Global warming, valley view - Westfair Communications

With the Hudson Valley experiencing warmer winters and suffering from a spate of damaging floods, the impact of climate change on the region is no longer purely a matter of theoretical speculation. A report of the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment, a collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of independent experts, predicts that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at the current rate, New York state will have temperatures akin to current-day South Carolina by 2040.

Municipal leaders in the Hudson Valley are beginning to look at ways they can reduce emissions and otherwise mitigate the impact of global warming. Dozens of elected leaders representing a swath from Scarsdale to Woodstock attended the Municipal Leaders”™ Summit on Climate Protection for the Hudson Valley Region, which was held Aug. 24 at the Norrie Point Environmental Center, located on the Hudson River shorefront in Dutchess County.

There were sessions on the projected impacts of climate change in the region; how local governments can make a difference; and what technical and funding resources are available from the state and private sector. Representatives from regional environmental organizations were present, along with people from educational institutions, including Vassar College, RPI and Cornell University Extension. There were also numerous environmental representatives from the state, including Willie Janeway, regional director of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)”™s Region 3; Peter Iwanowicz, who heads the DEC”™s newly formed Climate Change Office; and Bob Elliott, deputy secretary of the state”™s Department of State (DOS).

An underlying theme was the partnering possibilities between municipalities and these various entities. Melissa Everett, executive director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, which hosted the event, noted for example that The Nature Conservancy was working on a regional plan to address the challenge of rising water levels. Other organizations looking to partner with municipalities for watershed protection are nonprofit group Scenic Hudson, the DEC”™s Hudson River Estuary Program, which was launched a year ago, and the DOS”™s Division of Coastal Resources.

Participants spoke about the importance of focusing on health issues related to airborne emissions as well as water resources, the need to give “community rights” the same emphasis as individual rights, and “social marketing” as an important tool for breaking down obstacles in the public mindset to communicate effectively the message.

Some municipalities are starting to take action. Ulster County Transit is already utilizing hybrid buses. Noreen Fisher, mayor of Scarsdale, said the village is seeking a state contract for hybrid vehicles and is looking at school districts as fertile ground for green building practices and fleets. Chuck Lesnick, president of the Yonkers City Council, said his office was pursuing grants to retrofit school buses for diesel fuel and was also looking at LEEDS (leadership in energy and environmental design) certification incentives for new buildings. It also planned to get software to start quantifying its emissions.

Other municipalities, including the town of Greenburgh and Rockland County, have paid for members of their planning and zoning boards to get training in land use and related issues affecting energy consumption.

Kim Lundgren, regional director for the Northeast for Local Governments for Sustainability, an international organization of local governments also known as ICLEI, said her company offers software enabling municipalities to translate their energy use into greenhouse gas and air pollutants. By quantifying their emissions they can then devise reduction strategies, such as installing new energy-efficient street lights or encouraging more telecommuting. She said 10 towns in Westchester County are using the tool, as well as two New York City locales.

Neighbor factor

The state representatives pitched their funding and advisory resources. Bob Elliott at the DOS said more grant money and incentives are available for towns and cities that reduce their emissions. Because New York is a home-rule state, Elliott underlined the importance of working with neighboring communities to create transportation districts and other regional networks. He said the DOS also offers training for code enforcement for municipalities. Encouraging more use of public transportation, by offering free parking at the railroad station for fuel-efficient cars, for example, and purchasing power from wind producers is another way municipalities can conserve energy, he said.

Charle-Pan Dawson, new construction program coordinator at New York State Environment Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), said the public benefit corporation offers six to eight programs related to energy efficiency. Rebates for green building practices are offered by NYSERDA, but she said only 10 percent of new development had taken advantage of the incentives. “We have funding for you,” she said. “We”™ll tailor our program to meet a local government”™s needs.”

Ken Smith at the Division of Coastal Resources at DOS said his office works with communities to develop local waterfront revitalization plans as well as technical assistance on related functions such as storm-water management. “We need to balance development with protecting natural resources,” which includes not developing in the flood plain, he said.

The private sector was also represented. David Dell, president of Sustainable Profitability Group in New York City and a member of Sustainable Hudson Valley, said that the “massive economic disruption” wrought from climate change “creates opportunities as well as costs.” For example, companies that make a commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions are paid $300 a year for offsetting a ton of carbon through the Chicago Climate Exchange, which is the first U.S. carbon exchange. Purchasing electricity during off-peak times, when demand is low, is another way companies can conserve energy and save on costs.

Chris Whitman, president of US Solar Finance L.L.C., based in Stamford, Conn., works with corporations, municipalities and state and federal governments to put in photovoltaic and wind systems that don”™t require a huge upfront investment or entail higher electricity costs. The federal investment tax credit of 30 percent for solar energy systems, coupled with state rebates, makes this possible. His company will install the system and then sell back the power to the user at fixed rates for the next 10 to 20 years, at prices at or below current rates.

US Solar Finance is installing 250 kw systems on 92 Kohl stores in California. “All power is being used at the site and produced at peak hours,” he said. “It takes a load off the transmission system.” Demand for such systems is not limited to the West: the state of New Jersey recently issued renewable energy certificates and “within two weeks we had 55 megawatts worth of applications,” Whitman said.

New York state falls behind many others in the types of incentives it offers and limits the installation of photovoltaic systems to 10 kilowatts for residences only. “New York state needs to pass a net metering law in the Legislature,” Whitman said. (A net metering bill proposed in the last session failed to pass.) Allowing systems of at least 50 kw “would work for a municipality,” he said.

Several participants spoke of frustrations they”™d encountered in trying to get on the green energy bandwagon. Nancy Cozean, mayor of Poughkeepsie, said her office had contacted NYSERDA about making its 1970s-era City Hall more energy efficient, but never got through to the right person. The city also considered signing up for wind power for its electricity needs, but found it was too expensive. However, she lauded the DEC and DOS for their brownfield incentives, which after 40 years of inaction was the spark that incited developers to build on brownfields in the city.

Iwanowicz said the new DEC Climate Change office, which he heads, was created by Gov. Eliot Spitzer to serve as a clearing house for the latest science and promote mitigation strategies.

Iwanowicz said Spitzer plans to reduce electricity use by 15 percent by 2015. Given that demand is currently growing by 13 percent a year, that”™s an ambitious target. “There will be a significant increase in funding to make it happen,” Iwanowicz said. New York is also part of the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is “getting close to putting in caps on emissions of power plants.” The plants could obtain offsets of 3.3 percent on an annual basis, leading to a 10 percent reduction in 2019, he said.

The state has also adopted California”™s emissions standards, which will result in a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cars in the next decade. Starting with model year 2009, “the auto manufacturers can”™t register a car in New York if it doesn”™t meet the state”™s emissions standards,” he said. Iwanowicz said the governor is also “seeking legislative changes to encourage more renewable energy sources.”