One Earth Day Commitment

The CMRC was lucky enough to honor the students of Academy I Middle School in Jersey City, NJ. The CMRC presented each of Mr. Osenenko's students with certificates of appreciation and a CFL light bulb (no kidding) for each student in honor of their work to protect the ocean and coastal areas surrounding New Jersey and New York.

Check out this link and the below CMRC article describing the students' great work.

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-6/12084999266920.xml&coll=3

We hear almost everyday about what to do to protect the environment. Without providing a list of the many things we can do to help, let's start with just one small commitment. This is the challenge the CMRC presented to the audience at the Academy I Middle School awards program last week:

Simply commit to purchasing one CFL lightbulb and replace one incandescent light bulb in your home this week. If every American did this today, we may have made a real impact this Earth Day.  Climate change is the greatest long term threat to the ocean and our coastal areas. Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will prevent a half-ton of Carbon Dioxide from being released into the atmosphere over the life of the bulb.

And while you're at it make sure to keep tuned in to the CMRC's website for upcoming information on environmentally-friendly practices for businesses and restaurants as we wrap up our two-year Business Stewardship Project.

Hats Off to Academy I Middle School in Jersey City, NJ!!!

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Academy 1 Middle School in Jersey City deserves a huge amount gratitude and recognition for their work to protect our oceans and educate everyone about storm water pollution! On Tuesday, March 18, the “Cimate Academy” team of Mr. Osenenko’s sixth grade students, David Chen, Tsering Bista, Mathew Aquino, Yoonji Oh and Crystal Jahoor, kicked off the campaign "Clean Cities Make Clean Oceans" by painting the storm drains near the school with a stencil that stated “Dump No Waste: Drains to Waterways.”

The students were supported by Mr. Daniel Becht, Executive Director of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority and Mr. Joseph Beckmeyer, Chief Engineer. Packets of paint, brushes, and stencils prepared by the Climate Academy were delivered by The Municipal Utilities Authority so that all the schools could participate in the project on March 24 and March 25, 2008.

The team of five students from Academy I organized themselves into an organization they call The Climate Academy. Sixth graders David Chen, Tsering Bista, Mathew Aquino, Yoonji Oh and Crystal Jahoor first tackled them problem of educating the public about global warming.

They developed two public service announcements that are currently airing on Comcast Channel 1. This was achieved by the support and dedication of The Media Arts High Tech Magnet Program at Snyder High School. The Climate Academy Films were edited by students in the media program. The high school media students were inspired to also enter the contest.

The Climate Academy Team was recently awarded $3000.00 and will now compete for the grand prize. The success of The Climate Academy revolved around the cooperation of Dorie Dunham (Media Instructor), Thomas Horan (Media Arts Tech Program Director), and Grace Moriarty (Principal of Academy I) and Joseph Osenenko (Science Instructor).

Check out the link on Clean Ocean Action's webpage about this work! Thanks to the students and all collaborators for this great work to protect coastal resources!

http://www.cleanoceanaction.org/index.php?id=648

Human Impact on the Seas

Research by scientists in the Feburary 15th issue of the journal Science shows almost none of the world’s seas is free of human impact. Four percent of the ocean is considered nearly pristine while 40 percent is heavily or strongly impacted by human activity.

One of the most widespread impacts researchers found is acidification of ocean water by carbon. This is carbon that comes from human activities usually involving combustion. Increased acidification of the ocean can interfere with the survival and reproduction of marine organisms.

Other impacts include: shipping, fishing, pollution (including solid trash and plastics), invasive species, temperature changes, ultraviolet light, acidification, agricultural runoff and sewage, bottom trawling, and coral reef fishing.

The New York Times reports on the research:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/science/earth/26coas.html

New York Times op-ed on Oceans in Crisis

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/opinion/09sun2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ocean&st=nyt&oref=slogin

.... and Plastic in the Ocean

Is it just me or is everyone having trouble finding a place other than the trash can for plastic grocery bags? The New York City council may have done something to help.

