Contents of RauwLetter June 2010
- Summer's A Great Time to Conserve
- EPA Issues Its Climate Change Indicators Report
- Food for Thought - Hold the Gulf Shrimp
- 2009 Top 25 Cities With the Most Energy Star Labeled Buildings
- Living Green ... In NYC
Living Green ... In NYC
One may not think of moving into a city as a carbon footprint-minimizing step to take. Cites are generally noisy, smoggy and congested. But, if you don’t mind noise, smog and congestion, city dwellers have a much smaller environmental footprint than do suburbanites.
I recently moved to New York City and hadn’t even thought about getting in a car for weeks until an ill-fated trip to New Rochelle. I drove to Westchester County from New York City. It was raining, traffic was horrendous and my radio wasn’t working. What should have taken me 24 minutes, took almost an hour and a half. It was no fun and a little treacherous as I watched my gas indicator dip into the red zone. At that point, I was yearning for a subway or even a bus to take me where I needed to go.
In the city, the convenience of mass transit is a major advantage. Mass transit has become my close friend. For $2.25 I can travel all the way downtown or uptown or go on a 20-minute ride to Yankee Stadium to catch a game. “According to the 2000 U.S. Census, New York City is the only locality in the United States where more than half of all households do not own a car (the figure is even higher in Manhattan, over 75%; nationally, the rate is 8%).”
Because of this high rate of mass transit ridership, “New York saves half of all the oil saved by transit nationwide and prevents 11.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution, making New Yorker’s greenhouse gas emissions 7.1 metric tons per person compared with the national average of 24.5.” (Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions, April 2007) But it’s not just the availability of mass transit that makes New York City green.
Acknowledging a forecasted growth in population and, along with the population growth, an increased demand for energy, New York has initiated several environmental policies and initiatives. More than 11,000 traffic lights and “Don’t Walk” signals have been switched to energy-efficient LEDs. Light Emitting Diodes use 90% less energy than conventional fixtures. As well, “over 180,000 inefficient refrigerators in public housing projects have been replaced with new ones that use a quarter of the power of the old ones.” (PlaNYC)
Not only does NYC law state that city government must purchase only the most energy efficient equipment, air conditioners and cars, the “Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and 22 other federal buildings in New York City, an annual electricity demand of roughly 27 million kilowatt hours, is provided by wind power.” (Gotham Gazette, March 2006)
In addition to mandating LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards in non-residential public buildings and in private projects that receive $10 million or more in public funds, the city has the largest fleet of hybrid buses in the country; catalytic converters have been installed onto the exhausts of the remaining diesel city buses.
The construction of two biodiesel plants in Brooklyn will not only put people back to work, they will provide fuel for city transportation and, eventually, for New York City Public School boilers. And, those noisy 5 a.m. garbage pick ups - the NYC Department of Sanitation is currently field-testing a hydraulic-hybrid compressed natural gas truck which will provide the environmental benefits of natural gas versus diesel while improving gas mileage and torque. Pollutant benefits of natural gas versus diesel include “67 to 94% less particulate matter, which means fewer asthma attacks. 32 to 73% fewer nitrogen oxides, which leads to less smog. 69 to 83% fewer nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions, which means inhaling fewer toxins.” Noise reduction benefits include, “79.5 to 69.3 decibels alongside the truck and 72.2 to 66.9 decibels behind the truck.” (Inform – Strategies for a Better Environment, Natural Gas Refuse Trucks: Driving Change in NYC, April 2006)
The strategies and changes in place geared towards a greater, greener New York City are inspiring. From new bike paths all over the city to pedestrian malls and walkways on what were formerly car-intense areas to planting a million trees, New York City is on a path to becoming the world’s showcase of sustainability.
