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Representative Lawler should Oppose Fossil Fuel Giveaway Bill - The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -Republicans in the US Congress are considering a disastrous bill, HR1 (the Lower Energy Costs Act), that would give polluting corporations approvals on toxic, costly fossil fuel projects. As a resident of Ossining, NY, I urge Representative Lawler to strongly oppose HR1. Now is the time to transition to clean energy, not rubber stamp more oil and gas projects. HR1 is a giveaway to fossil fuel corporations. Despite the sustainability and affordability of wind andsolar, HR1 fast tracks toxic and costly fossil fuel […]

A New Free App Aims to Curb Energy Use–And Pay Cash to Consumers Who Use It - The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -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 nearly 3,000 participated. This year, however, the company is making a huge push to sign up tens of thousands of customers in Westchester, in part through a “friendly competition” engaging the seven rivertowns mayors in a cheerleading effort for “GridRewards,” a free app offered […]

TEAC Co-Chairs to be Honored by Volunteer New York - The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -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.” Nominations are solicited for six categories and reviewed by a panel of nine judges. This year’s winners in the “Going Green” Category, honoring those “who work to protect and beautify our environment and natural surroundings,” are Dean Gallea and Rachel Tieger, […]

Environmental experts warn of Indian Point owner plans to discharge radioactive waste into Hudson RiverEnvironmental advocates claim Holtec International, the company that runs the plant, is seeking to discharge millions of gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River.

Experts outline how less grass is greenerThe Ardsley Pollinator Pathway recently conducted its second of a two-part Zoom presentation, “Letting Go of the Lawn: Rewilding Your Suburban Yard,” moderated by Carol Sommerfield, chair of APP. The

$7M to fund e-bikes for Dobbs and moreThe New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded $7 million for the establishment of e-Bikeshare programs in Dobbs Ferry, Ossining, Tarrytown, and Croton-on-Hudson.

State grant to fund flood mitigation planIrvington will continue its march toward a more sustainable infrastructure system with the help of a Climate Smart Communities grant awarded on Dec. 29. The $1,136,000 grant, matched by the

LEDs illuminate restored Town Hall clock towerBefore the countdown at dusk on Dec. 10, Mayor Brian Smith told the crowd gathered outside Irvington Town Hall to look up after the annual tree-lighting in front of the

Harvard research projects spread to Irvington WoodsStarting in September, a connection was forged between the 253-acre Irvington Woods and the 4,000-acre Harvard Forest, an ecological research site that Harvard University owns in Petersham, Massachusetts.

Irvington Hires Sustainability Director - The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -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 board recently created the position of Sustainability Director and hired village resident Charlotte Binns to fill it. Binns will be paid $60-an-hour, up to 1,000 hours a year, to advise the board and village departments on policies and best practices in furtherance of renewable […]

Irvington School District Goes Green With Solar LightingTwenty-four light poles with solar panels and LED light fixtures were recently installed at the middle and high schools.

Campaign aims to reduce waste in DobbsThe Zero Waste Committee, an all-volunteer subcommittee of Sustainable Dobbs, is launching DeWaste Dobbs!, a campaign starting this month to reduce the amount of trash residents generate in 2023.

Village appoints Binns as first sustainability directorCharlotte Binns, a local leader in green and renewable energy, has been named the Village of Irvington’s first sustainability director. She was appointed by the village board on Nov. 22.

Hands-on for the woodsMaxwell Ma, Iris Ma, and Matthew Besidski were among the student volunteers who removed Japanese barberry, an invasive shrub, from the Irvington Woods on Saturday, Oct. 8. They were joined

Runs fund native plants for communityTwo simultaneous fun runs — a 3K and a 5K — raised $934 on Sunday, Oct. 16, to purchase native plants for sites throughout Irvington, including the middle/high school campus.

Fun Run on Oct 16

MUCH APPRECIATION to everyone who participated or donated towards the Fun Run for a More Sustainable Irvington today! Kudos to Joanna Paul, IHS Senior, who organized the fundraiser in collaboration with the Irvington Rec Department, CJ of the O’Hara Nature Center and the GPTF. Thank you also to all volunteers! The event was a real success. Everyone had a lot of fun. Here are some photos documenting the positive atmosphere.

Village aims to add a sustainability directorThe Village of Irvington is looking to hire a sustainability director to advise the Village’s boards, operating departments, and volunteer committees on environmental issues, regulations, resources, and funding opportunities.

Plan unveiled to restore Irvington WoodsAn assessment of the Irvington Woods released last week concludes that it is a remarkable resource approaching a dangerous tipping point.

Irvington secures bronze in sustainability programThe Village of Irvington reached the “Bronze” certification level in the New York State Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program on March 4, joining Dobbs Ferry and Hastings as certified communities.

Deer exclosures rise in Irvington WoodsEarlier this month, with $3,000 in funding from the Greater Irvington Land Trust, O’Hara Nature Center naturalist C.J. Reilly began installing 20 deer exclosures in the Irvington Woods, near the

Westchester Power to resume with new ratesSustainable Westchester is resuming its Westchester Power (WP) program, the six-year-old community energy option that has been suspended since June 30, when Sustainable Westchester was unable to negotiate a new

How Eileen Fisher's Tiny Factory became an incubator for young designers focused on sustainabilityOn Thursday, Public School and Eileen Fisher launched a four-style collaboration at Eileen Fisher’s Brooklyn-based Making Space concept store. The zero-waste four-piece collection, sold exclusively at the store, was made at Eileen Fisher’s Irvington, New York-based Tiny Factory, using pieces obtained through the company’s take-back program.

Proposal For Solar Farm on Nevis Property Triggers Backlash Among Irvington Residents - The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -By Barrett Seaman– Every few decades, it seems, alarm bells go off in Irvington about a threat, real or rumored, that Columbia University is going to sell, develop or otherwise disfigure the bucolic 68-acre plot of land that houses the university’s Nevis Laboratories and the Nevis Estate, built by James Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s son, and named after the island where he was born. In the 1990s, there was talk that the university would build a cluster housing complex for retired […]

Board defers ban on gas leaf blowers until 2023It’s one thing to vote for a law and have it take effect a few weeks or months later. It’s quite another to pass legislation that won’t be in force

Orville to lead Sustainable WestchesterDobbs Ferry Sustainability Task Force member and former chair Nina Orville, a 17-year village resident, has been named executive director of Sustainable Westchester. Orville takes on her new role, effective