The city council passed an important plastic bag recycling law in January 2008. Stores larger than 5,000 square feet will be required to provide plastic bag recycling bins in a prominent place. This is great news for NYC consumers who often have trouble finding a way to recycle plastic bags.

Plastic bags which can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, can be found almost anywhere in New York City if you look hard enough - slowly tumbling down New York City streets in a light wind, tangled in trees, or stuck in storm drains. Sadly the CMRC has readily found plastic bags floating in the ocean at public beaches, half buried in sand, or flying out of beach trash cans during wind gusts.

CMRC supporters: do your part to recycle plastic bags, join beach clean-ups, and do what you can to reduce plastic bag use!


A link to the legislation:

http://www.nyccouncil.info/html/legislation/legislation_details.cfm?ID=Int%200640-2007&TYPE=all&YEAR=2006&SPONSORS=YES&REPORTS=YES&HISTORY=YES

New York and California are leading the way:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS225842+30-Jan-2008+PRN20080130

The New York Times article about the legislation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/nyregion/10bags.html

Plastics in the Pacific

http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/plastic-soup-debris-in-pacific-002937.php

How to be Green in the NYC Region? It's about the Blue.

Confused and tired of all the “green” marketing out there? Looking for a dynamic and simple way to learn about what it means to be “green” in New York City?

The CMRC is offering interactive morning, lunch, or evening workshops at your location. Find out what “green” means in our area. Discover the fabulous, often unrecognized coastal natural resources in and around the region.

Unlike information you may receive from the media or other sources, your guests will benefit from CMRC’s non-controversial, non-activist oriented presentations. The CMRC works with positive and expansive information and messages.

We come loaded with props, materials, and eye-opening interactive displays about the great blue and the biodiversity surrounding the city.


To discuss booking a speaker and your group’s interests call:

Cortney Worrall, MPA

718-757-1717 or cortney@thecmrc.org



p.s. When you call, let us know if your business is interesting in learning more about CMRC’s
Business Stewardship Awards, offered to businesses that commit to practices which protect
the New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary.

Low Impact Development, THE Answer?

CMRC was lucky to attend a conference last week about Low Impact Development sponsored by the NY- NJ Baykeeper. Congratulations to Baykeeper on a super, very informative event.

First of all, what is Low Impact Development (LID)? Though there are many definitions, here is one of the best definitions presented at the conference:

LID describes methods that treat rainwater as a resource instead of a waste to be moved away from roofs, streets, and sidewalks as quickly as possible. These methods can improve or protect water resources in urban, suburban or rural ecological systems. LID is best defined by each individual community or region.

LID could be an excellent way to reduce combined sewer overflows in the New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary Region, while in addition combating climate change and the heat island effect, not to mention providing energy savings. LID methods that could work here are:

- green roofs

- rain gardens

- rain water collection systems

- grey and black water collection systems

- green streets, or traffic calming features that allow for storm water infiltration


The ultimate challenge, described by Dr. Paul Mankiewicz of the Gaia Institute, is how to bring cities to life - how to change a sterile infrastructure into one with water flowing into fertile places where living organisms can use the water. LID can enhance opportunities for ecological productivity, prevent waste, and mitigate climate change.

Will these methods become a wide scale reality in our region? I believe the answer is yes, if we can continue to show through research that LID is cost effective and can provide the ecological benefits we hope it can.

Data from solid research will help our friends in the sustainability and environmental departments of local governments make the case to decision makers and budget crunchers that these are win-win strategies.

We can also make LID a reality if and only if we can make LID available to the middle and lower classes. And thus we come to that perpetual and great challenge the entire environmental movement faces on a daily basis -- how do we get the funding we need at all levels for better research and affordability?

The CMRC is addressing affordability in an upcoming workshop on paying for green infrastructure to be held in late spring. Keep posted for more information on dates and times.

Last but not least, I am happy to say my predecessors working on CMRC’s first green roof had the foresight to include a comprehensive monitoring component. Results available in the next four to five years.

Mother Nature's Deeper Mood Swings

Over the weekend the press reported findings from the University of New Hampshire showing that since the 1970s Northeast winters are warming and snow cover has been decreasing. The results are the work of a masters student in Earth sciences and geochemical systems, Elizabeth Burakowski.

