Farms: South American IVLP in Vermont--Energy Efficiency Down on the Farm

Each year the Vermont Council on World Affairs hosts well over 100 international visitors coming to the area under the auspices of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP is the U.S. Department of State's premier professional exchange program bringing emerging and upcoming leaders across all sectors to experience the United States firsthand while completing carefully designed programs that reflect their professional interests and U.S. foreign policy goals. More information on the IVLP: http://exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.html This IVLP group was in Vermont from April 10-15, 2010 for a program called, Maximizing Energy Efficiency. These delegates were visiting from South America, specifically, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, where they are officials in various government departments, municipalities and NGOs. On Wednesday, April 14, the delegation visited Blue Spruce Farms to learn about one of the Northeast's most successful manure-to-methane digester projects. In this clip, Marie Audet explains their operation and some of the recycling benefits associated with the process. The project was undertaken in cooperation with Central Vermont Public Service as part of their 'cow power' project--follow link for further details: http://www.cvps.com/cowpower/ For more information on this and upcoming International Visitor Groups, please visit www.vcwa.org