Presented at the July 12, 2010 symposium, Defying Conventional Wisdom: Bringing Our Communities Together for Energy and Climate Action"

 

Valley Views – Poughkeepsie Journal – May 30, 2010
By Melissa Everett, Ph.D.

The fallout from the Gulf Coast BP oil spill is a slow-moving reminder of an opportunity in disguise: to grow the market for clean energy jobs with a movement of households, businesses, and institutions that choose to use energy as the precious, risk-filled resource that it is.

Federal stimulus funding shows signs of stimulating some creativity.  Take the Energy-Efficiency Block Grants now available for application by smaller municipalities (under 35,000 population).  Communities have been probing the options for shovel-ready, energy-efficient and overdue infrastructure projects that can compete with the hundreds of proposals being submitted by their counterpart communities. In the process they’re recognizing the zero-sum nature of that game - and some are figuring out a higher road.

A musing after  the "Start Seeing Bicycles" ride in Kingston September 25, 2009:

 

For those who were confused by the Kingston Daily Freeman's coverage of our Green Jobs Pledge initiative ("Green Pledge Makes Mayor See Red") and yesterday's sensational front-page lead story built on assertions of support and concern about the Pledge, here is a letter that I submitted to the Freeman on June 22, 2009.  According to reporter Paul Kirby, the paper's Letters section is so backed up that ours could not be published for a couple of weeks....  meanwhile, for y'all, here it is. 

 

I'm on my first vacation  in 8 years, so (cross fingers) this won't be long.  After a volatile week in the news about our Green Jobs Pledge initiative in Kingston ("Green Pledge Makes Mayor See Red") the Daily Freeman has put forward a most thoughtful and supportive editorial suggesting that choosing an identity and an organizing strategy will help the City to be favored by smart people - which is indeed one of the many points to the initiative.  This encouraging editorial can be read at this link:

Federal stimulus funding shows signs of stimulating some creativity. Take the Energy-Efficiency Block Grants now available for application by smaller municipalities (under 35,000 population). Communities have been probing the options for shovel-ready, energy-efficient and overdue infrastructure projects that can compete with the hundreds of proposals being submitted by their counterpart communities. In the process they’re recognizing the zero-sum nature of that game - and some are figuring out a higher road.

Until recently, I was thinking too hard and blogging too little.   Then the phone rang.  It was Jeremy Ellenbogen, CEO of Seven21 Media Center in my home city of Kingston NY.  Seven21 is a repurposed factory, now housing a couple of dozen film, video, web and other new media businesses, and a couple of studios.  

“Melissa, we need your help,” he said.  “We’re building a green roof.  We’re in ‘just do it’ mode.  But some expertise wouldn’t be a bad thing.”