Green Counsel

Bringing Sustainable Energy Infrastructure to the Hudson Valley

Just received notice of this exciting panel in April 12 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m in Harriman, New York.

A forum related to energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities in the Hudson Valley. Topics include:

* Current status of energy efficiency and renewable energy infrastructure in the region
* Models of successful energy efficiency and renewable energy programs
* New Energy for Cities
* Funding Mechanisms/Strategies: Beyond SBC/RPS and RGGI: Tax Shifting, Carbon Tax vs. Cap
* Regional Planning to bring Sustainable Energy Infrastructure into Hudson Valley
* Next steps: Interactive roundtable discussion with panel of speakers

The roundtable is sponsored by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Hudson Valley Labor Federation, Hudson Valley Regional Council, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 363, NY Planning Federation, NYS Apollo Alliance, Sustainable Hudson Valley, and many others.

For further information or to RSVP, please contact Katy Dunlap at (845) 454-7673 ext. 116 or katy at clearwater.org, or visit Clearwater website.

Act Locally: Ten Steps Toward Sustainability -- Step 6: Create Biotic Corridors

Ecosystems do not respect municipal borders and, unfortunately, municipalities have generally returned the favor. Communities, however, can band together to create biotic corridors that maintain important ecosystems and biodiversity. Recently, the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance of the Wildlife Conservation Society has worked with the New York towns of Lewisboro, Pound Ridge and North Salem to preserve habitats spanning 22,000 acres known as the Eastern Westchester Biotic Corridor. The New York towns of Cortlandt, Putnam Valley and New Castle just reached a similar agreement for the Croton-to-Highlands Biotic Corridor.

See also:

Act Locally: Ten Steps Toward Sustainability:

What is Sustainability?
Step 1: Create a Sustainability Task Force
Step 2: Support Local Business
Step 3: Incorporate LEED and Energy Efficiency Standards in Buildings
Step 4: Set A Goal of Zero Waste
Step 5: Enact Environmentally-Friendly Land Use Laws

John Hall, Environmentalist, For Congress

John Hall --- of Orleans, "Dance with Me," and "Still the One" fame -- was just endorsed by the Sierra Club -- and has an excellent chance of beating incumbent Sue Kelly in the 19th Congressional District in New York, and helping the Democrats take back Congress. John has been a long time supporter of the environment and clean energy, and is the kind of representative the entire country needs if we are going to meet the energy and environmental challenges we face.

John needs money and support from people all around the country, and the best way to start is to visit his website. I highly recommend viewing his appearance on the Colbert Report last night here. John is very strong, Colbert is hilarious, and the segment includes several effective and funny stabs against the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which is located within the 19th Congressional District.

Here's John's plan to solve our energy issues that includes a long term Apollo-like program based upon research and development, energy efficiency and renewables:

"Solving the Energy Crisis [FROM JOHNHALL.COM WEBSITE]

One of the most glaring failures of Congress and the Bush administration is in the lack of a coherent, forward looking energy policy. Instead of developing alternatives that put the United Stated in the position of marketing new technologies to the rest of the world, this oil-based cadre of government officials has given tax breaks and incentives to oil, coal and nuclear companies at a time when they are already making record profits.

I propose the following:

An Apollo-program or Marshall Plan equivalent commitment to conservation and alternative energy: solar, wind, hydroelectric, bio-diesel, geothermal, and old-fashioned efficiency.

Raise CAFE standards. If Toyota and Honda can produce a car that gets 60 miles to the gallon, don't tell me Detroit can't. Government must mandate what CEO's refuse to do in the public interest; high standards and incentives will move consumers and companies, especially if government at all levels favors efficiency in their fleet vehicle purchases.

Low-head hydroelectric sites, which number in the thousands in the Northeast alone, should be immediately utilized by installing turbines and indemnifying localities or private owners. Studies ranging from NSERDA in the 70's to the Idaho National Laboratory in 1998 show that untapped hydro sites in New York could make a significant dent in New York City's power demand. (>1200 megawatts - INL 1998) Massachusetts, according to a recent report, has more than four thousand low-head sites.

Bio-diesel runs Willie Nelson's bus and the Clearwater Festival's generators, yet it doesn't have the support from our tax dollars that fossil fuels have. Why? Let's pay American farmers to grow our fuel rather than funneling that money to Middle East oil potentates who fund terrorist organizations.
Ask everybody to be part of the effort. In order to maintain our independence from foreign suppliers and creditors, we should all be willing to conserve as much as possible. Grocery stores and convenience stores should put doors or at least plastic sheeting on cold food cases; subdivision rules banning clotheslines should be lifted; weather-stripping, insulation and storm windows should be provided by government for all older houses and apartment buildings where the owner can't afford them. Unnecessary lighting should be turned off, and the president and Congress should set an example for the rest of us. A kilowatt or barrel saved is the same as one earned.

