By: Patty L. Buchanan How can we be working so hard to educate the upcoming generation to take their place in a world that they may not be able to thrive in? More precisely how can we, in a School District of 1,625 students with a nearly $50M voter-approved budget, opt to continue to add perilous emissions to our atmosphere…
When You Save Energy, You Save Money
By Patty L. Buchanan We just took steps to reduce our energy consumption. This means we’ll also save money. My husband and I recently completed a three-day laser focused home energy efficiency remediation project. Our custom-tailored project consisted of two parts: (1) pulling out fiberglass insulation that was in poor condition and was falling out of the rafters, which had…
When is the Best Time to Buy an Electric Vehicle?
By: Susan Sammon Have you noticed? There are many more electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid cars cruising around town lately. This is encouraging news for our planet, as replacing a gas-powered car with an EV, plug-in hybrid or hybrid vehicle reduces carbon emissions and improves the planet’s health –and ours! I believe Croton can become a model community for EV…
Croton100 Carbon Tracker: Peering Behind the Curtain
By: Leo Wiegman Or how I stopped worrying and learned to love my data! “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” — Lord Kelvin “The environment and climate change are the most critically important policy priorities we face.” — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo The formation of Croton100 traces back to the October 2018 Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report…
Leaning into Rapid and Unprecedented Changes
By: Patty L. Buchanan Making necessary changes in all aspects of our society to avoid catastrophic climate disruption requires rapid and unprecedented actions. Implementing these actions can be challenging, especially when these changes must be made by large institutions that value stability. Croton100 is in the midst of a campaign to persuade the Croton Harmon School District to change its plan to buy…
Composting 101: It’s Way Easier (and less gross) Than You Think
By: Kathleen M. Reddy-Guidry You instantly begin to reduce your carbon footprint when you start an outdoor compost. It reduces waste, reduces carbon emissions, and is good for the land. Compost is decomposed organic material such as leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen waste. It delivers many essential nutrients for plant growth and is used as a natural fertilizer. Compost also…
Your Mother’s Day Good Deed: Join Electric School Bus Campaign
By: Patty L. Buchanan Today, as we pay tribute to all mothers, let us give special consideration to the sustainer of all our lives, Mother Earth. The national climate stability advocacy group, Mothers Out Front asks us to use this occasion to broaden and strengthen our collective call to transition school bus fleets from diesel to electric. The local chapter of Mothers…
From a Vicious Cycle to a Virtuous Cycle
By: Chandu Visweswariah The 21st century will witness a series of profound macro-economic decoupling forces. Traditional wisdom has it that the more advanced and prosperous an economy, the more energy that economy uses. There is strong historical data for over a century to support this tight coupling. Unfortunately, this sets up a vicious cycle. We optimize our economic policies to…
Cut Carbon From Your Couch
By: Sheryl Goldberg I’ve been worrying about the curve for many years… I even took steps to do my part. When my oil burner started complaining, I knew I didn’t want to make an emergency decision on a replacement. I helped it limp along for about 1 ½ years. I had an energy audit. I tried to develop a comprehensive…
Earth Day in Croton 1970: Then and Now
By: Patty L. Buchanan As a life-long resident of Croton-on-Hudson, I recall with quaint amusement Croton’s first Earth Day celebration 50 years ago. Residents of the community were invited to gather at the Municipal Building. We were asked not to come in fossil fueled vehicles; instead we were encouraged to use our imaginations and arrive by alternative transportation. I was…
