BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The University of Vermont is spearheading a new effort to track and understand climate change across the country.
After two years of flooding, Vermonters are looking for better tools to protect their property, their crops, and their families.
Researchers at the University of Vermont say they have the solution.
Through his research on sustainable food systems, UVM Professor Eric Roy is connecting with farmers in every corner of the state.
He says many are eager to fight climate change but lack information on how to get there.
“They want to contribute to these larger scale efforts, but we often lack the tools to communicate well with them about how their efforts on the ground are actually making an impact at larger scales,” said Roy.
That’s where UVM’s new Climate Measurements Center of Excellence comes in.
Using a $2.7 million federal investment, the center aims to address inconsistencies in how communities across the country track climate change.
UVM Associate Professor Gillian Galford is directing the effort.
“Let’s go forward with this and move the needle forward for the whole nation,” said Galford.
Alongside federal partners and several other universities, UVM is working with 13 states and jurisdictions to analyze the impacts of climate change on water, health, and food systems.
That information will help create the country’s first toolkit, which will be available to all communities for climate change tracking at the local level.
Galford says it’s a massive step up from current tracking, which lacks specificity and uniformity and can stymie real progress.
“The information that we have, often at the national level or even the regional level, is often not specific enough for, say, a town planner to decide, yes, I need to upgrade the culverts in my town,” said Galford.
Whether it’s Plainfield, Vermont, or Sarasota, Florida, Galford hopes the toolkit can be used across the board to track and compare data on the climate crisis and empower people to take action.
“When you say my part of Vermont has experienced a 20% increase in extreme precipitation, it’s something that people can take home and actually start to implement changes in their communities,” said Galford.
The center is currently rounding out its staff before kickstarting research.
They say they’ll use next year’s state climate assessment – which the university spearheads – to test out their toolkit before an official rollout.