This commentary is by Isaac Evans-Frantz of Brattleboro, a member of the executive committee of the Sierra Club Vermont chapter and executive director of a national nonpartisan organization that works with Congress for U.S. policies to save lives around the world. He is the founding chair of the Vermont Democratic Party’s LGBTQI+ caucus and was the first student voting member of the Vermont State Board of Education.
As I drove through the rain the other day, I passed a woman pushing a shopping cart, full of rain-soaked bedding. Over the last several days, I have wondered how she fared.
In Brattleboro, last week’s storm was particularly disruptive to people living in tents and mobile homes, exacerbating our housing injustices and underscoring the need for decent, stable housing for all Vermonters.
It also underscores the need for climate action.
We have just experienced Vermont’s worst climate-related disaster since the flood of 1927, nearly 100 years ago. We need to stay safe, pitch in with relief and reconstruction, and address the root causes of the catastrophe.
Talking with fellow Vermonters in Barre, Brattleboro, Montpelier and beyond, I’m hearing renewed concerns about the climate crisis. The smoky haze, the hot humid air, and increased tick bites were already getting to many of us. But the flooding took the concerns to a new level, sounding the alarm once again about our climate.
So what can we do?
First of all, we can address immediate human need by looking after our families and our neighbors. You can donate to relief efforts, find mutual aid groups in your community, and speak up for the human right to housing. You can advocate for federal dollars to build back stronger, like we did after Tropical Storm Irene.
When it comes to climate, we can make Big Oil pay. Another concrete step Vermont can take is to boldly implement the Affordable Heat Act and its clean heat standard.
Vermont’s adoption this past spring of the Affordable Heat Act demonstrates our state’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis. When the Legislature overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s roadblocks, it took a critical step forward. But for Vermont to fulfill its legal and moral obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Public Utility Commission must now consider the technical aspects of the clean heat standard, a component of the Affordable Heat Act.
The Vermont public will need to stay engaged to counteract the self-serving lobbying of the fossil fuel industry. As the discussion moves from Legislature to the Public Utility Commission, we must remain vigilant.
The Affordable Heat Acts sets parameters for the clean heat standard. In turn, the Public Utility Commission must work out the details, including the adoption of energy-efficiency measures such as better insulation of our homes and cleaner technologies like heat pumps and more efficient wood stoves.
My friend in Brookfield already got a subsidized new wood stove, which I enjoyed this past winter when I visited her. I was impressed by how much heat it produced and retained — with so little wood! The clean heat standard, if implemented well, will help more people be able to access these improvements in the way we heat our homes.
The term “heat pump” can be confusing, because those same pumps that help keep our homes warm in the winter also can help keep them cool and dry on hot, muggy days. And they do so using a lot less electricity than air conditioners.
The other day I went over to friends’ in Putney, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, as it was above 80 degrees out. Inside their house, though, I had to ask for a blanket because it was so refreshingly cold. The culprit? Their “heat” pump!
Heat pumps alone, and even the clean heat standard, are just part of what Vermont needs to do to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Critics point to the very small immediate impact our policy changes will make on the global climate crisis. While technically they may be correct, morally they are wrong: Just as two wrongs don’t make right, other larger states polluting our precious common home do not justify our continuing to do so.
We have a responsibility to clean up our act. Hopefully, that will inspire other states and governments to do similarly.
Certainly what we do here in Vermont is just part of what’s needed. We need to stop subsidizing big oil and gas and immediately transition to 100% safe, renewable energy in a way that protects poor and working families economically. More companies can follow the example of those like Vermont Gas, the only gas company in the nation installing electric appliances.
As the Public Utility Commission develops the structure of the clean heat standard, the devil will be in the details. Vermonters can follow the work of groups like the Sierra Club Vermont chapter to support policies that put low-income families first and protect our environment.
Vermont is becoming warmer and wetter. We may not be able to stop the floods. But we can make a difference, helping save middle-class and low-income families money, while leaving a legacy of helping protect our common home for generations to come.
