There are eight million blogs in the the naked city...or it sure seems that way. Along with a host of tv stations, radio stations, and city and community papers. And they're all offering up news, observations and opinions on the city's progress towards being greener, more livable, more sustainable, more just. Just like us. This is the beginning of a regular Worldchanging NYC feature: our highly select take on the past week or so's news and views. - Ed.
New York City tests outdoor recycling bins: The New York League of Conservation Voters EcoPolitics Daily noted that on March 28, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city would begin testing a new recycling bin program in outdoor public spaces. The program will provide bins in subway stations, at the terminals on both the Manhattan and Staten Island sides of the city ferry service, and five parks including: Union Square Park in Manhattan, Columbus Park near Borough Hall in Brooklyn, Poe Park in the Bronx, Hoffman Park in Queens, and Tappen Park and Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island. The color code is simple: blue is for bottles and cans, green is for paper. The test is to last three months and will expand if successful.
This test effort is aimed at getting people to recycle newspapers as well as their bottled and canned drinks. Officials are promoting the test with free bottled water labeled with program information, as well as posters at bus stops. A Sanitation Dept. official expressed hope that the program would be successful as a visual reminder for people to recycle more at home as well as when out and about.
Recycling wasn't much of an encouraged topic during Bloomberg's first mayoral term, especially as the mayor -- in part due to the city's post-9/11 financial stress -- cut recycling pickups in 2002, saying that the city did better financially by just dumping all the materials in landfills. Recycling was reinstated in 2004. The level of recycling hasn't hit its 2001 peak of 21.6 percent residential waste -- recently it's been around 17 percent. City officials now have a target of 25 percent.
Greenpeace's Kleercut campaign subverts adverts for Kleenex: We've been loving last Monday's Gothamist Video of the Day that shows Greenpeace activists infiltrating Kleenex's "Let it Out" campaign, which was inviting passers-by to have their sentiments about getting teary filmed in Times Square on March 24th. Greenpeace made their point that what really makes people upset is using old growth Canadian boreal forest for a one time blowing of the nose. Further, Kleenex doesn't use recycled materials, unlike other companies such as Seventh Generation. While some Gothamist readers sounded off at having been approached by Greenpeace clipboarders for donations once too often while walking on city streets, or the sound of 'recycled tissue', most seemed sympathetic to the cause.
Hybrid taxis are good for your neck? In addition to producing less polluting emissions, the city's new hybrid taxis are being designed with security cameras instead of the hard plastic safety partitions that typically divide driver and passenger. The New York Sun reports that doctors believe passengers in these taxis will suffer fewer head and neck injuries in accidents than those who are unlucky enough to have a crackup in your standard partitioned yellow cab. Yet another reason to ride greener!
Bloomberg swayed by pedicab advocates, vetoes bill limiting number of midtown pedicabs : Steetsblog noted that Mayor Mike, in his weekly radio address, announced that he would veto City Council legislation limiting the number of pedicabs. The mayor acknowledged that the City Council would likely override the veto, but urged citizens to lobby for a cap removal and let the market decide what the maximum number should be, or to cap the number at 500 -- which would at least support the current number of pedicabs.
