Woodstock, New York has a reputation for progressivism that is tough to match. It must also be hard to live up to, but the town is trying. Last week, the Woodstock Town Board passed a resolution to reduce net carbon emissions in the town to zero, within a decade.
The basic idea is both to reduce emissions and to create clean power, reaching zero emissions by the town creating more power than it uses.
Like the public library here in Ithaca, the town hall in Woodstock has solar energy panels on its roof. The town plans to install them on other public buildings, and on the town's large public parking garage.
On the reduction side, the town plans to increase recycling programs, improve the efficiency of town vehicles, and create incentives for home-owners to use solar power.
Although the Woodstcok resolution passed unanimously, no one is saying it will be easy, or particularly feasible. The feeling of this famously idealistic and creative town is that the real failure in life is not to confront problems and pursue dreams.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment