The Arctic may seem like a barren territory at the top of the world, but it is alive with debate over the environment, energy, and the rights of indigenous people. And now, several scholars from Vermont have contributed to a new book that lays out some of the key questions facing that territory north of the 66th parallel.
We learn about the international entities like the Arctic Council that govern issues of common interest, and how governance of the Arctic and Antarctic differ dramatically. Our guests are Rebecca Pincus, co-editor of Diplomacy On Ice: Energy and the Environment in the Arctic and Antarctic, and Arctic researchers Kathleen Osgood of the Center for Circumpolar Studies and Betsy Baker of Vermont Law School and the University of Washington Law School.
Send your questions or comments vermontedition@vpr.net or post below.
Also in the program, what effect does a tax on soda really have on deterring people from drinking sugary beverages, or raising revenue to offset related health care costs? As Vermont considers a sugar-sweetened beverage tax, we look at the impact of similar taxes in other places with Roberta Friedman, director of public policy at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut.
And, a high school student proposes that Vermont adopt a Latin motto, stella quarta decima fulgeat, meaning "let the fourteenth star shine bright." St. Johnsbury Academy ninth-grader Angela Kubicke may have expected some hoops to jump through, but she didn't expect people to angrily confuse Latin with languages of Latin America. VPR's Charlotte Albright reports.
Broadcast live on Tues., Feb. 10, 2015 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
