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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · 21d

Congratulations to Gallatin on becoming a Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community, and to Austerlitz on becoming the county's second Silver Certified Climate Smart Community!

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Aug 14

Climate-protecting carbon sinks of EU forests are declining

phys.org/news/2025-08...

Climate-protecting carbon sinks of EU forests are declining

Forests cover about 40% of the EU's land area. Between 1990 and 2022, they absorbed around 10% of the continent's man-made carbon emissions. However, the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of forests,...

phys.org

Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Jan 29

Valatie, NY, ENERGY FAIR this Saturday, February 1, from 10am - noon.
FREE GIFTS to help you save on energy costs!
FREE ADMISSION to all.
Info on heat pumps.
Kids activity corner and snacks.
Register at:
www.cleanenergycapitalregion.org/events/energy-fair

Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Jan 29

That is not a lead pipe, in the picture. :-)

Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Jan 15

Explore Energy Efficiency:
Opportunities for Homes and Businesses in New York State
Saturday, January 18, 10:00 to 11:00 AM
Hosted by Copake CAC/CSC

They will provide information and answer questions about energy upgrades and how to access financial incentives in NY State.

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Reposted by Climate Smart Columbia County

George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · Jan 6

There were so many steps in the right direction. Now we must try to keep what gains we achieved.

Image of a tweet by 'James F. Love IV @JamesFLove' with the text 'United States moves up from 14th in the world to 3rd in the world in production of Solar Panels under President Biden.' The image shows a solar panel manufacturing facility with rows of solar panels on a conveyor system.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

November 11 - County qualifies for a $412,500 CEC grant due to reaching 4-Star status in the CEC 3.0 program Grant is to be used to perform energy efficiency upgrades at the 401 State Street office building

(9/9)

Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

August 2 - The County receives shipment of its first four EVs, 2024 Toyota BZ4Xs
September 14 - County holds its second Climate Carnival at the Columbia County Fairgrounds

October 9 - BOS authorizes an investment grade energy audit for the 401 State Street office building

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

July 10 - BOS authorizes applying for a $60,000 DEC CSC Certification Grant to complete a Government Operations and Community Climate Action Plan

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

April 18 - County qualifies for a $300,000 CEC grant due to becoming a 3-Star designated community Grant is used for the installation of heat pumps at the County Courthouse in Hudson

(6/x)

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

April 6 - The 50 kW (AC) PV solar array at the DSS building is connected to the grid

April 12 - The Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plans (CARP) are finalized for Columbia County and 17 local municipalities

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

March 27 - County qualifies for a $90,000 CEC grant due to reaching Tier-3 in the Clean Heating & Cooling Campaign; Grant is used to install 14 EV charging ports at 401 State, Greenport DPW, and Courthouse

(4/x)

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

March 27 - County qualifies for a $45,000 CEC grant due to reaching Tier-2 in the Clean Heating & Cooling Campaign; Grant is used to purchase one Battery Electric Vehicle for the Health Dept.

(3/x)

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

March 27 - County qualifies for a $187,500 CEC grant due to reaching 2-Star status in the CEC 3.0 program Grant is used to purchase four Battery Electric Vehicles for Engineering Dept., Office For the Ageing, District Attorney, and 401 State Street office building
(2/x)

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Dec 20

It is that time of year when folks start reflecting on the year's accomplishments. Here are some of ours:

March 27 - County qualifies for a $15,000 CEC grant due to reaching 1-Star status in the CEC 3.0 program
Grant is used to install 2 level-2 EV charging ports at 11 Warren Street
(1/x)

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

Not arguing that point!

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

Dug a little more and found this.
It references using 28X (100 year equivalency). But even if they used 80X (20 year equivalency) it wouldn't affect their numbers as they're only measuring NG when burned and assumes 100% conversion to CO2. Does not include methane released during drilling/transport.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

Which brings us right back here :-)
bsky.app/profile/liss...

Lissa Harris🐀 @lissaharris.bsky.social · Nov 27

NYS should publish this tool but with the more rigorous 20 year methane math we use in lieu of the US EPA’s 100-year impact figure

Aarón Cantú @aaroncantu.bsky.social · Nov 26

I wonder if this GHG calculator will be taken offline after Jan 20. It has been a helpful tool for many of my stories.

What are some alternatives?

www.epa.gov/energy/green...

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

You can download the spreadsheet here.
Look at the SRL22 tab and scroll way over to the right to get the subregion generation percentages by fuel type.

www.epa.gov/egrid/downlo...

Download Data | US EPA

This page provides eGRID data.

www.epa.gov

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

Here's a screen grab of the excel spreadsheet that goes along with that eGRID website/data.
It shows NYC as nearly all fossil fuel, natural gas. LI has more oil fueled and some biomass (!). Most of the areas that are worse than us use some amount of coal. NYC and LI use no coal.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

NYC is actually in line with the average for the US.
Long Island, on the other hand, is near the bottom of the list, pumping out 31% more CO2/mWh than the US average.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

Incentives are provided directly to the solar contractor.
Additional incentives to households earning less than 80 percent of the median income.

www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs...

NY-Sun Residential Incentives & Financing - NYSERDA

NY-Sun makes going solar easier and more affordable for New York residents. We offer incentives and financing options to lower the cost of purchasing and installing solar at home.

www.nyserda.ny.gov

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

If I'm doing the math correctly, we emit 45% less CO2 than the next lowest sub-regions (Northern Alaska, not shown, and most of California). Next in line is New England, which we beat by 49%.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 27

I went down a rabbit hole inspired by @lissaharris.bsky.social and wound up with (surprise surprise) a map showing how clean Upstate NY's electrical grid is compared to the rest of the US.
Labels show lbs. of CO2 emitted/mWh.
Reference: www.epa.gov/energy/green...

A map showing the contiguous 48 US states and electrical grid sub-regions, labeled with the lbs. of CO2 emitted per mWh of electricity produced.

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Climate Smart Columbia County @climatesmart.bsky.social · Nov 26

We've got some much needed rain in Columbia County today. Not heavy, but it is steady. We'll take whatever we can get.

Screen capture of the 11/26 weather forecast showing light rain all day.