This commentary is by state Rep. Mollie S. Burke, P/D-Brattleboro, a member of the House Transportation Committee
April arrives. Sugaring is over, at least in southern Vermont. Winter a dim memory. Predicted snow failed to arrive, and rains were common. Winter lover, I remember the snows we used to have. Faulty memory? Embellishment of the past? I think not. Studies and statistics confirm my feelings.
The Vermont Climate Assessment is a study put out by the Gund Institute at UVM in 2021. It found that many customs and hallmarks of Vermont life are being impacted by climate change. Prominent among them are sugaring, skiing and long winters. These are not only hallmarks of our culture; climate change will impact an economy dependent on winter recreation and the maple industry.
The statistics bear these changes out. According to the report, the state’s average annual temperature has warmed by nearly 2 degrees F. and winter temperatures have increased 2.5 times faster than annual temperatures over a period of 60 years. Since the 1960s, there is less annual snowfall while winter precipitation has increased as rain. Days that are freeze-free have increased by three weeks since 1960.
These are well-observed changes, experienced by those of us who have lived in Vermont for a long time.
Snow sports are affected by shorter seasons and unpredictable temperatures and conditions. Downhill skiing, currently dependent on snowmaking, will become more so, and the season will be shortened by up to a month by 2080.
Close to home, the Brattleboro Outing Club cross-country ski program had only 36 ski days this season, down from 55 days last year, and 70 days in 2020. While this could fluctuate in the years to come, I believe it confirms the statistics from the climate report.
As for sugaring, climate change will affect the location and timing, and how syrup is made. Maple trees are already affected by warm temperatures, changes in freeze-thaw cycles, and increased precipitation. This makes challenges for sugarmakers.
These are sobering statistics. Even more sobering is the prediction that extreme weather events such as droughts and floods will continue and intensify.
As an elected Legislature, we need to take responsibility to address and limit the carbon emissions that contribute to a changing climate, while also planning for resilience in the face of these changes.
In 2019, the Vermont Legislature passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, requiring that the state set ambitious emission-reduction goals and actually adhere to them. An appointed Climate Council produced a Climate Action Plan that defined goals and pathways for reaching these goals.
The transportation sector, accounting for 40% of Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions, is one area the Climate Action Plan identified for transformation. For several years, the state has put policies in place to incentivize the purchase of electric vehicles for low- and moderate-income Vermonters and accelerate other transportation options to reduce reliance on individual gasoline-powered vehicles.
170,000 light-duty electric vehicles are needed by 2030 to meet our climate goals. That is a significant number, requiring significant investments.
With these goals in mind, I and several colleagues on the House Transportation Committee put forth a bill titled the Transportation Innovation Act, H.552. It included hefty incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and electric bicycles, a specific program to help low-income people buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, along with funding for the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations.
We set priorities to continue providing zero-fare public transit, and added funding for the Mobility and Transportation Innovation grants that help communities with feasibility studies to create more accessible transit options. Many of the proposals in H.552 found their way into this year’s omnibus Transportation Bill, H.736, which passed the House unanimously at the end of March and is being considered by the Senate.
I have spent 14 years on the House Transportation Committee working to encourage the kind of thinking about transportation that promotes all modes and that considers the impact of our carbon emissions. Finally, this year I believe we have a bill that reflects this.
These are the largest investments we have ever made to get us on our way to the transformation and electrification of our transportation system. They are not enough. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. According to scientists, we have little time to do so. But this is a start.
Along the way, these measures will definitely improve air quality and help low- and middle-income people lower their transportation costs. They will not bring back the same kind of winters I loved. We will have to adapt. We will have to invest in mitigation as well as electrification.
What we accomplish together in Vermont does very little in relation to this global problem. But our efforts will certainly inspire other states to do the same. And in the absence of meaningful federal action, that might make a difference.
