What's Up With The Climate

Are you confused by the many different committees, councils, caucuses and other groups that are advancing climate change policies in Vermont? I have to pause for the right titles for each group that is active and try to remember who they are and what they are doing. Here’s how I describe them. Vermont Climate Caucus . This is the group of legislators that are working together to implement policies at the state level.  They have been meeting for a few years and together were able to pass last year’s Global Warming Solutions Act that is now law. This year they are working to make sure every committee in the statehouse is incorporating some measures that will make a difference in greenhouse gas emissions, conservation, more resilient communities, and many other important climate-related measures. They meet every other week on Thursday’s at noon and their sessions are recorded so you can tune in at your convenience. Representative Till is very active in this group, and Representative ...

Keeping up with climate change science isn’t for everyone, but sometimes you just want to quickly get an update that you can understand. One of my favorite websites for data-based information on climate change is NASA. They create visuals that you can understand quickly and then dig deeper on a host of subjects.  NASA: Climate Change and Global Warming Quickly understand what drives sea level changes. “Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms.” Get statistics on global temperature trends. “Nineteen of the warmest years have occurred since 2000, with the exception of 1998. The year 2020 tied with 2016 for the warmest year on record since record-keeping began in 1880.”  Their global temperature time series visual from 1884 to 2020 is worth seeing! Global Temperature | Vital Signs – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (nasa.gov) The effects of g...