North Hempstead adopts 'green' policy

The North Hempstead town board has adopted an energy policy aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and waste while boosting efficiency and the use of green technology.

The hope is to change the town culture and serve as an example for residents, said director of environmental planning Frances B. Reid.

For the town's 554 personal computers, that means powering down after five minutes of inactivity. For its fleet of more than 200 cars, no more idling.

And in the town's 37 buildings, thermostats during the summer will be kept between 76 and 78 degrees when occupied and 83 degrees when unoccupied. In winter, occupied building temperatures will be between 69 and 71 degrees, and 64 degrees when unoccupied.

The rules, adopted Tuesday, also call for two-sided printing and unplugging unused coffee pots, phone chargers and water coolers.

"We believe it is environmentally correct to enforce and codify these policies," said Councilman Thomas K. Dwyer, who helped craft the measure.

The policy also includes recommendations to install occupancy sensors to turn off lights in empty rooms, replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs, and install programmable temperature controls.

Taking advantage of grants, incentives and rebates is also a goal. The Solid Waste Management Authority facility already received rebates to cover the costs of installing energy-efficient lights.

"We are going to save money," Dwyer said. "How much, I don't know. It's not necessarily how much we're saving but it's doing things the right way and watching out for the environment."

Other Long Island towns also have a variety of environmental policies.

Huntington has several green initiatives and two years ago joined the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection agreement, which committed the town to undertaking energy-saving measures. Southampton has undertaken several of the initiatives adopted by North Hempstead.

Since 2005, the Oyster Bay Town Board has annually adopted a Clean Energy Action Plan. A Green Energy Task Force meets monthly to develop initiatives and the town is converting its sanitation fleet to natural gas.

With Stacey Altherr, Jennifer Barrios and Bill Bleyer