Citizens Campaign for the Environment

GREEN LEVITTOWN

CCE Executive Director Adrienne Esposito joins Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray to kick off the Green Levittown Campaign.

Levittown, New York was the first suburb in America. Now, through a new and innovative initiative, we are working to have it become the first Green suburb in America. CCE has partnered with Nassau County and several “green” businesses to reduce the carbon footprint of Levittown by 10 percent. This historic project will pave the way for other communities to “go green”.

What is Global Warming?
Global warming, or climate change, is the increasing of average global temperature caused by the release of unnatural amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG), including carbon dioxide (CO2). One of the main contributors to global warming is electricity production through the burning of fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels, like coal oil and natural gas, emits greenhouse gases that build up to trap heat, warm the lower atmosphere, and change the Earth’s climate. Approximately 80% of global emissions of CO2 are due to fossil fuel combustion.

What is Green Levittown?
The Green Levittown Project aims to create the first green suburb in the U.S. Members of the Levittown community will be provided special services and opportunities to upgrade their homes and make changes that will not only help save our environment but will also save them money. Homeowners will be asked to participate in this program, and everything they do, from changing light bulbs to more energy efficient ones to getting a home energy audit (a detailed assessment of how individual homes can save energy and money), will reduce the carbon footprint of Levittown. Reducing our carbon footprint also means using less energy, and that will save money on energy bills!

Green Levittown on ABC's Good Morning America, 4/20/08

Things people can do to cut CO2 emissions:

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL’s): Replace regular incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. 19% of global electricity generation is used for lighting, and CFL’s use 60% less energy than regular light bulbs. If every household in the U.S. switched to CFL’s, we would reduce CO2 emissions by 90 billion pounds per year. Since CFL’s use less electricity, citizens will save on their energy bills as well.
Energy Efficient Appliances: If all U.S. households replaced existing appliances with energy efficient ones, we would cut CO2 emissions by 175 million tons.
Home Energy Audit: Individuals can save 30% on their energy bills and cut CO2 emissions by 1,000 pounds a year.

How to get involved:
Several local companies have agreed to partner with the Green Levittown campaign to lend their knowledge and experience to the residents of Levittown. This will enable residents to be connected with professionals who know what will benefit each individual household. Below is a list of the sponsors available to lend their expertise:

Alure Home Improvements: Is offering "discounted" home energy assessments for all Levittown residents. The home assessment will test your home for energy efficiency and safety, and identify ways you can save money on your energy bills. All Alure assessments will include five free CFL's.

EarthKind Energy: Is offering their expertise and knowledge about installing a solar air heater or solar hot water heater, which can reduce your fossil fuel costs by up to 75% over 25 years! Tax credits can reduce the system cost by 50%.

Intellidyne: Intelledyne has patented a device that reduces hot water heating system costs, without reducing your comfort level. This hot water heating system fuel economizer, named to Intellicon-Hw+, delivers an average energy savings of 13% and reduces pollution by as much as 50%. Intellidyne has been generous in donating the first 50 units to Levittown residents.

Tragar Fuel: Is offering their expertise on biofuel, Energy Star rated boilers, cooling systems, and burners to save Levittown residents 15-39% in energy costs! They will offer fuel oil with 5% biofuel at no extra cost to Levittown customers! This means we can reduce combustion of traditional fossil fuels by 5% just by having homeowners switch to Tragar fuel.

Keyspan: Is offering a free home energy audit to current Keyspan customers living in Levittown. These current customers will be able to apply for rebates from KeySpan for specific measures such as high efficiency gas heat equipment, thermostats, windows, and insulation. KeySpan has put together a very cost effective package for Levittown homeowners who are interested in converting to natural gas.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union: Is offering Levittown residents who participate in ‘Green Levittown’ low interest loans to help offset the costs of home repairs and upgrades. Now is clearly the time to do those home repairs that will save money on energy bills!

Satco Products, Inc.: Is offering its expertise in its energy saving category of lighting products. Satco offers a complete selection of CFL's, and they offer numerous energy saving LED (light emitting diode) night lights and specialty products. Satco is donating 20,000 CFL's to be distributed to Levittown residents.

CCE will educate residents on this historic initiative and encourage residents of Levittown to make important choices to reduce energy consumption resulting in lower energy bills. By making a few changes, residents will save money and the environment!

For more information, please contact our office at 516-390-7150 or visit the Green Levittown website at www.greenlevittown.com.

Updated by gwalbrecht 5/12/08