Raquel Anais Smith is a writer and researcher whose work covers a range of environmental topics. With an academic background in environmental policy and anthropology, she hopes to use storytelling and accessible research as a tool to inform broader climate policy and sustainable solutions.

Latest Work

Learning Center gets New Mission as Part of Museum

On Tuesday, December 21, the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum led their first day-hike to explore their recently acquired property on Adams Cross Road, home of the former Pool Learning Center.

Workforce Development in Vermont’s Thermal Sector

The trades workforce shortage is not a new phenomenon in the United States. Vermont’s labor force alone was reduced by 11,500 workers between the years of 2007 and 2020. This comes at a time when Vermont is preparing to substantially ramp up energy efficiency activity as one strategy for reaching state climate goals established in the Global Warming Solutions Act passed by the Legislature in 2020. Using Energy Action Network’s Emission Reduction Pathways Model and interviews conducted with energy efficiency companies, education leaders, and other key organizations, this report provides insight into how many workers will be needed to reach Vermont’s 2030 goals, how that workforce could be sourced, what improvements in education and training are necessary, and what techniques could improve recruitment practices.

Replace Your Ride

Replace Your Ride (RYR) is a Vermont state funded program to provide up to $3,000 cash incentives for clean transportation options for those who qualify as low-income Vermont residents. By identifying potential barriers and community visions for this project, RYR will be able to adjust the existing structure in order to help Vermont significantly reduce its carbon footprint from transportation while also being more inclusive of marginalized communities in the fight against climate change. The results of this project show that outreach should be focused on bridging the gap between technology and awareness in the 4 southern counties of Vermont, particularly Rutland and Windham counties.