
Responding to climate change will benefit health now. The more greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, the more we can expect the planet to warm, resulting in more severe extreme weather and health impacts. We can take action to:
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- increase the planet’s ability to absorb greenhouse gases
- improve community resilience to climate impacts
- address vulnerabilities to health risks
Often, these actions provide immediate health, environmental, economic, or other benefits today while also reducing potential impacts of climate change in the future. Many of these actions are considered “win-win” strategies because they will provide multiple benefits to society even if future climate change has less impact than is currently expected.
Action |
Benefits |
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Develop compact, mixed-use city, town, and village centers with safe and complete pedestrian and bicycling facilities |
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Increase use of public transit, vanpools, and carpools |
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Increase energy efficiency of buildings and vehicles |
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Switch to local, clean energy sources |
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Buy food and other goods from local sources |
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Plant trees and develop green stormwater infrastructure |
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improving health through transportation
Changing how we use transportation in Vermont is one of the ways we can reduce greenhouse gases and improve health. Vermont's Comprehensive Energy Plan sets goals to increase the number of electric vehicles, reduce driving alone, and increasing walking, biking and bus trips. Learn more about the health benefits we could see by meeting these goals by 2050 and find out more about how we estimated those benefits.
weatherization + health
Homes can be made more energy efficient through weatherization strategies like adding insulation and sealing air leaks. Weatherization saves money on energy bills while making homes more healthy and comfortable. Learn more about the health benefits of home weatherization and find a more detailed technical report.
Here is a list of tools for communities and institutions to help adapt to climate change challenges:
- U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit including specific tools for health care facilities
- Resilience and Adaptation in New England database from the Environmental Protection Agency
- i-Tree toolkit for assessing and managing community trees and forests
- “Carbon Farming” practices in Vermont for how to store carbon in plants in soil
Your “carbon footprint” is the estimate of the effect that your day-to-day activities have on the climate—the greenhouse gas emissions associated with your daily activities. You can estimate your carbon footprint, by using the EPA Carbon Footprint Calculator.
There are many great information resources that can help us reduce our individual carbon footprints. Here are a few to help you get on the way to a cleaner, greener, healthier life:
- What You Can Do—Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
- What You Can Do—EPA