Energy security and climate protection are interwoven global issues with highly local solutions according to local nonprofit Sustainable Tompkins. “We need to reduce fossil fuel use across the board in order to slow global warming and strengthen our local economy,” says President Gay Nicholson, “and that means taking responsibility for our own fossil carbon emissions while making sure that everyone in our community is supported in their efforts to be more energy secure.”

Their Finger Lakes Climate Fund was designed with this in mind. Donors to the Fund can calculate the carbon emissions from their travel or building use, and make a donation to remove an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Those carbon reductions are achieved by helping modest-income residents reach their energy security goals by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

LeChase Construction of Rochester understood that direct connection between energy security and climate health when they volunteered to offset the carbon emissions for all of the participants at Cornell’s recent “Big 10 & Friends Utility Conference.” LeChase is a partner in Cornell’s climate action plan, and led the team that built Cornell’s new cogeneration plant, which has reduced emissions for the university by over 20%. “Our company is working nationwide to help institutions decrease their dependence on fossil fuels through green building design and alternative energy sources,” notes Paul Sugnet, LeChase Senior Vice President, “and I’ve been impressed by Cornell’s leadership and commitment to reducing their emissions to net zero by 2050. We realize that travel to exchange ideas and share research results is essential for a university, so we decided we would facilitate yet another step toward their climate protection goal by arranging to offset carbon emissions related to this conference.”

Air and car travel for the 85 conference attendees added up to 78,709 miles or roughly 23 tons of CO2 emissions. Offsets to the Finger Lakes Climate Fund are set at $20 per ton, so the travel-related emissions for the conference cost $460 to offset. This contribution to the Fund will go a long way toward helping a local family become more energy secure. Grants from the Finger Lakes Climate Fund are awarded to families below the median income to help them go forward with energy improvements that will save them money and reduce their emissions.

For example, the Ellis Family received a grant to help purchase an efficient wood pellet stove along with some insulation and air sealing performed by Tompkins Community Action. Another awardee, first-time homebuyer Jill Rosentel of Lansing, received the maximum grant of $1500 to upgrade to a highly efficient furnace and have major insulation work done on an older home by ASI Energy. These projects will reduce carbon emissions by an amount equal to or greater than that emitted from the travel and building use by the Fund’s donors – thus creating the carbon offset and “neutralizing” the donors’ emissions. As an add-on benefit, both households will be less vulnerable to rising fossil fuel prices and better positioned to remain stable and secure property owners. Over the long term, everyone benefits – the university, the homeowners, local energy contractors, and the community.

Ed Wilson, Sustainable Energy Team Manager of Cornell’s Office of Energy & Sustainability, endorsed the effort saying “The ability to offset the CO2 emissions for those attending our conference was welcomed by all.  The conference centered on utilities, basically energy and associated emissions.  It was a great conference and offsetting the emissions locally raised the bar for future conferences.  The Finger Lakes Climate Fund provided a real added value.”

“We always advocate for people to consume energy responsibly and reduce their emissions as much as possible,” noted Nicholson of Sustainable Tompkins “but we recognize that some emissions are unavoidable. We don’t expect people to give up meaningful travel or shift their buildings to renewable power sources all at once. But we can all get on the path to energy security and help others in our community while doing so. That’s the beauty of this program.”

The theme of our recent Energy Fair was community energy security. Real energy security.

Most of us associate “energy security” with fossil fuel industry lobbyists who try to convince Americans that we will be more secure if we stop relying on imports of foreign oil and just let them expand drilling offshore or in the rural lands of America.

But is that really a plan that will make us more secure?  Consider this:

Energy efficiency has never polluted the Gulf of Mexico or slimed the shores of Alaska.

Solar panels never gave a child asthma or blew off a mountain top.

Wind turbines have never threatened millions with cancer-causing radiation.

Energy conservation has never polluted drinking water supplies or destroyed a rural landscape.

We’ll never be really secure if we continue to base our economy and our way of life on fossil energy.  We know it’s a tightening noose with constantly rising prices and amplifying environmental damages.

