GREENFIELD - The fight to close down Vermont Yankee is not over, said a group of activists Friday at Greenfield Community College.

The activists made up a panel at the Roots of Peace Speaker Series at GCC. The presentation came on the heels of a federal court ruling that overturned an attempt by the Vermont Legislature to shut down Vermont Yankee.

Citizen's Awareness Network Executive Director Deb Katz; Bob Stannard, lobbyist for the Vermont Citizen Action Network; and Dan DeWalt, a member of ReplaceVY.org, made up the panel.

"What's important to understand moving forward is that we are now in a trench war," Katz said.

Although legislative efforts met a roadblock, panelists insisted that the fight was far from over. Stannard said the activists were working on a number of ways to potentially increase taxes on Vermont Yankee to the point where it may not be profitable to run.

"We need to think of ourselves as the Lilliputians," said Stannard, referring to the tiny people in Jonathan Swifts' novel "Gulliver's Travels." "We are working to tie one finger down at a time."

To "tie down" Vermont Yankee, Stannard suggested that a $135,000 cap on a waste water discharge tax could be removed, allowing the state to dramatically increase taxes on Vermont Yankee, which releases water into the Connecticut River.

"If there are enough cogs we can throw in their wheels to make this not profitable for them, we should," said DeWalt.

The presentation was the latest edition of the Roots of Peace Speaker Series. The series is put on by the Traprock Peace Education Center and Greenfield Community College.

"There is nothing as important as an informed public for a democracy," said Traprock Director Patricia Hynes.

Over the past three years, Traprock and Greenfield Community College's Peace, Justice and Environmental Studies Program have been drawing closer ties. They have formed a joint board and collaborate on projects like the Roots of Peace series.

"GCC has framed itself as an institution of higher learning that wants to partner with community organizations," said Hynes, "and I consider this a pristine example."