Date: Thursday, September 28th 2023
Description: Calling all trivia buffs, New Rochelle residents and party people!
Join Sustainable Westchester for a Trivia Night! Test your knowledge and compete against friends in a general trivia competition. Prizes include: $100 Visa gift card, $50 and $25 gift cards.
Bring a friend. Doors open at 6:30, game starts at 7:00
Sustainable Westchester’s Interim Executive Director Jim Kuster is fundraising for Sustainable Westchester with Climate Ride! He will be riding from Burlington VT to Bar Harbor ME, covering 410 miles in 5 days.
Consider sponsoring the ride! Your donation will be matched 4x, so a $10 donation becomes $40! Funds will be used to expand Environmental Justice initiatives at Sustainable Westchester and support our programming.
Read on for a note from Jim on why he Climate Rides!
“My motivation to get on my bike and ride beyond my comfort zone for a purpose beyond myself – addressing climate change – started in 2006, when I noticed the national conversation around sustainability and environmental protection becoming highly politicized. As a result, I started to look for ways to raise awareness to benefit local communities without a partisan objective. I began participating regularly in charity cycling events to connect directly with organizations that put resources to work for locally based climate action. This combined my love for outdoor travel and physical fitness, and opened the door to new relationships, communities and opportunities.
In 2016, I found my way to Climate Ride, a nonprofit organization that arranges amazing events on behalf of other environmentally focused nonprofits and have ridden in more than a dozen fundraising events since then. Sustainable Westchester is now a designated beneficiary of Climate Ride.
Currently I am fundraising for a Climate Ride in September from Burlington VT to Bar Harbor ME, 410 miles. Each dollar donated to my ride will be matched by a foundation associated with Climate Ride, then donated to Sustainable Westchester. In turn, Sustainable Westchester has a matching grant in place, so donations to the event will be multiplied four-fold!
Efforts to combat climate change should be truly non-partisan, but as I have learned since, it’s complicated. Genuine interest in protecting human health, community health and environmental health can lead to difficult policy choices and resource allocation. That is why Sustainable Westchester is ideally positioned to assist its municipal members and their constituents. Our consortium reflects the power of local communities to decide what programs are best suited to them and best effectuate change.
Please donate here to Sustainable Westchester through my Climate Ride event. Thank you!” -Jim
About Climate Ride
Climate Ride is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that organizes life-changing charitable cycling, hiking, running, and other outdoor adventures to raise awareness and support sustainability, active transportation, and environmental causes. Since 2008, their biking, hiking, and running events have raised over $10 million to support climate, clean energy, conservation, and bicycle/pedestrian advocacy grantees. Over 6,000 people have participated in Climate Ride events since 2008. You can find more information https://www.climateride.org/.
Many local municipalities and sustainability committees tuned into the Clean Energy Communities (CEC) 2023 Program Update Meeting. If you missed the meeting or would like to review the content, this blog post is for you.
During the webinar on August 10th, the Hudson Valley Regional Council provided an overview of the CEC Campaign Guidelines and Sustainable Westchester explained how our EnergySmart Homes and Solar Programs can support your municipality’s Clean Heating and Cooling (Heat Pump) and Community Solar campaign efforts. Municipal representatives also shared their experiences and best practices learned during their CEC Campaigns.
Funding for the Clean Energy Communities program has been expanded. With the new Achievement Levels, communities can earn up to 3,800 points and $97,500 and $290,000 for small and large communities, respectively. Municipalities that have previously completed campaigns are eligible for new funding opportunities. Please refer to the image provided for a breakdown of each campaign type and tier.
Sustainable Westchester can be your municipality’s partner in offering CEC Community Campaigns. To learn more about these campaign review the materials below:
Quick Link for CEC resources:
September 16th-24th, 2023
Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week is an effort to focus attention on the climate emergency we are all facing with a series of events throughout the region. Over 50 awesome events happening across the Hudson Valley, click this link for more information about all the fantastic events!
Why is this important?
The last UN IPCC climate report has added yet more urgency to implement solutions to our climate crisis. New York State’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act along with many local efforts are moving towards actionable solutions. Our window of opportunity to act is closing. HV Climate Solutions Week gives the public opportunities to learn more, connect with other concerned citizens, and engage on a deeper level.
Sunday, September 17, 2023 from 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Mamaroneck Courtroom, 169 Mount Pleasant Avenue
To kick off Climate Solutions Week in Westchester, Sustainable Westchester and the Village of Mamaroneck Committee for the Environment are inviting residents to join us in-person to learn about all the ways to go green at home! If you’re thinking about getting a home energy assessment, insulation, heat pumps, or other energy-efficiency upgrades, this is the event for you. We’ll be covering the different technology options, ways to get connected to local contractors, rebates to lower project costs, and more. Speakers will include local energy advisors, contractors, and homeowners who will share their experiences with these projects. Attendees will also be able to submit their questions ahead of time and ask them in-person at the event. Register for the event at bit.ly/GoGreenMamaroneck – we hope to see you there!
