Decrease energy use

Action: Government Building Energy Audits

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Tompkins County - Town of Ulysses

The Town of Ulysses conducted an Energy Audit on the Town Hall, which was conducted by Snug Planet. Snug Planet is a Building Performance Institute (BPI) accredited and Energy Star certified contractor. Recommendations included water heater replacement,fFurnace/AC ductwork redesign, sealing, & insulation in main attic, attic insulation & general air sealing, and plan for heating/cooling equipment replacement. Read the Full Energy Audit here.


Action: Incentives for Employee Carpooling & Transit

Tompkins County

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An online form is available for Tompkins County Employees to request a TCAT bus pass to be used for transportation to and from work here

Shift to clean, renewable energy

Action: Geothermal Installation

Tompkins County - Town of Caroline

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For the Town Office Building in Caroline, the geothermal system was designed and installed in partnership with the Econoar training staff - IGSHPA certified, Brooke Greenhouse of Cayuga Country Homes - Econar and Climatemaster certified, and Meadowlands Geothermal which was IGSHPA and Waterfurnace certified.

Tompkins County - Town of Dryden

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The Geothermal Installation documentation provides detail on the geothermal system specs which covers 100% of the building.


Action: Solar Energy Installation

Broome County

Tompkins County - Town of Caroline

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The Town of Caroline installed solar panels on the Town Hall building.


Action: Renewable Energy Credits

Tompkins County

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In 2016, the County purchased 713,000 kWh in RECs from Gravity Renewables, 1,825,000 kWh in RECs from Constellation Energy, and 4,000,000 kWh in RECs from Integrys Energy Services of New York, Inc. in 2016, amounting to 6,538,000 kWh worth of RECs for 2016, which exceeds the County's total energy usage in 2014.

Use climate-smart materials management

Action: Residential Organic Waste Program

Tompkins County - Town of Dryden

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The Tompkins County Solid Waste Division – in partnership with the Town and Village of Dryden – has opened a food scrap recycling drop spot at the Dryden Town Highway Department. The free service allows residents to expand their recycling options and reduce their trash disposal costs.

The material collected each week is taken to Cayuga Compost in Trumansburg for processing, with the resulting compost marketed to landscapers, homeowners, and organizations as a soil amendment. Read Press Release


Action: Construction & Demolition Waste Policy

Broome County

Broome County’s Reuse and Recycling Guide for Construction and Demolition Waste


Action: Waste Reduction Education Campaign

TOmpkins County

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The Tompkins County Department of Recycling and Materials Management received a grant from New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) in support of the Save the Food project. View the Press Release Here. Through this grant, the Department developed a comprehensive program for residential food waste prevention, featuring a community film screening, social media campaign, school presentations, and a food waste prevention challenge. To help communities and organizations that are interested in developing a food waste prevention program in their own area, the Save The Food manual was created, highlighting project summaries, tips, and lessons learned.


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Action: Recycling Program for Public Places & Events

Tompkins County - City of Ithaca

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The City of Ithaca installed Big Belly trash and recycling bins on the commons. BigBelly reduces the solid waste stream and the cost of trash removal - ultimately mitigating the city's "carbon footprint."

The compactor uses no electricity. The solar cells, installed on the top of the unit, charge a battery that powers the compactor and the sensors. These sensors, located midway up the receptacle, determine when waste within the 32-gallon bin has accumulated to a certain height, at which point compaction is activated.

Press Release

Implement climate-smart land use

Action: Planning & Infrastructure for Bicycling & Walking

Broome County

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The Two Rivers Greenway is a regional walking and bicycling trail system that resulted from the recommendations of the Binghamton Metropolitan Greenway Feasibility Study performed by the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study (BMTS) in 1999.

Two Rivers Greenway Signage Plan and Design Guide

Two Rivers Greenway Facebook

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Tompkins County

The Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, which is part of the Tompkins County government, developed a bicycle map for the area. The same council also developed a Complete Streets Network map that includes proposals for more trails, expansion of the bicycle boulevard network, and new complete streets (streets that are bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly).

Bike Map
Complete Streets

Tompkins County - Town of Dryden

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The Dryden Rail Trail is a Bike trail that has been being developed and is open for public use. The newly formed group Friends of the Dryden Rail Trail are very excited that the rail beds will soon be repurposed as a multiuse trail to provide recreational and commuting opportunities, as well as encourage walkers and riders from beyond the Town to visit Dryden.

Read Press Release Here


Action: Alternative-Fuel Infrastructure

Schuyler County- Montour Falls

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An EV charging station was installed in a public parking lot near the Pocket Park on Main Street in Montour Falls (Schuyler County). The EV Charger carries a small fee, but is available for public use.

Tompkins COunty - Town of Caroline

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Two EV charging stations were installed at the Town Hall in Caroline. These stations can be accessed by the public 24 hrs a day and 7 days a week.


