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November 24, 2008

Lawmakers missing from climate conversation

Climate conference drew few local public officials

By KIM SMITH DEDAM

LAKE PLACID — Even with a sold-out crowd, something seemed missing from the Adirondack Response to Climate Change conference last week.

Local lawmakers were notably absent.

Only five or six county supervisors, mayors or town councilors attended.

But their policy will be required to chart any successful energy-efficient course.

BAD TIMING
Busy schedules and distance were reasons some supervisors had for not attending.

"The timing for townships couldn't have been worse," said Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava (R-Moriah).

Town budgets were due to the state by Nov. 20.

Plus the 150-to-175-mile round trip to the conference held at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake proved too costly.

"My reason," said Supervisor David H. Blades (R-Lewis), "is from the Town of Lewis to Tupper Lake and back again is a lot of miles. In these times of economic distress, I just felt it was a costly situation."

"There isn't time," said Supervisor Daniel Connell (D-Westport). "We're trying to rebuild a bridge, interviewing six firms to design the town garage, applying for permits for a new water system in Wadhams. We held a public hearing (Tuesday night) for a subdivision so we can rebuild a road.

"Supervisors' jobs have turned into a monster. Almost every town in Essex County has a water project going, a sewer project going."

Supervisor Joyce Morency (R-St. Armand) said nearly the same thing.

"My calendar fills right up. Being a small town, you have so many things to do, and the budget process has been longer and harder this year."

"Supervisors just had real scheduling conflicts," said Supervisor Noel Merrihew III (R-Elizabethtown). "You've got to put out the fires burning brightest."

EXPERTISE
Franklin County Legislator Tim Burpoe (D-Saranac Lake), also an accredited forest manager, said climate change is a subject of keen interest to him.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't know about the conference," he said. "If they had invited me, they would have gotten two for one."

He ended up traveling elsewhere on business last week.

ENLIGHTENING
Supervisor Cathy Moses (R-Schroon), who is chair of the Essex County Board of Supervisors, did attend full sessions on both days.

She said what she took from the conference was invaluable.

"I really felt better educated. I thought the way they presented the conference was really good, with the breakout sessions and working groups.

"I was one of those skeptics going in, but what I failed to understand is how science has measured climate change moving along faster than it would naturally in our environment."

SAVING MONEY
Whether contrarian or not, she said, bottom-line energy efficiency matters to taxpayers.

"I will move forward and discuss these ideas with my colleagues at the Board of Supervisors. If there's a way we can save money for our taxpayers, we should move forward on it."

Improved energy efficiency is a key priority, each town leader said, with or without a changing climate.

In Moriah, for example, the new wastewater treatment plant was just updated with Energy Star motors and pumps that cost less to run.

And plans are on the table to build a woodchip heating system for the town garage, Scozzafava said.

"It's a $70,000 investment, but the return on that investment looks pretty good compared to $30,000 expense for No. 2 fuel.

"I'm not going to become part of the debate about climate change, but we absolutely need to find different sources of energy for now and for future generations."

CARBON VALUE
Towns in both Essex and Franklin counties are major players in carbon trade; each county has more than 1 million acres of state land.

Burpoe said carbon sequestration value brings a case for selective forestry management.

"State purchases for non-managed lands are not helping our state carbon footprint," he said.

Unmanaged Forever Wild lands are not as valuable as forests cut to keep new growth constant, Burpoe said.

"There are all kinds of incentives for carbon sequestration, financial and otherwise, on the forestry side of the equation."

Legislators discussed 23 points to reduce the Franklin County budget last week, he noted.

"A number of them I would consider green."

Merrihew said energy-efficiency policy will be part of county discussions.

"To have 18 supervisors attend a conference is not an efficient use of government management. Hopefully, the final analysis will forward directives to the next layer (policymaker), to see what is a next step."

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com

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