A message from
Assemblywoman
Sandy
Galef
ENERGY FAIR
SATURDAY, MARCH 20

e-mail:
March 2004



State Assemblywoman
Sandy Galef’s

2004
ENERGY
FAIR

Saturday, March 20
10-12 noon
Philipstown Town Hall
238 Main Street, Cold Spring

Drive
An Electric/Hybrid Car

Learn
How to get clean power now

How to save on home energy use

How to reduce utility bills

How to use wind power

How to use solar power

How to prepare for a blackout

How to choose an energy provider

How to get state $$ for clean energy

How schools can use green energy

For details and directions call Sandy Galef at 914-941-1111.


Dear Neighbor:

This newsletter is devoted to two of my ongoing priorities - energy and conservation. Last summer’s blackout reminds us to start saving energy, developing clean sources of power, and adding new transmission capacity.

On a tour of local elected officials that I organized, we visited the White Plains headquarters of the New York Power Authority to learn how they use renewable energy and conserve through methods like tinted window film and motion sensors to turn off lights in vacant rooms.

My visit to the Fenner Windmill Farm south of Syracuse demonstrated how 1.5 megawatts of power is produced from each of 20 windmills that are 30 stories high and cost $1.5 million each to build. While experts say that we do not have enough wind power in the Hudson Valley for such a farm, we can buy wind power through companies that sell energy.

Over the next decade demand for electricity will grow by 20% while investments in transmission will increase by only 6%, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In New York State, the summer peak load will grow from a use of 31,590 megawatts in summer 2003 to 35,110 megawatts in summer 2012, says the New York Independent System Operator. We can gain 2,000 megawatts more power in the Hudson Valley with the building of a proposed transmission line, the “Empire Connection,” that will follow the New York State Thruway right-of-way. I support this line being developed by Conjunction LLC as an important way to increase the reliability of our energy grid and meet future power demands.

Learning about new energy sources and ways to conserve will be the focus of my Energy Fair on Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Philipstown Town Hall in Cold Spring. I invite everyone to stop by to learn about easy, cost-effective ways to save on energy and your energy bills and how to buy clean alternative power.

Sincerely,

Sandy Galef
Member of the Assembly




State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef’s
2004 ENERGY FAIR
This year’s Energy Fair is brimming with good news for all of us who want to conserve energy because we want to save our natural resources and save money with our heating and cooling expenses. The following groups will be on hand to tell us how to do just that:

Croton Sustainable Energy Cooperative. Residents from Croton-on-Hudson have banded together to find ways to reduce energy use and transition to clean energy technologies. This group will present actual ways people can reduce energy bills and reduce reliance on coal, oil, nuclear, and gas with investments as small as $5.

Creative Energy Technology. This company will discuss how consumers can reduce their energy consumption by up to 40% with lighting and new technology, and what changes can be made in each room of the home to get significant savings.

Accu-Tint. This firm will discuss how to control energy costs by insulating your windows. Insulating films can reflect up to 70% of the sun’s energy outside, reduce summer cooling bills up to 15%, and cut down on winter heating bills.

Community Energy. This company will discuss “New Wind Energy” that converts to electricity for a clean source of renewable energy to power your home with no air pollution from burning fossil fuels.

Hudson Valley Clean Energy. This firm will discuss how solar power can help reduce your monthly electric bill and what state incentive programs are available for installing highly-reliable, maintenance free solar systems in your home.

Central Hudson Gas & Electric. This utility has in place environmental programs to preserve and protect wetlands, such as special equipment that won’t disturb the ground when rebuilding lines. They will tell you about the status of customer choice in the Hudson Valley and talk about what to do when the power goes out.

Public Service Commission. The PSC has opened the State’s electric industry to competition to allow customers to choose their supplier of electricity. They will also talk about green power and how to take advantage of it through your choice of a utility or energy service company.

Save Money
Join Fuel Buyers Group

NYPIRG, the New York Public Interest Research Group, has formed a fuel buyers group to get discounted prices on home heating oil. Homeowners typically save $250-300 per year after joining. You can also save on natural gas and spend 10 –12% less than what the utilities charge.

Call NYPIRG at 1-800-695-4645.

New York Power Authority. NYPA has been in the forefront of energy efficiency programs by providing such power to municipalities throughout the state as a way to deter the building of more power plants. They provide municipalities with small electric or hybrid cars and will have one on hand for the public to ride.

New York State Energy Research And Development Authority. NYSERDA has programs in place to provide clean energy for schools, homes, and workplaces. They have cash incentives for installing small solar systems bought through an eligible company. Wind, sun, and other clean power sources will be discussed.





Westchester Safety Commissioner Thomas Belfiore (left) and Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith (right) appeared on “Speakout with Sandy Galef”.


Speakout with Sandy Galef

The monthly cable television show airs:

Wednesdays, 6:30pm – Ch 15 and GO-TV
Peekskill, Ossining, Cortlandt, Philipstown.

Mondays, 6:30pm – Ch 21
Cold Spring, Philipstown.

Mondays, 6:30pm – Ch 22
Mohegan Lake, Lake Peekskill, Putnam Valley.

To Be Announced – RCN’s Ch 8
Town of Kent.



Insulating window film was installed in the home of Sandy’s son Graig Galef and daughter-in-law Elisabeth Gilbert. The film will cut the sun’s glare to reduce heat loss in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and protect furniture and flooring.
Sandy learned about wind power on a visit to the Fenner Windmill Farm in Madison County near Syracuse.


Cold Spring Village Mayor Anthony Phillips, Philipstown Councilwoman Betty Budney, and Sandy checked out Putnam County’s first electric car provided by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Ford Motor Company. NYPA provided the vehicle to Cold Spring to encourage the use of electric vehicles to reduce both air pollution and reliance on foreign oil.



Wanted: Student Interns and Adult Volunteers

Both can help in Sandy’s Assembly office at 2 Church Street, Ossining. Work includes assisting constituents, researching issues, working on legislation, public outreach, and writing. A great way for students to learn and build a resume and for adults to put their experience to use. Call 914-941-1111 and speak to Sandy’s Chief of Staff Catherine Borgia. Or email galefs@assembly.state.ny.us




**Please Click Here for a Printable Questionaire**

Questionnaire

Please give me your input on some of the measures being considered in Albany for new legislation. There is space for two to answer.


1. Should we expand the bottle bill to include non-carbonated juice and water beverages left out of the original law that requires nickel deposits on beverage containers? Supporters say it would raise $175 million in revenues to offset the state’s budget shortfall and further clean up the environment.

What do you think?


Yes No
Comments:





Yes No
Comments:





2. Should we raise the age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 19? Supporters say it would help cut back on teen-aged smoking and remove smoking from the high schools.

What do you think?


Yes No
Comments:





Yes No
Comments:





3. Should we change the vehicle licensing process for seniors, as we recently did for teen-aged drivers who now have graduated licenses? Supporters point to The Insurance Institute reports that older drivers are as safe as others until 75 and those 85 and older are as likely to be in fatal crashes as those 16 to 19.

What do you think?


Yes No
Comments:





Yes No
Comments:





Please send your completed and signed questionaire to:

Assemblywoman Sandy Galef
2 Church Street
Ossining, NY 10562-4802

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