78-Degree October Day Is Best
Testimony to Situation’s Urgency
By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS – As Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted the unseasonable 78-degree weather, the crowd outside the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Building here got ready to discuss greenhouse gas emissions – something which, according to most scientists, is directly responsible for the increasingly warm weather.
Bloomberg asked one of his deputy mayors, Ed Skyler, whether global warming was responsible for the weather.
“Well, Mr. Mayor,” said Skyler, “I thought that the weather is pleasant to honor you.”
“Good. I knew you’d give the right answer!” said Bloomberg.
All kidding aside, the crowd was gathered outside the building to watch Bloomberg sign an executive order that establishes a steering committee charged with reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in city-owned buildings and operations by 30 percent over the next 10 years.
This is one of the 127 initiatives that the Mayor announced in an Earth Day speech six months ago today as part of PlaNYC, his plan to create a greener New York.
At one point in the press conference, the other deputy mayor present, Dan Doctoroff, held up a thick booklet. “This is the 30-year plan for New York City that was introduced in 1969,” he said.
“They did a few things, but in the end, it was largely forgotten. We’ve got to do better, and we have more immediate objectives, those that can be recognized within 10 years."
Doctoroff has been named to head the steering committee, which is slated to present a plan to the mayor by Dec. 1, outlining how this fiscal year's $80 million will be spent.
Approximately 70 percent ($56 million) of this initial funding will go towards capital investments in more efficient mechanical and electrical systems, including: lighting replacement and installation of sensors; heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements; water and sewer equipment upgrades; and vehicle replacements and streetlight and traffic signal enhancements.
Additionally, a portion of the $80 million will be invested to assist in the planning and management of energy-saving efforts in the future.
By June 30, 2008, the Steering Committee will issue a long-term action plan for the achievement of the full 30 percent reduction of municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 2017.
This reporter asked the mayor about “green” and energy-efficient measures aimed at city-owned vehicles. Bloomberg responded that unlike other, more automobile-driven cities, in heavily mass transit-dependent New York, 80 percent of carbon emissions comes from buildings and only 20 percent from vehicles.
The city, he explained, has already put some such measures into effect, such as purchasing MTA buses that can run on hydrogen and buying hybrid (gas and electric) vehicles for agency use. However, he added, some of the items that the city would like, such as energy-efficient sanitation trucks, “just aren’t on the market yet.”
Speaking generally on the subjects of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, Bloomberg says, “this subject is difficult for the public to understand.
“The public is much more able to understand Bette Midler [who has helped preserve community gardens and supports restoration efforts in many city parks], who is great. That’s why government hires experts, scientists who understand these topics.
“But when you bring it to terms the public understands, like the fact that some inner-city New York neighborhoods have four times the childhood asthma rates that the entire nation has, the public basically supports measures like these,” said the mayor.
What’s Already Been Done
Skyler also provided a six-month progress update of the PlaNYC measures that are already being developed.
In Brooklyn, these include pursuing rezoning to revitalize waterfront neighborhoods, such as Williamsburg, Coney Island and Gowanus; additional rezoning of areas in Fort Greene, Park Slope and Bedford-Stuyvesant to create “economically integrated” communities; and the implementation of a new design for the neglected Dreier-Offerman Park near Coney Island Creek.
Also included are citywide measures such as the planting of 15,000 street trees a year as well as measures dealing exclusively with the other boroughs, such as the extension of the No. 7 line to the far West Side in Manhattan.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
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