Though the most striking of the results applies to winters in New England, the trends seem to apply to the Northeast in general and confirm the sentiments of some long time residents.

This research serves as another of many signals that we need to pay greater attention to preventing and adapting to climate change.

Two facts of this news strike me as very interesting.

First the Associated Press quotes Parker Riehle, president of the trade association Ski Vermont. Riehle says, “We've seen some erratic winters in recent years. The mood swings of Mother Nature, perhaps, are deeper than they used to be."

I’m always looking for ways to better describe what climate change means and how the layperson can better grasp the changes that are likely in store. This quote is particularly clear. It is good at describing that not just warming but the variability in temperatures are of concern.

Temperature variability can affect nature and our systems in many ways. A few quick hypothetical (and relatively non-catastrophic, but nonetheless relevant) examples:

- An unusual three week warm spell in February tricks plants and many tree species into blooming. A sudden arctic cold snap bring temperatures down into the twenties three nights in a row. The trees and plants lose their first attempt at blooming and are stressed for the rest of the year having to put out a second set of leaves and/or blossoms. This stress then makes them more susceptible to drought conditions and disease.

- A local Y embarks on an program to save energy and decrease heating costs. Their efforts for the year are set back after a series of very cold days at the end of October when the maintenance staff is prompted to turn on the boilers and get the heat up and running for the winter. The weather quickly warms back up and remains warm for more than a week or two. During this time is it easier for the staff to open the windows and let out the excess heat during the day than turn off the entire system and restart it when it becomes cold again.

The second thing that strikes me about this news is that the press picked up on the work of a masters student. I see this as good news for all graduate students out there wondering if their work will be noticed and if their idealism to make the world a better place is at all warranted. My answer would be an emphatic “Yes!”. Just look at what great research design and the support of a good department and institution can do.

CMRC’s message to non-students and environmental professionals is: “We're glad this research is out there, but let's take this to a higher level and advocate for better research at the local and regional level.”

It is CMRC's hope that universities, agencies, and institutions in our region conduct more coordinated research about long-term trends in climate change and the ways we can work to prevent and adapt to climate change at a regional level. (There is another message here - if you are a graduate student and have research to share with CMRC, don't hesitate to get in touch with us!) ….ckw

See the AP’s article at:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hBpEDT5gaU0IxcfoF1XRKosvg2uQD8U4PQ6G0

Find a link to Elizabeth Burakowski’s abstract and the UNH press release at:

http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2008/jan/bp11warmwinters.cfm

Luaus for Polar Bears

Thanks to all the CMRC supporters who braved the cold and made it to our office for the 2nd Annual Waterfront Luau.  The newly inaugurated Green Roof Polar Bear Club made a trek to the top of the building for a great view of lower Manhattan and a taste of what a green roof in the dead of winter may feel like!  What a great start to the new 2008 projects CMRC has in store. 

We especially want to acknowledge our volunteers and the support and in-kind donations we received from the following companies:  Brooklyn Brewery, Gaiam, Patagonia, Jurlique, Lassen and Hennigs, Outside, and Ecostructure Magazine.  We couldn't have made it such a special evening without you.

The CMRC starts out 2008 with a look at climate change and sea level rise.  Over the next several months, CMRC will post information about climate change and how to get involved.  We will also be finalizing our Business Stewardship Project.  Keep visiting for Business Stewardship events, times, and locations.

Happy New Year from The CMRC.

CMRC Announces Cortney Worrall as Executive Director

Dear Friends of the CMRC,

On behalf of our Board of Directors, we are proud to announce Cortney Worrall as the new Executive Director of the Coastal Marine Resource Center. Please join us in welcoming Cortney to our growing family of volunteers and supporters dedicated to the conservation of the NY – NJ Harbor Bight!

Ms. Worrall brings her dedication and passion to our efforts to restore habitat quality and provide public access to our region’s coastal resources. Working since 1990 on environmental issues, Cortney most recently worked with Bezcak Environmental Education Center where she assisted in the organization’s volunteer program and strategic planning efforts. Previously, she worked at the NY – NJ Harbor Estuary Program developing management strategies and outreach efforts on pollution prevention and public access programs.

