Sustainability Today

The Opportunity of a Locally-Focused Economy

2009-11-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

A healthy local economy is neither totally self-sufficient, nor parochial but is clear on its priorities. One of its goals it to slow the rate at which money leaves the region, and maximize the number of times it changes hands before it does finally depart. Another goal is to plug what economists call “leaks” in the local economy. Leaks are the loss of money and economic activity for products or services that could be provided locally.

Writer and local advocate Michael Shuman sums up this strategy as LOIS, Local Ownership and Import Substitution. Local ownership is important because such businesses are not likely to leave the area and take their jobs with them. Money earned by local businesses stays in the region in banks that loan it out to people to start businesses or for individuals to buy cars or houses which spurs further economic activity.

Import substitution is local production of goods and services that have been previously provided from outside the region. For example, a family or small business that heated with oil or natural gas and switches to wood, wood pellets, or wood chips. While it is true that a local distributor of heating oil or natural gas also provides jobs, there are still important differences. Such concerns are local representatives of companies from outside the region. Ultimately, money they earn leaves the region to create jobs and opportunities in the community of the home office. What is so compelling about import substitution is that often that money is already present in the community and there for the taking. It is being spent year in and year out; it just needs to be redirected in ways that benefit the local community.

For both individuals and businesses one of the most important strategies is to “shop local first”. A wonderful example of this is a local food service that purchases in a series of expanding circles. What they can buy locally, they buy locally, what they can by regionally they buy within the region. If they can buy something that comes from the Midwest rather than California, they do so. As long as prices are reasonably comparable, they will pay a little more to buy locally or regionally. This makes sense both economically and in terms of what is sustainable. One of the ways that individuals can contribute to the economic improvement of the region is to localize their spending. If enough of St. Lawrence County’s 40,000 plus households and 4000 small businesses did this, the impact could be significant.

There are tens of millions of dollars at stake here. As an example, television advertising encourages St. Lawrence County residents to “take that short drive” to purchase their car in another county. If 3000 cars are purchased in this way at an average cost of $18,000 each that is $54,000,000 in lost sales for the local economy. If more people decided to shop locally and only 1500 cars were bought elsewhere, there would be $27,000,000 stimulus to the local economy, new jobs for mechanics, salespersons, and office help. Currently, these jobs are being created in a neighboring county.

St. Lawrence County’s four thousand businesses could also benefit the local economy by patronizing other local businesses first. During the several years I operated a small online business I shopped locally as much as possible.

Going through the various sectors of our economy, food, energy, autos etc. it is not hard to see that there are tens of millions of dollars that could have a local impact. The ingredients for creating a more healthy local economy are present, but locked up in ways that do not benefit us to the extent they could. Shopping in our communities at locally owned businesses is a key step that is also very doable.

Changing the Narrative: The Story We Tell About The North Country

2009-10-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

The narrative I am talking about is the story we tell ourselves and others about Northern New York. There is power in that story. What we choose to share, and whether it is positive or negative, will have a huge impact on how we all view and think about the region. Narratives can vary; some are mundane and journalistic and full of facts. Others are mythic or heroic, such as how we all pulled through the 1998 ice storm together, someone’s bigger-than-life personality, or dramatic work related stories.

Some narratives can be summarized as “awful North Country” or “poor us.” The former is about cold weather, no jobs, or no shopping while the latter includes, but is not limited to, upstate downstate conflicts, higher taxes, or intrusive government regulation. Other narratives are more positive, about a good place to live, work, and raise a family.

The power of the narrative is most profoundly seen in what we communicate to our children, both verbally and nonverbally. The loss of our young people is a real concern for many North Country residents. At the same time, the narrative is there is nothing here for them, that if you are a winner you will leave the area; that they will want to or should move away. Not everyone can or should want to live in the North Country. Still, as they leave for college or to work we need to hand them a mail box and a map of Northern New York, not a suitcase and a one way ticket. We need to communicate that coming home is a viable option.

