ADVISORY COMMITTEE
HON. STEVE BELLONE
Suffolk County Executive
HON. EDWARD MANGANO
Nassau County Executive
HON. STEVE ISRAEL
U.S. Congress
HON. KENNETH LAVALLE
NYS Senator
JOHN D. CAMERON, JR., P.E.
Managing Partner
Cameron Engineering & Assoc., LLP
ROBERT CATELL
Chairman
Advanced Energy Research and
Technology Center
BILL CHALEFF
Chaleff and Rogers Architects
NANCY RAUCH DOUZINAS
NETWORKING
®
MAGAZINE
2020:
GUIDE TO
GOING GREEN
President, Rauch Foundation
PETER ELKOWITZ
President, CEO
LI Housing Partnership
“ There is no doubt that a few committed people can
AMY ENGEL
change the world. In fact, it is the only
thing that ever has.”
Executive Director
Sustainable Long Island
ROZ GOLDMACHER
President, CEO
Long Island Development
Corporation
— Margaret Mead
AMY HAGEDORN
Board Member, co-founder
Sustainable Long Island
SARAH LANSDALE
Director, Division of Planning,
Environment; Dept. of Economic
Development & Planning,
Suffolk County
NEAL LEWIS, ESQ.
Executive Director
The Sustainability Institute
at Molloy College
DAVID MANNING
Director, Stakeholder and
Community Relations Officer,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
DR. ROBERT A. SCOTT
President
Adelphi University
KEVIN MCDONALD
Conservation Finance
and Policy Director
The Nature Conservancy, LI chapter
MITCHELL H. PALLY
Chief Executive Officer
Long Island Builders Institute
GORDIAN RAACKE
Executive Director, RELI
®
18 NETWORKING June 2015
ROBERT A. SCOTT
President, Adelphi University
PAUL TONNA
Executive Director
Energeia Partnership, Molloy College
MICHAEL E. WHITE
Member of LI Commission for Aquafer
Protection and member of Board of
Governors for NYS SeaGrant
“Not long ago, those who expressed concern about the human treatment of
the land, air and water were considered idealists and dreamers, even antigrowth. Now, the U. S. military considers the status of potable water and
the effects of climate change as matters of national security. Why, then, do
so many of us still use excessive quanities of water, pollute the soil,
discharge poisons into the air, and act as if earth is a renewable resource?
Sure, we often find technological solutions to the problems we cause by
inadequate design and execution, but this path often results in too little,
too late. Our children's future depends upon our leadership to create a
change in approach.”
Sustainable Long Island’s
Ninth Annual Conference
PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE CONNIFF SHEAHAN AND SUSTAINABLE LONG ISLAND
S
Amy Engel, Executive Director, Sustainable Long Island, Bernadette Castro Keynote
Speaker, Shari Gilfillan, Equity Strategist for Sustainable Investors,
UBS Global Asset Management
ustainable Long Island held its Ninth Annual Conference, Friday, April 17, 2015 at the
Carlyle on the Green at Bethpage State Park – focusing on the theme of “Sustainable
Solutions.” The keynote address was given by Bernadette Castro, former Commissioner of
the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation from 1995 – 2006 and CEO of
the legendary furniture business Castro Convertibles. The conference featured workshops and
the 5th Annual “Getting It Done” Awards. Recipients of “Getting it Done” Awards are:
• The Town of North Hempstead’s School Recycling Partnership Program — Through
this program the Town and the Solid Waste Management Authority provide recycling bins
for every classroom, office, and high school sports field in each participating district, while
facilitating the carting and recycling of paper, bottles and cans, bottle caps, and e-waste.
• The Cedarmore Corporation — The Cedarmore Corporation is a 501(c)3 organization
based in Freeport, New York and has evolved to serve the needs of youth and their
families across Long Island. They are being awarded for their “Seed to Table” Community
Garden project.
• D’Addario & Company — D’Addario, a manufacturer of musical instrument strings, is
committed to being environmentally responsible and inspires this sentiment in musicians
worldwide. They promote the three E’s of sustainability: Economic Development, Social
Equity and Environmental Health.
Workshops topics were: Sustainability Business Basics, Smart Food Choices for the Future
and The Region’s Resilient Resource.