Executive Director Worrall replaces CMRC founder Joel Banslaben who now joins the Board of Directors along with new additions Chris Shepard, Mark Rachleff and Jacqueline Lipson.

The CMRC will continue to work towards it mission of conserving the coasts and oceans of the Harbor Bight through its Business Stewardship, Green Roofs, Virtual Estuary and Sustainable Communities Programs. Please check our website (http://www.thecmrc.org/) in the coming weeks for updates and feel free to contact Cortney at cortney"at"thecmrc.org to learn more about our current projects and volunteer opportunities.

See you at the coast!

In the News: Report Card on New York City's Beaches

New Yorkers For Parks (www.ny4p.org) recently released its Report Card on Beaches 2007: An Independent Assessment of New York City's Public Beaches, finding that 2 of the City's 7 coastal parks were "unsatisfactory" while another 4 were rated "challenged." Only one beach received the rating "satisfactory," bringing attention to the continued need for increased conservation and access throughout these critical urban habitats. The CMRC was proud to participate in the NY4Parks study as part of the Beaches Advisory Group and hopes that the City and local non-profit organizations will work together to increase beach cleanliness, improve water quality and address the need for additional lifeguards and maintenance staff...JB

Report Card on Beaches 2007

Raising the Tide: Strategies for New York City Beaches


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Fourteen miles of New York City’s 578-mile waterfront are composed of public beaches operated by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Nearly 21 million visitors spent time at the seven beaches during the summer of 2006.

Located in four of the five boroughs, the seven public beaches provide recreation, relaxation and a respite for residents and tourists:
• Coney Island/Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
• Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn
• Midland Beach, Staten Island
• Orchard Beach, Bronx
• Rockaway Beach, Queens
• South Beach, Staten Island
• Wolfe’s Pond Beach, Staten Island

“Raising the Tide: Strategies for New York City Beaches” discusses important issues that have been brought to the table by community groups, city agencies, and advocates. The primary issues impacting beach users, along with New Yorkers for Parks’ recommendations to address them, are as follows:

Lifeguards and Staffing:
A chronic shortage of lifeguards leads to closed sections of the beach every summer. Recommendations: 1. Improve recruitment by administering training where there is demand and enhancing the transparency of testing. 2. Double the salary for lifeguards at underserved beaches as a pilot program. 3. Expand youth swimming opportunities in partnership with the Department of Education.

Maintenance and Inspections:
According to Health Department inspection data, beach facilities such as bathrooms need additional maintenance. Recommendations: 1. Implement “Operation Relief” for beach bathrooms in order to improve maintenance and reduce health code violations. 2. Increase the transparency of Park Inspection Program (PIP) results and include bathrooms and drinking fountains in a beach’s rating.

Water Quality:
Although water quality in NYC has improved in recent decades, the city still has a long way to go in terms of reducing water pollution. Recommendation: 1. Use and promote stormwater management strategies when developing land throughout the city to improve beach water quality.

Public Notification:
Information on local beach conditions needs to be improved. Recommendation: 1. Establish a NYC Beach User’s Guide on the Web that provides a variety of essential health, safety, and user information drawn from multiple city agencies.

Read more:
Report Card on Beaches 2007 http://www.ny4p.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=163

Raising the Tide: Strategies for New York City Beaches http://www.ny4p.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=162

New Yorkers for Parks
http://www.ny4p.org/

New York City Department of Parks - Beaches http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_beaches.html

Image: Coney Island, The CMRC

CMRC Releases Report on Sustainable Design & Development

Sustainability. It's a term that we often hear in our modern day "green" society. But I've always wondered, what exactly does it mean?

For some it may be its simplest definition - balance & longevity. For others it may be a cool marketing word to help appeal to consumers. For those of us focusing on community development and conservation it is often defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future.

