Regional reports: Mid-Atlantic
In this issue...
Hello from New York City
Martin Wallace (NY)
Committing to sustainable energy in
NY
Gail Karlsson, CitNet Energy
& Climate Change WG (NY)
Planning sustainable events, community
action tools publications released
Susan Boyd, Concern, Inc. (DC)
Life quality project launched in Delaware
Valley
Bill Marston, Delaware Valley Sustainability (PA)
New York
Hello
from New York City!
By Martin Wallace, 4th Street Co-op
This city might seem to represent the polar opposite of sustainability,
but it is truly remarkable to see the kinds of things that are going
on here these days.
First of all, you all know what happened at the World Trade Center
in 2001, but you might not know that the memorial and new buildings
planned for that site include some interesting new sustainable twists,
of which the most notable are wind turbines and hanging gardens. The
turbines are going to generate about 20-30 percent of the energy needs
of the building they are on.
Another fantastic sustainable activity happening in New York is guerilla
gardening. There is a group here in town that identifies vacant lots
and starts cleaning them up and gardening in them while notifying
the city of land that can be (and often is) purchased and added to
the green areas of New York to be enjoyed by all.
This city is also home to a large and growing group of cyclists and
the group "Transportation Alternatives" leads the way in making areas
and intersections safer for walkers and bikers. One project currently
underway is a campaign to take back Central Park. There is a road
that runs through the park, apart from the roads that are east-west
connectors, and this road is starting to be taken back by
walkers and bikers. There are now car-free hours on the road during
the week and the weekend.
Personally, I am involved with community gardening, I will be joining
a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I am learning how to do
indoor gardening in this city of apartment living. The CSA program
is a great way to support the farms near the city, and the community
gardens are an extension of the successes of the Guerilla Gardeners.
I also work at the 4th street Coop downtown, which is one of three
worker owned and run cooperative groceries in town and which purchases
some of its food from local farmers.
As for my own two cents worth of citizen commentary. I think that,
in order to develop more sustainably in this city major things need
to happen. Parking spaces on the street need to be reduced while raising
the fare charged to drive and park in NYC. A driving tax, such as
what London and a couple other cities have instituted, would help
generate revenue for the improved transit that will be necessary when
people start driving less in Manhattan. And, finally, pedestrian and
cycling improvments, such as wider sidewalks, more parks and car-free
streets, and more bike lanes, would help to make New York City not
just a sustainable city, but a more enjoyable city to be in.
The road to sustainability is a long one and it includes many challenges
for all of us. For those of us who have grown up in the US, I think
it will be particularly difficult for us to change our habits. I am
happy to see that there is a paper out here which will provide a forum
for learning about and truly understanding what "sustainability" is.
I hope there will be a seventh generation that will benefit from the
work we are starting to do now.
Commiting to sustainable energy
in New York
By Gail Karlsson, CitNet Energy and Climiate Change Working Group
April
26. There have been three recent meetings at which New York
politicians have expressed their commitment to sustainable development
principles, including Governor Pataki, NYC Department of Environmental
Protection Commissioner Chris Ward, and NYC Comptroller William Thompson.
This is very encouraging, and there appear to be new openings for
discussing ways to promote sustainability in New York. Some highlights
of the three events include:
- Governor Pataki spoke at Columbia University on April 23 at a
symposium entitled, "Earth's
Future: Taming the Climate". He emphasized the need for
breakthroughs in energy efficiency and use of renewables to reduce
U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and called for new investments in
alternative technologies that create jobs and economic growth here
at home instead of sending payments to foreign countries. He pointed
to progress New York State is making on its own through its green
building tax credit, net
metering law, NYSERDA
grants for research on fuel cells and distributive energy, and
government procurement
to build markets for alternative fuel vehicles. He also cited
Executive Order
111 calling for the NYS government to reduce energy consumption
by 35% by 2010, and the NYS 20% renewable portfolio standard. He
issued a challenge to Americans to establish national goals that
will help break our dependence on imported oil, for national security
reasons as well as climate protection.
- NYC DEP Commissioner Chris Ward spoke at a April
20 New York Regional Energy and Water Workshop sponsored by
the Earth Institute at
Columbia University, Brookhaven
National Laboratory, and the Electric
Power Research Institute. The Commissioner noted DEP's leadership
on sustainable development and environmental issues. He spoke primarily
about the city's water supply and dependability. Although conservation
programs have been used effectively to reduce demand, the city has
a $16 billion capital development plan for water supply and wastewater
treatment improvements. On green buildings, the Commissioner said
the technology is there, and mentioned possibilities for green roofs,
PV power generation, and on-site water treatment and irrigation
systems. He said the DEP is looking at building codes, and design
guidelines for city buildings. A possible area for follow-up would
be to help DEP identify practical and policy obstacles that hinder
the development of green buildings in New York City. (For more information,
contact Cynthia Rosenzweig at crosenzweig@giss.nasa.gov).
- NYC Comptroller William Thompson sponsored an April
14 conference on Creating a High-Performance City. He, too,
stressed the need to use alternatives to fossil fuels to address
national security and climate change concerns. He mentioned the
difficulties in siting conventional power plants within the city,
and pointed out that solar panels and other forms of distributed
power can be integrated into the infrastructure of a neighborhood
in a way that power plants cannot. Use of renewable power would
allow us to address our long-term energy needs without damaging
the quality of life in our communities or sacrificing our waterfront
areas, and holds great promise in terms of potential for economic
growth and skilled manufacturing jobs in and around New York City.
The Comptroller has taken an activist approach on investment of
the City's pension funds in companies that adopt sustainability
guidelines and can help develop sustainable energy resources. He
is committed to fostering a dialogue about these issues so that
we can work together to develop a shared vision for the future of
our city. (For more information, contact Nancy Anderson at nanders@comptroller.nyc.gov.)
The Citizens Network for Sustainable Development is currently collecting
ideas and examples of sustainable development in NYC on its regional
NYC section of the website and is working to promote dialogue
with interested officials. Please add your contributions!
Washington, DC
New publications for community action
By Susan Boyd, CONCERN
CONCERN manages both the Sustainable
Communities Network website, and Smart
Growth Online, a service of the Smart Growth Network. These educational
websites showcase initiatives, news, case studies, funding sources,
awards and events around the country. They also provide thousands
of resources as well as highlight institutions working on a variety
of sustainability issues. The Sustainable Communities Network website
currently features CONCERN's latest publications, Placemaking:
Tools for Community Action and How to Plan a Sustainable
Event, which are free to download. Smart Growth Online offers
a free weekly subscription service and the two very popular editions
of Getting to Smart Growth I and II which are available
electronically. In the Greater Washington Region CONCERN is documenting
and will be disseminating examples of local sustainability initiatives
and continues to collaborate with other organizations working to promote
sustainability.
Pennsylvania
Life
quality project launched in Delaware Valley
By Bill Marston, Delaware Valley Sustainability
Delaware Valley Sustainability is conducting a Life Quality Project.
It will establish sets of indicators on the quality of life in the
entire Delaware River watershed (this massive river is surely the
largest watershed east of the Mississippi).
Citizen participants, through a self-organizing initiative using
FutureSearch, selected
a dozen indicator categories. These group leaders are now assembling
their teams and selecting appropriate measures.