The “Sustainable Samplings” Luncheon offered food from American Classic Ice Cream,
American Culinary Federation, Ayhan’s Shish Kebab, Bedell Cellars, Chartwells, The Curry
Club, Divine Olive, Gino’s of Port Washington, La Bottega of Farmingdale, The Simon Center
Café, Spring Brook Farms, Taste 99 Restaurant, Uncle Bacala’s and Verona Ristorante. ■
Amy Hagedorn, Founder, Sustainable Long Island,
Ken Pritchard, Dr. Miriam K. Deitsch, Farmingdale State College, Board of
Director, Sustainable Long Island
Len Axinn, President,
Island Estates Homes,
and BOD, Sustainable
Long Island
Igor, Sikiric, Director of Solid Waste Management Authority, Town of North
Hempstead, Amy Engel, Erin Reilley, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Bill
Karavasilis, Sustainability Officer, Town of North Hempstead
Kevin McDonald, Public Lands Program
Director, The Nature Conservancy and BOD,
Sustainable Long Island with Carl LoBue
Luci Duckson-Bramble, Girl Scouts,
and Ellen Palmisano, Evaluations and
Grants Manager, Girl Scouts of
Nassau County
Wilma Holmes
Tootle, President of
The Links,
Incorporated, Long
Island Chapter and
President, Big Apple
Links Cluster
Amy D’Addario, Director of Brand and Tom Stack,
Architect Planning & Design, D’Addario & Company, Inc.
Christopher Kent, Partner, Farrell Fritz, P.C., Charlotte Biblow,
Partner, Farrell Fritz, and Board President, Sustainable Long
Island, Dr. Wayne Horsley (Moderator), Regional Director,
Long Island State Parks
NETWORKING® June 2015 19
Debra Wheat-Williams, Director, Freeport Farmers’
Market Community Garden with Roberta Coward,
Chairwoman, Cedarmore Corporation
Panelists: Dr. Wayne Horsley (Moderator), Regional Director, Long Island State
Parks; Carl LoBue, Senior Marine Scientist, The Nature Conservancy; Amanda
Ludlow, Principal Scientist, Roux Sssociates, Inc.; Walter Meyer, ASLA, LeedAP, Adjunct Professor, Parsons New School; Rusty Schmidt, Landscape
Ecologist, Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, LLC
The Hempstead Plains Education and Research
Center Cited for Sustainable Landscapes
Friends of Hempstead Plains at Nassau Community College announces that its new Education
and Research Center, received a two star SITES® Certification for Sustainable Landscapes
20 NETWORKING® June 2015
T
he Education and Research
Center, formerly referred to
as Hempstead Plains
Interpretive Center (HPIC),
located on a 19 acre Hempstead
Plains preserve at Nassau
Community College, joins a select
group of projects certified under
the national Sustainable Sites
Initiative® (SITES®) program for
sustainable land planning, design,
construction and maintenance.
HPIC was awarded a two-star
rating by the SITES program led
by the Lady Bird Johnson
Wildflower Center at The
University of Texas at Austin, the
United States Botanic Garden, and
the American Society of
Landscape Architects. The
program has established best
practices and performance-based
benchmarks for developing and
rating landscapes that have
sustainable elements.
The Center is one of the final 12
projects in 20 states to be certified
using the pilot 2009 SITES
guidelines. As such, the project
helped test the rigorous,
scientifically based content that
led to the SITES v2 Rating System
and Reference Guide.
Achieving certification with the
SITES 2009 Rating System meant
HPIC had to fulfill 15
prerequisites, such as having an
integrated approach to how
landscape architects, engineers
and others develop a site. The
The new Hempstead Plains Education and Research Center at
project was then awarded two
Nassau Community College
stars based on 51 potential credits,
with points awarded for performance
in credited areas such as the initial site selection, water, soil, vegetation,
materials, human health and well-being, construction and maintenance.
The Hempstead Plains is one of the last remaining remnants of a prairie east of
the Allegheny Mountains. The design and development of the HPIC – a lowimpact building and site – in a heavily developed suburban area, secures the
integrity of the parcel as a natural preserve and historic landmark. In addition, the
location on the Nassau Community College campus and near several universities
provides an opportunity for classes with a learning lab about native prairie
habitats and sustainable techniques and gives general visitors the chance to
experience prairie life. An entrance through native plantings leads to the new
visitor’s center topped with a green roof; open and closed classrooms are
provided. Handicapped-accessible and stabilized-soil trails lead to the natural
Betsy Gulotta, Friends of Hempstead Plains Conservation
paths in the native prairie. A cistern helps reduce the need for potable water. Solar
Project Manager with Constance “Cece” Haydock, landscape
energy provides power and the building is completely “off the grid.”
architect and SITES Project Manager
“We are pleased to be among those taking a lead in applying the SITES rating
Friends of Hempstead Plains is a nonprofit environmental organization
system to enhance the environmental, social and economic aspects of our project,”
dedicated to preservation and restoration of the historic Hempstead Plains and to
said Betsy Gulotta, Conservation Project Manager for Friends of Hempstead
promotion of good stewardship of the land through education and research.
