This Wednesday, March 3, from 6:30-9:00 p.m., Sustainable Tompkins and Shaleshock Citizen Action Alliance will be hosting a free energy fair and opportunity to take the Marcellus Challenge, a promise to reduce your dependence on natural gas and fossil carbon in an educational community setting at the Women's Community Building.

Wishing Well is co-sponsoring this event because we deeply care about our environment and our communities, as well as the missions of Sustainable Tompkins and Shaleshock. We supported the Life is Water concert in December in the effort to help prevent hydrofracking from ruining our water supplies and the health risks that we believe are inherently tied to such practices. We are very connected to the natural world, and we feel that conservation combined with renewable energy use is imperative to the protection of our natural resources from more and more drastic and damaging extraction processes.

As individuals, Greg and I have taken the Marcellus Challenge. It's a little daunting, because we live in a huge old house downtown. It was neglected for decades as student housing. It needs a new roof. Sometimes it's downright breezy inside. We can't plug in the toaster and the microwave at the same time. We can see daylight through places that are not windows. And, well, our monthly energy costs are almost as much as our mortgage (seriously). It often feels hypocritical and embarrassing for me to be out in the world advocating for sustainability and conservation, while our family is pretty wasteful. If I had to guess, most people see the value in conserving energy, but they're just not sure financially how they can afford to.

When we first heard about the Marcellus Challenge, we thought it was a good idea, but not for us. After all, we can't just stop paying our heating bills and save that money for a more efficient system or a tighter front door. And with four kids, there's no extra money to be found. But after talking with Gay Nicholson, president of Sustainable Tompkins, it was clear to me that even very small monthly changes could be helpful, and she reminded me of the wealth of resources right here in Ithaca that are available to help me navigate all the gobbledy-gook of tax incentives, NYSERDA thingamajigs, rebates, and who knows what else.

Besides, I am a people person. I don't want to read through all the different guides and government documents. "Can't someone just tell me where to start?" I asked Gay. And she did. She listened to my particular situation and pointed me toward specific resources. I was invited to a teach-in, where I learned little tips that (seriously) anyone can do, and we are on our way to making real changes in the efficiency of our lives. 

So it's okay if you can't replace your heating system right now, or afford to insulate your house. It's okay if you rent and don't have control over a lot of how your building is maintained. It's okay if you don't even have a job. Your stuff matters, too. There are still many small steps you can take that add up and save both energy and money.

I am passing on Gay's invitation to you so that you may join local organizations, businesses, legislators and community members this Wednesday for the Marcellus Challenge Energy Fair and Pledge-In. You will hear about what others are doing, but more importantly, you can get answers about what you can do to conserve energy and money while protecting our environment that work for you. 

I hope to see you there. Please come say hello.

Best Wishes,

Danielle

YOU'RE INVITED

Dear Friends,

We'd like to invite you to join us for an evening of serious fun. Serious because the topic of Marcellus Shale drilling brings many grave concerns. Fun because working together to assert our independence from fossil carbon brings a rich array of benefits to all of us.

Sustainable Tompkins and Shaleshock Action Alliance hope you will join us on the evening of Wednesday, March 3 to explore all of the connections between consumer patterns, drilling and mining, climate change, our local economy, and our highest values. We've got a full night of learning and sharing, taking a stand and supporting each other, as we walk our talk and live by our values.

Go to www.sustainabletompkins.org to learn more. And please! Share this with your friends and colleagues and bring your families. We need to take personal responsibility, but it's so much more effective when we do that together!

For a better future,

Gay Nicholson                     Lisa Wright
Sustainable Tompkins            Shaleshock Action Alliance

TAGGED WITH: conservation, drilling, frac, Fracking, hydrofracking, Marcellus Challenge, mining, pledge, renewable energy