Over at the Vermont Watchdog, Bruce Parker has an article about how the "Vermont Public Interest Research Group says the Green Mountain State faces a future without snow if lawmakers don't pass a carbon tax on gasoline and heating fuel."

Of course, the trend in Vermont is towards more snow, not less.

Since records began in 1906-07, the Burlington climate sub-region -- which dominates the Vermont landscape -- has seen a highly (p<0.001) statistically significant increase in annual snowfall.

Three of the top four highest snowfall totals have taken place since the 2000-01 season, and four of the top five since 1992-93. The second highest total was just a few years ago in 2010-11.

Since 1970, there is effectively a perfect non-correlation in snowfall, and certainly no sign whatsoever of a declining trend. Over the past three decades, the correlation is positive towards more snowfall -- not less -- and it is nearly statistically significant.

Perhaps sometime in the future there will be no snow in Vermont, but historical trends are headed in the opposite direction.