TOWN CLIMATE ACTIVITIES AND REPORTS
The towns each have committees that have been focused on municipal energy use. This section highlights what has been done and will offer more information about town climate-related activities and progress as it occurs.
Energy Committees
- Each town has its own Energy Committee, which focuses on ways to reduce their town’s municipal carbon footprint by reducing fossil fuel use. Aquinnah and West Tisbury also have Climate Advisory Committees.
- Each of the Energy Committees is also part of the Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee (VSEC) that is proposing the 100% Renewable by 2040 resolution: a non-binding resolution for consideration on each of the Town Meeting warrants in the not-too-distant future.
Energy and Climate Committee Chairs & VSEC Members:
- Aquinnah Bill Lake, [email protected]
- Chilmark: Rob Hannemann, (and Chair of VSEC); [email protected]
- West Tisbury: Kate Warner, Climate Advisory and Energy Comm., [email protected]
- West Tisbury: Ron Dagostino (VSEC member) [email protected]
- Vineyard Haven: Bill Straw, [email protected]
- Oak Bluffs: Richard Toole, [email protected]
- Edgartown: Alan Strahler, [email protected]
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plans
- All of our island towns, and our neighboring island of Cuttyhunk, have engaged in a public planning process to identify critical climate change vulnerabilities and prioritize actions to address those vulnerabilities. The completed Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness plan reports are below. Once towns complete their MVP plans, they can apply to the State for funding to implement their priority actions. Aquinnah, Edgartown, Gosnold, OakBluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury/Chilmark
Green Communities Program
- Aquinnah, Chilmark, Tisbury, and West Tisbury are all part of the State’s Green Communities program. Oak Bluffs and Edgartown are both pursuing Green Communities status and hope to apply by the end of this year.
- There are 271 cities and towns in the Commonwealth that have been designated as Green Communities, and they have committed to reducing their own energy (building and vehicle) usage by 20%, promoting energy-efficient building construction through the Stretch Code, and fostering renewable energy and clean energy technologies through zoning bylaws. The State provides access to grant funds to achieve these goals.