REGION – In his 2011 State of the State address, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a "Cleaner, Greener Communities Program" in the shape of a $100 million competitive grant offer from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

The first manifestation of that program in our region has been the Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Planning program.

David Church, Commissioner for Planning in Orange County and co-chair of the new sustainability program, explained what's entailed.

"We obtained a grant of $865,000 from the Cleaner, Green Communities program funded by NYSERDA," he said. "I should add that this is a nationally unique initiative. It is also an unprecedented opportunity for the counties, the non-profits and business here in the Mid-Hudson Valley to work together."

Jennifer Schwartz Berky, former Deputy Director of Ulster County Planning and a lecturer for the Environmental and Urban Studies program at Bard College, added that, "The funding is from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and it's about a million dollars each for ten regions to come up with a plan that will support reduced carbon emissions and the other effects of sprawl."

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first market-based regulatory program in the United States for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Together, these states have capped and will reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector 10 percent by 2018. These states have not only reduced emissions, but they have outperformed the rest of the country in charted GDP economic growth, too.

The scope of this new Regional Sustainability Planning program is quite ambitious, covering a region from densely populated Westchester, to the fields and forests of Ulster County. What does "Sustainability" mean in this context?

While a definition accepted by everyone probably does not exist, the nutshell here would be a balance between human economic needs and the maintenance of a healthy environment. With the recent announcement (NOAA and NASA) that we are in the warmest 12-month period since records began for North America in 1895, and have just experienced the warmest spring on record, the focus is on global warming and climate change, although that is not the sole purpose of the initiative.

"Our work is led by three issues," said Church. "The primary goal is to come up with tools for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The Governor has set a target goal for that, he wants an 80 percent reduction of our 2007 levels by 2050. Secondly our focus is on what local government can do. Towns, villages, counties, all in partnership with business and non-governmental organizations. Then our strategy is keyed to an expectation that the state will make significant implementation funds available. We're supposed to come up with early action projects."

One area that the program will examine will be the regional use of automobiles.

"Our region has the highest 'vehicle miles travelled' metric in the country, according to studies by the Brookings Institution," noted Schwartz Berky.

More than Los Angeles?

"Home to work, to shopping, to school, and the number of trips made per day, for the Mid-Hudson it was 27 vmt a day, which is higher than in L.A," she answered.

We live in a sprawl, surrounding a group of small cities such as Kingston and Middletown, and large towns like New Paltz, Ellenville and Goshen. We drive everywhere, and public transportation is vestigial. The obvious threat to this way of life is higher and higher gas prices.

"We need to think about ways to create a more sustainable work economy, offering more employment closer to where we live," Schwartz Berky went on to note. "We're not 'transit rich' and if we're going to attract the post-college-to-40 age group, we have to listen to what they want. Studies show they want to live in walk-able communities near cafes, shops, art galleries. They want to be around other people for social life and interaction."

Are we witnessing a generational reaction to growing up isolated in suburban pods?

"People want to live in downtowns more than at any time in the post-war era," Schwarz Berky added. "A lot of exurban and suburban tract housing is losing its value more quickly than transit rich communities. It's already a fact that housing close to transit and walk-able communities has higher value and is more desirable and sought after... This is backed up by studies from the National Association of Home Builders, Smart Growth America, the Urban Land Institute and the Brookings Institute."

"The key message I'd like to get across is that we're inviting anyone interested to get involved with this effort over the remainder of 2012," concluded Church. "We want input. You can volunteer to be on a working group, or you may just contribute online. There are several themes to think about. Water quality, agriculture, smart economic growth, transportation, and they all come together here for this effort at planning for a sustainable future."

For more information check out the website http://www.orangecountygov.com/content/124/1362/10101.aspx