Christophe courchesne.

• Position: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR ... - Interview

What experiences led you to pursue your career?

I was drawn to political and legal issues from a very young age. Through college and law school, I found that environmental debates posed fascinating, interdisciplinary questions that connected local decisions "on the ground" with national and global challenges. Our literary advocates of local environmental stewardship, among them Wendell Berry and Aldo Leopold, inspired me to devote my professional life to the cause.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What is the most pressing environmental issue facing NH right now?

To pick just one, climate change. The effects are already in evidence from the alpine meadows of the White Mountains to the waters off the Seacoast. But if we can begin to make the necessary, but politically difficult transformations -- in our energy and transportation systems, our patterns of land use and development, and lifestyle changes -- the benefits will go a long way to fixing other environmental problems in New Hampshire, by cleaning up our air and water, improving public health, and rebuilding cal economies.

What does the Northern Pass project mean not only for NH but for the region as a whole?

The Northern Pass project -- a 180-mile transmission line proposed between the Canadian border and southern New Hampshire -- represents a crossroads for the entire region's energy future. We realty need a region-wide debate on whether and to what extent we need new imports from Quebec's massive hydroelectric projects. Right now, the project is looking more and more like the wrong approach -- a terrible deal for New Hampshire that would not move New England...