• This Municipal Community team is  headed by Phil Coleman of Swarthmore, works with businesses, churches, nonprofits and local government to help them with their unique energy efficiency issues.  Proposed action items include:Replace municipal government vehicles with hybrid and smaller vehicles, where practical to do so.
  • Convert one police‐officer year of time to bicycle or foot patrol
  • Conduct energy efficient retrofits of municipal buildings
  • Replace office equipment with EnergySTAR‐rated equipment; implement energy saving lighting policies.
  • Replace mercury vapor streetlights with LED lamps.
  • Encourage municipal employees to commute more often by shared or non‐motorized modes of travel.
  • Expand existing tree planting programs.
  • Create water ordinances leading to reductions in water usage
  • Implement a commercial energy efficiency education campaign
Members of the Environmental Advisory Councils (EAC) of each of the four local communities worked closely with the Temple group to ensure the Climate Change Action Plan was appropriate and achievable.  The joint Temple/EAC team established the emissions reduction target of 20% below 2005 emissions levels by the year 2020 and created a list of action items to achieve that goal.
To carry out the Action Plan, the ongoing volunteer organization, aFewSteps.org, was created.  aFewSteps.org is currently going through the process of becoming a 501(c)3 organization.
Commercial/Municipal Team
This team, headed by Phil Coleman of Swarthmore, works with businesses, churches, nonprofits and local government to help them solve with their unique energy efficiency issues.  Proposed action items include:
  • Replace municipal government vehicles with hybrid and smaller vehicles, where practical to do so.
  • Convert one police‐officer year of time to bicycle or foot patrol
  • Conduct  energy efficient retrofits of municipal buildings
  • Replace office equipment with Energy STAR‐rated equipment; implement energy saving lighting policies.
  • Replace mercury vapor streetlights with LED lamps.
  • Encourage municipal employees to commute more often by shared or non‐motorized modes of travel.
  • Expand existing tree planting programs.
  • Create water ordinances leading to reductions in water usage
  • Implement a commercial energy efficiency education campaign

Residential Team
This team, headed by Beth Murray of Swarthmore, works with residents to share energy efficiency and cost savings ideas and offer information and solutions for real-world problems.  Proposed action items include:
  • Implement a residential energy efficiency education campaign
  • Implement a program of energy retrofits of existing residential buildings
  • Encourage homeowners & landlords to install solar PV and hot water systems andgeothermal heat pumps
  • Encourage reduction in travel miles through a community low‐carbon transportation education program.
  • Encourage residents to switch some car trips per week to bicycle, transit, and walking
  • Encourage residents to buy hybrid vehicles
  • Reduce emissions from solid waste disposal (increased recycling, composting, and waste reduction)
  • Green power purchases
Schools Team
This team is headed by Bruce Grant of Nether Providence.  The Schools Team is dedicated to supporting the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District and Swarthmore College in reducing their energy profiles and in teaching about environmental issues.
Marketing Team
This team is headed by Jennifer Smuts of Swarthmore.  The Marketing Team creates written, graphic and video materials in support of the three outreach teams above.  This team also maintains the aFewSteps.org website.
Technical Team
This team is headed by David Director of Nether Providence.   The Technical Team provides backup research and information on energy-saving technologies, costs, advantages and disadvantages.
Policy Team
This team is headed by Thurm Brendlinger of Swarthmore.  This Policy Team provides information to residents, businesses, and schools about programs such as tax incentives, grants, and rebates that are available to help pay for energy-saving investments.  They also work with local and state governments to help create new incentives based on nationwide best practices.
If you would like to volunteer to join one of the aFewSteps.org teams, please contact us at info@aFewSteps.org.


  • A few steps is using education, outreach, grant incentives,
  •  and other encouragement,
  •  as well as changes in zoning, building codes, and operations, we are committed to fulfilling our promise of “More Green in Our Pockets and Communities” and to spreading optimism about a leaner, cleaner energy future.