Editing Clarkstown, New York (section)

==Clarkstown Going Green==
Clarkstown has taken steps towards "[[Environmentalism|going green]]" by conducting [[energy audit]]s, purchasing [[Energy Star]] office equipment and using green cleaning products in town facilities. Other steps included:
*2005 – Purchasing 10% of the energy used by town government from [[Wind power|wind]] and [[Solar power|solar]] sources.
*2006 – Passing a tree preservation law.
*2007 – Purchasing [[hybrid vehicle]]s and smaller cars.
*2008 – Installing energy-efficient lighting ([[LED]]) at its parks and recreation building with sensors that automatically turn off lights when no motion is detected.
*2012- Solar Field installed on capped Town Landfill (Dedicated in 2014). It is the first Solar Field on a capped landfill in New York State. Proposed by then Councilman, George Hoehmann.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/06/25/solar-panels-clarkstown-landfill/11370823/|title = Solar panels to sprout in former Clarkstown landfill|website=Lohud.com}}</ref>
*2013- Town participated in the NYSDEC Climate Smart Communities program in developing resiliency and climate action plans.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/56876.html |title=List of Climate Smart Communities - NYS Dept. Of Environmental Conservation |access-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418212747/https://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/56876.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2016- Town purchases street lights from Orange and Rockland Utilities and begins converting to LED (Conversion completed in 2018).

Climate Action and Sustainability Planning - Training and Outreach
*Beginning in 2014, Town Planners, along with representatives from other Town Departments, attended an initial training workshop held by the consulting firm of [[Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.]] (VHB), who is being funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation specifically to help communities attain their goals as Climate Smart Communities.  Town Planners participated in a series of workshops with VHB through February 2015 to begin the process of identifying ways to reduce the Town's greenhouse gas emissions.  
*In addition, the Clarkstown Planning Department, along with other Town Departments, participated in the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stormrecovery.ny.gov/community-regions/hudson-valley-and-westchester|title = Hudson Valley and Westchester &#124; Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR)|website=Stormrecovery.my.gov}}</ref>  This is a separate initiative funded by the New York State Department of State to aid in the development of resilient and sustainable communities. As part of this New York Rising Program the consulting firm AKRF, Inc. worked with the Town to identify areas of the Town which are vulnerable to storm damage and to formulate a plan and provide funding to address these issues.  
*Participation in these initiatives and the products generated will serve as the foundations of the Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, which will be incorporated into the first update of the Town's Comprehensive Plan, Clarkstown 2020.  Additionally, workshops were held throughout the Town's hamlets to begin gathering input and formulate direction for the Clarkstown 2020 update.