What makes our town somewhat unique in the area of energy conservation is that in addition to the EAP, there is a private group, Conversations for Action (CFA), which has really mobilized the local interest in this topic.  By holding public information meetings last spring and summer, CFA has gotten the attention of the town, and has become an equal partner with the EAP in funneling information to our residents.  They have brought with them, besides a deep-seated interest, a small army of volunteers to help plan and make these events possible.  We highly recommend that there be in addition to a strong public push for energy conservation, a parallel effort from a local private group, as well.

In November, the Town Board adopted as a public and private goal, a 20% reduction of its town wide carbon footprint by 2020 from its baseline year of 2004.  This past summer the town joined ICLEI, and the EAP is presently moving towards the completion of its energy use inventory. Once completed, the strategies to meet the goal of 20% by 2020 will be developed and implemented.  

Also in November, the town held a “Stakeholders Summit” in which we invited all the town’s decision-makers, including the Town Board, heads of the town’s various departments, heads of local churches, schools, business groups, civic organizations and interested citizens to hear  presentations by the EAP and CFA on global warming and its effects on our town in the coming years.  We also had the NYSERDA regional representative for the Mid-Hudson attend to provide information on what these groups can do to further energy conservation.  The response was overwhelming.

Based on the “Stakeholders Summit”, we’ve decided to hold mini-summits to cover individual issues in more detail.  Since the greatest interest shown by these groups was on developing design plans for new projects currently on their drawing boards, we’ve decided to hold our first mini-summit on Tuesday, January 29th at our Town Hall on the topic of LEED standards for new construction.  We intend to have on our panel, a LEED certified engineer, architect, and contractor, as well as the regional head of NYSERDA and a Performance Contractor.

Our panel has also been in touch with area schools to develop programs that foster energy conservation at home.

The EAP is setting up an Energy Conservation Page on the town’s website, and will provide its residents information on how to save energy and money.

We are currently working to set up a business alliance modeled on the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) to engage the local commercial enterprises within the town to meet the town’s 20% goal effort.

Our Town Board (in coordination with our neighboring Town of Somers) has been very active in promoting “Biodiversity” as a strategy for protecting the town’s natural resources.  This past fall, the town, through its Conservation Board, held four panel discussions on this topic to educate local residents and farmers on the benefits of maintaining as rich a range of biodiversity as possible.  The Town intends on studying the various means of protecting our environment, including identifying habitats, habitat corridors, and adopting legislation for their protection.

We’ve also been involved with a countywide effort to regionalize our message.  Westchester County’s Global Warming Task Force is scheduled to present its final report by the end of this month.  The EAP has met with other representatives of towns in Westchester this past fall and hope to develop a working group interested in common issues on a local level.

Because of the multitude of websites covering energy conservation and alternative energy sources, our EAP has produced a consolidated “Energy Conservation Web Log” with website addresses and descriptions.  This resource, while somewhat sourced to New York State, is a valuable tool for anyone needing information on this topic, and we have shared it with all interested parties