This commentary is Jim Stiles of St. Albans, who is active in promoting soil health, started an alternative energy store in Brattleboro, studied at MIT, co-authored the book “The Complete Book of Insulating,” and last year released his first novel, “Rough Road,” about a young couple struggling with climate change challenges.
Climate change is here, and it’s going to make life in Vermont a lot harder than it has been. Tropical Storm Irene’s nasty siblings are going to make increasingly frequent visits for decades to come. Her ugly cousins, drought and wildfire, are coming too. Diseases like Lyme and Eastern equine encephalitis are here and are going to get worse, and others will follow.
And since Vermont will probably suffer fewer impacts than most places, a sharp reversal in Vermont’s recent population declines is likely.
All of this is a result of the fact that, for a long time now, past and present generations have been dealing lemons to future generations. It has created quite a mess.
If we are to protect our state and ourselves from these problems, we must adapt to the changes that are here or on their way. There is little that Vermont can do to reverse global climate change, since places like China, India and Texas have far more to do with the causes of climate change than Vermont. The Global Warming Solutions Act and the Vermont Climate Council would have us do our fair share to ease the causes of climate change, and they are right — we should.
However, that does little to help Vermonters cope with the impacts of climate change. Fortunately, there is a great deal that we can do to reduce the harm we suffer from floods, drought, fire, disease and climate migration.
Climate adaptation lets individuals, small groups and communities shield ourselves from many of climate change’s effects. Many of the solutions offered by energy committees, utility conservation programs, and others for reducing greenhouse gas reductions are useful in providing some protection. However, real climate adaptation is a larger challenge than greenhouse gas reduction and comes with new complexities.
Sorting through the wide range of adaptation options will be difficult. And since most options will have to be adjusted to address local conditions and needs, local leadership is essential.
Although the plan currently being assembled by the Vermont Climate Council will help move us in a better direction, it does not include building the local leadership that will be required to navigate the complexities of climate adaptation in Vermont’s communities. The Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network has done a good job in building up local leadership for greenhouse gas reductions via energy committees. Unfortunately, the network has been slower to embrace climate adaptation-related initiatives.
Although some of Vermont’s energy committees have already moved beyond the network’s tight focus on greenhouse gas reductions, a great deal more is needed. One way forward is for the network to support the creation of climate adaptation teams. While local energy committees continue work on important initiatives like energy efficiency and green energy production, a wide range of climate adaptation opportunities could be pursued by the new teams.
Over the coming decades, Vermont’s people and communities must become resilient to the impacts of climate change. Great communities must provide for the needs of their residents while also protecting the natural environment. In order to minimize demands on transportation services, communities must become great places to live and work. This transition will require changes not only to the ways they use energy, but to every aspect of communities — including their economies — to better harmonize the needs of residents with those of the environment. Creating climate adaptation teams would be a big step in that direction.
We have been dealing lemons to future generations for a long time. The challenge now is to start making lemonade. Climate adaptation teams would be a good first step in a larger, massive effort to create the future for young Vermonters that we owe them.
Climate adaptation will not be easy. This work will be hard. It will certainly extend beyond my lifetime, and probably those of most of the people reading this. But the thing is, it will be worth it.
