TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Governor Phil Scott please do all you can to support Vermont through this climate crisis we are in by backing your fellow Vermonters by signing off on TCI. Think of our child and our children’s children. Be the man to make a difference.

There is no "Climate Crisis" or "Climate Emergency"! Stop the fear mongering. Vermont has an "Affordability Crisis" that needs attention. It's time to address what matters most to Vermonters such as lowering the cost of living by eliminating the state pension shortfall and lowering high property taxes and healthcare premiums.

Your TCI is intended to make purchasing transportation fuels so painfully expensive that the astronomically high price discourages people from buying it. In short, consumers will have to pay more at the pump to fund increased government spending. Make no mistake, this is a tax. More precisely, it is a carbon dioxide tax being implemented through a gas tax.

But, unlike motor fuel taxes levied to pay for roads, bridges, and transportation infrastructure (a reasonable fee for use), the TCI would be the equivalent of a “sin tax” – a penalty for engaging in bad behavior. I do not believe that driving to and for work, transporting children to school, transporting goods, going to the grocery store, and all the other necessary activities that generally require a vehicle should be treated by governments as a sin. These are not activities people can, or should be forced to, avoid.

Thank you for working toward this important mission. I am concerned that cap and invest is complicated and could be easily tweaked so that it may not truly accomplish these important goals. Are there more direct ways to accomplish this? Also, I think it would be very important to consider how air transportation fits in this plan. I also wonder about the benefits of improved rail systems for people and freight.

As transportation is a primary emitter of fossil fuels, a focus on reducing that is imperative. Localizing economies is a start. Food is a good start to the start. Everyone needs to eat two or three times a day, and food has to get from farm to plate. Human beings do not need bananas from Ecuador or lettuce from California in order to survive! Re-educating people on how to get needed nutrients from things that grow locally can be of enormous help in reducing the hidden costs to the climate. Growing one's own food is best. Ten paces from garden to plate, freshness assured! Next would be a system of community gardens, then farmers markets, then grocery stores carrying local food at prices that reflect its true cost. Adding a carbon quotient to all transported foods would make local foods look a lot better.

Another educational effort could be put into edible weeds, seeds, flowers, and even insects. (80% of the world enjoys insect protein. Why can't we, in the West?) It might make people think twice about spraying dandelions with poison if they knew how nutritious they are. Unsprayed lawns abound in other foods and even medicines that are far more valuable than the aesthetics of a monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass. Think about how many homeowners rake up annoying acorns into garbage bags for the dump, when a couple hundred years ago acorns provided up to 50% of winter calories for some Native American populations. Going back to such useful local foodstuffs can eclipse the need for trucking in food from far away. This educational effort on local foods we already have could be enhanced and encouraged by having community based classes on cooking and preservation.

In Vermont, we have a lot of large lawns that are rarely used except from the seat of a riding mower on weekend afternoons. Grass, a perennial, grows on its own with little input needed. Put grazing animals on those lawns and they get fertilized nicely. Hoof action makes pockets that hold water rather than letting it run off. Hoof action also presses manure into the soil, sequestering that carbon. Grassland thus grows protein in the form of meat--a sustainable form. At the same time, any form of factory farming of animals should be transitioned as quickly as possible to grass-based. Grain is not a natural part of any ruminant's diet! They'll eat it, but it's bad for them in the long run. Valuable corn and soybean fields could then be converted to carbon-sequestering grasslands or some form of permaculture including fruit and nut trees, with some open land being kept for annual fruits and vegetables as needed.

Thanks for listening.

My family has only one car (a hybrid) and uses it relatively infrequently as we can walk, bike or bus most places in town. We would get rid of our vehicle altogether if it were possible to get bus or train service to various places in roughly 5 hrs driving distance (Portland, ME or Western Mass, for example). Currently our only public transit options depart Burlington at 3am (Greyhound) or 4pm (Megabus), both of which are disruptive to travel plans with small children. Our inability to get to and from other cities within Vermont (except by the commuter buses, which run so infrequently that they are not useful for errand running or partial day outings) is another factor. I would love to see the region develop a more robust public transit system between towns, preferably at hours that are convenient not just for those working a 9-5 job, but to accomodate tourists and traveling families.

I support TCI, and would like to see a strong emphasis on using the revenues from TCI to support sustainable transportation options, particularly walking, biking, public transportation, carpooling, electric bicycles, and other non-single occupancy vehicle options. I would like to see as high a fee as possible to help shift behavior and raise revenues to support alternatives.

Tailpipe exhaust is a major source of air pollution in Vermont. Auto ownership is a financial burden, and vehicle accidents have disrupted or ended too many lives. We need transportation choices, and development that coordinates with them!

https://www.zermatt.ch/en/arrival/Autofrei-GEX-MTT/Zermatt-is-car-free

Zermatt Switzerland has been car free for ages. It is a good plan and could be implemented in Burlington for a good start. See link.
Deliveries are made with electric trucks and traffic is not allowed into the city that is not electric.

We are working hard in the NEK ( Northeast Kingdom) to reduce carbon emissions- lots of driving in this rural area so we need the incentives that TCI would provide - can’t do much on a meaningful scale without it. As far as it amounting to another tax on fuel- the price of gas differs as much as 25 cents or more per gallon between St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville, the next town north. An added tax of 5 cents pales in comparison to these fluctuations. And the TCI takes seriously the impacts on rural and low income populations, which is a key strength. Vermont needs to be part of this initiative so we have a place at the table when decisions are made.