Perhaps we need a new narrative that goes something like this: “We understand the need to see the world and get an education. Gaining experience in your chosen work is a good thing. But, in a few years, we hope you will consider coming home. The North Country is a good place to live, to work and to raise a family of your own. You have relatives and friends here, and your skills and your presence can make it a better place to live. It is possible to come home, and do well, if you decide that is what you want to do.”

In the end, changing the narrative is not about being a Pollyanna or overlooking our problems and challenges. This is not just a task for individuals, but community leaders, media professionals, and economic developers as well. Creating a narrative is about thinking things through and coming up with a coherent story that expresses the region’s identity and what we would like the North Country to be, stated in such away to appeal to those who would like to be a part of the region’s unfolding story.

No Easy Solutions to Rebuilding the North Country Economy

2009-10-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

Call it wishful thinking. Call it magical thinking. Call it a belief in a silver bullet. It is a common belief here in Northern New York that someone or something big is going to come along and save us, or at least repair our economic life. It comes up in public forums and discussions and is in the back of many of our minds: if we can just get the right someone or the right project, things will be different. There will be more jobs, there will be more prosperity, and our lives will be materially better. We will be just like other parts of the country. Perhaps it has always been this way, or, it has been this way for so long, that it is hard to know when and how it started.

Going back over 50 years, the St. Lawrence Seaway, which according to historical accounts was a tough sell until Canada was prepared to go it alone, soon became the object of North Country residents’ hopes and dreams. These were best summed up in a series of articles that appeared in the Watertown Times and written by a young reporter named Alan Emory. The picture painted by the articles was of jobs, and theaters and restaurants spread from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain. Northern New York, readers were lead to believe, would be completely transformed. Decades later, we know different. Other than some jobs related to NYPA and the Seaway Development Corporation the vast majority of residents go about their daily lives largely unaffected by this project, or even give it much thought.

There have certainly been other projects over the years. The Super Collider comes to mind. More recently, there was the Bion proposal, which seemed more of a concept than an actual project, and the proposed race track. A recent pamphlet for the I-98 road proposal has a familiar ring. Job creation, ending five decades of rural poverty, and ending “transportation” isolation are all mentioned. This is a lot to expect from one little road!

It never hurts to dream, but in each case the project has involved thousand hours of time from local officials and the public and a huge amount of energy; time and energy that might have been better spent on other activities that will make our shared lives better in the long run.

The “hit the home run" approach is also common among the economic development community in Northern New York. The tendency is to try to land the project that will bring hundreds of well paying jobs, but never seems to pan out. When you think about it, it is not surprising. Nationwide there are so many communities, and so few sizeable projects.

Is economic development pointless? No, but having unrealistic expectations is. Perhaps we need a different strategy. No one else is going to do the hard work for us.

Regulation and Taxes Not Top Challenges for Regional Businesses

2009-10-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Recent news from both Lake Placid and Plattsburgh would have us believe that state and local government regulation and taxes are somehow holding back Northern New York economically. As noted in “Other People’s Money” one of our regional myths is that large amounts of North Country money are going to pay other people’s subway and welfare downstate. The reality is that the region receives far more from the state than it pays out in taxes. While this may not be sustainable in the long run, it is filling a vacuum left by the private sector.

A corollary to this widely held belief is another myth that high taxation and public sector jobs are hurting the private sector, driving business out of the region. The role of government in the region appears as large as it does because there is the lack of a robust private sector in large swaths of Northern New York. Part of what has happened in recent decades is that businesses are abandoning rural areas of the state, while remaining in the state as a whole. For example, two of our regional companies used to maintain customer service offices and staff in NNY in local communities throughout the region. These decent paying private sector jobs are a thing of the past. Closing these offices was a bottom line decision. Now folks in our region end up talking to people who are in Albany or Syracuse. This is part of a larger trend. Nationally, more businesses have become less reliable partners in local economic development in rural areas as they have put their shareholders before their customers. It has been up to the public sector to fill the void and keep rural areas like our own from falling further behind.

