Archive: Around Town

Something changed in Cornell Professor Ronald Booker after helping a custodian friend at his office switch from heating her manufactured home in the country with electricity and propane fuel to a pellet stove and seeing her save thousands of dollars. He realized that she probably was not alone in paying a large proportion of her paycheck to high energy bills, and he thought he might be able to do something.

Booker joined the volunteer Energy Navigator program offered by Get Your Greenback Tompkins, where through the ten-session training learned about the different programs, incentives and local resources available to help people like his custodian friend reduce their energy bills.

Over the last several months, Booker has spoken to groups of food service and building care workers, and shared with them knowledge about energy efficiency and the benefits of pellet heat. "With the current incentives," Booker commented, "people with low incomes can qualify for programs that will cover over $10,000 in insulation, sealing air leaks, replacing old equipment, and cover most of the cost of a new pellet stove--it's like money on the table."

Other volunteer Navigators have come up with other creative ways of sharing information: some have spoken with members of their faith communities, others with neighbors, friends or family members, and others with work colleagues. All of them have helped their contacts connect with resources around solar energy, heat pumps, and alternative forms of transportation.

A new round of Energy Navigator trainings is beginning in March 2017.

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