Green Coca-Cola

Coke’s famous red Times Square sign is going green for ecology. The company will pay 10% more to have wind power light it up than plugging it into the wall. Upon Coke’s approval, sponsors of 29 other billboards in New York City decided to go green, too. This new power approach for all 30 signs will somehow prevent the release of 2,056 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That's equivalent to 75 fewer passenger vehicles on the roads, 38 homes converted to wind power for a year or the positive effect of planting 470 acres of trees. It's not known for sure if all of those numbers are accurate, but there's one thing for certain. Coke is now on board drinking Al Gore's Kool-Aid!

▼
IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Pedaling On Broadway

Since 2006, New York City has created over 161 miles of bicycle routes. Expect more to come. A recent Transportation Alternatives report recommended that Broadway be reduced from six vehicle lanes to four in order to create a safe bicycle lane. In addition to safe bicycle routes, it recommended additional pedestrian space and revised parking and movement plans for vehicles. While some New Yorkers favor these green changes, many believe that gridlock and other traffic problems are just around the corner. The city says more “skinny” streets are coming. It might make sense to examine recently installed pedestrian plazas and all bike lanes to measure the impact they’ve made on NYC neighborhoods. What’s needed is a balance between commerce, commuting... and common sense.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog is a quick comment on an older New York City news headline. Unforeseen NYCo website development delays prevented it’s publication before now. For readership continuity, 100’s of older headlines are to be posted in chronological order until this blog is current. Though some of the stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of this site’s mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others! This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Tour Buses Obscure The Sights

“On a clear day, you can see” … well, thanks to many tour bus industry owners, you may not even be able to see across the street! There are eleven major tour bus companies in the Big Apple. All were required to retrofit their vehicles by January 1, 2007. A recent report from the Department of Environmental Protection concluded that only one company (Gray Line New York City Tours) of the eleven tour companies performed any emission upgrades "by the deadline" … and that was only on 19 of their 206 vehicles! To date, six companies have taken initial steps for vehicle conversion, three have taken no steps whatsoever and one has gone out of business. Double-decker tour buses can emit up to six times the pollution of city buses and other buses up to 25 times. All bus companies continue to operate without fines or any serious threat of license revocation. The DEP states it’s compiling a new report that will likely show better conversion compliance. Imagine the numbers it might have shown if city-imposed deadlines were actually enforced! However, it would seem in this instance that the concern for the greening of our city is less important than the "green dollars" tourism brings.

Lock Your Pedals To The Metal

As NYC becomes more "bicycle-friendly," there’s a definite need for more security stations to protect rider’s bikes. At present, the city has 5,000 U-shaped bike racks for that purpose. Most appear to be underutilized. Perhaps they’re not even noticed because of their simple design. Well, there’s a "bike rack bike contest" that's underway in the boroughs to change that. The goal is to come up with a unique design for many new “lock-down locations troughout the Big Apple. The contest winner will receive a check from New York City for $10,000. Once selected, our “greening” city will install 1,000 additional racks by next July in the new style at a cost of $275 each. The nine design finalists are currently on display at Astor Place in Manhattan. Why not ride over and lock them over?

A/C Bill To Bill A/C Abusers

The “greening” of New York City continues. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign a bill into law that will fine some stores from keeping their doors open when the A/C is running. He’s admittedly lukewarm to the idea himself. He believes it won’t make much of a difference. That's probably true. The new law will apply to chain stores with more than five locations and to businesses of 4,000 or more square feet. Fortunately, small stores and restaurants with outdoor seating will be exempt. The bill goes into effect 90 days after it becomes law. As a result, expect to see some store owner’s temperatures rise in 2009. First time offenders will get a warning; then $200 tickets for each subsequent occurrence. Bill supporters believe stores will save 20-25% on air conditioner electricity. Many affected owners claim that business goes down 20-25% when their doors are closed. They also believe energy costs won’t go down as suggested because their doors are always opening and closing. This new law makes you wonder just how intrusive government plans to be to save the planet.

Hack Hybrid Help On The Way

There’s an October 25th deadline for taxicab owners to purchase vehicles that get a minimum 25mpg. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of hybrids. What’s a city’s taxicab industry to do? Enter GM, Ford and Nissan. They've pledged to supply a total of 300 vehicles monthly to aid owners meet the new green goals. Mayor Bloomberg said, “[They] have gone above and beyond.” Of course if automakers had been promoting hybrid vehicles years ago as they could have, we’d all be better off today.

