A GREENER NYC

Common Sense Environmentalism

The average New Yorker uses around 30% as much energy as a suburbanite, so the single most environmentally-friendly thing anyone in the USA can do is move to a dense city like New York and take public transit instead of private cars.

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I am in favor of Congestion Pricing, I think it sends the right message that we are a city looking to correct the mistakes of the past and take back the city`s public space from being dominated by private automobiles. The only issue with the plan is that it depends on the notorious cash burning and grossly mismanaged MTA to suddenly be...well not the MTA of the past 50 years and begin to provide dependable subway service and efficient and popular bus routes.

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I also believe that NYC should push developers to build even more green roofs on new buildings as it has shown that green roofs reduce the city's heat island effect, decrease energy costs, improve air and water quality, sequester carbon, and provide habitat for urban wildlife. The city also needs to be more aggressive in terms of planting trees in neighborhoods to reduce the heat island effect, and they need to be built by using street space not cutting into the already too small sidewalks. 

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Finally I believe that if NYC is serious about improving quality of life, street safety, and air quality then we must return to the water. By that I mean NYC needs to increase its maritime industry, we need to begin importing things into the city via boat instead of via large and dangerous 18 wheeler trucks. The amount of cargo that a boat can carry dwarfs that of any truck. We have all seen the disaster of these large trucks get stuck trying to make a turn or even worse seriously damaging property, and even worse than that killing a person. I am a supporter of the Blue Highways Initiative. 

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I also believe that the closing of the Indian Point Nuclear Facility was a massive mistake for those of us who truly care about the environment and it has caused NYC`s reliance on fossil fuels to increase. It is counter intuitive for those who want a green city to continuously be so aggressive in terms of destroying nuclear energy in the United States.