Rather than discouraging private sector development in rural areas, local, county and state governments sometimes attempt to jump start or support the creation of a viable private sector. Ideally, this is a short term strategy.

In some cases the role of big business has been that of a bad neighbor. In the past few weeks I was part of an informal economic development discussion at a public facility on the Ogdensburg waterfront. At one point in our meeting, a participant pointed to the bustling shoreline across the way on the Canadian shore then proceeded to say that the reason the Ogdensburg side does not look that way is that there are at least seventy acres of waterfront properties contaminated, and unusable, left behind by previous industrial and business occupants. It will be up to state and local governments to fix this.

There are thousands of local small businesses across Northern New York and they form the backbone of our regional economy. While they may find bureaucracy and regulation frustrating, the vast majority can operate their businesses relatively free and unmolested. As a former business owner of a small online business, I had some real challenges, but regulations and taxes were not near the top of the list.

The North Country is not alone in the challenges it faces. We need to only look at other parts of the Northern Forest Region that stretches across four states from Watertown, NY to Bangor Maine. Despite their lower taxes and less regulation than in New York State, Northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are no better off than Northern New York, or other rural parts of our state. Clearly, other forces are at work here. Low population, long winters, geographic isolation, the rate at which money leaves the area, and the loss of our young people are the real factors shaping our shared economic life. These other forces, not state regulation and taxes, are likely to determine the ultimate success of a business in our area.

In the end, getting involved in a blame game about regulation and the role of state and local governments is a distraction from tackling the truly thorny issues we face. Identifying opportunities, developing and supporting local businesses that use the region’s strengths is a worthy goal, and should be a priority. Homegrown jobs are the best kind since they are less likely to move away.

The Unwinding of Globalizaton May Benefit Region

2009-10-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

One the most important trends of the past generation has been globalization, that is, the development of world trade. There have been numerous trade agreements by the World Trade Organization to promote trade and reduce barriers to the free flow of goods and services. In the Western Hemisphere, there was the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) creating a trade zone incorporating Canadian natural resources, American capital and Mexican (cheap) labor. Proponents maintain that such arrangements benefit everyone, that globalization is a tide that lifts all boats.

In the brave new world of globalization, local communities and regions have been advised to figure out what they do best and market that product or service to a world market, while multinational corporations at the same time dominant some sectors of their local economy.

World trade has not been without its problems, and wrenching changes. America manufacturing is disappearing. Jobs were lost first to Mexico, and then later to China. People in industrialized countries have been put in the position of competing against cheaper labor in the Second and Third Worlds. There is nagging doubt about the loss of manufacturing. After all, actually producing something of value is the basis of national (and local) wealth. And we have lost our share of good paying manufacturing jobs here in Northern New York in recent years.

Meanwhile, companies have reduced their production costs with cheaper foreign labor but continue to charge First World prices, creating significant profit margins. World Trade Organization meetings have generated protests, mainly by young people warning of corporate domination and exploitation.

It is too early to tell for sure, but we may have seen the high water mark of globalization due to the combined effects of the financial crisis and the specter of expensive and scarce energy. Capital l is the lifeblood of world trade, and the lack of money to borrow will affect many business enterprises. The closing of retail outlets is expected to reach 500,000 nationwide over a three year period, ending in 2010. Cheap energy is also crucial to global trade since product supply lines now stretch across thousands of miles. Scarce or expensive fossil fuels could make transportation of goods over such long distances untenable.

A contraction of world trade would shift attention to national and local economies. Producing goods for local and national use, and closer to these smaller markets will most likely make a comeback in the future. In that possibility, there may be more opportunities for American communities like those in Northern New York.

NYS Budget Deficits Starting to Look Like a Black Hole

2009-10-06T07:46:00.001-07:00

This is a very scary graphic for New Yorkers. It is clear that New York's current level of spending is unsustainable, and that within three years there will likely be a day of reckoning.

