MAKE EVERY HOUSE ON LONG ISLAND ENERGY EFFICIENT

By Frank Morris, Group Chair


 * Residential structures in the United States are the single largest consumer IN THE WORLD. So says the McKinsey Global Institute, an economic research company, in a recent report. But there's more. The typical American home annually releases over twice the carbon dioxide of the average car. Taken as an aggregate, buildings in the United States are actually responsible for almost 50% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Surely we can do better. We have to do better. But how do we get this done? The challenges that our society faces due to the inefficient use of resources and the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels are incredibly large, planetary in scope. While perhaps personally economically helpful and satisfying the reality is that actions taken by individuals are just too small to be meaningful. Only large, community wide efforts can produce the scale necessary to produce significant results.

LI Green, a not for profit community corporation affiliated with the Advanced Energy Research Technology Center at Stony Brook University, is asking for you join in to help solve this challenge. Greatly improving the energy efficiency of homes is the first step toward the larger Green Economy on Long Island. The economic and pollution reduction returns from energy efficiency actions that we take completely dwarf those seen by any other energy technology.

Where do you begin? By making your home energy efficient. You’ll be saving the planet at the same time you reduce your home’s energy bills by 25% or more. This is thousands of dollars (and pounds of ) in savings annually.

The first step is an energy audit. LI Green is offering to conduct a no cost energy analysis of homes owned by Sierra Club Members. Typically you will pay $300 or more for these services. The home energy study will include a survey for energy efficiency improvements, infrared thermographic study and utility bill analysis. Following that meeting a detailed work plan will be created to help you achieve your savings. LI Green’s network of certified implementation contractors is available to make these changes. Below market “Green Energy Loans” are available through Bethpage Federal Credit Union to help pay for the improvements if appropriate.

More information about the LI Green Home Energy Efficiency Project is available at www.ligreen.com or by calling the Green Team at 631-721-1908