Hello Friends, First, I just want to say how much I appreciate each of you for expressing your thoughts and feelings about the complex challenge we face in redesigning our systems of living and working. I am always grateful when people take the time to think out loud on this list serv.
But I wanted to offer some clarification for new list members about this list and about Sustainable Tompkins. This is an unmoderated list which is open to self subscription by any interested party. We do try to impose a few rules for the list (such as no off topic advertising and keeping posts focused on local sustainability issues). People on the list are not official members of Sustainable Tompkins. Our organization has not created a membership base in the past, but we are now moving in that direction since we established a downtown office and are building the infrastructure to support a membership. We hope that all of you will be interested in becoming members of ST and directly supporting our programs. ST's work has been to "connect, convene, and catalyze" the local sustainability movement. We offer several platforms for people to connect with others, such as this list serv, the Sustainability Map, the weekly Signs of Sustainability articles, the quarterly Cayuga Sustainability Council meetings, and holiday gatherings. We convene people to push the boundaries of our individual and collective knowledge through workshops and conferences like the Finger Lakes Bioneers "We Make Our Future" gathering. And we catalyze the formation of new groups and initiatives such as the Green Resource Hub, Finger Lakes Buy Green, and our Neighhorbood Mini-Grants Program. We are developing the Finger Lakes Climate Fund to provide a place for people to offset their unavoidable carbon emissions by making donations that will then be given in grants to modest-income households for energy efficiency improvements. In the future, we will expand the portfolio of local carbon offset projects to include renewable energy. We see the local climate fund as an excellent way to take responsibility for carbon emissions resulting from "love miles" to see family and friends, or unavoidable business travel. We believe that we all have a responsibility to first reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as we can through investments in energy efficiency, renewables, and the redesign of our lifestyles. We also believe we have a simultaneous responsibility to help others achieve a lower carbon footprint. The Finger Lakes Climate Fund helps us connect the dots between our own excess emissions and helping others. As a complement to the climate fund, we are also launching the Marcellus Challenge in a few weeks. This will be an online resource for helping people record their pledges to reduce their personal consumption of natural gas and other fossil fuels, and give them access to the information resources and local businesses that can help them reach their goals for reducing their fossil carbon footprint. We will be developing a way to track those pledges and add up their impact as a means to demonstrate to everyone that our movement has the ability to "walk its talk" and take a systems approach to solving the problems of hydrofracking of the Marcellus Shale. We have to be willing to chip away at the demand side of the equation, and not only focus on how the supply of natural gas is regulated. Both sides of the equation need our attention! That's why ST is calling for a statewide ban on hydrofracking and withdrawal of the SDGEIS, while also offering our help to those willing to invest their time and money in reducing their consumption of fossil fuels. We believe that this integrated approach generates the integrity our movement needs for attracting more supporters. Lastly, I want to say again how much I appreciate each of you. We do not all share the same perspectives on each topic, but I trust that we have many overlapping values. I think it's okay if you say things that others disagree with -- but I think you have to accept being called out if others point out flaws in your position or object to your tone. My personal opinion is that these times are too fraught with risk to indulge ourselves in hypercritical analysis of others in the sustainability movement. None of us has it all worked out in terms of solutions, and none of us has perfected our character. Sitting in high judgment of others may be more destructive than you realize. Yet we must be able to bring up uncomfortable topics for discussion, or we risk creating a narrow and self righteous culture. Somehow we must find the balance. At the public forum on gas drilling on Thursday night, I once again felt great pride in our community -- over 1000 people motivated to come out and listen while a steady stream of articulate, engaged, and responsible people stood at the microphone to explain why they feel that hydrofracking is a bad idea. The points they made spanned a wide spectrum and demonstrated a thoughtful citizenry in action. This is something that we can all celebrate, even if we don't agree with every point made. With respect and gratitude to each of you, Gay -- ---------------------------------------------------- Gay Nicholson, Ph.D. President Sustainable Tompkins 109 S. Albany St. Ithaca, NY 14850 www.sustainabletompkins.org 607-533-7312 (home office) 607-220-8991 (cell) 607-216-1552 (ST office) 607-216-1553 (ST fax) [email protected] _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
