By: Patty L. Buchanan [Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles about Electric Vehicles marking Croton100’s observation of National Drive Electric Week, September 26 to October 4, 2020.] Here are a few of this week’s news headlines: “The Effects of Climate Change, Including Wildfires, Threaten U.S. Financial Markets, a Federal Report Found,” “Wildfires and Extreme Weather…
Success: Power to Croton People!
By: Patty L. Buchanan Have you heard the electrifying news? Croton’s Community Solar Project achieved full enrollment for 53 households in Croton, zip code 10520! The participants will save 10% on their electricity supply. Even better, the subscribers are made up of diverse income levels, which is also a notable success because this Community Solar Project brought benefits to low…
Climate Induced Migration Brings a Moral Call to Action
By: Patty L. Buchanan* Scientists are able to measure and quantify the perilous rise in global mean temperatures caused by greenhouse gases. Using climate models, they can predict risks to ecosystems, extreme weather events that bring severe heat, droughts, hurricanes, floods, and sea level rise connected to global warming. Global warming changes habitats, which in turn compels migration of innumerable…
Croton100’s Growing Impact is Seeded in CURE100
By: Patty L. Buchanan Croton100 continues to grow in impact! In addition to galvanizing our community through education and advocacy around carbon cutting campaigns, Croton100’s model to pair community action with data about carbon emissions by zip code is bringing together communities who share our vision. From its inception, Croton100 envisioned the creation of a coalition of communities that would share use of…
Onwards: The Path Forward for an Electric School Bus
By: Patty L. Buchanan How can we be working so hard to educate the upcoming generation to take their place in a world that they may not be able to thrive in? More precisely how can we, in a School District of 1,625 students with a nearly $50M voter-approved budget, opt to continue to add perilous emissions to our atmosphere…
When You Save Energy, You Save Money
By Patty L. Buchanan We just took steps to reduce our energy consumption. This means we’ll also save money. My husband and I recently completed a three-day laser focused home energy efficiency remediation project. Our custom-tailored project consisted of two parts: (1) pulling out fiberglass insulation that was in poor condition and was falling out of the rafters, which had…
Leaning into Rapid and Unprecedented Changes
By: Patty L. Buchanan Making necessary changes in all aspects of our society to avoid catastrophic climate disruption requires rapid and unprecedented actions. Implementing these actions can be challenging, especially when these changes must be made by large institutions that value stability. Croton100 is in the midst of a campaign to persuade the Croton Harmon School District to change its plan to buy…
Your Mother’s Day Good Deed: Join Electric School Bus Campaign
By: Patty L. Buchanan Today, as we pay tribute to all mothers, let us give special consideration to the sustainer of all our lives, Mother Earth. The national climate stability advocacy group, Mothers Out Front asks us to use this occasion to broaden and strengthen our collective call to transition school bus fleets from diesel to electric. The local chapter of Mothers…
Earth Day in Croton 1970: Then and Now
By: Patty L. Buchanan As a life-long resident of Croton-on-Hudson, I recall with quaint amusement Croton’s first Earth Day celebration 50 years ago. Residents of the community were invited to gather at the Municipal Building. We were asked not to come in fossil fueled vehicles; instead we were encouraged to use our imaginations and arrive by alternative transportation. I was…
Leveraging the Coronavirus Carbon Dividend
By: Patty L. Buchanan In the face of unprecedented challenges, let us join together in seeing unprecedented opportunities for better living. When we overcome the virus situation, we will still be facing an environmental crisis. We learn daily from the news about the interconnectedness of dramatic carbon emission reductions during social distancing and the concomitant economic slowdown. At the same time, health…