For coastal marine ecosystems and waterfront communities, the question then is how can we take this definition of sustainability and apply it to our current environmental and social challenges? One way is to look directly at the environment that surrounds us, the built environment. And that is exactly what the CMRC and a diverse range of partners aimed to examine when we convened a seminar on Sustainable Design and Development earlier this year.

The results of the seminar can now be found in the following report: Sustainable Design & Development. A brief Executive Summary can also be found below. Please feel free to contact us at business.stewardship@thecmrc.org with questions or comments.

Sustainability is a great concept. But unfortunately it seems like it has been just a concept to date. Now we need incorporate sustainable practices into our coastal marine ecosystem by examining the many facets of our everyday life. The built environment seems like a great place to start ...JB


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On April 24, 2007 the Coastal Marine Resource Center and its partners convened a seminar on Sustainable Design and Development: Implications for Policy and Planning. The workshop attempted to answer the question: Where are the opportunities for implementing sustainable design practices in our region and what can be done to better incentivize practices that benefit coastal marine resources?

The Seminar included presentations from experts on the state-of-the-art thinking behind sustainable design and development and highlighted the opportunities and challenges to making a significant impact on our environment, communities and economies. Presentations included the following speakers and topics: Kate Shackford, Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Planning for Sustainability: Bronx Initiative for Energy & Environment; Jeff Raven, Ammann & Whitney, Implementation and Engineering for Green Projects; and Pete Atkin, GreenOrder, The Benefits of Sustainable Design to Businesses

Following the presentations, a diverse audience of government officials, conservation advocates and business owners worked with presenters and facilitators to identify major opportunities and potential projects for implementation within specific topic areas. The recommendations included:

Technology – Water Quality Sensors, Blackwater Holding Systems and Green Roofs
Finance – A Cap & Trade System for Stormwater
Policy – Tax Incentives to Promote Source Controls & Reduce Runoff

To move sustainable design and development forward, participants agreed that the NY – NJ Harbor Bight will need increased collaboration between businesses, policy-makers and scientists. The consensus appears that we are at the threshold of achieving great benefits with these initiatives but will need to better connect resource efficiency with profitability. This may require greater initial capital investment and creative incentive programs to promote further development of sustainable design tools for real estate developers in our coastal region.

Read more:
http://www.thecmrc.org/pdf/CMRC_Sustainable_Design_&_Development_Report.pdf

In the News: The Lure of Seeing a Hushed City at Water Level

As summer heats up, so do the activities on our waterways! One means for getting on the water - kayaking - has been increasing by leaps & bounds in recent years (the population of boaters in Manhattan alone grew ten-fold over the past decade). However "despite the risk of large ships, water scooters, changing tides, unpredictable currents and cold water" and no paddling related fatalities the City Department of Parks is considering more stringent regulations. Let's hope they lean towards boater safety & education and not reduced waterfront access...JB

Image: Kayaking Urban Waters, Wikipedia

By Timothy Williams
May 29, 2007

For years, a small, secretive group of people, most of them men, spent their off hours paddling just above the surface of the city’s dirty rivers in kayaks. They rowed to their own music, often alone, and few paid much attention.

Kayakers speak about their sport in spiritual terms: a feeling of freedom, the communing with nature, an enveloping quiet while paddling only a few meters off the Manhattan shoreline in temperatures that are often 15 degrees lower than on shore.

“When that sun is going down on the East River, there is nothing that compares,” said Robert DiMaio, 46, a documentary film producer who proposed to his wife as they were kayaking. “Everything is quiet. The lights of the city are coming on. It is beyond addictive. You want to be able to articulate it, but it is hard. The city becomes a theater of light and distant sound.”

