Suppose that in 1955 Rosa Parks had simply got up from her seat and made her way to the back of the bus. Suppose she had said, “I’m just a seamstress, what impact on Jim Crow laws can I have and will there be any benefit to my community?” Just suppose …
And now in 2024, where the recent election knocked many of our environmental priorities off track, suppose we said, “What impact can little Vermont have on climate change? If we speak up, will anyone hear us? Will the people with their hands on the levers of power pay attention?”
Climate change is all around us. We have borne the brunt of floods, from Barre, Vt., to North Carolina, wildfires in California and melting permafrost that is releasing methane into the atmosphere for which there is no remedy. What are we to do and who will lead us now that MAGA Republicans are leading us down an increasingly dark and convoluted path?
Many important voices in the Vermont Legislature were recently defeated. Among them were Sen. Chris Bray, chair of Senate Natural Resources, Reps. Diane Lanpher, chair of House Appropriations, and Mike McCarthy, chair of House Economic Development, who all lost and are being replaced by Republicans less concerned about climate change and the resources necessary to get us there. They were our voices of experience and institutional memory and will be sorely missed. Are we at a standstill?
But what if when it comes to saving the planet on which we live the continuation of environmental agenda/priorities is not dependent just on leadership at the top? What if it’s us we’re looking for? Isn’t it the rest of us that will make the difference? Aren’t we all collectively the real voice for common sense and forward progress? And what role might little Vermont play in the greater United States?
Vermont is a small state yet contributes more greenhouse gas on a per-capita basis than all other Northeast states except New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. On the other hand, Vermont has contributed an outsized role in the growth of the nation and around the world. We need look no further than John Deere’s shouldered plow, Fulton’s steamboat and Fairbanks’ scales, which enabled precise measurements of goods that assured they could be marketed and traded on a monetary basis. That in turn enabled commercial markets to flourish as never before. And there’s Snowflake Bentley who inspired new ways to observe our natural environment and a new appreciation for the wonders of nature.
When Rosa Parks was arrested, there was a huge groundswell of support for her and the community she represented. Organizations quickly developed to support the cause of civil rights. Rosa Parks lit the fuse and many now can scarcely remember the day when civil rights wasn’t part of our national agenda. On climate change, what role do we have to play? Heads up! Our own best resources are each other.
Representative Jim Masland is a longtime Vermont state representative. He lives in Thetford Center.