Yes, we must produce, install and maintain more solar panels and generators; construct and establish more wind energy turbines; establish more recycling programs; develop, produce and use more green products; make our homes and building more energy efficient and so on. But the jobs involved in preserving or restoring our environment must be sustainable, too. A wage that is too low or work that is too unsafe undermines the viability
and the future of that worker and his/her family, in stark contrast to the impact that work has on maintaining
the long-term viability of our environment.

Weatherization is a good example. Most of us applauded the Recovery Act plan to provide weatherization services for many thousands of low-income families, more than tripling the federal investment in this area. Integral to
this plan is the creation of some 100,000 weatherization jobs over three years. But in our appreciation of this new green initiative, who among us has stopped to question the safety of these planned jobs, or whether they would pay a family sustaining wage?

Yet residential energy efficiency work, like residential construction in general, often relies on small contractors with low-paid and part-time or seasonal workers, and who put little effort in worker safety training or in creating safe worksites. These green jobs typically are not safe jobs. Significant safety and health hazards include exposure to
lead, asbestos, isocyanates, mold and the risk of injury or death from falls or electrical hazards. And they typically do not pay a family-sustaining wage, either, so workers face a double whammy.

A study a few years ago of the affordable housing residential construction workforce in New York City, while not strictly comparable to the home weatherization workforce, provides a window into many of these jobs. The Fiscal Policy Institute report estimated that two-thirds of the workers were illegally employed either as independent contractors or off the books, receiving very low pay — many in the $10 per hour range — with few benefits and
deprived of basic worker rights and any training opportunities. While not covered in the report, safety conditions in this industry are also abysmal.

Weatherization programs must be measured not only by the number of homes served, total energy savings realized and total carbon emissions avoided, but also by the number of good jobs created. And it is the same for the green and sustainable economy we seek to build.

A green future must be built, but safe and living wage jobs must be integral to it. Worker safety and family-sustaining wages have to be part of green manufacturing, green construction and green energy. It’s not a matter of choosing either a green future or safe, living wage jobs. It’s both. To produce a sustainable future, the work that
goes into it must also be sustainable.

Carl Feuer is a board member of the Midstate Education & Service Foundation.

Finger Lakes Climate Fund (FLCF), a program of Sustainable Tompkins, is stewarding tax deductible donations to the fund that will be accessible as grants for projects targeting low- to moderate income households in the Finger
Lakes region. These grants help pay for insulation, high efficiency heating equipment, air sealing and other upgrades to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

“To sum it up, it’s a voluntary program that benefits our community. The funds that people donate for carbon offsets are used to help lower-income families make energy efficiency improvements in their homes so they can save money on energy bills and enjoy healthier, more comfortable homes,” says Gay Nicholson, President of Sustainable Tompkins.

Funds will be made available through a grant-making process on a quarterly basis. The energy efficiency upgrades are carried out by Building Performance Institute accredited contractors, following guidelines provided by the New
York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Visitors to the Web site are invited to use an online calculator to estimate home energy, vehicle, and airplane travel emissions. For example, a round trip from Ithaca, to San Francisco is nearly 5,000 miles, generates close to 2000
pounds of carbon and costs just about $20 to offset.

Carbon offsets enable the consumer, business, or organization to balance unavoidable emissions with an equivalent reduction on your behalf from a local energy efficiency project. Local carbon offsets allow you to see the results of
your purchase right here in our community. Local offsets also help support the local economy by generating
work for energy efficiency businesses.

The Finger Lakes Climate Fund is a program of Sustainable Tompkins, a citizen-based organization working towards the longterm well-being of our communities by integrating social equity, economic vitality, ecological stewardship, and personal and civic responsibility.

For more information see
http://fingerlakesclimatefund.org and http://www.facebook.com/climatefund.

Kitty Gifford is an independent contractor working on various projects for Sustainable Tompkins.

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!

In a recent press release, the National Association of Home Builders suggested “The key to the mainstreaming of green is to make sure that consumers understand the value of green upgrades – and exactly how cost-effective sustainable construction can be in the long run”. Indeed, helping people who own a home, or are considering purchasing one, understand both the long term and short term benefits of building and remodeling to a higher performance standard is critical in enhancing the rate at which we improve our housing stock and, not inconsequentially, improve the comfort and inherent value in our homes.

Yes, green building is largely about reducing our demand for fossil fuels that generate our heat and our power. But, in a more holistic approach, green building is also about improving our comfort by controlling heat loss, water vapor, indoor air quality and interior lighting. Taken a step further, green building also considers the impact of site development on transportation and utility infrastructure, ecosystems, surface and subsurface water, and native vegetation. It concerns itself with access to solar energy and daylight to generate power or heat or to provide abundant natural lighting. And it addresses the broader impact of material sourcing, manufacturing, waste and transport.

Energy Star®, a program of the US Department of Energy, was the first universal rating system that provided builders and homeowners with a prescriptive path for designing and building homes that were more energy efficient than required by the building code. It set as a benchmark a 15% reduction in energy use versus a building built to code.

Since then, the United States Green Building Council introduced its LEED® for Homes program which took the basic objective of energy savings and added important additional considerations including land use, social transformation, global ecological impact, material and resource efficiency and water resource management, among others. And, as of 2009, the National Association of Home Builders has released another rating system called the National Green Building Standard. Patterned in many ways after the LEED® for Homes Program, it too covers a much more comprehensive look at the impacts and opportunities in building homes that are more efficient, more healthful and more responsible. And now, Energy Star® is introducing an enhanced, more aggressive rating system to be rolled out over the next two years called Energy Star® 2011.

Taken together, these are all significant steps in the right direction. However, by their very nature, they address opportunities for building better new homes, but are not yet broadly applicable to existing housing. And, since they need to enable builders and manufacturers of all sizes to participate, they still fall short of what’s possible with current knowledge, materials and technologies.

There is a simpler, more immediate approach that could have an even greater impact on “greening” our way of life.

SMALLER HOMES ARE A SMART STRATEGY TO GET TO GREEN FASTER AND FOR LESS.

Since 1995, the size of new homes has continued to climb every year, without exception, until 2008 when size declines occurred in most areas across the country. Whether this is the start of a trend only time will tell, but it’s a hopeful sign. A larger home requires more materials, more environmental impact, more land area, and takes more energy to operate. And building these to current code leaves far too much opportunity on the table.

Fortunately, the movement toward smaller homes is growing. And, given the recent economic softening, looking into smaller homes, whether new or existing, can be a smart strategy for achieving your green living goals. Quoting from a December 2009 article in REALTOR® magazine, “For buyers trying to play it safe in the softening housing market, a smaller home may be the way to go. Smaller homes tend to not only be more affordable but more energy efficient.” Here in Tompkins County, our housing stock tends to be largely made up of older, smaller homes. Many have been upgraded with more efficient systems and newer windows, while others remain largely unchanged since their construction, a future “green” home in the waiting.

If you’ve been considering taking steps towards creating a healthful, quality and highly efficient home for yourself, then I encourage you to learn about what’s possible by identifying and then selecting resources available here in Tompkins County, including architects, designers, builders and Realtors®, who understand the market, the industry, and the opportunity to make real progress in living green.

Brent Katzmann is owner of Balance Studio, LLC, a local firm that specializes in green design and interiors, a licensed Realtor® with Warren Real Estate, specializing in green homes, and a founder of the Ithaca Green Building Alliance. He can be reached through his website: www.balance-studio.net or by phone at 607-280-8353.

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.