A crash program to develop solar, and related technologies including hydrogen, should be our new national priority. As kilowatts are replaced by these new systems, our most polluting plants should be taken off line. We should also shut down and decommission our nuclear plants, starting with Indian Point and others that are sited in heavily populated areas where evacuation would be impossible.

The insurance underwriting and subsidies that have been granted for half a century to the nuclear industry should be canceled, and instead be extended to safe, sustainable, alternative energy projects. If we can put a man on the moon, if we can connect the whole planet via the Internet, surely we can kick our addiction to oil, coal and nuclear, energy sources that threaten our health and security."

They Paved Paradise... and Put Up a PV Lot

Dr. Richard Perez, who does excellent work at the University of Albany demonsrating the viability of solar electricity, just issued this report showing how effective it can be to place solar photovoltaics on parking lots.

The bottom line: there is enough space on parking lots in the Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island to displace about 15-20% of the region's peak electrical demand with PVs.

Dr Perez's other studies can be found here.

Great Hudson River Revival Festival

For those of you who aren't familiar with Clearwater, one of the nation's first environmental organizations, it does environmental education, enviromental advocacy, and sails the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater -- a beautiful replica of an 18th century Dutch work sloop. Clearwater began in 1966, when a handful of Hudson Valley residents, including Pete Seeger, came together "believing that by learning to care for one boat on one river, the public could come to care for all our threatened waterways."

I've been a Clearwater board member for nearly three years, and Clearwater's staff, board and members are all committed to reinvigorating not just the Hudson River, but our entire natural environment. Perhaps Clearwater's greatest quality is its love for celebration, and each year in June, it hosts the Great Hudson River Revival Festival on the banks of the Hudson in Westchester County just north of New York City.

This year's festival is June 17 and 18 in Croton Point Park and features music, crafts, storytelling, family stages and environmental expositions. Performers include: Guy Davis, John Gorka, Janis Ian, Lucy Kaplansky, The Mammals, Holly Near, and Michelle Shocked.

This year, Pete Seeger will be featured on the Main Stage, when he will share seven decades as a singer, songwriter and activist. In light of the release of the Bruce Springsteen's "Seeger Sessions" this year, Pete undoubtedly will perform some of his songs that were recorded by Springsteen. You can hear Pete's original Seeger sessions by going here and clicking on Pete Seeger.

For tickets to the Clearwater festival, go here.

Also, here's an interview with Pete Seeger on Living on Earth rebroadcast several weeks ago in connection with release of the "Seeger Sessions."

Blogs Against the Empire

Call me paranoid.

After September 11, I became active in the efforts to close the two Indian Point nuclear reactors in Westchester County, NY. Having seen the impossible two blocks from my office in lower Manhattan, I imagined the unthinkable at the plant, near my home, just 40 miles from Ground Zero in the most densely populated region of the country (20 million people within 50-mile radius of the plant).

Others were paranoid too, realistic even. The Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), a coalition of more than 70 groups, formed to close the plant and promote safe and renewable energy. In his State of the Union address in January 2002, President Bush said that diagrams of U.S. nuclear plants had been found with terrorists in Afganistan. IPSEC rallied support from citizens and officials in the Hudson Valley, NYC, Connecticut, and New Jersey; 52 municipalities, 13 community boards, and over 400 public officials (including 11 members of Congress), have called for the closure of Indian Point. A report commissioned by NY State in 2002 and conducted by former FEMA head James Lee Witt and Associates concluded that the Evacution Plan's "system and capabilities . . .are not adequate to . . .protect the people from an unacceptable dose of radiation in the event of a release from Indian Point." Hardly a suprise to anyone who's tried to escape from Westchester during rush hour, even without a radiation release.

