Climate Change
Streetsblog Basics
Grist: NYC is Not One of the World’s Greenest Cities
Grist recently produced a list of the world's 15 greenest cities. Streetsblog favorites Copenhagen, Curitiba, London, and Bogotá all made the grade. StreetFilms' posterchild Portland captured the number two spot right behind geothermal-powered Reykjavik, Iceland. San Francisco and Austin were the only other U.S. cities to make the list with Chicago meriting runner-up status.
August 3, 2007
Sadik-Khan: Many Initiatives Are Under Way…
Today's Crain's Insider, available to subscribers only, reports on the next steps for the Bloomberg Administration's broader Long-Term Sustainability Plan now that congestion pricing has cleared its first hurdle in Albany:
July 30, 2007
Dying to Get to Work
As New York State sets up a commission to study the costs and benefits of New York City's congestion pricing proposal, a new study by the Clean Air Task Force finds that, for many New Yorkers, the greatest exposure to dangerous and unhealthy air pollution comes during the daily commute. "Although we spend only about six percent of our day commuting to and
from work, it is during that time when we receive over half of our
exposure" to diesel exhaust, researchers found.
July 27, 2007
Count SUVs for the Brian Lehrer Show Today
WNYC's Brian Lehrer wants to know how many SUV's there are on your block. You've got until next Thursday to do it. It's an experiment in "crowdsourcing." Submit your results here.
July 26, 2007
Americans Vote for Fuel Efficiency. Why Do They Buy Guzzlers?
With new fuel economy standards under consideration in Congress, James Surowiecki ponders why Americans continue to buy gas guzzlers when polls show that the majority would like to see the government mandate big increases in fuel efficiency. What does all of this have to do with professional hockey players wearing helmets? This was in last week's New Yorker:
July 25, 2007
NYC’s Greenest Building Cracks Down on Bikes (Updated)
The Solaire building in Battery Park City bills itself as "America's first environmentally advanced residential tower." Here is a letter that building management just sent to all tenants:
July 18, 2007
7/7/07: The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook
The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook is the official
companion volume to today's Live Earth concerts, 24 hours of nonstop
concerts broadcast from around the world on 7/7/07. It's a fun little book, meant to connect with a younger audience via tongue-in-cheek suggestions, practical advice, factual information, and imaginative, bluesky solutions for climate change.
July 7, 2007
Mayor Speaks at Times Square Pricing Rally
Supporters of congestion pricing rallied yesterday in Times Square, urging state lawmakers to act by July 16 on Mayor Bloomberg's initiative or risk losing $500 million in federal funds. "The time is now," said the mayor, according to the New York Post. "We cannot walk away from this opportunity."
July 6, 2007
The Suburbanist Paradox
The Atlantic Monthly's Matthew Yglesias argues that high-density living is a key strategy to fight climate change. Yglesias takes issue with fellow Atlantic Online blogger Ross Douthat and author Joel Kotkin, who defend suburban sprawl -- what James Kunstler has famously called "the most destructive development pattern the world has ever seen, and perhaps the greatest misallocation of resources the world has ever known." Reporting on a recent talk by Kotkin, Douthat writes:
July 6, 2007
Times Says: We Must Pay More for Fossil Fuels
The New York Times published an editorial today about "an unpleasant and inescapable truth: any serious effort to fight [global] warming will require everyone to pay more for energy."
July 6, 2007