Cuts in taxes and state spending will adversely affect North Country counties. As noted in an earlier post, "Other People's Money", residents of our region receive a 400% return on taxes paid out in the form of state spending in the region. This benefit is seen in everything from schools to roads to government jobs, and much more . Unfortunately, any reduction in services would not necessarily translate into reduced taxes, as any savings would be used to address the budget deficit.

Without increased taxes or spending cuts, New York State deficits will be $4 billion dollars in 2011, $13 billion dollars in 2012, and $18 billion dollars in 2013. This is starting to sound very much like the current situation in California. Actually, the contagion is more widespread than the Empire and Golden states. It is estimated that the collective budget deficit for all 50 states will be $350 billion in 2011. Since most states require a balanced budget, taxes will have to rise or services cut.

The 11% cut to non-personnel items in state agency budgets announced on Tuesday will ripple through the region, and is just the beginning. A recovery on Wall Street would help the situation here in New York. Short of a full recovery, the choices will not be easy or painless. With so many folks in Northern New York already on the margins, we know what that means.

Coming Home: a Quiet Success Story

2009-10-06T05:05:00.000-07:00

During the summer of 2008 I was running errands in downtown Canton at lunch. It was a lovely summer day, sunny and warm. Passing the park I saw someone I recognized, his wife, and young children, picnicking in the park. I knew their story. The family had been away and dreamed about coming back home to live and work in the North Country, and here they were. It was a poignant moment.

The young family in the park is not alone. After leaving the area to attend college, a young woman comes home to work in a county office and works tirelessly to improve the local economy. Another young woman from Ogdensburg came home. She had attended college locally and left to take a job. Now she is back in the area, with valuable experience and marketable skills, and happy to be here. A male reader is finishing up his education downstate, but is already looking ahead to coming north again. He will have no trouble finding a job in the health care field.

The return of some of the brightest and mostly likely to succeed young people is one of the region’s quiet success stories. From personal experience, there are many other people who have come home and more will be arriving in the years ahead. They have obtained an education, and a few years of experience that make it possible for them to step in good paying jobs that have become vacant or recently created.

Both St. Lawrence County and St. Lawrence University have started “Coming Home” programs to assist those who are making plans to return to the region. Over time, perhaps, some returnees will bring their business or business ideas with them as well. That is the hope, anyway.

The reasons for coming home are probably as varied and numerous as the returnees. Some are coming back to be close to family, while others want to raise their families here. Others like small towns or wide open spaces. They have seen what has been presented as the good life in the media, and found it wanting. They understand that there won’t be as many dining, shopping, entertainment, or career options, and decided the trade-offs are worth it. Kudos to them, and lucky for us. Their presence, and their skills make our region a better place.

Higher Energy Prices in 2008 were a Warning

2009-10-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

A year ago now gas and heating oil prices were over $4.00, and the implications were a real concern. In May 2008 I had someone who worked for a local fuel company tell me, “I don’t know what the North Country does with $4.50 a gallon heating oil.” By the end of July 2008, it was estimated that heating oil customers in St. Lawrence County were likely to spend $31,000,000 more to heat their homes than in 2007, based on higher prices. Not only was this unaffordable for many people, it would have meant that millions of dollars would not be spent on food, clothing and other goods and services in the community, depressing the local economy, and further spreading the hardship.

The Energy Alliance, a group of local government leaders, social service people and concerned citizens, was focusing on the gathering storm. Meeting regularly in those months, the Alliance wrestled with the potential challenges of unaffordable heating fuel prices. How would people deal with high prices? Would there be people freezing in their beds? Would people start doubling up, leaving empty homes? Where could shelters be located? Was it better to try to keep people in their homes or move them out? If they moved out, what would need to happen to prevent frozen pipes and other damage due to the cold? The questions, concerns and meetings went on and on. It was shaping as an ongoing emergency, a rolling, and slow motion version of the 1998 ice storm.

