The Oil Drum

There still may be some flexibility for a few days extension by the Feds, but for now it looks like the Albany political gridlock has once again kept the state from enacting good public policy supported by nearly all the good government groups, all the major newspapers, health and transportation advocates here in the city. It had the support of all the citywide elected officials - the Mayor, the Speaker of the City Council, the Comptroller and Public Advocate. It even had the support of the Governor and the leader of the State Senate, Joseph Bruno.

So that's probably it. There are talks of a compromise sometime in the distant future, but for now, the momentum is completely lost. New York's Albany politics have conspired to condemn another generation to higher transit fares, less service, more traffic congestion, lower air quality and encouraging more people to drive into the city. July 16th should now forever be known as "Congestion Day"

To further explain my perspective on the benefits of congestion pricing, here's a video I did with Streetfilms about congestion pricing standing at the border of where it would be implemented.

Upper Green Side

Upper Green Side has grown over the past year and a half from a handful of local activists that I rallied together to start a few local food greenmarkets in the heart of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Along the way, I learned quite a bit about how to become a neighborhood activist, work together with the local community board and build relationships with elected officials.

Now I'm proud to announce that less than a year and a half since founding a Upper Green Side, we are now an official 501c3 non-profit organization and can receive tax-deductible donations.

Upper Green Side is a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and action on local environmental issues in the Upper East & Upper West Sides of Manhattan involving sustainable food, clean transportation, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. We are building a healthy community and environment for our own well-being and generations to come.

This is a very exciting time for us as we will be planning our activities and securing different funding sources, but we plan that the bulk of our funds will come from private individuals at first.

While we don't have an easy online donation mechanism set-up yet, we are taking personal checks now at our PO BOX. Please send what can to us at:

Support TOD: Neighborhood, Become a founding contributor to Upper Green Side! We send receipts!!

About a month ago, I was interviewed by a few videobloggers, Ryanne and Jay about my community group, Upper Green Side. This short seven minute video shows my responses to a wide variety of questions about neighborhood organizing, running efficient meetings and a few personal steps I've taken to make my lifestyle more environmentally sustainable.

After the interview we had a good conversation about Peak Oil. They had gone to a few meeting of the local peak oil community out in California and found it all way to dark and depressing. We agreed that you can't focus too much on the negative scenarios that might happen, but rather concentrate on the tangible positive steps you can take in your own community. It's not to deny the possibility that the worst might happen, but rather to do now what's possible to build a better future under any scenario. Their video series focuses on positive change that's happening around the country.

Check out this other great interview with local eco-entrepreneur, Eugene Lee, owner of Rolling Press.