This story has been updated–and may well be again. By Barrett Seaman– What began as a light mist in the morning hours deepened into an ominous rust-colored shadow over the entire region. On top of a statewide air quality alert, Weschester County cancelled all ... More »
DRIVE FOR FREE: I have a luxury sedan because I’m so cheap By Krista Madsen– This all started with those darn tiny houses. I can’t pinpoint what inspired this but I dedicated a good portion of the extra free time I gained during the early-pandemic to watching ... More »
The Era of the Heat Pump is Here And left its silver alien tubes all over my house By Krista Madsen– To recap, my ongoing off-gassing journey so far has included essays on: Danger + Opportunity—exploring the use of “crisis” when attached to climate- or midlife... More »
By Barrett Seaman– Out in the Irvington Woods on a sunny afternoon, some two dozen men and women in jeans and t-shirts are getting a two-day jump on Earth Day, hacking away at patches of a prickly, invasive shrub called Japanese Barberry. Most are employees of... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Nine days after creating a community stir by announcing it would be moving up the date to dump radioactive wastewater from the closed Indian Point nuclear power plants into the Hudson River, Holtec International has put on the brakes to that ... More »
By Suzie Fromer Repair Cafes are community events where volunteer repair coaches from your town help fix your beloved but broken items for free. The concept of a repair café was dreamed up by Martine Postma of Amsterdam in 2009. New Paltz resident John Wackman... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Elected officials, municipal leaders and environmental groups are collectively criticizing a plan to dump one million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River as part of the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear power pla... More »
By Alexander Roberts– Last week, Sustainable Westchester, a non-profit energy company, announced its partnership with a for-profit company to provide cash rebates to Con Ed customers for reducing energy use during peak energy demand events. Mayors and represen... More »
By Alexander Roberts– In 2020, Sustainable Westchester, the local renewable energy supplier, began offering consumers cash inducements to reduce their electricity usage during peak summer demand periods. That year, only 100 customers signed up; last year nearl... More »
The lifestyle revolution to combat climate change begins in your kitchen By Krista Madsen– This is a love letter to my stove, but let’s back up for some context: Now that we measure time in pandemics, I’ve been on a mission to get my life off fossil fuels sinc... More »
By Alexander Roberts– Timing is everything. For most of 2022, Westchester Power, a program of the non-profit consortium Sustainable Westchester, provided low fixed rate electricity to 29 local governments and 40% of residents. They were able to do so because o... More »
By Barrett Seaman— Each spring for more than 40 years, Volunteer New York, the nonprofit organization that supplies volunteers to more than 300 other nonprofits throughout the metropolitan region, honors the best of them with its “Volunteer Spirit Awards.” Nom... More »
By Barrett Seaman— The fruit of the federal government’s $1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending package, signed into law at year’s end, has begun to fall, and part of the giant harvest is $2.7975 million to fund the construction of the so-called Transit Connector that... More »
By Barrett Seaman— Communities across Westchester County, including the rivertowns, are elevating the status of environmental sustainability enhancement as a function of local government. The latest move in that direction is in Irvington, where the village boa... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— The villages of Tarrytown and Dobbs Ferry could reap the benefits of a multi-million-dollar grant that was awarded by New York State to a consortium of agencies and municipalities to enhance clean transportation and improve mobility options.... More »
By Barrett Seaman– A lot of events were planned in the rivertowns for the first weekend in October, so the dismal weather forecast triggered by Hurricane Ian was not welcome news. Irvington High School canceled its homecoming parade. Folks in Dobbs Ferry frett... More »
By Barrett Seaman— Like the elegant structure on the grounds of the Palace at Versailles that was its model, the Orangerie on the grounds of Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills, is filled with light that pours through skylights and the arched win... More »
By Dean Gallea, TEAC Co-Chair– In late August, I drove my Tesla Model Y from Tarrytown to visit family and a friend in Minnesota, a two-day drive each way. I chose this mode of transportation over flying after a chat with a colleague on the Hastings Conservati... More »
For the first time, the Greenburgh DPW will be offering a special curbside e-waste pickup for residents of unincorporated Greenburgh during the week of September 26. We are now looking to schedule electronic waste pick-ups twice a year. Items eligible include... More »
By Rachel Tieger, TEAC Co-Chair For a couple of months, I had been seeing small pieces of asphalt shingle in my garden and around my property. Because there is no easy access to my high flat roof, it has always been out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But I was finally... More »