Funding for the Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program has been expanded! Join us on August 10th, 2023 from 12:00pm – 1:30pm (via Zoom) to learn how your municipality can take advantage of thousands of dollars in funding for Community Solar, Clean Heating and Cooling (Heat Pump), and Electric Vehicle Campaigns. Municipalities that have previously completed campaigns will be eligible for additional funding opportunities. The Hudson Valley Regional Council will provide an overview of the CEC Campaign Guidelines, and Sustainable Westchester staff will explain how our EnergySmart Homes and Solar Programs can support your municipality’s campaign efforts. Participating municipalities will also be on to share their experiences with and best practices for the CEC Campaigns. If you have any questions, email [email protected] or call 914-242-4725 ext.122
Join Sustainable Westchester this summer as we share sustainability tips and tricks at an exciting lineup of events. Stop by our table at local farmer’s markets, outdoor festivals and concerts to learn how you can reduce your energy usage and lower carbon emissions.
Together, let’s create a greener and more sustainable future.
JULY
AUGUST
This Earth Day, Sustainable Westchester had the honor of participating in events with numerous member municipalities around the County. Local communities in Westchester held well-attended festivals, clean ups, and educational events. We thank them for the opportunity to be involved with these events and look forward to many more.
Authored By: Molly Levitt, Sustainable Westchester Intern
On Tuesday, May 23rd, proponents of the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition (HEAT) Act came from all over the state to voice their support in Albany. Three of our very own from Sustainable Westchester made the journey to aid in the effort to pass this important bill.
The NY HEAT Act is a landmark piece of legislation which will help shift New York State away from its reliance on oil and natural gas, and provide relief for residents struggling with the rising cost of energy. It ends subsidies for natural gas such as the “100 Foot Rule”, which requires utility companies to hook up customers to natural gas with no cost if they live within 100 feet of an existing gas main. It also retires old gas grids that are no longer necessary and empowers utility companies to replace them with zero-emission options. These measures will save energy customers $200 million per year in their energy bills. This bill supports zero-emissions forms of heating energy such as heat pumps, geothermal energy, and thermal energy networks, that don’t release dangerous pollutants and are safer for our communities. The bill will make sure to support the transition every step of the way so that jobs are not only preserved, but created.
The “HEAT” in NY HEAT stands for Home Energy Affordable Transition. Keeping true to the name, this law will cap home energy bills for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers at 6% of their annual household income, providing much-needed relief for these families. Between the rate cap and the moratorium on unnecessary support for outdated oil and gas systems, New Yokers for Clean Power (NYCP) estimates that the typical New Yorker will save as much as $75 a month on their energy bills.
Right now is a crucial time for this legislation. New York State just recently passed the 2023 budget, in which we saw some big wins for the environment. For instance, the new budget includes the All-Electric Buildings Act, which bans the use of fossil fuels in new buildings built in New York state. However, NY HEAT didn’t make it through to the final budget, which means the future of this bill has not been decided. There are only a few weeks left in this year’s legislative session. Time is running out to impact the upcoming year’s budget and legislative priorities.
Many elected officials from both houses of the state government who have sponsored or co sponsored NY HEAT spoke in front of the crowd. In fact, many of our own representatives from Westchester have supported this bill. Representatives Dana Levenberg, Chris Burdick, Maryjane Shimsky, Amy Paulin, and Steven Otis co sponsored the bill in the State Assembly. Senators Pete Harckham and Shelley Mayer co-sponsored the bill in the NY Senate. Additionally, among the demonstrators were many leaders from community-based organizations such as Mothers Out Front and No NBK Pipeline, an organization in Brooklyn that successfully blocked National Grid from building two new fracked gas vaporizers in environmental justice communities in Brooklyn.
Our Sustainable Westchester interns were part of this great demonstration. Afterwards, they met with elected officials who have cosponsored the bill package we are advocating for to personally thank them and ensure their continued support going forward. In fact, as the interns made their rounds, many of the representatives they tried to meet with were already on the floor, lending their voices to help pass NY HEAT.
NY HEAT is a vital, trailblazing piece of legislation that will put our state on the right path to carbon neutrality, safer communities, and affordability. We once again would like to shout out the other nonprofit organizations supporting NY HEAT and to all the assemblymen and senators co sponsoring the bill. Stay tuned for more updates on NY HEAT!
Three of our high school interns sitting on the Million-Dollar Staircase in the Legislative Office Building just after the rally for NY Heat. After this, they headed out to talk with elected officials. From left to right: Molly Levitt (yours truly!), Talia London, Jada Fleiss.
You may remember this unit of measurement – the mole – from your high school chemistry class. This is what one mole of a gas looks like. Did you know that your gas-powered car releases 200 moles of carbon dioxide and 10 moles of dangerous carbon monoxide into the air for every mile you travel? Thank you to the folks in Albany for this powerful demonstration of the effects of gas-powered vehicles. If you are able to, consider making the switch to electric, and walk and take public transit whenever you can!
The rally on the steps of the Million Dollar Staircase at 12:30. Demonstrators heard from community leaders, co-sponsors of the NY Heat Act from the State Senate and Assembly – who then went straight to the meeting on the floor to voice their support – and Patricia Fahy and Liz Kreuger, the sponsors of the bill in the Assembly and Senate, respectively.
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