Bedford 2030

Last summer, the Conrad family was able to make their home fossil-fuel-free with the installation of an air source heat pump! Learn about their process in this week's Keeping up with the Greens installment.

Happy New Year -- Keeping Up the Greens is back! Today features the Black family, who took on the ambitious project of renovating their home and prioritizing steps to make it more sustainable and energy-efficient. Hear about their process and learn more about steps you can take in your own home at https://bedford2030.org/action/healthy-home/!

How can your Christmas tree help nature right here in Bedford? The Nature Conservancy of Canada has some great advice! https://www.natureconservancy.ca//ne/christmas-tree-1.html

Join the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, Interfaith Earth Action, Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County for their annual energy expo on January 14th! Learn about - easy & affordable ways to winterize your home - how to sign up for community solar & save money - different energy options for your home... Renters in particular are encouraged to attend! Let's embrace the winter weather and explore ways to protect the environment AND save money on your energy bill! #homeenergy #sustainability #greenenergy

Broken lights? Keep them out of the trash and your home recycling bin, instead recycle them at the special collection boxes at our office and the Bedford Recycling Center.

The holidays are often filled with food, food, and more food! This year take extra care to get creative with leftovers or food scraps to reduce your food waste. Try websites like fridgetotable.com to input your ingredients and find new recipes, or follow the Scrappy Chef on Instagram (@thescrappychefny) for inspiration! Ladle of Love

Ken and Lee Roberts installed an air source mini-split, ductless, heat pump. That's a mouthful, but it was really quite simple and now the kitchen, which was not very comfortable before, is cool in the summer and warm in the winter using a quiet, clean, and fossil fuel free heat pump!

Glitter Litter! Holiday decorations are often adorned with glitter; it’s shimmering specks dazzle greeting cards, gift wrap, jewelry, even via cosmetics our sk...in! Scientists worldwide are calling for a ban on glitter due to the harm it poses to the environment. Why? Glitter is a microplastic (not biodegradeable) and because it’s so tiny passes through water filtration systems ending up in our waterways and oceans. Marine life ingest it and the fish we eat becomes contaminated. We don’t yet know how the accumulation of plastic in our bodies will fully affect human beings, but we do know plastic particles have been shown to substantially harm entire ecosystems, particularly marine organisms. Unfortunately, studies show that so-called eco-friendly glitters are just as harmful to our rivers and oceans as ordinary glitter. https://www.theguardian.com//eco-glitter-causes-same-damag Major UK retailers are eliminating glitter from their Christmas merchandise this year (Waitrose, John Lewis and Morrisons) as did Marks and Spencer in 2019. Suggested alternatives to glitter for this holiday season are: * Pressed flower petals, or whole flowers and leaves (dry between wax paper sandwiched inside a heavy book) or find on Etsy * Micro glass seed beads can be found at craft stores * Paper confetti craft stores * Salt glitter add food coloring to salt * Colored Rice can be found at Target and craft stores Please remember this holiday season: "Glitter might look lovely but, because it's plastic, it sticks around long after the sparkle has gone often in the stomachs of fish and birds," campaigner, David Innes told The Guardian in 2019.

Town Hall on the Environment Hosted by Westchester County Government happening now! Listen in to County Executive George Latimer and Peter McCartt, Director of Energy Conservation and Sustainability in the Office of the Westchester County Executive and Legislator Ruth Walter, Chair of the Environment & Health Committee.

Thank you Chris for ensuring that the Town of Bedford is STILL IN! Thank you to Bedford 2030 for bringing high impact climate action here.

New NY poll from @YaleClimateComm and @ClimateNexus shows that 75% of New York voters support @NYGovCuomo joining the regional transportation program proposed by the Transportation and Climate Initiative #NYforTCI https://www.ourtransportationfuture.org/tcipoll

Love this activism example from Michaela Ciovacco at New Yorkers for Clean Power! #tci Call Cuomo To Lead On Clean Transportation with TCI

Depending on certain factors (like the angle, orientation, age, or size of your roof) rooftop solar may be an awesome way for you to turn the sun shining down on your home into usable, renewable energy. Get the inside scoop on what the process was like from Karen and Bruce!

Call Cuomo TODAY at (518) 474-8390 to urge him to adopt an equitable #TCI program - generating funding (up to $1.4B/year) for #CleanTransportation, safe #walkable #bikeable streets, #EVs & more by making oil companies pay & reduce #GHG emissions To call Governor Andrew Cuomo: Dial 518-474-8390. Press 2 then 1 to skip to the messages.... Please leave the following message (or your own version of it): Governor Cuomo, my name is _______. I am a New York resident from __(city/town)__ and I am calling to urge you, as a climate champion, to commit New York to implement the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). Transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution. It is responsible for 36% of greenhouse gases according to the New York DEC. Further, tailpipe pollution is a major source of pollutants that cause asthma attacks and other health issues. TCI will generate much-needed funding (up to $1.4 billion dollars per year) for clean transportation projects, like mass transit, safe walkable and bikeable streets, and clean electric buses, cars, and trucks, by making oil companies pay for the pollution they cause and helping us achieve our greenhouse gas reduction targets with an emissions cap. I urge you to commit New York to an equitable Transportation and Climate Initiative program. Thank you. Sign our petition if you haven't already at nyfortic.org/letter https://www.facebook.com/events/656095965056080