Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Explore our latest coverage of environmental issues, climate change and more.

McKibben: 2020 Election Presents High Stakes For Addressing Climate Change

Bill McKibben at a podium in front of lawmakers gathered in the House chamber of the Vermont Statehouse
Toby Talbot
/
Associated Press File
Bill McKibben is pictured here addressing Vermont lawmakers on climate change back on Jan. 30, 2013. In a recent interview with VPR, McKibben said Vermont is "typical in finding it hard to get up to speed in answering the challenge" of climate issues.

Bill McKibben has been sounding the alarm on human activity adversely affecting the world's climate and ecosystems for a long time. Now the Vermont-based author has a new book titled Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Earlier this month, a United Nations reportrevealed that the natural world is declining at rates unprecedented in human history.

"The idea that we could lose a million species is horrifying," McKibben told VPR, "but that's what happens when you fundamentally change the climate of a planet." 

More from NPR: "1 Million Animal And Plant Species Are At Risk Of Extinction, U.N. Report Says" [May 6] 

McKibben, a founder of the environmental watchdog group 350.org, said the fossil fuel industry was aware of climate change impacts decades ago. At this point, McKibben said, humans should focus on trying to mitigate the problem.

"It's definitely too late to stop global warming. What we hope is that it's not too late to limit it to the point where it doesn't cut off civilizations at the knees," McKibben said. "The scientific consensus seems to be that we have a narrow, and rapidly closing, window in which to do something significant about climate change."

Here in Vermont, McKibben said generally the state is getting warmer, but there have also been more "dramatic effects" — like Tropical Storm Irene. Yet, he said, Vermont struggles with making progress on addressing climate issues.

"We just came through a legislative cycle where leaders in Montpelier said, 'Well we'll get to this next year.' We're running out of next years," McKibben said.

More from VPR's Brave Little State: How Is Climate Change Affecting Vermont Right Now? [April 2019]

Looking ahead to the 2020 election, McKibben said that polls indicate that climate change is a top priority for Democratic voters.

"The next election is crucial on a thousand counts and climate change is probably the one that will last the longest into the future," McKibben said. "These are elections that will matter forever because of the stakes around climate change and because of the fact that it's a time-limited problem. The results of this election will go down into geological history."

Listen to Mitch Wertlieb's interview with McKibben at the top of the post.

Update 9:39 a.m. This post was updated to clarify McKibben as one of the founders of 350.org, rather than sole founder.

Karen is Vermont Public's Director of Radio Programming, serving Vermonters by overseeing the sound of Vermont Public's radio broadcast service. Karen has a long history with public radio, beginning in the early 2000's with the launch of the weekly classical music program, Sunday Bach. Karen's undergraduate degree is in Broadcast Journalism, and she has worked for public radio in Vermont and St. Louis, MO, in areas of production, programming, traffic, operations and news. She has produced many projects for broadcast over the years, including the Vermont Public Choral Hour, with host Linda Radtke, and interviews with local newsmakers with Morning Edition host Mitch Wertlieb. In 2021 Karen worked with co-producer Betty Smith on a national collaboration with StoryCorps One Small Step, connecting Vermonters one conversation at a time.
A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years experience in radio news. He got his start as news director at NYU's college station, and moved on to a news director (and part-time DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. But public radio was where Mitch wanted to be and he eventually moved on to Boston where he worked for six years in a number of different capacities at member station WBUR...as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now. Mitch has been a guest host of the national NPR sports program "Only A Game". He's also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Monitor Radio in Boston.
Latest Stories