Not sure why its been so hard for Jersey City to focus on providing incentives for Energy Efficiency & Higher Performing Greener Buildings, but for some reason it is not happening as a policy initiative here. Water Conservation & Energy Use in buildings are closely related - just think hot showers, laundry and kitchen dishes (home and restaurant) ! While SJC had partnered last season on a Rain Barrels initiative with the City, hoping to raise consciousness about the need for more Green Infrastructure here , this season we'd like to use the Rain Barrels initiative to raise consciousness about the importance of Water Conservation - is closely related to our Green Infrastructure advocacy efforts, but goes far beyond capturing stormwater in rain barrels; stay tuned for updates on this ~

As a salute to Earth Day 2015, SJC would like to offer the few links below, that could put you all into immediate action, saving water and lowering your energy footprints. These are useful small steps that can make an enormous difference to the environment and our collective urban ecological footprints.

And for those who care about this stuff, SJC has brought together a bunch of useful links on the Resources page of our website - given your Earth Day focus this week, you all are invited to check it out, maybe learn something new about the environment while you're there :-)

You can visit SJC at the "Meet The Goats & Mother Earth Festival" at the Harsimus Historic Cemetery this Sunday April 26th noon - 7pm; is going to be a blast and hope to see you there. Lots of great stuff happening around Jersey City all week long in celebration of Earth Day this Wednesday April 22nd - tune in to your favorite local media and join the fun !

ACTION LINKS BELOW -

GRACE H20 Conserve Water Footprint Calculator

Energy Efficiency Tips for AT HOME, AT WORK, AT SCHOOL & ON THE GO

NJ Clean Energy Office - Energy Efficiency Programs For EVERYONE

And more about what steps City officials can take, given Jersey City is participating in the Sustainable Jersey municipal certification program. We now have a Bronze level certification - we can do better.

New Jersey benefits from a state-wide program that provides incentives for clean energy projects, especially for upgrading building efficiency. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program is one of the largest and most successful in the country, and provides the foundation upon which most of the energy efficiency upgrades in the state are developed. These incentives can be used to upgrade municipal and school district buildings, as well as a wide variety of energy projects for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Sustainable Jersey includes twelve certification actions that help municipalities make the most of these incentives, and supports overall energy planning (like carbon footprints) and building efficiency upgrades. For municipal buildings, these actions include energy tracking, audits and transition plans, as well as implementing efficiency measures. Municipalities can also get certification points for promotion and community outreach for the state's Home Performance with EnergySTAR and Direct Install programs.