NYC’s Air Still Dirty
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009The City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released “The New York City Community Air Study” yesterday (link to full PDF here) and the results indicate that we still have a ways to go to eliminate the problem of air pollution. Measuring 5 different pollutants at 150 locations around the city and using density and traffic data to interpolate results, the report shows that air quality continues to be problematic in many areas of the city, especially in Manhattan, areas of the Bronx and other high-traffic areas.
Beyond traffic, another major cause identified is fuel combustion for space and water heating. This is because “New York City is unique in the large amount of #4 and #6 heavy or ‘residual’ oil used for heating. Burning residual oil for heating generates more PM2.5 and SO2 per unit of heat than burning regular #2 home heating oil. Natural gas emits even less PM2.5 per unit of heat produced.”
The report looked only at conditions during winter, and so misses out on some summer-specific causes like increased use of dirtier power plants to meet peak demand. It also doesn’t get into issues like indoor air quality (which can be much worse, especially in buildings with old equipment) and the increased amount of time people spend outside during the warmer months. Nor does it include data for the airports, which seem like they would be candidates for high pollution totals with all that jet fuel being burned.
That said, the solutions in the report are good to see, if somewhat obvious: a transition to cleaner fuels, increased efficiency, expanded mass transit and a shift to cleaner vehicles. To that we might add: promotion of renewable energy solutions like PV for electricity, solar thermal for water heating and geothermal for heating and cooling. More trees and planted areas like community gardens and green roofs could also be helpful.
Looking to upgrade the efficiency of your building or maybe put in a PV system? Check out the resources and incentive information available on our new Energy $mart Communities page.
Posted in Energy, Energy Efficiency, New York City, Pollution | Permalink
The Greenest Tree
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Check out these stats from WIRED Magazine comparing
artificial trees to the real thing
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Organic Farming, Pollution | Permalink
2009 Solar-Powered Film Series Continues for Second Week
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009It looks like the weather will hold and the films will go on as scheduled this weekend! For those of you who have not memorized the schedule yet:
Thurs Sept 17: A Sea Change, 2008, 85 mins.
Fri Sept 18: The Garden, 2008, 80 mins.
Sat Sept 19: Burning In the Sun, 2009, 65 mins.
Rain Date for any of the above: Sun Sept 20
For trailers and descriptions, please visit http://solar1.org/events/film.
Posted in Energy, Film, Food, Global Warming, Organic Farming, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Water | Permalink
Green from the Inside Out, plus Winter Networking Mixer *FULL*
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009| January 20, 2010 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
Tonight’s Event is full. Space is still available for the 1/25 Green From the Inside Out.
Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.
These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building. Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.
If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.
A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs
In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.
Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape
Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle. Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.
Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings
Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 20
6:00pm to 8:30pm, plus post-event mixer!
WHERE: Central Park Arsenal
830 5th Avenue, Suite 318, NY
RSVP’s required. Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP.
And from 8:30-10:00pm we are hosting a special event! Only on this special evening we will be hosting a Winter Networking Mixer overlooking Central Park! Invite your clients and business partners to partake in this unique networking evening. Find out what’s going green, and who’s going green in the Upper East Side! Entrance is free and drinks can be purchased.
RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:00 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.
Free! Refreshments will be served. Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.
GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Posted in Energy, Energy $mart Communities, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Green Building, NYSERDA, New York City, Photovoltaics, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Recycling, Renewables, Solar One, Solar One Events, Solar Power, Sustainability, Waste, green roof, green roofs | Permalink
Finally! Hudson Clean-Up Begins!
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Sometime in the near future, you won’t even need to think twice about frying up that prize striper you hooked out of the Hudson.
After twenty-five years of court appeals and other evasive measures employed by General Electric, the first of what will be many scoops of PCB-laden sludge was dredged from the Hudson River this past Friday as the result of a “good-faith” agreement with the EPA. The massive effort, only Phase One of the project, is expected to require the around-the-clock operation of twelve dredges six days a week through 2015; assuming this phase runs its course, this would equal 48,672 hours for the removal of sediment that has been accumulating since the end of the Wisconsin glaciation period around 12,000 years ago, but took two GE plants and other chemical facilities only thirty years to contaminate. The dried sludge will then be trucked to a landfill in Texas, while the river water will be pumped through a filtration plant and returned to continue its meandering course.
Nearly 200 miles of the river from Hudson Falls to the tip of Manhattan, just under two-thirds of the Hudson’s total length, was declared a Superfund site in 1984, and though GE has now adopted a veneer of compliance, it also continues to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation – the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) -that determines Superfund status and culpability. As part of the agreement, GE has also given itself an out clause – it will review the status of the project in 2010 and can then decide to opt out. The total cost of this phase is estimated at $750 million but could be much greater, though GE has declined to provide an estimate, a decision that, compounded by these other compromises, does little to alleviate the pervasive skepticism within the environmental community.