Even though President Obama and plenty of Wall Street investors believe that shale gas is a necessary and viable source of energy, we don’t think it will add up to be an overall advantage for our country – not when all the costs are factored in, and certainly not when we consider how justice is distributed.

Here in Tompkins County, we have a powerful coalition of citizen groups, local governments, businesses, nonprofits, and institutions all devoting considerable time and resources to energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.  We clearly have made progress toward community energy security, and we’ve got a lot going in the right direction, but it’s also clear that it is going to take all of us working together, and staying motivated, to reach our goal of a more enduring, safe, affordable, and fair system for powering our community.  We really are in this together, and together our community is poised to make a successful transition to a new energy system based on responsible use, and investment in a diverse mix of energy sources like geothermal, biomass, solar, wind, and hydropower.

We need to work both at the individual level and at the community level.  As we each take responsibility for our own fossil fuel consumption, we can feel good about “walking our talk” when it comes to opposing hydrofracking.

We will also be participating in plugging the leaks in our local economy that come from buying fossil energy imported to our community.  Instead we’ll be helping support our local economy by creating green jobs.

And as we convert more systems to biomass, our rural landowners can earn money from growing a self-renewing energy supply – a reliable, long-term source of income compared to the destructive boom and bust cycle of shale gas drilling.

Every county resident has the capacity to become a hometown energy hero.  To make your pledge on the Finger Lakes Energy Challenge.  To get the help you need from local energy experts.

But also to step forward and be visible in our community on this topic of energy security — to speak up and tell your energy story and inspire others to take the time and make the investments that will lead to our individual and collective energy security.

To be willing to say “this is important” and to act as a change agent in your family, at work, and with your friends.  To speak to your local elected officials about their plans for transitioning local governments and schools to a safer energy system.  To tell state and federal officials to act responsibly and treat us fairly when crafting energy and climate policy.

To be willing to donate and invest locally in helping other people achieve energy security, such as through the Finger Lakes Climate Fund, or simply by becoming a member of Sustainable Tompkins so that events like the Energy Fair can be offered to our community.

This is the path to community energy security.  Transitioning our systems and our lifestyles, and watching out for each other along the way.   It is not the goal of the fossil fuel industry to make us more secure.  We will have to do that for ourselves.

Don’t miss the Energy Fair on April 6 where we’ll explore the math behind e_S = mc² !

True energy security is the result of motivated community cooperation to reduce our dependence on risky fossil fuels.

Every citizen has an important and necessary role in phasing out wasteful energy consumption and investing in efficiency and local self-renewing energy sources.  Energy is tied into almost everything we do.  Together we can make sure our families are secure and our economy resilient.  Together we can transform the energy marketplace and support our growing number of green collar workers.  Sustainable Tompkins and its partners are proud to host you and your family for an evening devoted to community energy security.  Download the Energy Fair poster and share widely!

Doors open at 6:30 pm to mingle with energy experts and take the Finger Lakes Energy Challenge – our online platform where you can choose your own goals to achieve greater energy security, and connect to resources to help you meet your pledge. 
 
Our program starts at 7:15 and will help you understand what is happening at the federal, state, and local level on energy and climate, what resources are available, and what we need to do next.  Music, door prizes, energy-related coupons, and delicious treats make this a family-friendly event.  Come to the Energy Fair and be part of our community’s journey toward energy security.  (Stay until 9:00 pm for a chance to win the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to La Tourelle Spa!)

Cosponsored by Shaleshock Action Alliance, Tompkins County Environmental Management Council, Tompkins Community Action, Tompkins County Planning Department, Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, Green Resource Hub, Sustainability at Ithaca College, New Roots Charter School, EcoVillage at Ithaca – Center for Sustainability Education, TC3 Environmental Studies Program, Ithaca Carshare, Energy and Sustainability at Cornell, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Catholic Charities, Shaleshock CNY, Coalition to Protect NY, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, People for a Healthy Environment, GDACC, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee of First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca, Social Action Committee of Temple Beth El.

Poster for Energy Fair to download and share

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!

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