Posts tagged Finger Lakes Climate Fund

Come Help us “Seal the Cracks!”

Seal the Cracks full logo

Wondering what you can do to address climate change and social inequities? Are you looking to make a difference here and now?

Sustainable Tompkins is looking for several volunteers to help us over the next two months with a number of events and media outreach related to our Seal the Cracks campaign to promote the Finger Lakes Climate Fund – our local carbon offset fund.

We need your help to make a big splash! We will be hosting a variety of fun events, and doing lots of outreach to local folks. We would like to see carbon offsetting be as much a part of the Ithaca lifestyle as recycling! Read the rest of this entry »

Everyday Climate Heroes

ST_Lawn-SignIt’s a comic book cliché.  The superhero that hides his true identity (remember mild-mannered Clark Kent?), but is ever ready to right wrongs and help those at risk.  Thankfully, most communities have always had their own quiet heroes working without fanfare to heal problems and seek justice.  At Sustainable Tompkins we are witnessing the emergence of a new breed of hero – a type we are going to need many more of as the impacts of climate disruption escalate and economic disparities widen.

In recent months, we’ve had the honor of being approached by two anonymous donors who share both a deep concern about the growing threat of climate change, and compassion for those in our community struggling with high energy bills.  Our first donor set up a Sustainable Newfield Fund and provided seed money to cover a series of grants from our Finger Lakes Climate Fund to residents of the Town of Newfield.  We made our first award from this gift in October with a $3,457 grant to Second Wind to insulate six cottages they are building for homeless men.  (Full story here.) Read the rest of this entry »

Fall Creek Resident Wins Grant from Finger Lakes Climate Fund

Deb Thompson insulated basement

Deb Thompson shows off her fully insulated basement and on-demand water heater.

It was a sunny fresh June day in the Fall Creek neighborhood of Ithaca – the kind of day when memories of winter storms or summer heat waves fade away – but the crew from local energy contractor, Snug Planet, were utterly focused on preparing Deborah Thompson’s historic home on Marshall Street for exactly that kind of weather.

Thompson is the latest recipient of a grant from our Finger Lakes Climate Fund.  The program offers travelers and building owners a way to take responsibility for their fossil carbon emissions by making donations to the Fund.  They can use the Fund’s carbon calculator to determine the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from their air and car travel or building electricity and heating, and then make a donation that will pay to offset an equal amount of carbon by improving energy efficiency in the homes of modest-income residents.

In the case of the Thompson home, Snug Planet estimated that the improvements they made would eliminate about 54 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and resulted in a grant from the Finger Lakes Climate Fund for $1,076 towards the cost.  Over the course of several days, their team did extensive work in insulating and sealing leaks in the attic, and addressed moisture problems, air leaks, and lack of insulation in the basement.

Sustainable Tompkins has announced the availability of a fifth round of grant awards due at the end of June.  So far the program has helped a very diverse mix of household types in Dryden, Enfield, Lansing, and the City of Ithaca.  Details of the projects can be found at www.fingerlakesclimatefund.org.

Finger Lakes Climate Fund supported by Cornell conference

LeChase Construction
Our Finger Lakes Climate Fund got a big boost this month when LeChase Construction of Rochester volunteered to offset all of the travel-related emissions from a Cornell conference on energy and university facility management.  This contribution 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.  As the summer travel season approaches, we urge everyone to take responsibility for their carbon emissions — and help others in our community while you are at it! Read the rest of this entry »