Still, the fact that the clean-up project is now more than simply a contentious point of debate is cause for at least tepid celebration. I imagine most of those keeping a close eye on this will remain patient until the 2010 review process is complete before any claims of restitution will finally be made. Meanwhile, for the past quarter century, those PCBs and their fellow contaminants have been just sitting there in the river bottom ooze, waiting for the party responsible to own up and make that first move.
Sources: “Dredging of Pollutants Begins in Hudson”, The New York Times, May 15, 2009;“”Reclaiming a River”, The New York Times, May 16, 2009; “Shaking Off “Man’s Taint, Hudson Pulses With Life”, The New York Times, June 9, 1996; “What was the Wisconsin Glaciation?” Wisegeek.com;“25-Year-Old Hudson River Cleanup Plan Starts Today”, Running Scared (blogs.villagevoice.com), May 15, 2009; “Pollution and the Hudson River”, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (www.ecostudies.org); Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (www.clearwater.org).
Posted in Legislation, Pollution, Waste, Water | Permalink
New Energy Technology Is All Rubbish
Monday, November 10th, 2008
Imagine a technology that not only generates energy with minimal greenhouse gas emissions, but that can even remove existing emissions sources while also solving the problem of garbage disposal. If St. Lucie County in Florida proves correct, plasma incinerators may be one more option in our growing sustainability portfolio. Instead of dumping its trash in landfills, St. Lucie County hopes to blast it with streams of superheated gas (known as plasma) at temperatures of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, organic matter vaporizes into a form of gas that can be used to power turbines, generating waste steam that could be then be used to create more energy. Inorganic matter such as aluminum cans could be used as recycled material for construction and infrastructure, including filler for roadbeds.
Not only does St. Lucie County hope to provide power for 50,000 homes in the process, but, by keeping trash out of landfills, it would significantly curb methane emissions that would result from decomposition. In addition, the plasma process itself (also known as plasma arc gasification) apparently generates far fewer emissions than standard incineration, and the county administration expects that the resulting energy will be no more expensive than natural gas.
Though plasma plants have been around since the 1980s, St. Lucie’s will be the first intended specifically for waste disposal. Expected to go on-line in 2011, city planners anticipate that it will process 1,500 tons of garbage daily and will supply the local energy grid with 60 MW of electricity (though some sources claim that public outcry (see below) and other logistical difficulties have caused GeoPlasma – the plant’s owner and developer – to propose a scaled-back verison that will process only 200 tons per day).
The plan is not without controversy, however. Skeptics claim that the technology is unproven and may release unsafe amounts of dioxin and other cancer-causing particulates into the community. Others claim that the proposed benefits may be overblown; a study of a similar plasma arc waste disposal facility in Honolulu concluded that the technology actually increased waste disposal costs while providing little if any environmental benefit. Until such concerns are abated, our trash isn’t likely to go anywhere but into the ground.
Sources: “Plasma Turns Garbage Into Gas”, Scientific American; “Doctors Say: Be Careful, St. Lucie County; make Geoplasma prove its claims about proposed arc incinerator”, www.tcpalm.com; “City to Brief Council on Plasma Arc Recommendations For Landfill Reduction”, City of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services (press release); “Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy? The Pros and Cons of Plasma Incineration”, www.slate.com; “Plasma arc waste disposal”, “Plasma (physics)”, www.wikipedia.com; “How Plasma Converters Work”, www.howstuffworks.com; “The Prophet of Garbage”; Popular Science; “Generating Power From Waste”, www.recyclingexpert.co.uk; www.geoplasma.com (Geoplasma homepage).
Posted in Global Warming, Pollution, Recycling, Solar One, Sustainability, Technology, Waste | Permalink
Orange, Blue and Green
Saturday, July 26th, 2008
When construction on the New York Mets’ new home was started in November of 2006, new ground was broken in more ways than one.
Citifield, the state-of-the-art facility set to replace the current Mets’ home Shea Stadium next April, is destined to be one of New York City’s first sustainable large-scale public buildings in accordance with Mayor Bloomberg’s PlanNYC. The baseball stadium will possess a number of environmentally friendly amenities, including a 15,000-square-foot green roof, 95% recycled steel, ultra-efficient field lighting that will cut energy consumption by as much as 50% and an on-site irrigation system and low-flow plumbing fixtures such as waterless urinals and sensor-activated faucets that will help save an estimated 4 million gallons of water a year.
Many of the measures implemented have even exceeded EPA recommendations, according to Mets management. The team will also partner with the EPA by joining its Energy Star and WasteWise programs and will work with the MTA and the LIRR to make mass transit to games more inviting and convenient. Extensive bicycle racks will be installed as well to encourage both fans and employees to bike to games. To quote Alan Steinberg, the EPA’s regional administrator: “As an environmental official and a baseball maniac, it doesn’t get any better than this… The Mets deserve an environmental MVP for their efforts to reduce the carbon footprint and the waste stream from the construction and operation of their new ballpark.”
