A 'green' energy advocate leads by example

Part of that issue, as Freygang sees it, is the misconception that "the country takes care of itself."

She has lived here close to 15 years, and heads back to the city several times a week to paint. And so she sees firsthand how easy it is to think of Cornwall as a pristine place.

"When you're just here on the weekends, or you lived for years in the city, it's easy to see Cornwall as perfect in comparison. Yes, it's beautiful and unspoiled for the most part, but it has its environmental issues."

Some will say more space per person means less cumulative impact on the environment, but Freygang said it shouldn't be viewed that way.

"Everyone, everywhere should simply think of themselves as a human being on the planet," she said. "We have to be especially mindful because many of us are using more resources than the average person when we have two homes that are using energy and we are driving back and forth between them.

"Even if you don't travel, there are issues that arise from living in the country. We drive everywhere. We travel many miles to shop and do day-to-day errands. We enjoy a cleaner environment here, but that doesn't mean we aren't among the bigger polluters."

Freygang launched an awareness effort, beginning with the showing of "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary about Al Gore's quest to convince people of global warming.

"Back then, the town was not ready for a resolution, so we had a monthly film festival."

It didn't take long for interest in documentary films to wan. But Freygang had gotten the attention of town officials. She was asked to go to an energy forum in Hartford to see what other towns in the state were doing to inspire residents.

"I found out about groups we could tap into for information and initiatives, such as SmartPower. I came back with a proposal."

The plan was to start small, and it started simply by getting people talking. By then, everyone was feeling the crunch of rising gas, heat and electricity costs. They were beginning to look for solutions.

Exactly one year ago, Cornwall passed a resolution needed to join SmartPower's 20 percent by 2010 program.

An initial surge of residents signed up to get their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and landfill gases. When momentum slowed, Freygang and a small group of dedicated residents rallied with sales of energy-efficient light bulbs. At a new farmer's market on the Wish House lawn in West Cornwall and anywhere something public was going on, they showed up with SmartPower signup forms.

"At the farmers' market on a Saturday, we might pick up two or three people. That was the way it was going to work and we kept at it."

They caught the attention of the Cornwall Association.

"This is a bunch of very skilled people who work very well together at all kinds of things. With their resources, we were able to plan that fabulous energy fair we had last November. They initially asked me what I wanted to have at the fair. I told them 'everything,' and that's almost what we had."

Since then, Cornwall has gone beyond 20 percent of residents and businesses turning to renewable energy. The town may be the leader in the nation, percentage-wise. It earned at least one (and in a final accounting, maybe two) solar voltaic systems. The plan is for installation at Cornwall Consolidated School later this spring, and to gain more awareness with a big, celebratory event when a portion of the school goes "off the grid."

The future will bring a more concentrated effort at learning and changing.

"The task force is such a dedicated group of people," Freygang said. "I see us doing workshops where people can go through all their habits and chart a footprint of their energy lifestyle. We can actually give them a score, which is the number of ergs [a unit of energy] it takes to maintain their lifestyle."

A preliminary look shows Cornwallians use slightly below the national average.

"It's still not good enough," she said. "We need to do better and be an example."