A Sense of Snow
A Sense of Snow
By John Tashiro, General Manager
Here we are entering March and under normal circumstances, I would anxiously be anticipating the start of spring and a bit of a thaw. Unfortunately, this winter has been anything but normal and while I recognize we may still have a few more cold fronts ahead of us, I have often wondered about the impacts behind the unexpectedly mild weather in recent months and the relatively little snowfall in the greater Burlington and Vermont community.
Much has been shared about the limited local snowfall and its effect on the local economy, agricultural and flowering patterns, animal species and even our pets to name a few. However, at a very foundational and global level, you probably know that snow plays a vitally important role with the Earth’s climate system.
For starters, snow cover helps regulate the temperature of the Earth's surface. Once that snow melts, the water helps to fill rivers and reservoirs in many parts of the world, especially in the western United States.
Further, snow's albedo, which represents the amount of sunlight that snow reflects back into the atmosphere, is very high reflecting at 80 to 90 percent. By comparison, trees, plants and soil only reflect back 10 to 30 percent. Therefore, snow's high reflectivity helps Earth's energy balance, because it reflects solar energy back into space, which helps cool the planet.
Snow also has thermal properties that perform like an insulating blanket. Beneath just one foot of snow, the soil and the organisms within it are protected from changes in the air temperature above the snow surface. Snow helps insulate the ground below, holding in heat and preventing moisture from evaporating into the atmosphere.
When soil does freeze, it locks in gases like carbon and methane, inhibiting chemical exchanges between the ground and air. Frozen soil also inhibits the movement of water within the soil and on the soil’s surface. Knowing whether soil is frozen, and knowing how soon that soil may thaw, is important in estimating how much water might be available during the spring and summer melt. I for one sincerely hope we will see some significant snowfalls in the near future.
Now for some updates with expansion into the South End…
Logistics. We have completed phase II of our environmental assessment and are moving forward with remediation plans. Also the zoning amendment for the South End site was reviewed and approved by the City Council’s Ordinance Committee. It has now been returned to City Council for a further review early this month.
Design. We continue to make great progress with the internal and external store designs working closely with Freeman French Freemen and DEW Construction Corp. We completed our financial viability of the designs and continue to monitor it closely as the designs evolve.
Community Engagement. We have now attended all five of Burlington’s Ward Neighborhood Planning Assembly meetings to share our expansion plans in the South End and to listen to feedback from community members. We are now scheduling larger Member and community engagement sessions to share more detailed plans and gather your feedback. These will occur in mid-April, with dates and times to be announced soon!
You will notice that we are celebrating our Rally for Change program during the month of March. We have festive banners near our registers, we’re highlighting some Rally recipients on our Member Art Wall, and staff will be wearing Rally buttons and t-shirts. As of March 1, we have also made an update to this program by offering the 50% partnership (rather than the 40% partnership) to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf each month. The Food Shelf does amazing work throughout the community with their Community Kitchen Academy, the Homebound Delivery Program, the Soup Kitchen, the Good Food Truck and so much more. They are a multi-layered, constantly forward-thinking social enterprise that benefits our entire community and we’re proud to support their efforts! Since its inception in October 2014, through our Rally for Change program customers have donated almost $172,000 to area non-profits. Almost $69,000 of these donations has been sent directly to the Food Shelf. This is a staggering 96% increase over the prior 16 month period of time. It really is amazing what we can accomplish together!
As always, thank you all for your continued support. We are committed to serve you, our Members and the community. Looking forward to seeing you at the Co-op and wishing you our very best.
Source: National Snow & Ice Data Center, https://nsidc.org