Defying Conventional Wisdom

Defying Conventional Wisdom:

Bringing Communities Together for Energy and Climate Action

Contact:Melissa Everett, Ph.D. Executive Director, Sustainable Hudson Valley

www.sustainhv.org/845-384-1189

 

In the Hudson Valley and the nation, there is a groundswell of support for clean energy policies and practices, and the “green community”initiatives that build local markets. How do we capture this excitement and potential? How can we create a society of energy misers who are also savvy, determined citizens capable of building the market and political will for a clean energy future?

 

In the Hudson Valley, a community of innovators is emerging, with a toolkit that includes:

  • Challenge campaigns like Sustainable Hudson Valley’s Ten Percent Challenge;

  • Financing mechanisms like Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE);

  • Local building codes like Greenburgh’s Energy$tar code;

  • Pledges such as the DEC’s Climate Smart Communities Pledge;

  • Coalitions among municipalities to raise funds and test new strategies, like the Northern Westchester Energy Action Coalition.

Right now, these efforts are scattered, sometimes overlapping, and rarely grounded in a clear set of guiding principles about the psychology of engaging people. Such an understanding could help the players to achieve maximum impact now, and better learn from current experience to continue progress into the future.

 

The opportunity now is to create a “wisdom council” of innovators who are willing to share their knowledge and work together for regional impact. We are inviting the formation of a “community of practice” of local leaders interested in getting their communities for a candid sharing of experiences, lessons learned, and the opportunity now for an upsurge in energy conservation, adoption of renewables, and enlightened citizenship to build policy support for a cleaner energy future. On July 12, we will gather at Bard College,to:

  • figure out the state of the art for promoting scalable voluntary behavior change;

  • develop a strategy to disseminate these best practices in the communities that are now embarking on climate and energy plans, and then across the Valley, using these initial communities as a pilot;

  • plan ongoing work to advance the state of the art in achieving voluntary, deep cuts in fossil energy use and citizen leadership for a clean energy future.

The output of this event will be recommendations for local communities hiring energy managers, and a workplan for the “community ofpractice” as a support system for these and the next waves of local initiatives. Local elected officials, planning board and energy/environmental commission members, and citizen leaders who are involved in these efforts are welcome to attend.

 

 

FINALPROGRAM:

 

9:00a.m. Welcome by Melissa Everett, Ph.D., Executive Director,Sustainable Hudson Valley

 

9:15Round Table 1: Best Practices -- moderated by Barry Henck, CentralHudson

  • Red Hook : Brenda Cagle, Chair, Conservation Advisory Council

  • Kingston: Steve Noble, Environmental Educator

  • Warwick: Mary Makofske, Ten Percent Challenge Campaign Coordinator

  • Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium: Leo Wiegman, Mayor, Croton-on-Hudson Read PDF

 

10:30Special Presentation: The Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge –Kerry E. O’Neill, Principal, EarthMarkets Read PPT

 

BREAK

 

11:15Round Table 2: Human Nature -- moderated by Stephen Leibo, Ph.D.(Sage Colleges, Climate Project, WAMC)

  • Overview of behavior change insights: Marsha L. Walton, Ph.D. (NYSERDA) Read PPTX

  • Which psychologies? Seeking the frames that empower: Melissa Everett, Ph.D. (SHV)

  • Ten Percent Challenge as a strategic framework: Michael O’Hara (SHV) Read PPTM

 

Discussion:What are the principles and practices that feed success in thesecases and strategies? What does a “best practice” communityoutreach strategy look like? What kind of regional and localleadership is needed to build this kind of public engagement andserious lifestyle changes in local communities?

 

12:15Working lunch on lessons learned and pathways forward

 

1:00Summarize lessons learned, potential for collaboration, next steps

Adjournaround 1:15.