Is the Result of Spring Cleaning Clogging Your Hallway?
Bring it to the Swap Fest this Weekend!
People throw away the craziest stuff in this city. My family members who live in the West Village--an area that experiences lots of upper echelon move ins and outs these days--have practically equipped my kitchen with the stainless steal appliances in it. They were on the sidewalk and not at a sidewalk sale. 
My toaster might have come from this pile.
While it is insane and often infuriating that people are so wasteful, I understand that closet cleanses sometimes leave cramped hallways even more obstacle course like. We usually find some excuse to not bag up our stuff and figure out where to take it...even though there are plenty, like the one happening this weekend at Build it Green's warehouse in Astoria.
The block party/Swap Fest takes place this Saturday, May 10th and is the first one that the lovely people of Build it Green are hosting. New Yorkers discard some 12,000 tons of waste each day that is exported to landfills and incinerators in other states and they are asking us to not be part of that ugly, expensive, and environmentally degrading process. I definitely have some hallway emptying to do. See you there.
Taken right from their website:
WHAT TO BRING: Items that are no longer useful to you, but can be reused
by others. You don't need to bring anything to take anything (though a
tote bag might help). Bring friends and family too!
WHAT NOT TO BRING: No furniture/large items, drugs/medications,
weapons/dangerous objects, adult movies/magazines or pets/pethair
covered items.
Stop & Swap is being held at the Build It Green! Warehouse
Address:
3-17 26th Ave
Astoria, NY 11102
When:
May 10, 2008
11am-4pm
The Green Queen Bee
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School on the Hudson
The New School to be Exact
Eugene Lang College, of the New School offers a course each year entitled Lang on the Hudson in which students learn about the Hudson River estuary, harbor geography and the policies that are shaping the use of this water way after many years of neglect. Then they build a boat and set sail on the very river they have been learning about.
Students construct a 26-foot Whitehall gig, a traditional four-oared rowing vessel specifically designed for the waters of New York Harbor. Once the water warms up, they launch the boat and learn the basics of fixed-seat rowing and harbor seamanship.
From its description, this class seems to have struck the perfect balance of theory, science, politics, and hands on experience. I would argue that there are not that many people in the city who know how to build a Whitehall gig so these folks are clearly at an advantage if we ever need a bunch of those. But really, an opportunity to combine so many disciplines in one course is unique and I am eager to see that boat on the water. For more info, you can email them at langonthehudson@gmail.com.
PlaNYC Progress
It's Finals Time for the City Too
As the academic year comes to a close, it seems like an appropriate time to give the city a grade for its progress on PlaNYC--its project of greening the city. The New York League of Conservation Voters has done just that. Well no grade yet actually. Just a progress report. 
The press release for the report states: "In the year since the launch of PlaNYC, the Bloomberg administration has made significant strides in implementing its sustainability goals. But a new report by the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund concludes that the administration should prioritize its actions in the next 20 months to ensure that future city administrations continue and enhance the effort to create a greener New York City."
We at CISC couldn't agree more. If there is any hope of this plan staying afloat in a post Bloomberg NYC, significant steps (read: legislation must be passed!) towards realizing the plan. Congestion pricing, if anything was an example of the uphill battle the city faces in turning the project of PlaNYC into a reality. This progress report commends the positive steps already taken, while highlighting where we could be doing more.
Bridges Are Windy Places
Wind Turbines Might do Well There
Andrea Polli, the Director of the MFA Program in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College is concerned about the connection between the quality of life and aesthetics. So when the city was preoccupied with the cost of the energy bill to light the "pearl string" bulbs of the Queensboro Bridge, she started thinking of ways to ensure this East River gem remains lit, and sustainably at that. Her short film, The Queensboro Wind Power Project, is a journey through this process. 
"The Queensboro Wind Power project presents a vision of a future when meeting energy needs can enhance the beauty of a city by investigating how clean, renewable wind power could be integrated into the landmark architecture of the Queensboro Bridge."
As the debate continues about whether or not wind-turbines are good looking, I would ask that those who call them an eye-sore think about the benefits--aesthetics even--that modern energy provides them with. The pearl necklace of the Queensboro is just one of the many things we probably take for granted.
Gray is the New Green
Being Green More Efficient ain't Easy
There is no doubt that Green is now in vogue--or Vanity Fair--but there is much work to be done that is not quite as fashionable. This month's article "Waste Not" in The Atlantic highlights the fact that the American energy economy wastes about 55% of the energy it consumes. Japan in its entirety could be powered by our wasted energy.
Wasted Potential.
Essentially, our inability to harness the steam, furnace gases, heat and pressure that are all involved in our domestic energy production, allows $50 billion to float away in a cloud of smoke. And what is most surprising is that the technological fixes we need to combat this inefficiency are not new, or very expensive for that matter. There has been widespread reluctance to implement these advancements if the pay back period extends two years. Talk about short sighted...
Business as usual remains unchanged for a multitude of reasons. Ranging from technical to cultural, there are certainly some self imposed barriers to entry in this field. But there are some exemplary plants outlined in the article. ArcelorMittal steel mill in East Chicago, Indiana, has capitalized on technology from Primary Energy/EPCOR USA. The results: Purchase of coal-fired power has been halved, carbon emissions
have been reduced by 1.3 million tons a year, and they saved more than $100 million. It seems that they are far more equipped to deal with the current energy crisis and the coming energy transition. Their green is a hint grayer.