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