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Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deb Markowitz, who is a visiting professor at the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. She was Vermont secretary of state from 1999 to 2010 and secretary of natural resources from 2011 to 2016.

The Trump administration’s reversal of Obama era climate policies was not unexpected. But for Vermonters who care about climate change and protecting the environment, the news coming out of Washington can be discouraging.

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Cuts to EPA climate programs and climate science, and executive orders to reverse Obama era policies could not come at a worse time. Last year was the hottest on record, and this year has already set records for warming. This has dangerous consequences – from extreme weather, to floods and fire. In Vermont and elsewhere, warmer winters also mean more ticks in the spring – increasing the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

But there are lots of reasons to hold out hope.

States and local leadership matters. More than 30 states, including Vermont, have adopted plans with aggressive goals for investing in renewable energy, and for reducing climate pollution. These states are red and blue, and include a majority of the U.S. population and economic productivity. If states implement their plans then the country will be on track to meet our global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

The market is also at work. New reports show the world’s greenhouse gas emissions continued to stay flat for a third year in a row, largely because inexpensive natural gas replaced dirtier fuels like oil and coal. In the United States alone, coal generated 30 percent of the country’s electricity in 2010, and today it counts for less than 20 percent. This trend is expected to continue, with recent announcements that two of the nation’s largest coal-fired power plants will be closing by 2019.

At the same time, renewable energy is booming. Costs of wind and solar energy continue to drop. Last month, Moody’s Investors Service reported that the average cost of wind power in the Great Plains states fell to nearly $20/MWH, in contrast to coal which costs about $30/MWH.

Trump may have proposed broad cuts to the nation’s climate programs, but it is Congress that writes the appropriations bills. VTDigger is underwritten by:

Renewable energy has also fueled job growth, with more than 300,000 jobs in solar and wind across the country. Here, in Vermont, the clean energy sector employs nearly 18,000 people.

Attitudes about climate change are also changing. A recent report from the Yale’s Center for Climate Communication shows that 70 percent of Americans agree climate change is happening. Over half surveyed believe climate change is mostly caused by human activity, and 75 percent support regulating carbon pollution.

It will surprise no one that 80 percent of Vermonters hold these views, but even in the reddest states, like Texas and Oklahoma, well over half of those surveyed support regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the setbacks of the past few weeks, we can still stay on track to reduce climate pollution. It will take continued leadership of state and local governments and reliance on market factors that are unlikely to change, even with a rollback of climate policies by the White House. But most of all, it will depend on citizens speaking out.

We can take a lesson from the recent failure to replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump may have proposed broad cuts to the nation’s climate programs, but it is Congress that writes the appropriations bills. With public pressure, perhaps the worst of those cuts can be prevented. In addition, any reversal of EPA greenhouse gas pollution rules must take into account public comments and science. Our objections to the rule changes, and our support for climate science must be heard.

It is easy to get discouraged, but let’s remember that we can make a difference. There is nothing more important than speaking out to protect the health and safety of our communities, and to preserve our children’s future.