Kayaking has been largely unregulated, but now the city is giving it closer scrutiny. The change has been met with both optimism and alarm by New York’s close-knit community of kayakers, which has grown to perhaps a few hundred serious paddlers since the mid-1980s.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/nyregion/29kayak.html

Downtown Boathouse
www.downtownboathouse.org

Sebago Canoe Club
www.sebagocanoeclub.org


Wikipedia Kayak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayak

In the News: Million-Gallon Sewage Spill In N.Y. River

A large spill of raw sewage last week into the Hudson River led health officials to advise recreational users against entering local waters. Officials recommended residents to avoid contact with the river citing potential "gastrointestinal problems" that could develop. The spill shed some light on the state of water quality in the region, and the apparent lack of concern for dumping sewage into our waters. Possibly this is because we already dump "more than 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater discharge out of 460 combined sewage overflows (“CSOs”)" into our waterways annually as a recent Riverkeeper Report found...JB

Yonkers, N.Y., May 5, 2007

A broken 48-inch underground pipe sent up to 2 million gallons of raw sewage spilling into the Hudson River north of New York City as workers scrambled Saturday to repair the damage.

Westchester County health officials warned boaters, water skiers and skin divers to stay out of the river due to potential health problems presented by the sewage. The pipe broke Friday afternoon, apparently ruptured by a tree that came loose during a landslide near the Greystone Train Station in Yonkers, officials said.

Read More:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/05/national/main2763791.shtml

Riverkeeper Information on CSOs
http://riverkeeper.org/campaign.php/pollution/the_facts/986

Sustainable Raindrops Report
http://riverkeeper.org/special/Sustainable_Raindrops_FINAL_2007-03-15.pdf

CMRC Business Stewardship Series Presents Sustainable Design & Development April 24th!

Sustainable Design and Development: Policy & Planning Implications
April 24th, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Kate Shackford, Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
Planning for Sustainability: Bronx Initiative for Energy & Environment

Pete Atkin, Green Order
The Benefits of Sustainable Design to Businesses

Jeff Raven, Amman & Whitney
Implementation and Engineering for Green Projects

Moderator: Joel Banslaben
Coastal Marine Resource Center

Location: Louis Berger, 199 Water Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10038.
RSVP to business.stewardship@thecmrc.org or 646-515-9290

Agenda & Overview
On April 24th, 2007, the CMRC will host a seminar on “Sustainable Design and Development: Policy and Planning Implications” that will explore the opportunities for greening real estate in our urban metropolitan region. The event will include a panel of distinguished speakers from various sectors presenting their thoughts on creating sustainable design and development. Major themes of the seminar will be:

1) What benefit does sustainable design provide for urban regions & residents?
2) What benefit does sustainable development have for businesses & investors?
3) Where are the incentive gaps & what can be done to align common goals?

The Panel will be followed by a working session designed to identify the major challenges to implementing sustainable design and development. Structured breakout groups will create policy and planning solutions aimed at increasing water, energy, land-use and materials efficiency that will be forwarded directly to policymakers.

The CMRC’s Business Stewardship Initiative seeks to integrate the resources of local businesses with conservation efforts. We would like to thank our sponsors and partners for their continued support! For more information please visit http://www.thecmrc.org/ or contact us at business.stewardship@thecmrc.org

In the News: Bloomberg Draws a Blueprint for a Greener City

On Earth Day Mayor Bloomberg released his ambitious "PlaNYC" report to guide the region's next twenty-five years of growth. The City expects to gain one-million people by 2030 and as a result has decided to take a pro-active approach to city planning and environmental protection. Included in the report are 127 projects that include congestion pricing in Manhattan and "exploring other natural solutions for cleaning our water bodies." The question now, "Who will pay for it all?"...JB

By Thomas J. Lueck
Published April 23, 2007

In a quarter-century plan to create what he called “the first environmentally sustainable 21st-century city,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed a sweeping and politically contentious vision yesterday of 127 projects, regulations and innovations for New York and the region.

The plan is intended to foster steady population growth, with the city expected to gain about 1 million residents by 2030, and to put in place a host of environmentally sensitive measures that would reduce the greenhouse gases it generates.

Mr. Bloomberg also set the parameters for what could be a large piece of his legacy as mayor. In an address outlining the plan yesterday at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, Mr. Bloomberg likened it to the first blueprints for Central Park more than 100 years ago and the construction of Rockefeller Center in the Great Depression.

