Environment DEC
From the March 2009 issue
Climate Smart Communities
The New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences in Buffalo incorporates many sustainable building practices that are recommended for new construction under the Climate Smart pledge.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis has encouraged local governments to join in the fight against global warming by adopting a new Climate Smart Communities Pledge. The pledge outlines a voluntary ten-point plan for reducing a community's greenhouse gas emissions.
Because many communities lack the technical resources to identify cost-effective emission-reduction measures, the state is offering the Climate Smart Communities Guide, which provides a variety of planning steps and actions that local governments can take to fight global warming. The pledge and the guide can be found on DEC's website.
The building and transportation sector are responsible for more than 80 percent of statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Local land-use planning can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging buildings that are energy efficient, by limiting sprawl and by enabling renewable energy projects that are compatible with existing land uses. Local land-use planning is also a vital tool for helping communities adapt to the negative effects of climate change while working to prevent the most dire consequences.
