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🌓 It’s Thursday, Oct. 10. Here’s what’s on deck:
- Managing the Worcester Range
- A wayward lynx
- Banding tiny owls
But first,
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‘Not the right policy’
Lots of people in Vermont rely on fuel oil or propane to heat their homes. The state is far more dependent on these fuels than most other cold-weather parts of the country. And these fossil fuels are particularly carbon-intensive – it’s one reason why Vermont has the second-most emissions per capita of any state in New England.
For years, state lawmakers have set their sights on shifting homeowners away from these emissions-heavy fuels and incentivizing the installation of cleaner heating sources. The policy they settled on last year is called a clean heat standard.
That means setting up a marketplace where companies that import and supply oil, propane, and gas for heat would have to earn “clean heat credits” depending on how much fuel they supply and its relative carbon intensity.
Companies could get credits by doing things like helping customers replace a propane hot water heater with an electric one and installing a heat pump, or they could pay for credits. That revenue could then fund efficiency and electrification projects. And lawmakers stipulated that a share of those credits need to come from helping low-and moderate-income households.
The Public Utility Commission (a three-member regulatory group appointed by the governor) has the task of sorting out the details of the policy. And they came back with some major feedback for lawmakers last week:
⛔ They want to drop the clean heat standard: The PUC said regulating and running the marketplace will be costly and Vermont is too small to manage this alone. A clean heat standard is also in development in Massachusetts and Maryland, but no state has enacted one yet.
👛 A simpler alternative? The PUC says a fee on fossil heating fuels would raise money that could be spent directly on weatherization and electrification. This would be similar to what Vermont has done for years now with electricity, to fund efficiency projects through Efficiency Vermont. Lawmakers have considered a fee for fossil heating fuels before but it was “deemed politically dead on arrival.” Some say they’re still open to the idea.
- Supporters of the clean heat standard say a fee wouldn’t incentivize businesses to transform as quickly and would do less to change the market for home heat. They also say a fee is also not guaranteed to help low and moderate income households.
💰 Either way, expect big upfront spending: No one knows quite how much. The PUC will submit a formal cost study to lawmakers in January, after they've designed the parts of the policy that have the most bearing on fuel prices and on emissions.
🌎 Whatever lawmakers decide, they have to do something: They’re required by law to cut emissions from the heating sector. And scientists agree that collective action by local communities and governments is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. A lawsuit filed last month by the Conservation Law Foundation said the state is already not doing enough to keep Vermont on track to meet its deadlines for reducing emissions.
In other news
🌲 1,400 public comments later: The state released a final plan for managing almost 20,000 acres in the Worcester Range of central Vermont. It sets aside about half the area for little to no human intervention and allows for commercial timber harvests on about 10% of the forest. State scientists say this will help diversify the forest, which is uniform in tree species and size in many places, leaving it vulnerable to pests and windstorms. Some conservation advocates have raised concerns about how logging could impact water quality and carbon storage.
🐆 A wayward lynx: A young lynx has been wandering across Vermont for weeks, first in Rutland County and now in Addison. The species is endangered in the state and hasn’t been seen for years. In most of Vermont, there aren’t enough snowshoe hare for lynx to eat and too many bobcats to contend with. Biologists are hoping the interloper keeps heading north, towards more suitable habitat.
🪶🦆 The tail-end of fall migration: Millions of birds are still flying over Vermont, mostly at night, as they make for warmer climes. That includes warblers, wrens, vireos and a number of ocean and shore birds. Even though Vermont has no ocean coastline, many seabirds use Lake Champlain as a migratory corridor, including some species you might never see from land.
In your backyard
Get out there
🌌 Look for northern lights: A solar storm is expected to hit Earth today, and northern light could be visible through patchy clouds across the region. It’s the third time in a week northern lights have been predicted after the sun released its biggest solar flare since 2017.
🦉 Get up close to tiny owls: Biologists at the North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier will capture, tag and release Northern saw-whet owls during the peak of their migration season as part of national research effort. The round owls are about the size of a robin and often hard to spot in the dense conifer groves they prefer. Public owl banding events run from tonight, Oct. 10 through Friday, Oct. 18, most starting at 8 p.m. They include a night for queer birders and an overnight program for kids ages 10 to 15. Free, but register ahead of time.
🥾🐦🛶 Head to the refuge: The Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton is having its first fair this Sunday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They’ll offer foraging and birding walks, paddling, and presentations on the lake, pollinators, and history of the refuge. It’s part of a nationwide event to raise money and awareness for the country’s National Wildlife Refuge system.
📨 A chance to weigh in: If you want to learn more about the clean heat standard or share your thoughts on the draft rules, the Public Utility Commission is hosting a workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 1:30 p.m. to take input on modeling the economic impacts of the policy. Then, the PUC is holding a hearing Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. to allow for public comment on the plan and the alternative proposal for a fee on fossil heating fuels.
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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 Lexi Krupp with lots of help from the Vermont Public team, including graphics by Laura Nakasaka and digital support from Sophie Stephens. Editing by Brittany Patterson.