As we know, prices dropped during the autumn of 2008, and, while fluctuating somewhat since then, are now a couple dollars lower than a year ago. Last October I had a chance to work with an energy expert who told me, “It used to be that prices would go up and the conventional wisdom was that they would come down again. Now that prices are lower, the assumption is that this is temporary and will go up again.”

Energy supplies are also a real concern. Back in February of this year Merrill Lynch predicted that oil supplies could drop by 30 million barrels a day worldwide by 2015 from current levels of 85 million barrels per day. Cantrell oil field in Mexico, along with production in the North Sea and Norway are in decline. There are also above ground issues, such as a lack of refining capacity and aging and declining numbers of oil drilling rigs. It has been estimated that billions of dollars in drilling projects have been scrapped over the past year due to the ongoing financial crisis. Finally, much of today’s oil is being produced in countries not friendly to the U.S.

Over the past several months, a certain level of complacency has set in again. The current lull in energy prices is an opportunity to take energy conservation measures and start to use alternative energy sources so that when high prices or scarce supplies return we are better prepared. In the absence of planning by local or county governments for the next energy crisis, individual action is always an option. Those folks who make some preparations now will find that the gathering storm swirls a little less closely around them.

The North Country's "Invisible" Economy

2009-09-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

According to most conventional standards such as income levels, high unemployment, and welfare rates, Northern New York is generally considered a poor area. One state politician went so far as to describe “the abject poor of Essex County” in a prominent speech years ago. Many folks took exception to that comment. While there is no denying the implications and human costs of a difficult employment situation and poverty, this is not the whole story. The picture of the North Country may look worse on paper than it actually is on the ground.

Despite all the challenges, there is a lot going for this region. One reason for this is the region’s invisible economy, which is something quite different from the “underground economy” that is often reported as working “off the books” and shady or illegal activities.

Our invisible economy is made up of a variety of human activities that make people’s lives better, but are not reflected in state or federal economic indicators. Being land rich (if cash poor), direct use of natural resources, close-knit families and communities, and traditional rural lifestyles offer opportunities for replacing cash income.

Over twenty years ago researcher Shanna Ratner, now of Yellow Birch Consultants, did a study of Crown Point, NY and found that such money-replacement activities were the third largest source of “income “after earned income and government transfers, such as Social Security. Direct use of natural resources, garden produce and livestock raising were found to be major additions to the quality of life of many households.

Some more real life examples of this type of economic activity:

· A family heats with wood instead of heating oil. The average home using heating oil burns 800 gallons per year would spend $2000 on fuel when it costs $2.50 per gallon. Using wood as a fuel saves this family hundreds of dollars each year.

· A young North Country couples moves back home. The husband’s family gives them a building lot, and the wife’s father is a skilled tradesman who helps frame the couple’s home, saving thousands of dollars in building costs.

· A rural family relies on a large garden, freezing and canning, and venison to provide the mainstay of their diet. They also keep chickens and a half dozen beef for their own use and to sell.

I am sure readers can think of many other examples from their own life experience.

By its very nature, determining the actual size in dollars of our invisible economy would be difficult to determine with any certainty. Whatever its actual total dollar benefit, these other forms of economic activity add to the quality life of many North Country residents, giving their families a buffer against the vagaries of the larger economy.

Other People's Money

2009-09-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

What if I told you there was a place that received far more money from its state government than its residents paid out in taxes? Wouldn’t you like to live there?

Well, welcome to Northern New York.

As hard as it may be to believe, North Country residents benefit from large amounts of other people’s money. Without it, the effects of the draining of dollars from the region mentioned in the previous post would be unsustainable.

The myth goes something like this; Northern New York sends a lot of its hard earned money down state to pay for other people’s roads, subways, and welfare. Whole political campaigns have been built on this premise.

The reality is that our way of life in Northern New York is heavily subsidized by money from other New Yorkers. Woe to us if the good folks in the suburbs of Yonkers, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo ever rise up and say no.

