An important focus of my administration
has been to study, develop and
implement green house gas reduction
measures. We created the position
Director of Energy and Sustainability
and our team helped champion efforts
to secure a $2.5 million dollar energy efficiency
grant from the federal stimulus
program. We also formed the county’s
Environmental Sustainability Advisory
Committee, comprising representatives
from all county departments and
headed by the Director of our Office of
the Environment, David Coburn. One
of the charges of the committee was
to develop and advance the following
comprehensive Climate Action Plan for
Onondaga County.
The Climate Action Plan includes a baseline inventory of the County’s carbon emissions,
a listing of those emissions by source and recommendations for improving our
greenhouse gas inventory. Two of the most important and challenging aspects of the
Climate Action Plan are financing and implementing its recommendations, but we are
not going to miss out on these opportunities—we are determined to act on our words.
We are excited to move forward with the following actions to be more sustainable
and reduce our carbon footprint. And while we have already begun to execute these
changes in the workplace, throughout the community and at home, there is and will
always be more to do.