Climate change is fueling extreme weather in Vermont, like Tropical Storm Irene and the July 2023 flooding, and ordinary Vermonters are paying the price.
You can’t see the White River in this photo, but the sign shows where this roaring river reached its high point during Tropical Storm Irene. The river completely inundated this farm field, submerging all its melons, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and sweet corn. A local newspaper captured the farmer’s account of the 2011 flood: “[The water] was literally coming up an inch a minute,” he said.
All told, the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Vermont’s unofficial estimate for farmers’ economic losses approached $20 million. These catastrophes are occurring increasingly frequently. A recent report by Rebuild by Design found that Vermont suffered through 17 climate disaster events between 2011 and 2021 – the seventh most of…