This was made clear a few years back with an article in the Watertown Daily Times entitled, “State Pays More Than it Takes, North Country is Net Gainer”. According to this article North Country counties collectively received four times as much money from New York State as was paid by residents in taxes. At the time, Franklin County received nearly eleven times as much from New York State as it paid in taxes, St. Lawrence County received over four times as much as it paid in taxes, Lewis County received over three times more from the state, and Jefferson County received 2.5 times more than it paid. Money from other New Yorkers contributed to our town roads, schools, law enforcement, social services, and corrections, and many other services and institutions. While the Watertown Times article covered four counties, it is safe to assume a similar situation exists for the whole region.

And this does not take into consideration the huge amounts of federal money that comes into the region.

Frankly, it is hard to imagine what life in Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties would be if we could only rely on our own tax revenues. State contributions to the region are a real windfall that needs to be put to the best possible use. One way to do this is to find ways that to keep it from so quickly leaving the region again.

A Colonial Economy?

2009-09-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard the old joke about the North Country being a Third World country and the black fly is its national bird.

We may not be a Third World country, but is our economy a colonial economy? That was what was being said three decades ago about places like Vermont and other northern border areas like Northern New York. Research found that seven out of ten dollars being spent were leaving the area within a week’s time, going to metropolitan areas. One of the major sources of this money will be discussed in a future post. It has been argued banks and businesses were calling the shots for a region located hundreds of miles away. When there was a local presence by these large organizations, outside people were often brought in to fill the well paying jobs. This type of relationship, more than anything else, may account, in part, for the traditional ‘upstate/downstate” divisions in our state politics.

Such a trend is stark in its implications. Economists refer to “leaks” in an economy, but the rate at which money leaves our region is alarming. Our milk, #1 saw logs, and other resources are not being sold to build wealth, but simply pay the bills. In turn, the money received turns over very quickly leaving the local economy almost immediately

Beyond giving it a name or label, there is the whole matter on how to change this dynamic, how to slow down the drain of money and resources, how to keep more of it in the region a little longer. Spending money in ways that stay in the local economy would help. This, along with our geography, is part of the challenge we face as we consider economic development and the prospect of scarce and expensive energy sources here in Northern New York.

THE North Country

2009-09-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

There are thousands of miles of north country between the northern tip of Maine and the Great Plains. All these regions are on the margins of American life, with colder climate, poorer soil and weaker economies than the rest of the nation. All this is familiar to Franklin New Hampshire and Franklin counties in Maine, Vermont and New York. Bob Dylan sang about it in “Girl from the North Country” and “North Country Blues”. The Green Mountain Trading Post in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has a community calendar called “North Country Notes”. Meanwhile, in 1997 Howard Mosher wrote a book entitled North Country about the northern borderland of the U.S. and Canada. Forty years ago a young poet, self-proclaimed “Captain America”, living in a Rochester suburb pined for the St. Lawrence Valley when s/he wrote a poem that began …”and so my friend, how are things in the North Country…..”
So, with the phrase north country so commonly used and shared, how is it that our neck of the woods has come to be known as THE North Country?
Perhaps the answer lies with Irving Bacheller, the region’s best know author, and his most famous book, EBEN HOLDEN: A TALE OF THE NORTH COUNTRY, published in 1900. Depending how you want to frame it, this work was the last best seller of the nineteenth century or the first best seller of the 20th century, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. It was also turned into a New York play. In any case, it was his ode to the North Country including local dialect and folklore. Despite the fact that Bacheller’s northern New York was already starting to disappear with the beginning of the new century, the identification with the phrase North Country may have been fixed in regional consciousness at that time.
A century later the phrase is very much with us. Its boundaries and definition may vary widely from person to person, but the experience of place is something that we share and that binds us together. While there may be many physical characteristics to point to, north country may be as much about a state of mind.

"Sustainability Today"

2009-09-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Naming a blog is not as easy as it might seem. Some names are quite mundane like “Bob’s blog”. Other names sound exotic or the meaning is not readily apparent like “The Archdruid Report” or “Causabon’s Book”.

So I decided to keep it simple.

