The College’s colors may be navy and white, but most know that Middlebury, the town and the College, tries hard to stay green. At the forefront of the town’s efforts to reduce environmental impact is Laura Asermily, the Middlebury Energy Coordinator. Appointed by the Middlebury Select Board, Asermily has held this volunteer position since the fall of 2007. Her job is to implement the Middlebury Climate Action Plan, the goal of which is to reduce the town’s carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2012.
To do so, Asermily works to educate community members about climate change and to develop programs to decrease the town’s energy consumption. Two of these programs, “Way to Go” and “Efficiency First,” were a result from the town’s 2002 measurement of its carbon footprint.
“Way to Go” is a campaign that encourages people to travel in ways that use less fuel. Though Asermily admits it is sometimes difficult to work within the tight streets of Middlebury, she has seen positive changes. There are now pedestrian and bicycle markings and there is increased ridership for the ACTR buses (Addison Country Transit Resources).
“Efficiency First” helps community members find effective ways to weatherize their homes. Locals are encouraged to use proper insulation and to heat their houses in an energy efficient way.
She has aligned her efforts with local groups, including the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN), with the hopes of adding to, and not duplicating, their work. Whereas Asermily’s efforts are concentrated on climate change, ACORN focuses on eliminating the effects of peak oil. Asermily also works closely with the College’s environmental groups. She regularly attends meetings for the student club, Sunday Night Group and she recruits at the Midd Action Fair.
Asermily has also joined forces with state programs such as, Efficiency Vermont, Renewable Energy Vermont and Connecting Commuters. In addition, she has implemented Button Up Vermont, a training program for weatherizing homes. With the help of College students, Asermily completed 120 home energy visits last spring and installed energy saving devices. She hopes to repeat the program next year.
“There must be a local voice for exposing these programs to the community,” said Asermily. “They wouldn’t have this much exposure without our participation.”
Asermily first became involved in Middlebury’s energy plans after participating in an adult discussion group led by the Vermont Earth Institute. The group encourages local environmental action.
“Out of that we became aware of global warming,” said Asermily. “We have to do something to help prepare people for the consequences of this. The people hardest hit were going to be least able to respond to it.”
Driven to help plan the first annual Earth Day Fair in 2001, Asermily helped spread awareness of climate change. The fair had activities, exhibits and speeches, including a presentation by Richard Wolfson, Benjamin F. Wissler Physics Professor at the College. The talk aimed to educate the public about global warming and what locals could do to help. Soon after the fair, the select board passed a resolution to both reduce and measure greenhouse gases. It completed a carbon measurement in 2002, and created the Middlebury Climate Action Plan. Asermily, who had remained involved throughout the process, was invited to join the board as the energy coordinator, as she was essentially already functioning in that capacity.
Yet Asermily did not always plan to do this. Irked by the lack of information about Watergate, she went to St. Bonaventure University with the intention of becoming an investigative journalist. After graduating with degrees in Political Science and Economics, she wound up teaching social studies.
“I entered teaching without real adequate preparation,” said Asermily. “I had the right idea but I burned myself out pretty fast.”
She then spent ten years working at Prentice Hall, an educational publishing company, before returning to the teaching world. She taught at Fairhaven High School, Middlebury Union High School and Otter Valley High School.
Though her career has taken her in different directions, Asermily asserts that there has always been a consistent line in her work.
“The common thread is making sure people have information that they need,” said Asermily. “I’m really very passionate about making sure people are aware of [climate change] and can mitigate it.”
Asermily is optimistic about the future, but she is still frustrated by the pace of change. She is not sure that the town will meet its goal for 2012, suggesting that it is possible they will not have achieved an actual reduction, but will have kept carbon levels the same.
Despite these possibilities, Asermily remains motivated. Raised as a Franciscan Catholic, Asermily says there is a strong spiritual underpinning that drives her.
“Reverence for nature inspires it all,” said Asermily. “There is a deep commitment for wanting to protect creation that motivates me to stay in action.”
One in 8700: Laura Asermily, Middlebury Town Energy Coordinator
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