Pedicabs Pedal With Virtual Impunity

The City Council passed rickshaw regulations over a year ago yet they’re not being enforced. Ongoing discussions between the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and a pedicab trade group are holding things up. The main debate is the city’s limit of licenses to 325. In the meantime, many pedicabs are doing business without proper driver identification, insurance, seat belts, headlights, tail lights or even set fare structures. Passengers, pedestrians and automobile drivers are all at risk. Accidents have already occurred and people have been injured. Mayor Bloomberg, who wants to green the city, needs to act before there’s more red blood in the streets.

Lofty Hopes For The High Line

Abandoned and elevated railroad tracks stretch 1.5 miles from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street on the west side of Manhattan. Where some looked and saw only urban decay and neglect, others, like the Friends of the High Line, envisioned a park in the sky. What beauty can come from empty train tracks, you say? Well, the High Line park will include lawns, a forest-like canopy of trees, wildflowers, a metal catwalk to permit strolls above and beneath trees and an open-air viewing frame enabling pedestrians on the sidewalk below to see New York’s newest “green” project above. An unique floating oasis in a city of steel and stone. Later this year, the first part of their $170 million dream becomes reality. The balance of the park will be completed in 2009. Judging from the architect’s drawings, this will be a unique and welcome improvement to the neighborhoods beneath it.

Hunts Point-ing Away

The privately owned Hunts Point produce market may move out of New York. The city’s refusal to give $150 million towards a new $750 million “green” facility in The Bronx has the owners of this wholesale fruit and vegetable co-op ready to box up and go. The owners claim it would only cost $500 million to build elsewhere. They’re scouting other locations now. They’ve been in their present location since 1967 but will soon outgrow it. People must really be eating their fruits and veggies! The produce market is part of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center which includes separate fish and meat markets. It’s the largest food wholesale market in the world today ($2 billion in annual revenue) servicing the tri-state area. If the market departs, it will drive up the cost of food at many smaller grocers and restaurants. They'd be forced to travel further to obtain the food they get from The Bronx. Additionally, many people will lose their jobs and the city will lose badly needed tax revenue. New York City officials will likely come up with the money needed. It’s hoped that they’ll do it sooner, rather than later though. It'll help prevent us from getting indigestion at the thought of less food at higher prices!

City Tree Plan Gets Three Green Thumbs

Mayor Bloomberg’s "green" initiative to plant 1,000,000 trees was recently boosted by The Police. No, not the NYPD, but the rock group headed by Sting. The band generously pledged $1,000,000 to the cause. Their donation will support 10,000 new trees in our boroughs. The legendary musical group also agreed to play their last concert in New York to aid perennially-financially strapped public TV. For their civic contributions, the three band members each received keys to New York City. Like any door here would be closed to them!

Horseless Carriages Sought To Replace Horse-Drawn Buggies

Animal rights activists are once again pushing to eliminate horse-drawn carriages in New York City. This time, they recommend replacing them with nostalgic “green” replicas of antique cars. These classic autos are now made to run on propane and hydrogen and will soon be manufactured to run on electricity. In general, tourist trade horses are well cared for. Their health and well-being should be vigorously overseen by city officials. But for those looking to go “green,” what mode of transportation can better accomplish that than one which occasionally plops down brown?

Papa’s Got A "Recycled" Bag

A new proposal would require stores over 5,000 square feet to setup an in-store recycling program and to sell reusable bags. The bags would have a consumer reminder printed on them such as “Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling.” Recycled bags can then be used to produce new bags and a variety of other products, even furniture. If passed, the new law would affect some 700 food stores and retailers in the city. It still needs final approval from the city council and Mayor Bloomberg.

Years ago, we gave up our use of brown paper bags to save our forests. Paper bags were replaced by plastic ones. Environmentalists now believe it takes years for these plastic bags to biodegrade and that they pollute our soil and water. A more responsible “green” policy here would reduce that danger and the oil needed to make plastic bags by millions of barrels annually. Seems like an environmentally sound idea on many levels.

Other cities around the world have mandated these changes. New York City should too. I believe that swift passage of this bill is … in the bag.

Hey Cabbie!

The Taxi and Limousine Commission agreed to pay a British firm $500,000.00 to design new taxis. I guess we Americans no longer lead the world in automobile manufacturing or ecology technology. More conveniences for the passenger. More green science to benefit the environment. The first of these new cabs is expected to hit NYC’s streets in the Fall of 2009 (Want to bet?). Let’s just hope these English engineers remember which side of the road we drive on.