Shanna Ratner presented “Cost-effective Green Technologies for Communities” on October 12, 2005, at the 5th Annual Empire Energy and Environmental Exposition in Saratoga Springs, New York. Towns and villages are greening up. Governments have embraced the need to be kinder to the environment in the delivery and construction of local government services and facilities. Examining alternative ways to build a community center or improve a wastewater system can reveal amazing ways to reduce impacts on natural resources, and at the same time, use fewer tax dollars. The presentation showed governments and private businesses alike the usefulness of considering tradeoffs between deferred maintenance and preservation, between short-term fixes and long-term solutions, and between today’s costs and tomorrow’s benefits.
Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
