Green for Everyman

by John Cronin

Is the Hudson Valley a hothouse of green-consciousness? The Organic Mechanic, otherwise known as Ron Elberth, certainly thinks so. Elberth started his Saugerties, NY-based business, The Organic Mechanic, in 2003, servicing the Hudson Valley with the installation of electrical, heating, and plumbing systems. Soon he specialized in energy-efficient installations, solar and geothermal systems, and creative, innovative ways to help his clients reduce their carbon footprints. Over the past five years, he’s witnessed a rise in awareness, an increase in business, and, in general, a greater commitment to protecting the Hudson Valley. In the past year alone, he’s noticed a spike.

 

 

 

Organic Mechanic's Evangelistic Carbon Reduction

by John Cronin

here is never a shortage of good green intentions, especially in our liberal Hudson Valley. Often, however, there is a shortage of funds to back these intentions. Or so we may think. It runs through the minds of many when they hear talk of solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, net-zero efficiency: How I would love to, but I just can’t afford it. Sean Ritchey and Jim Decker of Deep Green Building in Kingston understand this common concern. That’s why they do all they can to make their services available to the ordinary property owner.

 

 

The Hudson - In Our Own Write

by John Cronin

Sal Paradise, Jack Kerouac’s alter ego in On the Road, heads west in July, 1947 after months of poring over maps, and studying the exploits of western pioneers from his home in Paterson, New Jersey. By subway, trolley, and hitched rides, he wends his way trough New York City and Yonkers, up the Hudson to the Bear Mountain Bridge and Route 6, which winds ever west on his road map—“one long red line… that led from the tip of Cape Cod clear to Ely, Nevada.”