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.

Free Water Beats Fee Water

Home water bill going up, up, up? This month, the Department of Environmental Protection will give away 250 rain barrels for FREE to Queens' residents. The barrels will be used to collect storm water from homeowner's roofs to water their lawns with. And the water is FREE! Estimates are given that 40% of a house’s water bill is for irrigation. These barrels may also serve to prevent flooding during bad storms in poor drainage areas. DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd has a good idea worth testing. The "common sense" of it seems overwhelming. I expect that the sooner more homeowners (and perhaps apartment dwellers too) can collect water and recycle it, the better. With this kind of "green" plan in the days of the Bible, Noah might now be known more for his gardening than his boat building!