Jennifer Sebold is a 48-year-old single mother of three in Montpelier, Vermont, and climate change is a very personal issue for her. She lost two businesses — a flower shop and a separate store selling various types of goods — in the Great Vermont Flood of 2023. Like much of the rest of the world, Vermont is experiencing more extreme weather because of climate change, in particular devastating floods that cover entire communities in debris.
Climate change is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases that trap heat and trigger numerous unintended weather consequences. The science on the matter is settled, which is why Vermont acted in May to become the first state to demand Big Oil pay for damages.
