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🌖 It’s Friday, Aug. 9. Here’s what’s on deck:
- New fossils in Greenland rewrite ice history
- Farm fresh fun across Vermont
- A full moon paddle in Winooski
But first,
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Vermont’s emissions are trending downward, a new report finds
- ⛽ Every year the Agency of Natural Resources takes stock of how many climate warming greenhouse gasses Vermont is emitting.
- 📝 Why does it matter? This is THE TOOL that measures whether Vermont is on track to meet big deadlines in 2025, 2030 and 2050 to cut greenhouse gas emissions – as required by the Global Warming Solutions Act, Vermont’s state law that requires we cut our emissions.
- 🐢 It takes about three years to get all the data, so this year’s report is a snapshot of our emissions in 2021.
The big takeaways:
📉 Experts at the Agency of Natural Resources say long-term, Vermont’s emissions are trending downward, at least slightly… though not fast enough to be in line with the state’s long-term (and some say short-term) climate commitments.
😷 2020 was Vermont’s lowest emitting year since 1990 (Think the pandemic! Working from home!)
🚘 Since then, Vermont’s emissions have rebounded by about 310,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (about how much 73,000 cars emit in a year), mostly because of people driving again… but they’re still lower than they were before the pandemic.
💻 Data experts and regulators disagree over whether we’re close to being on track to meet our first big deadline to cut emissions, in 2025. ANR says we’re close – but at least one member of the state climate council and some environmental advocates warn we are way off track, and say ANR is using the wrong data and approach to modeling to make its projections.
🎯 That matters because ANR is legally responsible for making sure Vermont stays on track to meet its emissions deadlines (or else they can be sued). July 1 was a major deadline to do this.
⚠️ The Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental nonprofit, filed a formal legal notice with ANR recently, urging the agency to take big action now to put Vermont on track for 2025 and update its approach to modeling future emissions, or risk legal action. The nonprofit also alleges that ANR has failed to keep the state on track and isn’t properly keeping track of Vermont’s progress – which they say could jeopardize Vermont’s ability to meet future deadlines too. The agency says it continues to believe Vermont is still on track for 2025, but they’ve hired a consultant to help them refine their model. CLF is hoping this can be resolved without a lawsuit.
🛤️ But all the experts DO agree that right now, Vermont is nowhere NEAR on track to meet its emissions reduction deadline for 2030.
🌳 But what about the trees?!
- Vermont – like the federal government – doesn’t count emissions from burning wood, nor do we count the carbon sequestered by trees, which rankles some environmentalists and some scientists.
- More and more science suggests that burning wood (which emits more emissions when burned than natural gas or even coal) is still harmful right now, in part because of questions about how fast trees can grow and suck carbon back out of the atmosphere, relative to how fast the climate is warming.
- And because Vermont burns so much wood for electricity and for heat, some people say this is a flaw with how the state counts our greenhouse gas emissions. Plus, the Clean Heat Standard, a potential new policy designed to cut back on Vermont’s use of fossil fuels, could incentivize more people to switch from burning fossil heating fuels to burning wood.
- Vermont has committed by law to being net zero – when the amount of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere is balanced out by emissions being taken out of the atmosphere – by 2050, so this will likely be an ever bigger topic of debate.
In other news
🧊🔬 New fossils found in Greenland’s ice rewrite history: A new study published on Monday found that most of Greenland’s ice sheet melted more recently than previously believed. University of Vermont researchers co-authored the report based off of their findings from ice core samples. Fossils like poppy seeds and insect eyes were found, which shows the ice melted recently enough to allow life to exist. This could have implications on today’s warming temperatures.
🐻 Remember to share with the bears: After several hikers reported bear encounters in New Hampshire’s Lincoln Woods — including one instance of charging — experts are reminding people to share the woods responsibly. If you encounter a bear from a safe distance, it’s best to wait for the bear to leave the area on its own. If a bear begins approaching, try to create distance and noise by yelling or clanging hiking sticks together. Try to avoid throwing food.
🚯🥬 Vermont’s food scrap ban has kept 50% of scraps out of the trash: Vermont passed a bill four years ago banning food scraps from the landfill. Since then, the state believes about 50% of food waste has been kept out of the trash. The most common way to divert food from landfills is composting, but the state is also prioritizing getting food onto tables before it goes bad enough to recycle.
In your backyard — encore!
We’re sharing a favorite from a previous issue of Out There:
Get out there
🚜🥕 Friend a farmer: Dig In Vermont’s 10th annual Open Farm week is happening now until Aug. 11. Farms across their state are opening their doors to curious Vermonters wanting to know more about how farms work. There are opportunities to learn about livestock, pick flowers, eat local food and even learn new skills in workshops. All farms are unique — meet sheep in Townshend, spot sunflowers in Woodstock, or try sun printing in Norwich and more.
🐦⬛📒 See the birds: Celebrate fall migration with Audubon Vermont on their Bird Monitoring walk on Aug. 15 in Huntington. Identify as many birds as you can on the 1.5 mile walk. Data collected will help contribute to the eBird database. Beginner birders are welcome.
🛶🌕 Take a moonlit paddle: Bask in the light of Aug. 17 full moon with a paddle along the Winooski River at the River of Light. Paddlers will launch boats in Colchester at sunset and paddle 2.5 miles as the moon rises. Friends of the Winooski River are accepting donations for participation, which will be used to protect and restore the watershed. Paddlers are required to have flotation devices and lighting on board.
One last thing
The annual Perseid meteor shower is in action! The shooting stars are supposed to peak on Aug. 11 if you’re looking for a show. NPR has a few tips on getting the best view:
- 🌃 Find dark skies: Get out of cities and towns with high amounts of light pollution. The later you stay out, the darker and better views you could get.
- 👀 Adjust your eyes: Give your eyes some time to get used to the darkness before you start looking for the stars. That means no phones!
- 🌜 Stay out late: The brightness of the moon may impact your ability to see the shower. The later you stay out, the darker it might get, which can get you better views. Staying out longer can also help your eyes adjust, and you may see more variety in the shower.
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Vermont Public's biweekly dose of all things environment.
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Credits: This week’s edition was put together by Abagael Giles and Sophie Stephens with lots of help from the Vermont Public team, including graphics by Laura Nakasaka. Editing by Brittany Patterson.
