Clean Energy

Smart Growth Summit Nov. 19, 2010

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Nine hundred people attended Vision Long Island’s annual Smart Growth Summit at the Melville Marriot this year — its largest yet. The conference is an educational one, made up of numerous workshops to discuss the latest in public transportation efforts, the new smart growth policy adopted by NY State, green buildings and neighborhoods, affordable housing for young people, and more. Many elected officials took part in the event. It was encouraging to see how the momentum has grown over the past few years to include more and more people who are  incorporating smart growth concepts into our local planning so LI can stop being an area of endless sprawl.  See www.visionlongisland.org.

Beth Fiteni at 2010 Smart Growth Summit

Advanced Energy Research and Technology Conference Nov 8-9, 2010

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The Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, based in Stony Brook, NY hosted its annual conference this year at the Hilton in NYC. Sessions focused on current and emerging clean energy technologies, the smart grid, and improved battery storage for vehicles. Though inspiring to hear what is possible, it is a bit frustrating to wonder when these advances will actually be put in pace, which requires some good policy. One session featuring Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Center for Space Studies at Columbia spoke about current science on climate change. That afternoon, Governor Paterson addressed the crowd as keynote speaker with a strong message calling for action, and announced his draft Climate Change Action Plan for NY through 2030. It is a good, comprehensive plan but lacks one important aspect— incremental requirements leading up to 2030. Hopefully this conference will lead to the implementation of the technologies necessary to move our state quickly towards wiser energy production and use.

Gov. Paterson announces NY State Climate Action Plan

Beth Fiteni & Al Harsch, renewables installer, at AERTC conference

AWEA Offshore Wind Conference

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The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) held a successful offshore wind conference Oct. 5-7, 2010 in Atlantic City, at which I got to tour the local wind park and solar carport. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed the lease for the Cape Wind project, which was a long time in coming; the project is jockeying with several other projects to be the 1st offshore wind project in the U.S.  Looks like we may finally start catching up to Europe…

Vestas display at Expo

Boston EcoFest & EcoFashion Show August 2010

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Hundreds of Bostonites came out for this year’s Ecofest on August 20-21, to view alternative fuel vehicles, see an ecclectic host of multi-culture performers, and meet local nonprofits and renewable energy vendors. Set in front of city hall and under sunny skies, it was also a great place to sample healthy food from Boston’s finest vegetarian restaurants.


The festival featured a full ecofashion tent, under which one could find organic cotton dresses from Nancy’s Gone Green, jute handbags at EarthFrendz, naturally dyed silk scarves by Rhonda Fazio (Ecofashion tent and show coordinator), and hemp shoes from the Hempest.com. Many of the vendors from the ecofashion tent displayed their wares during a main-stage ecofashion show. The show also included other designers including Ball and Buck, which caters to a more conservative, “preppy” style, and Banshii, which offers soft, feminine and earthy dresses.

It was interesting to walk around Boston’s downtown and see the numerous historical sites of such significance to American history, side by side with this Ecofest, highlighting the products, technologies, and ingenuity that will lead us to America’s future. Congratulations to Foundation for a Green Future for organizing this educational, and forward-thinking event.