Plains. “This certification is evidence of our commitment to the environment and
The SITES program staff has been working for seven years in conjunction with a
to our communities.”
diverse group of stakeholder organizations to transform land development and
Among the specific sustainable design benchmarks met by HPIC were:
l Using native plants that represent the historic prairie habitat
l Water conservation
l Environmental education
Project team members include:
l Friends of Hempstead Plains at Nassau Community College
l Lead designer: RGR Landscape Architecture & Architecture PLLC
l SITES project manager: Constance T. Haydock, Landscape Architect, P.C.
management practices with a comprehensive, voluntary national rating system for
sustainable landscapes. The guidelines apply to any type of designed landscape,
with or without buildings, including shopping malls, streetscapes, subdivisions,
corporate and academic campuses, transportation corridors, parks and singlefamily homes.
For more information about SITES: SITES program media contacts: Barbra
Rodriguez, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at
Austin, [email protected], 512.232.0105; Lee Clippard, Lady Bird Johnson
Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, [email protected],
512.232.0104. Or contact [email protected]. ■
Are We Past The Point
of No Return?
GREEN
THOUGHTS
COMPILED BY
SALLY GILHOOLEY
T
he New York Power
Authority (NYPA) and the
State University of New York
Polytechnic Institute (SUNY
Polytechnic) in an agreement
signed by Governor Andrew
Cuomo are slated to create a facility
for energy technology innovation
and deployment of smart-grid
technology to bring up to date New
York’s electric grid. Called AGILE
(Advanced Grid Innovation
Laboratory for Energy,) the lab
would be the state’s first electric
power and development facility.
Read the story at:
www.renewableenergyworld.com
U
If we don't get our carbon emissions in check soon,
it could be too late for the polar bear and many other species impacted by global warming.
PHOTO BY GREGORY SMITH, FLICKRCC
W
hile we may not yet have reached the “point
of no return”—when no amount of cutbacks
on greenhouse gas emissions will save us
from potentially catastrophic global warming—climate
scientists warn we may be getting awfully close. Since
the dawn of the Industrial Revolution a century ago,
the average global temperature has risen some 1.6
degrees Fahrenheit. Most climatologists agree that,
while the warming to date is already causing
environmental problems, another 0.4 degree Fahrenheit
rise in temperature, representing a global average
atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) of
450 parts per million (ppm), could set in motion
unprecedented changes in global climate and a
significant increase in the severity of natural disasters—
and as such could represent the dreaded point of no
return.
Currently the atmospheric concentration of CO2 (the
leading greenhouse gas) is approximately 398.55 parts
per million (ppm). According to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal
scientific agency tasked with monitoring the health of
our oceans and atmosphere, the current average annual
rate of increase of 1.92 ppm means we could reach the
point of no return by 2042.
Environmental leaders point out that this doesn’t give
us much time to turn the tide. Greenpeace, a leading
environmental advocacy group, says we have until
around 2020 to significantly cut back on greenhouse gas
output around the world—to the tune of a five percent
annual reduction in emissions overall—if we are to
avoid so-called “runaway” climate change. “The world
is fast approaching a 'point of no return' beyond which
extremely dangerous climate change impacts can become
unavoidable,” reports the group. “Within this time period, we
will have to radically change our approach to energy
production and consumption.”
In a recent lecture at Georgetown University, World Bank
president Jim Yong Kim reported that whether we are able to
cut emissions enough to prevent catastrophe likely depends
on the policies of the world’s largest economies and the
widespread adoption of so-called carbon pricing systems
(such as emissions trading plans and carbon taxes).
International negotiators meeting in Paris next December
are already working to hammer out an agreement mandating
that governments adopt these types of systems to facilitate
emissions reductions. “A price on carbon is the single most
important thing we have to get out of a Paris agreement,”
Kim stated. “It will unleash market forces.”
While carbon pricing will be key to mitigating global
warming, Greenpeace adds that stemming the tide of
deforestation in the world’s tropical rainforests and beyond
and adapting our food systems to changing climatic
conditions and increasingly limited resources will also be
crucial to the health of the planet.
