SARANAC LAKE – The town of Harrietstown has signed a Climate Smart Communities pledge with a goal of being more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, and it is looking for residents to join a task force to oversee the completion of those goals.

Newly appointed town Councilman David Lynch brought the idea to the board at its Feb. 19 meeting. The council unanimously voted to pass it and the application was approved by the state on Thursday.

CSC is a state program that helps local governments reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

The more actions a municipality takes to be greener, the more points it earns. These points add up to certifications. Certification makes the town more competitive for grants.

Actions include insulating buildings, switching from fuel oil to electric heat pumps, using electric vehicles when possible, purchasing or generating renewable energy, installing energy-efficient lights and windows and making sure equipment runs at optimal capacity.

“Creating a Climate Smart Communities Task Force was one of my top priorities when joining the town board,” Lynch said in a statement. “So I’m excited we were able to adopt this resolution so quickly.”

The board selected Lynch to serve as CSC coordinator.

People interested in serving on the task force can email their intent to dlynch@harrietstown.gov. Lynch said he wants people who are passionate and energetic about the global climate and their local community.

“I hope some members of the community will step up to serve on the task force and support our efforts,” town Supervisor Jordanna Mallach said in a statement.

New York established the CSC program in 2014. It now has 469 local governments involved. The village of Saranac Lake – which mostly sits inside of Harrietstown – joined in 2018.

The village has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% since 2017, according to its task force, has a bronze CSC certification and has received a total of $426,288 in state funds through its certification. Lynch said the village has “set a high bar.”

Carlie Leary, a regional CSC Coordinator who is providing the town with free technical support through the Adirondack North Country Association, said Saranac Lake is “a great leader for the region.”

Lynch said he brought the idea of Harrietstown joining the program for several reasons – chiefly, existential reasons. Humans have just one planet, he said, adding that the planet is under threat due to human pollution. But he also believes, collectively, humans have time to do something about it.

“I’ve always found it frustrating that we’ve got billionaires in this country talking about how we’re going to save humanity by going to Mars when they have the wealth and the power right now to fix the planet that we’re currently living on,” Lynch said.

The town cannot reverse the effects of climate change, but it can adapt to be more resilient, he said.

“The town of Harrietstown believes that climate change poses a real and increasing threat to our local and global environments and is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels,” the resolution states.

It says that the scale of greenhouse gas emissions reductions required to curb climate change needs “sustained and substantial efforts.” It also adds that even if emissions were dramatically reduced today, the town would still need to adapt to the effects of climate change for decades to come.

Locally, he added that being a CSC community will open up more grant opportunities and make the town more competitive when it applies for grants.

He added that many of these grants are for energy efficiency upgrades. With electric and fuel prices rising sharply, he said if the town can use less of each, it will lift the burden from taxpayers.

Lynch said one of the task force’s first actions will be to review the green work the town has already done to find what already exists that may be eligible for points.

Harrietstown is already part of the state’s Clean Energy Communities program, and there is some overlap in the actions it has taken for this program and the CSC program.

On Thursday, Mallach talked about the town’s plans to install a solar power array at the town-owned Adirondack Regional Airport which would produce around a quarter of the power the airport uses. The airport terminal is currently being renovated, and heat pumps are part of its new infrastructure.