Entergy, the owners of the plant, felt threatened. Their income -- reportedly $2.3 million per day -- was at risk. What do large corporations do when their core business is at risk from political and public pressure? They turn on the public relations machine, and Entergy has used all the tricks. They:

1) Hired PR powerhouse Burson-Marstellar, best known for defending Union Carbide after Bhopal, as well as human rights violations by totalitarian regimes around the world;
2)Spent millions on campaign contributions and lobbying (see this report by Common Cause and this article,"Radioactive Money 2005," by Daniel Wolff);
3) Hired 9/11 hero Rudy Giuliani as a security consultant even though he had no expertise in nuclear reactor security;
4) Sponsored forums, contributed to various charities, and began massive advertising campaign including NY Yankees radio targeting general public -- even though consumers do not buy directly from Entergy;
5) Created a phony "grass roots" campaign using a front group that was targeted at black, hispanic and low-income communities;
6) Removed "nuclear" from the plant's name and began calling it the "Indian Point Energy Center" (not suprising from an industry that calls nuclear power "clean" even though it creates perhaps the most toxic waste on the planet); and
7) Claimed the plant was "safe" even though it has been plagued with safety issues since it went online in the 70's, and it currently has radioactive leaks from unknown sources.
(For more details on Entergy's public relations efforts on Indian Point, see this excellent article by Riverkeeper's Lisa Rainwater van Suntum)

* * *

So last week, I blogged a story about a new solar panels on Town Hall and a Green Energy Fair in the Town of Greenburgh, where I live. The Town and people of Greenburgh have been extremely supportive of the efforts to close the plant. I posted the story also last Tuesday to the several listservs for people interested in closing the nuclear plant (which apparently have some Entergy molelurkers). On Wednesday, I looked at my web tracking software and I noticed a curious notation:

"(Entergy Corporation)
Arkansas, Russellville, United States, 0 returning visits
10th May 2006 09:58:37 AM nylawline.typepad.com/greencounsel/
[Arriving From:] www.alltheweb.com/search?advanced=1&cat=web&jsact=&_stype=norm&type=phrase&q=stephen filler&itag=crv&_b_query=&l=en&ics=utf-8&cs=utf8&wf%5Bn%5D

Hmmm, apparently someone from an Entergy Corporation office in Arkansas (their headquaters are there) had used my name as search parameters from the "Alltheweb.com" search engine.

I also had sent my post about the Greenburgh Energy Fair as a letter to the editor to the Journal News, the local Gannett paper that has devoted a large amount of coverage, editorials, and letters on Indian Point over the years. I was told that on Thursday my letter would run, and so it did. The Journal News posts letters on line, and when I found mine, in small print on the left part of the screen, I smiled. But then I saw it, the large lumbering animated gif to right (you can see it to the right and above, on this page right now) drawing it's attention away from my words, just telling me, assuring me, italically insisting how safe I feel (if you visit the site, you may have to "refresh" a few times to see it, the ads alternate).

Coincidence? Well, I don't think Entergy targeted my specific letter to the editor, but they know that the letters to the editor section has had dozens, maybe hundreds, of letters from people who want the plant closed. Clearly Entergy is placing their ads in places that might negate the sentiment of the writers.

So how about it, now that you know more, do you feel safer? Or is really time to renew the xanax prescription?

IPSEC is gathering forces to stop Entergy’s anticipated bid to re-license Indian Point for an additional 20 years. To contribute, write letters, or join the efforts, go here.

Does Your Town Hall Have Solar Panels?

Ours does! This Saturday, May 13, 2006, the Town of Greenburgh, NY (in Westchester County), will have an Energy Conservation Fair when, among other things, they will celebrate the Town Hall's new solar photovoltaic (PV) system.

The PV system is the product of several key decisions demonstrating the best in state and local government. First, several years ago the State of New York won a law suit against a Virginia utility for acid rain from coal plants, and NY Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Elliot Spitzer negotiated that $2.1 million of the settlement would go to New York to install solar energy equipment on government-owned buildings in the state. The fund is administered by the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which made the money available by grant to local governments.

Paul Feiner, the Greenburgh Town Supervisor pushed the Town to apply for a grant, and after some opposition and wrangling, he succeeded in getting the project funded and completed. Greenburgh is one of twelve municipalities from New York State that are using this fund to develop solar projects. One of the goals of the NYSERDA funding was to create high visibility projects, and the Town hopes that as a result "businesses and residents will be motivated to pursue solar panels and other energy alternatives at their homes/businesses."

Greenburgh is a clean energy leader for other reasons as well: it has appointed one of the country's few local energy conservation coordinators, Nikki Coddington; and several years ago Greenburgh became the first locality in New York to require new dwellings to comply with New York Energy Star guidelines, ensuring considerably less energy use.

Coddington has organized this weekend's energy fair that will feature exhibitors and speakers to help residents learn about saving energy, energy audits, solar energy, biodiesell, hybrid vehicles, ride-sharing programs, green construction, and buying green power from wind and hydro. The Greenburgh Library is planning to take advantage of geothermal (earth energy) technology when they expand the library.

For more info on the Energy Fair, see the press release.