Action: Adopt Land Use Policies That Support or Incentivize Farmer’s Markets, Community Gardens and Urban and Rural Agriculture

Broome County

Broome County houses community gardens at a county park, Otsiningo Park. These are managed through a partnership with Otsiningo Community Gardeners' Association. Broome County also has an agreement with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County for operations and maintenance of the Broome County Regional Farmers. The BC Regional Farmers Market Vendor Handbook outlines the policies for the market including requirements for the source of products and ingredients.


Action: Implement a Safe Routes to School Program

Tompkins County - City of Ithaca

Ithaca: City, school district collaborate on safe routes to school
Press Release

Ithaca: city and school district awarded safe routes to school grant
Press Release

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Enhance community resilience to climate change

Action: Develop or Enhance Early Warning Systems and Community Evacuation Plans

Broome County

StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of extreme weather—from tornadoes to winter storms. The program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations. 

Support a green innovation economy

Action: Solarize, Clean Heating and Cooling, or Solar for All Campaign

Tompkins County - Town of Caroline

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Greg Pahl, shared many stories in his new book Power From the People — a guidebook for organizing, financing, and launching local energy projects. His visit inspired the formation of Solarize Tompkins SE which has enrolled almost 300 households from Caroline, Danby, and Dryden in a local solar-buying club. With this stunning success, local activists are feeling optimistic about taking the solar initiative countywide in early 2014.


Action: Green Jobs Training

Tompkins County

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Tompkins County funds Finger Lakes ReUse, which offers ReSET, a free job training program. This program offers customer service & retail training in a reuse setting, as well as skills in computer technology & refurbishment.


Action: Farmers’ Markets

Broome County

Broome County was instrumental in the construction and opening of the Broome County Regional Farmers Market. Broome County funded both the feasibility study to identify the economic feasibility of a regional market and establish criteria for a building and the construction of the facility (mix of grants and County funds). Broome County also obtained a grant to get the market up and running upon opening, which was used to fund operations through an agreement with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County through the end of 2017.

Regional Farmers Market Feasibility Study

Schuyler County - Montour Falls

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Montour Falls pursued the electrification of the park on West Main Street for the purpose of providing Village electricity to public events, most notably the Farmers Market, held weekly in the park. The Montour Falls Sustainability Committee is involved with public engagement guidance dealing with the promotion of the Farmer's Market and its commitment to Local Goods. Sustainable Montour Falls, which is the brand umbrella for the Village Sustainability Committee will begin to boost the Farmers Market using the social media and online tools at its disposal. The Village Board and the Sustainability Committee agree on the value of the Farmers Market, and agree on the important role it plays in promoting local goods and produce, and both bodies are taking steps to support and improve this community resource.


Action: Buy Local/ Buy Green Campaign

Broome County

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Broome County participates in 3 separate Buy Local progrmas: Made in Broome, Farm Trail, and the Broome County Estate Card.

2019 Broome County Farm Trail Brochure

Inform and inspire the public

Action: Energy Reduction Campaign

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Tompkins County

HeatSmart Tompkins is an energy reduction campaign by Solar Tompkins to reduce energy usage through heating, which Tompkins County actively supports as its key partner and fiscal sponsor


Action: Local Climate Action Website

Broome County

Broome Climate Smart Communities Website

Tompkins County - City of Ithaca

Sustainable Ithaca - City of Ithaca Website


Action: Social Media

Broome County

Broome County Environmental Management Council Facebook

Schuyler County - Montour Falls

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Sustainable Montour Falls, the brand umbrella for the Village Sustainability Committee, manages a twitter account for the promotion of sustainability-related content, and the Village Facebook is being engaged to share content as well as related public events that promote the Village's sustainability goals.

Tompkins County - City of Ithaca

Sustainable Ithaca - City of Ithaca Facebook Page

Tompkins County - Town of Dryden

The town of Dryden has an emergency preparedness facebook page that is intended to inform and educate residents of the town around natural disasters and resiliency. This type of page is increasingly useful and relevant in regards to climate change adaptation and community resilience

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Engage in an evolving process of climate action

Action: Partnerships with Other Entities

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Broome County

Broome County partners with other communities that are regulated MS4s under federal and state stormwater regulations through the Broome-Tioga Stormwater Coalition. The group works together on stormwater management issues. A major component is educating the public, primarily through the Water From Rain campaign.

Tompkins County

The Water Resources Council Cayuga Lake Monitoring Partnership is a presently active partnership between local government and various water-related entities. In addition to members of the Water Resources Council, the Cayuga Lake Monitoring Partnership includes representatives of Cornell University’s Lake Source Cooling monitoring team, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, Community Science Institute, Finger Lakes Institute, Floating Classroom, Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant, and several researchers from Cornell University.

Innovation

Action: Innovation: New Innovative Actions

Tompkins County - Town of Caroline

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In 2012, Town of Caroline in Tompkins County, New York passed a one-year ban on hydraulic fracturing.

"A one-year moratorium gives the town the space and time to work on a number of different issues," Town Supervisor Don Barber said. Road preservation, industrial site plan review, and critical environmental and aquifer protection plans must all be considered, he said.

View the Local Law