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/23/nyregion/23mayor.html

PlaNYC Full Report

http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/plan/download.shtml

In the News: Young Whale Found in New York Harbor

A 30,000 pound juvenile minke whale was observed swimming near the Gowanus Canal on Tuesday, the first such sighting in nearly seven years when a whale presumably hit by a ship was found dead between Brooklyn and Staten Island . As of 5:00 PM on Wednesday the whereabouts of the whale were unknown, but it was swimming and in good shape said representatives from the Riverhead Foundation, a group dedicated to assisting with stranded marine mammals...JB

Image: Balaenoptera acutorostrata by Alessio Marrucci

By Richard Pyle (Associated Press)

NEW YORK -- Marine biologists were standing watch on Tuesday over a young whale that lost its way in New York harbor and nearly wandered into a narrow waterway notorious for industrial pollution.

The animal, described as a juvenile minke whale about 15 feet long, was cruising around Gowanus Bay, the outlet from the mile-long Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. It appeared to be in good health and not distressed, said Kim Durham, rescue program director for the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.

Read more:
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12604

Video of Whale on WNBC
http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=92416

Riverhead Foundation
http://www.riverheadfoundation.org/

Minke Whale in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minke_Whale

In the News: Buildings Called Key Source of City’s Greenhouse Gases

New York City's Office of Sustainability recently released a report on Greenhouse Gases which found that the City's 950,000 buildings emit nearly 80% of our CO2 emissions. With 20% coming from automobiles and mass transit it is clear that a strategy to reduce these gases will have to include an aggressive campaign to implement sustainable design and development for our region's residential and commercial structures. However, what is even more surprising is the number of buildings with (or should I say without) either green roofs or LEED certification. Out of the 950,000 buildings in New York City only 20-30 currently have green roofs...JB

Image: New York from space. Can you count the green roofs?

April 11, 2007
By Diane Cardwell

Laying the groundwork for a plan to reduce the production of greenhouse gases in the city, the Bloomberg administration released a study yesterday showing that New York’s roughly 950,000 buildings are responsible for a vast majority of the city’s carbon dioxide emissions.

In sharp contrast to the national average of about 32 percent, the city’s buildings are responsible for 79 percent of the greenhouse gases produced by the city and are rising each year, according to the study, conducted by the city’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. Transportation systems, including mass transit, cars and trucks, are responsible for most of the remaining 21 percent of the emissions, which are considered a major factor in global warming.

The release of the inventory marked the first concrete step in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ambitious effort to set the city on a greener path as it plans for the addition of one million residents by 2030. In December, Mr. Bloomberg outlined goals to help guide the city’s growth in a more environmentally sound way, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/nyregion/11carbon.html

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report
http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/ccp_report041007.pdf

NYC's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability
http://www.nyc.gov/html/ops/html/long_term/long_term.shtml

US Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/

Sustainable Design & Development: April 24th, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

CMRC’s Business Stewardship Speaker Series Invites You to a Seminar on Sustainable Design and Development: Policy and Planning Implications on Tuesday, April 24th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Please see details below!

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT: APRIL 24TH, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Kate Shackford, Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation http://www.boedc.com/
Planning for Sustainable Development: Bronx Initiative for Energy and the Environment

Pete Atkin, Green Order http://www.greenorder.com/
The Benefits of Sustainable Design and Development to Businesses

Terry Doss, Louis Berger Group http://www.louisberger.com/
Implementation and Engineering for Green Projects

Moderator: Joel Banslaben, Coastal Marine Resource Center http://www.thecmrc.org/

Location: Louis Berger, 199 Water Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10038

Space is limited. RSVP to business.stewardship@thecmrc.org or 646-515-9290 by April 20th!
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On April 24th, 2007, the Coastal Marine Resource Center will host a seminar on “Sustainable Design and Development: Policy and Planning Implications” that will explore the challenges and opportunities to greening real estate in the NY – NJ Harbor Bight. The event will include a panel of distinguished speakers from the private, non-profit and government sectors presenting their thoughts and plans on creating sustainable design and development in the region. Major themes of the seminar will be:

What benefit does sustainable design provide for urban regions and their residents?
What benefit does sustainable development have for businesses and financial investors?
Where are the incentive gaps for different parties and what can be done to align common goals?

