By: Patty L. Buchanan The seasonal eco-grief that comes with school bus purchasing plans has, once again, set in. The stark truth is that the Croton School District continues to fall 70% behind the needed pace to meet NY State law and globally needed reduction in transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The implications are best described by António Guterres, U.N….
The Look of Success
By: Patty L. Buchanan Do you want to advocate for an electric school bus (ESB) in your local School District? You may find the story of how tiny Croton on Hudson, NY got its first ESB instructional. Success is achieved by unflinching advocacy. Here in Croton, our two-and-a-half-year campaign spanning three school budget cycles, by all-volunteer efforts to electrify the…
Individual Actions are Needed to Stabilize our Climate, Now More than Ever
By: Patty L. Buchanan* The excess of greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere is destabilizing global climate systems to the perilous point of “Code Red for Humanity” in the words of the United Nations Secretary General. The scale of the crisis can be overwhelming, sometimes leaving people to feel that individual actions cannot influence the necessary changes to achieve net-zero…
Momentum is Building for Electric School Buses
By Patty L. Buchanan Momentum is building all around us for electric school buses, and for good reasons. The Croton Harmon School District has taken a leadership role by procuring a $120,000 NYSERDA grant to purchase its first 66-passenger electric bus. The local climate stability education advocacy group, Croton100, rallied the Croton community in the Spring of 2021 to deliver…
I’m Voting No to Proposition 1 and Yes to Propositions 2, 3 and 4 on the Croton School Ballot; Here’s Why
I am voting NO to Transportation Proposition 1 and YES to Propositions 2, 3 and 4 on the Croton School May 18 ballot. I encourage you to do the same. Here’s why. As a resident of this School District, I, along with others in the community, have spent the past year working with the School on positioning our District to…
Save Money and Help the Croton Sustainability Committee!
By: Patty Buchanan As part of the Sustainability Committee’s efforts to win a $70,000 NYSERDA grant, Croton100 is helping to promote Con Ed’s “Grid Rewards” demand response program for this summer. If you enroll in this program, you can make money and help the Village Sustainability Committee. To maximize benefits, you need to enroll by April 30. This is a…
So Much Money and Carbon to be Saved
By: Patty L. Buchanan Croton100 has continued with its best efforts to educate the Croton School District about the benefits of integrating electric school buses into its fleet in the 2021-22 budget cycle that is currently being finalized. We were so inspired by the many messages community members sent to the Board of Education (BOE) in response to our March…
Horror, Despair, Hope and Action
By: Patty L. Buchanan Climate stability advocates spend a lot of time on the emotional rollercoaster of horror, despair, hope and action. I have been having a rough ride on these tracks lately. I recently listened to an insightful On Being podcast about how these ups and downs relate. The podcast is a conversation between On Being Host Krista Tippett…
International, National and Local Spotlights on EV Adoption
By: Patty L. Buchanan Wooohooo, my all-time favorite Super Bowl ad was released this week, and it is getting international laughs mixed with awe. GM is using the biggest advertising stage, the U.S. Super Bowl, to promote the idea of national pride in the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. The premise of the ad is that Will Ferrell is incensed that Norway…
Presidential Inauguration Meets Climate Action: Day 1 and Beyond
By: Patty L. Buchanan January 20 was a triumphant day for climate action. Starting with his Inaugural Speech, President Biden recognized that there is: Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain. While calling out the multiple crises cascading upon us that we must push through to overcome, he promised that he…