In honor of Earth Hour, lights will be out from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Clifton Park Halfmoon Public Library Saturday, March 29.
I think it’s a very exciting opportunity for us to expose people to a global cause, said librarian Melinda Taormina.
Earth Hour is a worldwide initiative focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. People are urged to turn off their lights from 8 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and begin making a permanent habit of turning off lights that are not in use.
Taormina said the library will conduct its Earth Hour during operating hours so that it can have a greater impact. She added that turning out the lights would not affect the emergency alert systems or checking books in or out of the library.
Taormina said that each person can make a difference by participating in Earth Hour.
`It can start on a local level, and it can have a global impact,` she said.
The library is not the only town organization working to raise awareness about greenhouse gas emissions. During the past three Clifton Park Town Council meetings, the topic of conservation came up time and again.
At the Monday, March 3, Town Council meeting, the Government Re-thinking Energy and Environmental Need, or GREEN, committee issued recommendations on ways to promote energy efficiency and reduce the town’s carbon footprint.
The committee, which consists of members in different areas of environmental and energy conservation work, was created in November.
`We are a town of 36,000 individuals, and if we can get everybody to do a little, we can do a lot,` said Thomas Paolucci, councilman and co-chair of the committee.
The group presented the findings of a New York State Energy Research and Development Agency audit of five town-owned buildings that showed 70 percent of carbon gas emissions are from buildings, and the remaining 30 percent comes from transportation, including buses, trains and cars. The audit covered the highway complex, transfer station, public safety building, senior center and town hall. The audit found the town’s carbon footprint to be approximately equivalent to 2,634 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
NYSERDA suggested using a thermostat with a timer and purchasing a vending machine miser at a cost of $179 with anticipated annual electric savings of $192.
Those, among other recommendations from NYSERDA, could reduce carbon emissions by 54 tons per year and save the town $18,711 annually, according to the report.
`It’s going to save the town money in the first year, and that’s where the energy costs are today,` Paolucci said.
Members of the GREEN committee also want to encourage residents to reduce their carbon footprint by creating a Web site where people can track their energy savings and measure them against other town residents.
`I think people in this town are going to get very excited, and I think it will reduce carbon dioxide emission,` Paolucci said.
Town Supervisor Phil Barrett has suggested creating an award to recognize green-minded individuals.
The council revisited the conservation issue at later meetings.
`I think we should possibly use some of our funds to put some of this information here into effect,` Councilman Sandy Roth said Monday, March 10. `I think there are many, many things in here we should try to implement as soon as possible.`
At the Monday, March 17, meeting, Clifton Park resident Norman Goldman, who had been following the council discussions through the local broadcasts of the meetings, said he agreed with the energy conservation efforts but said the focus should not be on saving money, but on saving the Earth.
`I hope we keep that carbon measurement in mind as the real target, rather than budget savings,` Goldman said. `If we have money but the only place we can live is on a life raft, we won’t be doing so well.`
Members of the GREEN committee will be on hand at Clifton Commons to promote recycling on Earth Day Tuesday, April 22. They will be collecting recyclables all day and drawing attention to the recycling bins, which committee members said are difficult to decipher from garbage cans at the park. The group hopes to purchase new recycling bins for the park.“