Just back from the cold of New York. Coldest snap in three years; three days hovering around zero degrees. Tough timing for a Southern Californian but I’m the right guy for these conditions: I love the cold and dress in layers.

Struck by the cold on the JetBlue jetway at JFK; more so on the Long Island Railroad platform waiting for the Huntington train; then progressively colder up the Taconic to Dutchess County. What a thrill to immerse in farmland, the forested hills in winter.

The mission: Developing a carbon neutrality strategy for a New York prep school. Four months of analysis – geothermal, efficiency, solar, and renewable transportation fuels — and four presentations on campus on the school’s opportunity for leadership. First to students in environmental studies and economics. Then the Carbon Neutrality Planning Committee. They get the full 68-slide deck. Then to the Board’s Physical Resources Committee, and finally to the full Board of Trustees. Applause. There’s lots of interest.

EcoMotion establishes baseline use in energy and carbon units. We present findings of 101 viable efficiency measures throughout the 44 buildings on campus. We analyze the School’s solar potential and New York incentives. A three-phase plan incorporates efficient new construction and multiple, new geothermal systems. The plan meets the 2020 goal. Despite low power rates unattractive to PPA providers, EcoMotion presents a financial model that bestows huge rewards over time, turning “the costs” of climate protection into profit for the School.