"What we really need to do is help people make their homes energy-efficient, to give them mass transit choices," says Roger Smith, energy and climate specialist in Connecticut for the environmental group Clean Water Action.

Roger Smith is the energy and climate specialist in Connecticut for the national environmental group Clean Water Action. He coordinates initiatives to combat global warming with about 90 organizations statewide.

Q. The spike in gas and oil prices last year seemed to encourage energy conservation. What were the most dramatic examples of that in Connecticut?

A. The biggest examples were on the transportation side. We saw massive shifts to public transit to the point where the CTTransit bus system and the Waterbury and Bridgeport Metro North lines were having trouble handling all the passengers who wanted to ride. We only fund these services through the gas tax, so when people aren't driving their cars, mass transit systems are losing revenue while they are gaining riders.

Q. Were "green" initiatives, such as the renewable energy option on electric bills, given a measurable boost by higher fuel costs?

A. I don't think so. It costs a little bit more now to do renewable energy, and I think people are having trouble paying the base bill. We have about 20,000 households across Connecticut that have opted for the alternative energy option for their electricity, from sources like wind and solar power. On the town level, 87 towns out of 169 have committed to powering town buildings with 20 percent renewable energy by 2010. That is really encouraging, but it's a long-term effort.

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