March 9, 2010

Beating the Marcellus Blues

Energy Fair and Pledge-In a Great Success!

Our Marcellus Challenge pledge-in and energy fair on March 3 was just what we needed to counteract a long, snowy winter and a protracted battle over gas drilling.  About 150 people crowded into the auditorium at the Womens Community Building to listen to a series of excellent speakers “connect the dots” on consumer demand for fossil fuels, and talk to local energy experts before taking their pledge.  Lisa Wright of Shaleshock Action Alliance wrote us to say “Thanks for the opportunity to take part in a fabulous and fun event.  The more we reframe our circumstances from victims to empowered citizens, the more effective we will be in controlling our destinies in the face of this daunting challenge from Big Oil and Gas.  This was a great success! Thanks, everyone!!”  We are working now on taking the Marcellus Challenge on the road across our region!

February 23, 2010

Save on home energy costs and shrink your carbon footprint – Free Energy Fair March 3

Marcellus Challenge: Connecting the Dots – Energy Fair and Pledge-In

When it comes to Marcellus Shale development, it’s important to remember the role that consumer demand for fossil fuels plays in creating the need for drilling and mining. Individuals and families looking to reduce their utility bills or wanting to live more sustainably are invited to attend a free energy workshop on March 3, hosted by Sustainable Tompkins and Shaleshock Action Alliance.

“The Marcellus Challenge: Connecting the Dots” energy fair, takes place on Wednesday, March 3 from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the Women’s Community Building on 100 E. Seneca St. in Ithaca, NY.

Workshop attendees are also invited to take part in the Marcellus Challenge pledge offered by Sustainable Tompkins. This individual energy pledge is an online commitment designed to help pledge-takers reduce their consumption of fossil fuels. The pledge explores current energy use in five areas, and offers simple to complex energy conservation steps individuals and families can commit to making, with links to resources to get started.

Workshop featured speakers:

Gay Nicholson, Sustainable Tompkins:
Connecting the Dots and Shifting the Future

Dominic Frongillo, SustainUS Youth Delegation to Copenhagen:
Protect the Climate, Preserve Life, and Green the Economy: a 3-in-1 Pledge!

Martha Robertson, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature:
How Tompkins County is Weaning Itself from a Fossil Fuel Diet

Sara Hess, Shaleshock Action Alliance:
Walking Our Talk and Living By Our Values

Sara Culotta, Fall Creek Neighbors:
With a Little Help from Our Friends….We Can Make a Difference

Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to get personalized help from local energy contractors and experts who can answer questions, help identify next steps, and connect you with resources to get started. Refreshments and door prizes cap the evening.

Exhibitors include Renovus, Snug Planet, Joe Solar, Upstate Energy Solutions, Solar is Hot, Performance Systems Development, Green Resource Hub, Cornell Cooperative Extension, EnergyTeachers.org, Tompkins County Cooperative Extension, Bike Ithaca, Way2Go, Ithaca CarShare, and Ithaca College Earth Café.

Sponsored by Sustainable Tompkins with Shaleshock Action Alliance, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, Green Resource Hub, Sustainable Enterprise and Entrepreneurs Network, Back to Democracy, Ecovillage at Ithaca, Sustainability at Ithaca College, Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, Ithaca Green Building Alliance, New Yorkers for Sustainable Energy Solutions Statewide, Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition, Wishing Well Magazine, IthaCan, Finger Lakes Progressives, Ithaca CarShare, and Enfield Neighbors for Safe Air and Water.

About Sustainable Tompkins
Founded in 2004, Sustainable Tompkins was formed with the purpose of supporting our community by offering programs to connect, convene, and catalyze citizen action for a positive future. On the web at: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org

Sustainable Tompkins – Marcellus Challenge online pledge
http://sustainabletompkins.org/programs/marcellus-challenge/

Download the PDF:
Marcellus Challenge Feb 23, 2010 Press Release

February 20, 2010

Sustainable Tompkins February 2010 Newsletter

If you’d like to receive the Sustainable Tompkins Newsletter by email once or twice a month please sign up. Check out our latest newsletter here.
 
 
 

February 10, 2010

Finger Lakes Climate Fund Launched!

Finger Lakes Climate Fund makes its debut!! Listen in to WHCU radio interview with Gay Nicholson on this new local carbon offset program.

 
 

February 3, 2010

Sustainable Tompkins awards $1,810 in grants

Sustainable Tompkins recently awarded quarterly mini-grants totaling $1,810 to four community projects that encourage local self-reliance, strengthen neighborhood connections and promote long-term community well-being. The donor-supported program has distributed $10,270 to 25 projects since 2008.

Read the full article in the Ithaca Journal…
 

January 28, 2010

On the Home Front

Are you making changes in your home and lifestyle for the sake of the health and well being of all life in our region? Please share your story! Visit our new section highlighting the big and small steps we all can take: On the Home Front.

January 14, 2010

ST Hosts Energy Teach-In for Marcellus Challenge

Mark Pierce from Cornell Cooperative Extension was one of five guest instructors at last Saturday’s Energy Teach-In for twelve leaders from the Shaleshock Alliance.  The energy teach-in was hosted by Sustainable Tompkins as part of its Marcellus Challenge which aims to help local citizens reduce their demand for natural gas and fossil fuels through conservation, energy efficiency, and investment in renewable energy.  Attendees spent the day exploring options for energy savings from air sealing, insulation, elimination of phantom electrical load, and a wide variety of conservation behaviors accessible to everyone.

December 29, 2009

Sustainable Tompkins urges travelers to go ‘green’

Ithaca Journal
By Stacey Shackford
Program rewards residents for cutting carbon emissions
Whether jetting off to far-flung locales or driving a few hours to spend time with family this holiday season, local environmental leaders are asking Tompkins County residents to consider offsetting their carbon emissions locally.
Read the full article…

December 17, 2009

Sustainable Tompkins First Charter Member of the SEEN

On Monday, December 14, at the Green Resource Hub holiday party, the Sustainable Enterprise & Entrepreneur Network (SEEN) was officially launched.

Sustainable Tompkins is deeply proud to sign on as the first charter member of the SEEN.  A thriving green business sector is essential to the redesign of how we work and live, and the SEEN will help provide critical infrastructure we need to build a more sustainable economy.

The Sustainable Enterprise & Entrepreneur Network (SEEN) is envisioned to become a community of businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs networking, marketing, and learning together to further our ecological, social, and financial success.

Originating from a working group of Sustainable Tompkins (ST), the Green Resource Hub began as an entity to expand the marketplace for sustainable living in the Finger Lakes Region. The Hub grew successfully under the fiscal umbrella and staff support of ST.

Recognizing a need to engage the businesses involved in the Green Resource Hub, the SEEN was established following a feasibility study conducted by ST. The Hub hosts an online green business directory, and both organizations host business networking events throughout the year.

December 10, 2009

Marcellus Challenge all about “Walking Our Talk”

“Environmentalists are urging Tompkins County residents to “walk our talk” when it comes to opposing drilling for Marcellus Shale gas in the region.   Sustainable Tompkins is calling on people to reduce the demand for natural gas used in heating, electricity generation and synthetic fertilizers.”  Read more in the Ithaca Journal.