This commentary is by Georgi de Rham, who has lived and worked in Chittenden County for four years. She works in agriculture and food distribution. I commend Alison Despathy’s recent criticism of the electric vehicle surge, particularly her attention to the human rights issues and environmental hazards that accompany cobalt and lithium mining. However, John Greenberg raises an excellent counterpoint in his Dec. 13 letter to the editor, noting that we must move on from our reliance on fossil fu

In order to transport horses from Mexico to the United States by truck, the USDA requires a mandatory three day quarantine in a facility just north of the Texas/Mexico border. Due to organizational misfires and the general trappings of bureaucracy, the quarantine period often extends into the four to five day range, pending paperwork, transportation, and the efficiency of the border crossing itself. One autumn, I accompanied two horses to Mexico and back, and though I was technically traveling alone, I ended up crossing the border with a small cohort of Mexican American men, also professional grooms, whose respective employers were using the same horse transportation company as my boss.