ENERGY

If Long Island has a Mr. Clean Tech at this point, it would have to be David Winchester, a 62-year-old, somewhat rumpled Vietnam vet and 1960s college activist who has turned into quite the businessman these past few decades.

Winchester, of Huntington, is almost everywhere and anywhere on the Island that there's talk of green companies or clean technology. He chaired the sponsorship committee of last fall's 2009 Advanced Energy Conference, which was hosted by IBM, Stony Brook University, National Grid and the New York Power Authority and which drew about 1,000 people to the Hyatt WindWatch in Islandia.

He helped start the Hauppauge Industrial Association's green energy committee and has begun a program, CleanTech QuickStart, to finds jobs for displaced workers in energy projects. Such a group is currently studying energy usage at the Hauppauge Industrial Park.

Now, Winchester will be serving as a consultant to a federally funded New York State census project to find out how many green companies there are in the state and what kind of green courses colleges and universities are teaching. The 18-month project is to kick off Jan. 27.

Winchester last year left Commack-based Invision - a company that develops and provides Internet applications and services - after 12 years, where he worked in marketing and human resources.

"I always wanted to be part of a green effort," said Winchester, who explained that he became interested in the energy movement during the oil shortage crises of the 1970s.

"There's more going on" in the green area "than anybody knows about," Winchester said, noting the green census, to be conducted by Stony Brook University, the University of Albany and the City University of New York, will shed light on just how green the state is.

"This [census] is way overdue," he said. "Green is the world's biggest business opportunity for the next 30 years."

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

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