Climate Matters: Please don’t move the goalposts

Late January. By now most of us have already abandoned our New Year’s Resolutions to eat better, drink less, exercise more, be a better friend. Resolutions are hard to keep. It is hard because of inconvenience, ingrained habits, our inability to think about what is best for our future selves.

Mike Roy spoke with Jared Duval, an appointed member of the Vermont Climate Council who chairs the Council’s Science & Data subcommittee, about the wonky, but important, Clean Heat Standard that will be voted on by the state legislature in the upcoming le … (read more)

In her book “Doughnut Economics,” economist Kate Raworth proposes an alternative way to think about economics, and about how we organize our society.

The Legislature last week achieved several milestones on the way to reducing climate pollution — even in the face of Gov. Phil Scott’s best efforts to keep Vermont stuck in the age of fossil fuels.

Asa Caleb Crane was born a few weeks ago. He came into the world with a full head of hair, and on first impression an undeniable charisma, a full array of important moral virtues, and a calm but determined approach to the new world in which he found himse … (read more)

While conservation and efficiency are important components of an overall strategy to get to our GHG reduction goal, we can’t get to an 80% reduction by conservation and efficiency alone.

It is widely understood that cutting mature forests is bad for the climate. Last year the public responded with over 1,300 comments against logging and less than 100 in favor. This was a record.

This has been a brutal year for many Vermonters, with waves of extreme weather driven by climate change.

I fear that, in some important ways, we Vermonters have our heads in the sand about climate change and its likely impacts. 

The Renewable Energy Standard, passed by the state Legislature in 2015, sets targets for the amount of renewable energy used in Vermont, states how much of that energy must be generated in Vermont, defines what kinds of energy count as renewable energy, a … (read more)

The average first frost in Addison County typically comes in early October, but the current 10-day forecast for our area suggests our first frost will be delayed.

If you Google “What can I do about climate change,” you will get millions of hits, with plentiful lists and sets of recommendations. The focus most often is on individual rather than collective action. 

In Vermont, the scent of wood smoke on a late fall afternoon is an iconic smell. It’s not like that here today, in the first week of June — it’s more like sitting on the side of the campfire where the wind is blowing, but without any of the benefits of th … (read more)

What do food justice and climate resiliency actually look like? Few can deny that one of Vermont’s best attributes is its commitment to locally grown food. 

I don’t know if it’s just us Americans, or if it is a universal human trait, but we seem to prefer medical treatment over prevention.