in Vermont was another wake-up call about the climate crisis. As the Vermont Sierra Club celebrated the leadership of Rep. Mollie Burke and Nancy Braus Saturday evening, we were marking an important moment in history when the countries of the world reached a consensus at the United Nations' COP28 to move away from fossil fuels,” said Isaac Evans-Frantz, Windham County resident and Vermont Sierra Club Executive Committee member. He asked, “Are we willing to act on this consensus before it's too late? We need legislators and everyday people to speak up. That is how we will turn this ship around -- by all of us finding our voices and using them to change policy. That's what Sierra Club is all about, and why I'm proud to serve on the Vermont chapter's executive committee and to honor Rep. Mollie Burke and Nancy Braus.”
The event was planned for 25 guests, but over 45 participated. Evans-Frantz attributed this to excitement for statewide environmental activism in southern Vermont, and support for the honorees.
For many years, Rep. Burke had been the lone climate voice on the Vermont House Transportation Committee. “When Mollie first joined the Transportation Committee the conversations were exclusively focused on roads, bridges, and paving,” said Robb Kidd, Sierra Club Conservation program manager. “Now, the transportation discussion includes vehicle electrification, expanding active transportation, and creating viable choices for using transit,” he said, adding that the Vermont conversation now also includes carbon emission reduction and access to transportation to address Vermonters’ needs. “The Transportation sector is responsible for approximately 40% of Vermont’s carbon emissions and is a major economic burden for low and middle-income Vermonters,” Kidd said. “The Sierra Club has collaborated with dedicated legislators such as Rep Burke and House Transportation Chair Sara Coffey to build a rural sustainable transportation system that is accessible and equitable.”
The Vermont Sierra Club recognized Nancy Braus, founder and former owner of Everyone's Books in Brattleboro, Vermont, for her tireless environmental activism. Braus has been outspoken in the effort that led to the closing of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant and more efforts since then toward safety from nuclear energy production and waste, both locally and globally. Braus has been an environmental and peace activist for decades, and sold her bookstore this fall. “The Sierra Club appreciates Nancy’s lifelong dedication to community engagement and specifically her organizing in response to the climate crisis,” Evans-Frantz said. “The Vermont Sierra Club applauds community leaders like Nancy who are key to influencing policy.”
The night’s program also included Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer, who spoke of his efforts to address both the climate and housing crises. In regards to honoring Rep. Burke and Nancy Braus, he said “Congratulations to Mollie Burke and Nancy Braus on their well-deserved recognition for making our communities safer and our environment cleaner. Continuing their work to address climate change is critical for creating a sustainable economy that works for everyone.”
Other elected officials who spoke included Representative Tristan Roberts of Halifax and Senator Wendy Harrison of the Windham District, who both offered praises of the honorees.
Rep. Roberts asked to contribute a word after listening in his car to the song “Birdhouse in Your Soul” by They Might be Giants (1990). “Both honorees tonight, Rep. Mollie Burke and Nancy Braus, have over decades of public service been ‘birdhouses in the soul’ of Brattleboro and Vermont,” said Roberts. “Through dedicated, persistent, and joyful work, they have kept a nightlight on for the values Americans hold dearest, even in the darkest of times.”
Sen. Harrison read a statement from Rep. Sara Coffey, and added her own words, “The Sierra Club recognition of Mollie Burke was timely and appropriate.” Sen. Harrison continued, “Rep. Burke has worked tirelessly for years and never wavered in her leadership toward a more sustainable Vermont. Most of my work with her has been as fellow advocates of public transportation, and I look forward to continuing that work. It was wonderful to see her praised on Saturday for that and her broader body of work on sustainability. We need to evaluate and act on climate change from a place of hope and Mollie gives us all a great example of that.”
Rep. Coffey said, in a statement, “Mollie has been instrumental in changing the culture in the House Transportation Committee from one that solely focuses on paving roads and repairing bridges to thinking more holistically in creating a 21st century transportation system that is clean and green and accessible to all.”
See Videos from Robb Kidd, Senator Wendy Harrison, and Representative Mollie Burke.
Robb Kidd's Introduction:
Senator Wendy Harrison Reading Rep Sara Coffey's Remarks
Representative Mollie Burke
