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Spending plan for $18M in Volkswagen money stalls out
Lawmakers will wait until next year to decide how to spend Vermont’s share of a $4.3 billion settlement with Volkswagen over alleged emissions fraud. A bill, titled H.487, allocating the $17.8 million...
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Vermont gets $4.2 million in Volkswagen settlement
From left, Attorney General TJ Donovan, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore and Robert McDougall, from the attorney general’s office, attend a news conference Friday on...
View ArticleJohn McClaughry: Vermont’s emissions problem
Editor’s note: This commentary is by John McClaughry, the vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Last September the Legislature underwrote a $120,000 contract to a Washington, D.C., firm named...
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Emissions test exemption bill narrowed to cars 15 years or older
Traffic near Brattleboro. File photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Senate committees have narrowed an exemption on car emissions testing over concerns that the original proposal would put the state afoul...
View ArticleLower-sulfur heating oil now required in Vermont
Stricter limits on the amount of sulfur in heating fuels went into effect Tuesday. The new limits will reduce the environmental impacts of haze-causing sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere....
View ArticleMatt Cota: The cleaner, greener home heating oil
Editor’s note: Matt Cota is the executive director of Vermont Fuel Dealers Association. Vermonters aren’t using dirty oil. They can’t. It’s against the law. On July 1, 2014, the Clean and Green Oilheat...
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State unveils ‘cap-and-invest’ system for lowering carbon emissions
The Transportation and Climate Initiative released a proposal last week for a tax and invest plan for carbon allowances. Photo by Jess Wisloski/VTDigger A multi-state initiative that would lower...
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Burlington has seen 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2018,...
Stu McGowan, who says he purchased the first Chevy Bolt (an electric vehicle) in the state, plugs his car in before a press conference held to announce the Burlington’s progress toward its Net Zero...
View ArticleNew data shows Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions declining — slowly
Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions declined by an estimated 5.6% from 2016 to 2019, according to new data released this week by the state, reversing several years of rising emissions. The trend is...
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Act 250 commission approves changes in Irasburg asphalt plant
The J. Hutchins Inc. asphalt operation, seen from the parking lot of Irasburg Village School, juts out above the tree line. Photo by Justin Trombly/VTDigger State officials have approved a new permit...
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Vermont Conversation: Will moving beyond fossil fuels help or hurt low-income...
Jared Duval is executive director of Energy Action Network in Montpelier. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth...
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Ag company fined $40,000 for late reports on toxic chemicals in Swanton
Cargill Malt in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Courtesy Creative Commons One of the country’s largest agricultural companies twice filed late reports with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for toxic...
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Will climate resilience earn enough weight in Vermont’s Climate Action Plan?
Jane Lazorchak, project director for the Global Warming Solutions Act, listens to a member of the public at a September event while jotting notes that the climate council will consider. Photo by Emma...
View ArticleRichard Watts: To solve transportation emissions, create a new agency
This commentary is by Richard Watts, is the former director of research at the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont and co-founder of Sustainable Transportation Vermont. From...
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Transportation pact crumbles as 2 states leave, striking a blow to Vermont’s...
Traffic travels along Pine Street in Burlington on Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Massachusetts and Connecticut have pulled out of a regional initiative designed to curb...
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Burlington City Council to vote on part of North Winooski Avenue plan
Trudy Macy, a North Winooski Avenue resident with mobility issues, stands in front of her car on March 17, 2022. Photo by Jack Lyons/VTDigger BURLINGTON — Parts of a yearslong effort to swap parking...
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Beta Technologies’ electric-powered plane touches down in New Hampshire
Pilot Lochie Ferrier prepares to fly the Beta Alia-250c electric plane out of the Lebanon Municipal Airport in Lebanon, New Hampshire, on Friday, April 15. The flight to Manchester, New Hampshire was...
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Vermont environmentalists condemn latest Supreme Court ruling, though Vermont...
The 15-acre PSEG Essex Solar Center displaces approximately 2,841 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The Supreme Court's latest decision affects the Environmental Protection Agency's ability...
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State pushes forward with California car emissions rule, but that won’t close...
An electric vehicle plugged into a fast charger in Rutland in February. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger State officials are moving forward with a suite of transportation regulations, the...
View ArticleRobert Letovsky: Looking at the big picture in energy options
This commentary is written by Dr. Robert Letovsky. He is the David LaMarche professor of business administration & accounting at Saint Michael's College and a member of the board of directors of...
View ArticleJames Maroney: We are going to miss our emissions goals because we are...
This commentary, written as an open letter to Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore, is by James H. Maroney Jr., who has a master’s degree in environmental law & policy from Vermont Law...
View ArticleTom Evslin: Zero net emissions does not require zero use of fossil fuels
This commentary is by Tom Evslin of Stowe, an entrepreneur, author and former Douglas administration official. His blog is here. In the introduction to its May 2022 special issue Saving Forests,...
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Final Reading: Scott announced funding to create an emissions plan. But...
Gov. Phil Scott delivers his budget address to a joint session of the Legislature at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, Jan. 20. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott didn’t mention the...
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Report: Pandemic caused lower greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, but state...
In 2020, Vermont emitted fewer greenhouse gases than in its 30 previous years of tracking — a 10% reduction from 2017 to 2020. The reduction came largely from transportation emissions, which dropped...
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