The Panel session will be followed by a working session designed to identify the major challenges to implementing sustainable design and development solutions in the NY – NJ region. Structured breakout groups will create policy and planning solutions aimed at increasing water, energy, land-use and materials efficiency that will be forwarded directly to policymakers.

RSVP to business.stewardship@thecmrc.org by April 20th

The CMRC’s Business Stewardship Initiative seeks to integrate the resources of local businesses with conservation efforts. We would like to thank our sponsors and partners for their continued support and are looking forward to a great year! For more information please visit http://www.thecmrc.org/ or contact us at business.stewardship@thecmrc.org

In the News: Fume-Free (for Now) and Looking to the Future

Brooklyn's intrigue with the Gowanus Canal never ceases to amaze me. I must admit that as one who crosses it with regularity, I often find myself staring out over the rainbow colored waters and endless warehouses thinking of its dynamic history and (potentially) green future. For those attempting to make these visions a reality many issues abound for Gowanus. Developers, community groups, local businesses and waterfront open-space advocates will all have their say as the City Department of Planning "charts the future" of the Canal. I just hope they can find a green way to keep the rainbow color of the water...JB

April 8, 2007
By Jake Mooney

Ten years ago, the idea of worrying about the future of the land around the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn would have seemed a little strange, especially in hot weather. An underground tunnel designed to circulate the canal’s water had been out of service for decades, and as a result, sewage from nearby houses and storm drains overflowed regularly into the canal, emitting a formidable stench.

The sewage overflows continue, but with the tunnel reopened since 1999, the water circulates better — at least for the moment. The gradual return of fish and birds to the canal has enticed widely known developers like Shaya Boymelgreen and the Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, drawn to the neighborhood’s proximity to Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. These developers have proposed projects that could involve rezoning parts of Gowanus and adding hundreds if not thousands of residents to the area.

In response, staff members of the Department of City Planning are meeting this month and next with the local community board to evaluate the neighborhood’s needs and chart its future. Their goal is a framework for land use decisions that could allow manufacturing and residential development to coexist and maybe even open up some recreational space.

“There are so many possibilities that people have let their imaginations run wild, and that’s a good thing,” said Craig Hammerman, district manager of the local Community Board 6. “We just have to make sure that we can tether the possibilities to probabilities that are out there.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/thecity/08plan.html

CMRC Gowanus Canal Page

http://thecmrc.blogspot.com/2006/01/exploring-our-coasts-and-waterfronts.html

Gowanus Canal on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gowanus_Canal

Community Board Six

http://www.brooklyncb6.org/committees/

Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation

http://www.swbidc.org/

In the News: LIPA Wind Farm Cost Too Steep

A recent report by Dowling College outlined "excessive" construction costs for the proposed offshore wind farm south of Long Island and suggested that the Long Island Power Authority build the project itself and save taxpayers nearly $100 million. The analysis brings into question the costs and benefits of alternative energy as we transition from a strictly petroleum-based economy. Certainly, the costs of exploring new technologies will be high initially, but as these projects become more common the up front investment will lower. We just need to make sure that LIPA and others keep sound economics in mind...JB

Image: Danish Wind Turbines from Wikipedia

By Mark Harrington
April 2, 2007

The proposal to build a 40-turbine wind farm off the South Shore would enrich its contractor with "extraordinary" returns while "saddling" Long Island ratepayers with a 20-year-plus contract for energy at "excessive" prices, a new study of the project's economics has found.

Scheduled to be released this week, the study, by the Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute at Dowling College, questions the initial $356-million construction cost of the project and suggests LIPA explore the alternative of funding and building the wind farm itself, which it says would be cheaper.

"Wind energy makes sense for Long Island, but this contract does not," said the study's author, Mark Greer, a professor of economics at Dowling.

Read more...
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzlipa0402,0,2894107.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines

Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute at Dowling College on Wind Farm
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzwind0403-pdf,0,6973532.acrobat?coll=ny-linews-headlines

LIPA Offshore Wind Project Information
http://www.lipower.org/cei/offshore.html


Wind Farm on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farm