The City of Kingston has been quietly getting up to speed on why green is good for the economy.  After our initial proposal for a Green Jobs strategy raised mayoral concerns that it might hinder the city's ability to retain un-green jobs, the city's Conservation Advisory Council and many members of the Common Council have been methodically doing their homework.  Various climate pledges were reviewed for their implications, including a legal review by Corporation Council.  Benefits and risks were assessed by the Conservation Advisory Council, with spirited participation by a number of aldermen.             In the final analysis, a gently adapted version of the DEC's Climate Smart Community pledge was passed last week, 6 - 2, with two opponents (Ann Marie DiBella and Ron Polacco) expressing concerns about "bureaucracy" in the form of a task force that will help create and implement a strategy for job-creation and retention. Two other skeptics, Charles Landi and Robert Senor, engaged in some depth with the creators of the Pledge and came out supportive.   

A commitment does require effort and focus, and sometimes organization.  It also pays off, in achieving higher goals than more random efforts would.   I penned the letter below, published October 13, 2009 in the Daily Freeman:

To the Editor:

The Kingston Common Council is to be commended for its political courage in adopting the Climate Smart Communities Pledge, a commitment to serious and systematic reduction of its carbon footprint and to economic development strategies that build on this effort. 

What are those strategies?  Start with the win/win of serious energy-efficiency, which helps businesses hang onto cash to retain jobs.  Right now, NYSERDA outreach staff estimate that 15 Broadway businesses have had energy audits, but only a handful have implemented the recommendations.  Leaders like Monkey Joe with green products and energy purchasing, Seven21 Media Center with energy improvements and a green roof in development, and solar powered Darmstadt Overhead Doors show the kind of business edge that greening can bring a small city. Industries that can be attracted and expanded cover thousands of product and service niches, including:

high-performance building materials and products from insulation to appliances;
purveyors of landscape and horticulture strategies like rain gardens that can help the city with its stormwater management headaches;
information technology applications for the smart grid;
water-efficiency technologies including smart irrigation systems and innovative water purification methods. 

The Pledge is entirely positive in its language, focusing on building markets for green  businesses through environmental innovation.  Council members including Mr. Landi and Mr. Senor should be commended for doing their homework on this point, in advance of their positive votes. Kingston now has an opportunity to unite and create a more exciting playing field, putting to rest the concern that this pledge will slow healthy development down.

Melissa Everett, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Sustainable Hudson Valley
www.sustainhv.org