“Without additional mitigation, and even with adaptation,
warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to high to
very high risk of severe, widespread and irreversible impacts
globally,” reports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), an international group of leading climate
experts convened by the United Nations to review and assess
the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic
information on global warming. Indeed, there’s no time like
the present to start changing our ways. ■
EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E- The Environmental Magazine
(www.emagazine.com. Send questions to: [email protected])
S
enator Ken LaValle and Assemblyman Fred Thiele
secured $200,000 in the Final Enacted 2015-16 New
York State Budget to help protect and restore the
Peconic Estuary.
In 1985, the waters of the Estuary turned the color of
coffee; Brown Tide, a harmful algal bloom, swept in and
devastated the nationally acclaimed local scallop
industry. It was because of this crisis and the outcry of
concern from citizens, elected officials, environmentalists,
businesses, and industries that the Peconic Estuary was
inducted into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
National Estuary Program. Since 1993 this “Estuary of
National Significance” has been working to restore the natural
environment and protect the historic fishing, shellfishing, and
tourism industry which continues to contribute millions of
dollars annually to New York’s recovering economy. ■
F
or states looking to meet new
obligations under the EPA’s
Clean Power Plan, the Solar
Energy Industries Association
(SEIA) and The American Wind
Energy Association (AWEA) have
jointly published A Handbook for the
States: Incorporating Renewable
Energy into State Compliance Plans for
EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Read details
at RenewableEnergy.com
G
overnor Andrew M. Cuomo
announced a $160 million
investment to grow large
scale clean energy projects
statewide. This funding is made
available to support public-private
partnerships as part of the State’s
Reforming the Energy Vision (REV)
strategy. See more at:
[email protected]
T
he U. S. Virgin Islands have
set a goal of reducing fossil
fuel use by 60% by 2025 with
support from the Energy
Department and Energy Efficiency
& Renewable Energy (EERE). In
late 2009, when the United States
and the Virgin Islands partnered for
a pilot project as part of the Energy
Department in Island Nations
Initiative, the Islands dependency
on imported oil was reduced as
they began to adopt energy efficient
measures and use renewable
technologies. See EERE Network
News. ■
NETWORKING® June 2015 21
Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Thiele Secure
$200,000 for the Peconic Estuary Program
nited Way of Long Island
has launched several green
initiatives to increase
energy-efficiency in existing homes
and develop a green-collar
workforce that will fulfill the
demand of the expanding green
economy on Long Island.
Connecting to emerging industries
with high growth, high demand
and career opportunities is a
priority for United Way. Such
connections create a stronger
economy and a more sustainable
environment for Long Islanders
while lowering energy
consumption for the region. See
United Way’s Housing & Green
Initiatives Guide . Go to
www.unitedwayli.org
Single-Use Plastic Bags
Litter Our Landscape and
Impact on Our Wildlife
BY KARL GROSSMAN
H
ooray for the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton for
instituting bans on those single-use plastic bags that litter our
landscape and impact on wildlife. Birds get entangled in the bags
and sea life can die from ingesting them mistaking them for food. Now it’s
high time for all of Long Island as well as New York State to do the same
right thing.
Majorities on both town boards voted as 2014 ended to ban the
distribution of the bags. For more than three years, there have been bans in
the Villages of Southampton (the first
municipality in the state to enact one) and
East Hampton. Other Long Island
municipalities are considering prohibitions.
The Southampton Town ban took effect on,
appropriately, Earth Day, April 22, 2015. The
East Hampton ban will kick in five months
later.
“I’m hoping the other towns that have
taken a wait-and-see approach to this will
jump on board now,” said Southampton
Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst. She
believes a regional approach is important. “I
think everyone agrees that eliminating
single-use plastic bags as a form of litter is an
excellent goal, and working together to enact
legislation on a regional basis provides an
opportunity to achieve the greatest results
and send a coordinated and non-partisan
message about the measure’s environmental
significance, while ensuring a level playing
field for East End businesses.”
Said East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, “I think East
Hampton and Southampton are making a statement that single-use plastic
bags are bad for the environment, and at the same time I call on the county
and the state to ban single-use plastic bags.”
The two towns, and earlier, the villages, moved in the face of intense
plastic industry opposition.
As that line from “Mr. Maguire” to Dustin Hoffman’s character went in
the 1967 movie, The Graduate went: “Just one word. Are you listening?
Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.”
What has that one word turned out to be? Mess.
The award-winning 2013 documentary, “Plastic Paradise: the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch,” exposes one big part of the mess: a vortex of plastic
debris, covering an area as large as Texas, floating in the Pacific Ocean.
But the plastics industry, with its vested interest, keeps pushing plastic
aggressively.
Most recently on the county level in Suffolk, resolutions authored by then
Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher of East Setauket aimed at single-use plastic bags
got nowhere after intense industry lobbying.
Meanwhile, despite Ms. Throne-Holst’s hope for a “non-partisan message,” in
Southampton and East Hampton, politics played a role. In Southampton, the town
board vote in December was 3-2 with Ms. Throne-Holst and Brad Bender,
Independence Party members who run with Democratic Party cross-endorsement
for the ban. Its two Republican members
balloted against it. GOPer Christine
Scalera said “I believe the ban to be
overreaching government.”
Councilman Bender spoke about the
plastic bags littering his home hamlet of
Northampton, of it “being a big
problem.” You don’t have to go to the
Pacific to see a mess plastics have made.
“We can help clean up this community
by banning these. I’ve never seen a
paper bag stuck in a tree, but I’ve seen
plenty of plastic bags stuck in trees,” he
said. “This also keeps them out of the
stomachs of wildlife and fish.”
In East Hampton the vote, also in
December, was 4-1 with that town
board’s lone Republican, Fred Overton,
— Brad Bender
balloting against.
Southampton Councilman
If the GOP thinks there’s an
advantage in opposing a ban on the
single-use plastic bags, it should think again. The initiative—on Long Island and
elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world—largely involves strong grassroots
action.
“The whole movement is really a bottom-up movement,” said Dieter von
Lehsten, co-chair of Sustainable Southampton Green Advisory Committee, at an
East Hampton town board meeting as he supported joint action. It “will give a big
impetus for Suffolk County,” and possibly New York City, too, he said.
Considering the positions being taken by the new heavily GOP-dominated
Congress, being staunchly anti-environmental might be what the party wants. If
so, watch the pendulum swing back again. ■
“You don’t have to go to the
Pacific to see a mess plastics
have made. “We can help
clean up this community by
banning these.”
Karl Grossman is an author, professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at
Old Westbury, hosts the nationally-aired television program, “Enviro Close-Up” produced by EnviroVideo (www.envirovideo.com), and is chief investigative reporter, WVVH-TV on Long Island.
Smart Energy House Opens at Farmingdale State College
®
22 NETWORKING June 2015
T
he Farmingdale State College Smart
Energy House officially opened April 30.
Energy leaders, legislators, students and
college officials cheered during the ribbon cutting as the house opened for tours. The SEH
contains a number of energy conservation, renewable, and cost-saving elements as part of a
demonstration project designed to inform the
public about existing and potential devices that
can be used in residential buildings.
External window louvers can be programmed to automatically tilt with the sun allowing daylight to enter the room while still
providing privacy and energy savings. An AMI
(Advanced Metering Infrastructure) meter provides an understanding of the house’s hourly
usage. The homeowner can use this information to manage energy consumption
and save money.
The Smart Energy House also uses an inverter that can be controlled via a personal computer or mobile phone. In case of a power outage, the inverter has a
backup system.
The SEH also features 20 solar roof PV panels and a plug for electric or hybrid vehicles in the garage. Temperature from a thermostat can be viewed on line or with a
mobile app and can be adjusted remotely by
the home owner. The 2,000 square foot house
is also equipped with solar thermal system
that provides the house hot water from sun.
“The Smart Energy House provides visitors
with an understanding of how easily they can
live in an energy efficient house, offering convenience and comfort, said Hubert Keen, President, Farmingdale State College. “This effort
on the part of the campus reinforces Farmingdale’s mission that has been apparent since its
beginnings in 1912 – and, as we say, ‘Green
Then. Green Now.’ Farmingdale’s Smart Energy House shows people how easy it is to
save energy and money using tools that are
available now.”
Designed by the faculty and staff of the Renewable Energy and Sustainability
Center at Farmingdale and constructed with the help of the college’s physical plant
staff, the Smart Energy House is a collaborative effort involving Farmingdale State
College, the U.S. Department of Energy, PSEG Long Island, Long Island Power Authority, and Stony Brook University.
For information, contact Kathryn Coley at 631-420-2400 or [email protected] or visit the website farmingdale.edu ■