Stories tagged with "earth institute"

Mayor Bloomberg's Green Push

Posted by Glenn on October 6, 2006 - 6:37am in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: columbia university, earth institute, energy, jeffrey sachs, michael bloomberg, new york city, oil, peak oil, sustainability [list all tags]

[Update: You can now read a transcript of Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio address which was devoted to the new sustainability initiatives. Also check out economist Charles Komanoff's ideas on incentives to make NYC more sustainable.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg is currently in the middle of a strong effort to make environmental sustainability one of the top priorities of his last 3 years in office, capped off nicely with his recent announcements to create a new Office of Sustainability and Long Term Planning and build 200 miles of new bike lanes.

Just this Summer, he successfully passed a controversial 20 year solid waste management plan with an independent recycling office and he called for greater energy conservation and increased efficiency of current power plants around the periods of peak energy demand instead of calling for new power plants to be constructed.

If New York City, which already is one of the most energy efficient cities in the country (multi-unit attached housing, high rates of walking/mass transit), is seeking to become even greener and more environmentally friendly, the total impact of this effort may only partially be what happens on the ground here in NYC. Given NYC's immense economic importance on the surrounding region, policies in NYC could emanate out and influence the development of whole new markets for environmentally sustainable products and services, all under the watchful eye of the major national and international media news services.

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Big NYC Sustainability Plan Announced

Posted by Glenn on September 22, 2006 - 10:53am in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: earth institute, michael bloomberg, new york, new york city, oil, peak oil, sustainability [list all tags]

[Update: Here's the latest media coverage (fairly light so far): NY Daily News, NY Post, NY Newsday, NY1 and of course StreetsBlog has the most extensive coverage.]

Last week, in California, Mayor Bloomberg made a first step in creating a much more proactive environmental policy for the city. The highlights of the announcement are:

  • The creation of the Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability.
  • The undertaking of a major greenhouse gas inventory for City government and the City overall.
  • The appointment of a Sustainability Advisory Board to advise the City on environmentally sound policies and practices.
  • The creation of a new partnership with the Earth Institute of Columbia University to provide the City with scientific research and advice on environmental and climate change-related issues.

I applaud this annoucement and I look forward to hearing more tangible steps to make the city more environmentally sustainable. Sustainability is great word. Here's how the mayor defined it:

"Sustainability is all about ensuring that economic growth and development today is compatible with the ability of our children and grandchildren to meet their needs in the future," said Mayor Bloomberg.

I hope this will be the start of some really great new environmental initiatives to address our generation's twin challenges of extreme climate change from carbon emissions and the economic impact of "peak oil".

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