Sustainability today. It is meant in a couple different ways. What does sustainability mean to us in the early years of the 21st century, at this particular point in history?

The other meaning is with a sense of urgency, but not desperation. Sustainability today. Not tomorrow. Not next week, not next month, or next year. A little like “Peace Now”, but more specific and focused.

Whether we come at sustainability from the perspective of climate change, peak oil, resource depletion, financial crisis, or simplicity and frugality, living more sustainable lives, making our communities more sustainable is the central task of our times. There is not a day or a person to waste, and today is what we have to work with to move things forward.

I am actually pretty optimistic about the future of the North Country in all this. It has some definite strengths. I hope to share those as well as other thoughts about sustainability in the region in the coming weeks.

Tilting Windmills: Getting to "Win-Win" in Hammond

2009-09-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the opportunity to facilitate, not one, but two lengthy, sometimes heated discussions about the wind law in Hammond. An outside company has come to town wanting to build an industrial scale wind facility, and the community has become divided in a variety of ways: a sizeable number of people are unhappy with the town government, newcomer and old timer, summer folks and year round residents. At the end of one of the meetings I stepped outside my prescribed role, and spoke about the need for Hammond residents on both sides of the issue to figure out their bottom line and then look for a “win-win” solution.

So how might Hammond or Cape Vincent, or Clayton, for that matter, get to “win-win” on the wind power issue in their towns? Someone in Hammond, anyway, commented that the wind issue is the only thing that divides town residents. If that is the case, then I find that encouraging. It would mean that there is a reservoir of good will and common ground to reach a broad agreement that would truly move the community forward.

What might that process look like?
• Stop the personal attacks
• Stick to the issues.
• Each side needs to figure out their “bottom line” on what they can live with.
• Bring in a mediator.
• Both sides need to realize that if the town is not united in their approach, only the company will benefit.
• Consider a moratorium of specific time duration to buy time to deal effectively with the outside company.
• Hire a consultant to assist in dealing with the wind companies.
• Put out a Request For Proposals that would make wind companies compete to offer the community the best deal.
• Work for concessions of electric power and economic development funding from the successful developer to benefit the whole community.
• Explore other green energy options such a solar facilities or grass pelleting.

Based on what I heard, I am not sure that folks in Hammond realize they are in the driver’s seat on this issue. Their wind is a desirable resource, and they need to hold out for a good deal. North Country communities have struggled so long that they are often too quick to please anyone who holds out the promise of money, jobs, or a different future. If the folks in Hammond go for “win-win” in the community, it would be an excellent warm up for going for “win-win” with a wind company.

A Place Apart

2009-09-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Many North Country residents consider Northern New York a special place for a variety of reasons. One of its most significant features is our geography-- that it has been –and remains very much a place apart. Sometimes it does not seem that way; after all, we do get cable. But try to get out of here on any given winter morning, when you absolutely, positively need to be in Syracuse, Albany or elsewhere. It can be an adventure.
It has always been this way. For American colonists, the rugged Adirondacks proved an effective barrier to northward settlement. When settlement did start in earnest it was nearly two decades after the American Revolution in the early 1800’s. To put this in perspective, the Northwest Territories (Ohio and Michigan) had been opened to settlement with the Northwest Ordinance in the late 1780’s and the Lewis and Clark Expedition started a couple years before Canton, NY was founded in 1806.
When settlement did come, it was a westward migration from overcrowded Vermont, across Lake Champlain. It was primarily a youth movement, a new generation looking for tillable land, and in many cases the settlers were just passing through on their way west, or stayed just a few years. Even now, Northern New York is not a popular destination, but a region most people pass through on their way to Western New York or east to Vermont.
Today, Northern New York is on the margins of the larger society, backed up against the border with Canada to the north and isolated geographically by mountains to the south.
None of this takes away from the natural beauty and sense of community that is also a part of the North Country. At the same time, recognizing that our geography makes us “a place apart” needs to be considered in meeting not only our current circumstances, but in addressing our future economic and energy challenges as well.