Green Guide

LONG ISLAND CAN BE A CLEAN ENERGY LEADER
Neighborhood Network Task Force Is Lighting the Way
By Jenna Kern-Rugile

Ask any Long Islander about their favorite part of living here and there’s a good chance you’ll hear something about the water. Many people choose to live on Long Island because of our proximity to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

But living on an island has its downsides. “The consequences of global warming are particularly serious for a coastal community like Long Island,” explains Neal Lewis, Executive Director of Neighborhood Network. “We’re extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels and increasingly intense storms. Long Island will be on the frontline of the impacts of global warming.”

Neighborhood Network, a non-profit environmental group, was founded in 1984 to improve the quality of life on Long Island by promoting solutions to environmental challenges and advocating for governmental accountability. The non-profit group has worked on many initiatives, including the passage of the Neighbor Notification Law, which requires pesticide applicators to give 48-hour notice to adjacent homeowners before spraying. The group is also known for its work in the organic lawn care arena.

“Each year, we conduct many educational forums teaching people how they can grow beautiful lawns without pesticides,” says Beth Fiteni, Program Director for Neighborhood Network. “There’s absolutely no need to use toxic products that impact your family’s health and the health of our environment.”

These days, in addition to continuing advocacy in those areas, Neighborhood Network has become a leading force on Long Island for clean, renewable energy. Lewis heads up a group called the Clean Energy Leadership Task Force whose mission is to provide Long Island municipalities with information on clean and efficient energy technologies and let them know about the financial incentive programs available for adopting them (see “The Eco-Friendly School, page TK, for info on how some L.I. schools have taken advantage of these programs).

“The idea of the task force is to get past these big policy pronouncements and get the work done,” says Lewis. “We want local governments to lead by example and act as role models to residents and businesses. If we get town halls to be energy efficient, it sends a message to home and business owners about how important—and possible—it is for them to do the same.”

Many municipalities have made the smart move to hybrid vehicles and natural gas trucks, which are far less polluting than their conventional counterparts. Funding for the purchase of these vehicles is available through a government initiative called Clean Cities, which has a very active L.I. chapter (see www.gliccc.org or call 631-969-3700 to find out about the Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition).

“It’s incumbent on local government to lead by example in rethinking the way we all approach issues of conservation and renewable energy,” says Steve Levy, Suffolk County Executive. “The Neighborhood Network is at the forefront of guiding every local municipality on Long Island toward making the progressive choices that will lead to greater energy independence and a healthier environment overall.”

Suffolk was the first municipality in the state to adopt a Clean Energy Action Plan in March, 2005, with Nassau following suit in October of that year. According to Lewis, Suffolk is saving over $1 million a year as a result of energy efficiency improvements in county-owned buildings. “This demonstrates that if you make the investment in these cleaner technologies, you can come away with a building that saves energy, pollutes less, and also reduces energy bills,” he says.

One of the task force’s goals is to get all 13 towns on Long Island to enact a law requiring Energy Star efficiency ratings for all new construction. Because it uses less energy, each Energy Star Home results in 2.25 fewer tons of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year than a conventional home. So far, six towns have signed on.

“The increase in construction cost is quite small in comparison to the savings,” says Lewis. “It typically takes less than two years to pay back your investment. Your bills will be lower for years to come, and you’re helping reduce the impacts of global warming.”

In addition to advocating for renewable energy such as solar and geothermal, the task force also recommends smaller changes, such as improved lighting efficiency and upgrades to old heating and cooling systems. “If we took all the large air conditioning units in our county buildings and retrofitted them with newer, efficient technologies, we’d have no need to build another power plant on Long Island,” says Lewis. “It’s a very viable, straightforward project.

“Of course, Long Island needs its many business entities to join the move to adopt efficient energy initiatives. But private businesses have been slower to take these measures,” Lewis says, possibly out of concern for the bottom line.

“If they’re worried about their next-quarter earnings statement, they’re missing the big picture,” he says. “Think of all the rooftops on L.I. office buildings that would be perfect for something like solar panels. And they can make simple changes like switching to energy-efficient lighting systems. Those moves would ultimately be beneficial to their bottom line by cutting their electric bills over the course of many years.”

Another reason Long Island businesses—and homeowners, too—should implement clean energy technologies is to boost our regional economy. “The clean energy industry offers a tremendous growth opportunity for Long Island,” says Lewis. “It’s a field that relies on highly trained workers, and it can provide high-paying jobs. Our region can be a leader in clean energy.”

Numerous solar contractors are located on Long Island, and other “green” companies, such as biodiesel providers Vogelbilt and North American Biofuels, also make their home here. To support these businesses, however, municipal contracts aren’t enough. “The message we need to get out to the business community is that what’s good for the environment is good for your bottom line,” says Lewis. “Energy efficiency is money saved.”

This fall, Neighborhood Network will be announcing some exciting programs to help businesses go green across the board. To find out more about the Clean Energy Leadership Task Force and the work of Neighborhood Network, visit www.longislandnn.org or call 631-963-5454.

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