What with all the snow, it may not be the first item to catch our eye... but on Thursday, Feb. 17, New York State Office of Climate Change policy analyst Mark Lowrey will discuss strategies that every local community and resident can use to save tax dollars and help the environment at a free program being offered at at the Stuyvesant Town Hall by the Columbia County Environmental Management Council at 7 p.m. Lowrey will outline the benefits to towns that join the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities Program, which assists communities statewide in curbing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to global climate change act by adopting a 10-point pledge. Each point addresses a specific area of action that can save tax dollars, and promote health and safety, affordability, economic vitality and quality of life in those communities. The Climate Smart Communities Program also helps citizens create local climate action plans, reduce utility bills for municipal facilities and operations, cut municipal energy use for transportation, engage in green buying practices, and incorporate climate change considerations into comprehensive plans, Simonsen added. And remember, climate change makes for shifts in the weather in all directions, including great precipitation and cold snaps. It's something to pay attention to...