by John McCormick
We can get this right.
Vermont’s government is struggling to comply with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020. It is not alone. 25 States are doing the same.
It mandated reductions by requiring “Vermont shall reduce emissions”.
- 25 percent from the 2005 level by January 1 2025
- 50 percent from the 1990 level by January 1, 2030
- 80 percent from the 1990 level by January 1, 2050
“Shall reduce” is enforceable through the Vermont courts. Citizens can file suit to make the reductions happen:
That is the conundrum: compliance is in the hands of us heating fuels customers. The General Assembly (G.A.) cannot enforce us to abandon our cars or oil heaters. Though, it did enact the “Affordable Heat Act (S. 5) with that in mind. The P.U.C. is now studying how to regulate heating fuel sales to increase costs and force compliance with the CO2 mandates. However, its overly aggressive plan will be hampered by a continuing shortage of trained weatherization and heat pump installers. And, quoting Senator Becca White’s May 11 Commentary regarding S. 5: “…people don’t have to do anything if they don’t want to.” So, that is the bottom line.
Fortunately, the legislature, in 2012, enacted the Home Weatherization Assistance Program (W.A.P.) introduced by Bennington County Republican Representative Oliver Olsen. W.A.P. hired installers to make homes of Low Income Heat Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) clients eliminate fuel waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It provides grants to retrofit, making the building safer and more comfortable.
Housed within the Department of Families and Children Office of Economic Opportunities, W.A.P. working with limited funds and limited workforce weatherized 1,033 households in 2022; reducing heating oil use by 28%, cutting CO2 emissions by nearly 1,400 tons. Its administrative cost is less than half a million dollars. Compare that to the S.5’s $1.6 million already appropriated to design the program.
We fund W.A.P. with a 2 cent fee added per gallon. Return on that investment includes reduced emergency room visits of chronic respiratory patients, fewer lost work and school days, lower cost of living for grantees. That fee is going to expire next June 30. To keep W.A.P. ongoing and growing the G.A. must reauthorize it. This is the moment to embrace President Kennedy’s words: increase the wages of the installation and technical crews.
Installers work in damp crawl spaces, drafty, sometimes bat-colony attics and outdoor repair, in all kinds of weather, at a $20.16/hour salary; $5 less than a bagel shop employee. That is a disservice given their challenging work and a reason new hires is a continuing challenge. The crews are on the front line of fighting drafts and colds in un-insulated homes of low income Vermonters — they improve housing comfort, improve health and save lives.
The 2 cent fee will not rescue every needy LIHEAP family. That requires doubling and eventually tripling the workforce while increasing their compensation. We can get this right by heeding President Kennedy. The G.A. can adjust their salary level gradually to $30 by increasing the fee to 4 or 6 cents. S.5 will certainly increase fuel costs many times more than 4 cents.
John McCormick is Director of the Bristol Chapter of the Louise Diamond Committee to Protect Next Generations.