Solo car commuting still dominates Chittenden County rush hours, but its share is declining, transportation experts announced today. The dip in single-occupancy vehicle trips between 2000 and 2009 bucks national trends, and “is definitely cause for celebration,” said Bryan Davis, a transportation planner with the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization at a press conference.

Link to full article

A few years ago, Robert Costanza went rogue. A professor of ecological economics at the University of Vermont, Costanza, along with a few colleagues, attempted to publish a paper in Science magazine that argued for the creation of a global “atmospheric trust” as a way to control and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. This trust, they asserted, should consist of an auction-based cap-and-trade scheme that would put a price on CO2 and return a portion of the auction revenues to every person on Earth.

Link to full article

An effort to reduce exhaust emissions from large trucks has morphed into an all-out ban on excessive idling by any vehicle. A House energy committee this week is expected to approve a bill that would impose modest fines on motorists who leave cars running in place for more than five minutes. While administration officials have reserved judgment until they see the final language, the bill, which carves out numerous exceptions for the trucking industry, has met with almost no opposition from trade groups that would be most affected by the restriction.

Link to full article

As climate change threatens a valuable Vermont industry, who should take the lead in making the state’s ski areas more energy-efficient? This question — and many others related to skiing in the face of warming temperatures and altered weather patterns were discussed — during an event this fall at the Vermont Ski Museum.

Link to full article

Governor Jim Douglas and 10 other governors in the region took the next step toward developing a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding that commits their states to continued participation in a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuels for vehicles and other uses.

“Vermont is a leader in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but about 45 percent of our carbon footprint is generated from the transportation sector,” Governor Douglas said. “As with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, this partnership will help us meet our environmental challenges and encourage the creation of green jobs.”

Link to full article

The Rutland Herald reports that Middlebury College and the University of Vermont are on the "top-20 list of 'coolest schools' for their efforts to stop global warming" according to the Sierra Club. The schools receieved the 3rd and 4th place rankings (respectively) based on a 1-10 scale for eight categories.

Link to article

Link to full list of rankings

The Burlington Free Press reports that several experts including a Green Mountain Power utility executive, two professors and several people who work nationally and internationally on energy issues "urged U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., to build on the state’s energy efficiency successes by transplanting those ideas into federal climate legislation due this spring." In response, Welch said he "want[ed] to get Vermont ideas injected into the bill as quickly as possible." This year "Congress is expected to consider either a tax or a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Either action could raise household utility bills, something Congress may be reluctant to do given the dire state of the economy." According to Richard Cowart, a former chairman of the Public Service Board and a founder of the Regulatory Assistance Project, an energy-policy consulting firm, “‘Cap-and-invest’ is the most powerful, the best way to help consumers." Cowart added, "It’s really a false choice between high carbon emissions and extremely high fossil fuel prices if you are talking about the electric power sector. The answer is to design a cap-and-trade system that maximizes energy efficiency to reduce carbon — and reduce energy bills at the same time.” He concluded, "Vermont’s investments in energy efficiency and the recent experience of the carbon auction created by the northeastern Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative prove that this can work."

Link to article

The Burlington Free Press reports that Senator Bernie Sanders will "be named chairman of a new Senate subcommittee this week that aims to create green jobs that put Americans to work making the country more energy efficient while reducing global warming." Sanders commented, "We’re going to use this subcommittee to do everything we can to create millions of good-paying jobs in the United States as we move forward to a new energy system based on efficiency and sustainable energ. The potential for job growth in this area is bigger than almost anything else I can think of.”

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that "efforts by Vermont and 13 other states to cut carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles are expected to get a big boost from President Obama." According to officials in Washington, President Obama is "ready to announce his support for emission reductions that would require better fuel efficiency." Two years ago, "car makers sued Vermont in U.S. District Court when it adopted new California emission rules. Federal Judge William Sessions ruled in the state's favor, but the Bush administration blocked the new rules from taking effect."

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that the University of Vermont's Maple Research Center is "trying to determine if a warming climate could be dulling New England's fall foliage." The group is "studying how temperature affects the development of autumn colors and whether warming could mute them, prolong the foliage viewing season or delay it." The study is funded by a three-year, $45,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, and the group is "planning to measure color-producing chemicals in leaves exposed to varying temperatures in hopes of finding a pattern."

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that the results of the three-hour Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction -- the nation's first greenhouse gas auction -- are set for release on Monday, September 29th. "The auction was run by World Energy, an operator of online green exchanges," and "a coalition of 10 northeastern states is hoping the auction will help curb global warming." The auction "bids will be used to determine a clearing price based on supply versus demand. " Notably, "the cap-and-trade program is viewed as a model for a national program. It includes New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont."

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that "Vermont and nine other northeastern states this week will take steps to check global warming when they conduct the nation's first carbon auction, taking the same approach that curbed lake-killing acid rain." As part of the action, carbon credits will be sold during a series of quarterly online auctions. "Vermont stands to reap a benefit because with the low carbon-emitting profile of its electrical system, the state has ample carbon credits to sell." Notably, "the cap-and-trade greenhouse gas reduction program, which aims to hold carbon dioxide emissions steady through 2014 and then gradually reduce them, is widely viewed as a model for future programs around the globe."

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that the Old Farmer's Almanac, which hits newsstands today, predicts a cooler winter this year and a cooler half century. Indeed, the Almanac says "a study of solar activity and corresponding records on ocean temperatures and climate point to a cooler, not warmer, climate, for perhaps the next 50 years. Editor-in-Chief Judson Hale said it remains to be seen whether the human impact on global temperatures will override any cooling trend."

Link to article

Vermont Public Radio reports that Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), a regional environmental group, has released a report that outlines five steps Vermont and New England must take over next five years to combat climate change. The report said that "75 percent of transportation dollars should be spent on public transit and programs to fight sprawl"; "the region should spend at least $1 billion dollars on energy conservation measures for homes and businesses"; and New England should "build at least 2,000 megawatts worth of new wind power projects in the next five years." The CLF also "wants to see two of the region's coal-fired power plants shut down and replaced with generating stations using lower-carbon fuel."

Link to article

The Rutland Herald reports that "Vermont has been instrumental in shaping the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (or RGGI), which is designed to help the Northeast aggressively cut its carbon pollution." Vermont's role in RGGI is "partly accidental: The state has little in-state fossil fuel generation and so has few power brokers in the sector influencing its energy policies." In addition, "two Vermonters, Richard Cowart, who runs the Regulatory Assistance Project, and Jeffrey Wennberg, former commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, helped develop RGGI," which is considered "the most ambitious approach to limiting carbon pollution." Notably, "because of their experience with the initiative, Vermont may be poised to play a national role as Congress inches closer to enacting legislation on global warming."

Link to article