Editor’s note: This commentary is by Elena Mihaly, who is a staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation.
[O]n June 7-8, Norwich University is hosting the 2019 Resilient Vermont Conference, an interactive event bringing together Vermont leaders, community members, planners, agencies, municipal officials, nonprofits, funders and more.
Together, we’ll explore new strategies for a Resilient Vermont — strategies that cross the boundaries of land, water, energy and people. This interactive two-day event will include a mix of inspiring speakers, thought-provoking sessions, tangible tools and examples, field trips, and time to network and build connections.
Here are a few reasons why you should think about joining the conversation:
• Looking forward to strawberry season? Vermont’s farmers are on the front lines of climate change, already seeing impacts that range from changing precipitation and seasonal patterns to loss of farmland and increases in invasive species. If our local food system is going to thrive in the face of the climate crisis, we must work together to support regenerative and just farming practices. Experts from University of Vermont Extension and Bio-Logical Capital will be at the Resilient Vermont Conference to share with attendees how farms are impacted by climate change, and how they are adapting to climate chaos. You’ll even get to visit a local farm to see first-hand how these strategies are implemented.
• Worried about affordable housing and living conditions for low-income Vermonters? Unfortunately, many of Vermont’s lower-income residents are hit disproportionately harder by climate disrupting events, like tropical storms. For instance, mobile homes and mobile home parks have long been important components of Vermont’s affordable housing landscape. Researchers at UVM found that mobile homes, whether in a park or placed on private land, are more likely than permanent structures to be located in a flood hazard area. In fact, 17 mobile home parks were flooded due to Tropical Storm Irene, and 15% of all homes damaged were mobile homes. Compared to all single-family homes, the difference approaches a three-fold increase in risk. Come hear from housing and community development experts about the latest efforts to ensure our affordable housing stock is resilient in the face of future climate disasters.
• Enjoy clean and plentiful drinking water? Then you might be concerned to learn that Vermont scored a C- for drinking water infrastructure on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2019 Infrastructure Report Card. We got this low grade in part because our public drinking water systems are not adequately prepared to handle several threats from climate disruption, including development of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and the release of cyanotoxins in water due to increased average annual temperatures, or the increased frequency of short-term droughts. What will it take to safeguard Vermont’s drinking water and adapt our aging water infrastructure to climate disturbances? Attend the Resilient Vermont Conference to hear how this issue came up in the most recent legislative session, perspectives from engineers, and how communities are rising to the challenge.
• Rely on Vermont’s roads and bridges to get to work every day? Then you should care about whether Vermont’s transportation network is prepared for the increased flooding we know is already a part of our reality. Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 drove home the vulnerability of Vermont’s road network — more than 2,400 roads, 300 bridges (including historic covered bridges) and a half dozen railroad lines were destroyed or damaged, according to the National Oceanic Administration Agency. You might not be able to get heah from theah, but Vermonters across the state are working hard to ensure you can still get where you need to go — more sustainably and more reliably — even in the face of severe weather events. Panelists at the Resilient Vermont Conference will dig into the details of how challenges with transportation are impacting Vermonters today, solutions and resources at work to address resilience challenges, and critical needs moving forward.
• Wondering who your new neighbors might be due to climigration? The term climigration was coined by Alaska human rights lawyer Robin Bronen to describe the “forced permanent migration of communities due to climate change.” With Vermont’s plentiful groundwater, proximity to major metro areas on the East Coast, and abundance of relatively inexpensive land, we may experience population growth due to climate migration. Former Rep. David Deen wrote an excellent commentary in VTDigger on this topic a few months ago, and he and other thought leaders on the topic will be at the Resilient Vermont Conference to facilitate a conversation around whether Vermont is likely to see a population boom due to the climate crisis. We’ll ask who would come to Vermont? How would that impact our natural resources and communities? And what are the tangible ways we can begin preparing for the possibility?
To build a more resilient state for all Vermonters, we need a diverse group of voices at the table — including yours.
Don’t miss the 2019 Resilient Vermont Conference: Linking Land, Energy, Water, and People. June 7-8, 2019 at Norwich University. Register at bit.ly/rvt2019.