With a brick exterior facade and main entrance rotunda intended as an homage to the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers’ home Ebbets Field, Citifield will stir the nostalgia of our city’s colorful past, but more significantly, as a model of sustainable building, it will represent the possibilities and hope of a new Big Apple.
For a more comprehensive list of Citifield’s environmentally friendly features, click here. Meanwhile, take a look at what The Gotham Gazette and The NY Times have reported about the new Yankee stadium.
Sources: “New Mets Stadium a Friend to Environment”, mlb.mlb.com; “Citi Field To Be Green Friendly”, www.nysportscene.com; “Yankee Stadium Parkland Swap”, www.gothamgazette.com; “Green Thievery in the South Bronx”, The New York Times.
Posted in Green Building, New York City, Pollution, Sustainability, Transportation | Permalink
CFLs Soon Safer to Handle
Saturday, July 12th, 2008
In the not-too-distant future, it looks like you’ll be able to handle your CFLs without worrying about the hazards of mercury.
While Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) have long been seen as a technology with significant potential to conserve electricity and reduce consumer energy costs, one of their main drawbacks has been public trepidation about exposure to this toxic element if a bulb happens to break. Now nanotechnology researchers may have developed a way to reduce this concern. According to an article in this week’s Science Times, experiments with microparticles of various elements including sulfur, copper, nickel and most notably selenium have demonstrated promising results when binding with mercury. Potential applications could weave “nanoselenium” into CFL packaging and special cloth with which to mop up breakage, even plastic bags for recycling spent or shattered bulbs.
This means one less reason not to make the switch to these spiral-shaped icons of energy efficiency. Anyway, you won’t have a choice beginning in 2012. As a consequence of last December’s energy bill, traditional incandescent bulbs will be phased out of use, beginning with the 100-watt bulb and ending with the 40-watt in 2014. This ensures that, while we may not necessarily know how bright the future will be, getting there will be a whole lot more efficient.
Posted in Energy, Energy Efficiency, Legislation, Pollution, Products, Recycling, Renewables, Technology, Tru Light | Permalink
July 4th!
Monday, June 30th, 2008| July 4, 2008 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
For everyone who has been wondering about what is happening at Solar One on July 4th, wonder no more. We will once again be working with Rooftop Films to sandwich some great music and short films around the (insert favorite sandwich filling) that are the Macy’s East River fireworks display. Once again we will offer a front row seat for the fireworks – word is we might even have a better view this year if that’s possible), plus great refreshments (some free from 5-7pm). Tickets are $30 and the proceeds go to support Solar One and Rooftop Films – two great non-profit organizations that (we hope) make New York City a more informed and more entertaining place to live. For full details and to purchase tickets, please head on over the the Rooftop Films site for the event.
The event will start at 5pm and everyone needs to be on site by 6pm in order to comply with NYPD rules that will have access blocked off after that time. Please note that in the case of inclement weather, our event will be happening as long as the fireworks are still happening. If the fireworks are moved to a different night (likely Saturday), we will honor all tickets. Otherwise, tickets are non-refundable.
If you have any questions, please call us at (212) 505-6050. Now here’s a photo from last year to whet your appetite.
Posted in Art, East River, Film, Legislation, New York City, Pollution, Solar One, Solar One Events | Permalink
FutureGen Already Past? (Clean Coal – The Sequel)
Friday, March 7th, 2008Back in December, we posted a report about what was billed to be the world’s first zero-emissions coal-burning power plant – FutureGen – slated for operation by 2012 in Mattoon, Illinois (Click here to read the original post). FutureGen was intended to be the first large-scale energy production facility to utilize a new technology known as Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), a process by which carbon dioxide and the other impurities that result from the burning of coal are pumped and stored underground in porous rock strata and saline aquifers, thereby keeping harmful emissions from accumulating in the atmosphere.
Despite the apparently noble intent of this project, our initial report voiced some reservations. First, that CCS had not been adequately tested, with regard to both its large-scale feasibility and its lack of environmental impact (especially on groundwater and subterranean rock/mineral formations). Second, that massive cost overruns and delays were becoming an increasing burden to the project before ground had even been broken.
It now seems that those reservations may have been more than idle speculation. The Economist reported last month that FutureGen is, according to DOE parlance, being “restructured”. In their typically blunt fashion, the eminent policy journal translates this to mean “starting from scratch” (See “Up In Smoke”; Jan. 31, 2008). The DOE is now requesting more information on CCS from the private sector with an eye towards building several smaller plants based on the technology in place of Mattoon’s grand enterprise. This reconsideration was based partly on a March 2007 report issued by MIT suggesting the need for more extensive investigations into CCS and the adoption of less cumbersome federal legislation. The new plan pushes back the completion of the first wave of CCS power plants to 2015 and promises to “at least double the amount” of impurities sequestered. No one yet knows if Mattoon or a reincarnated FutureGen Alliance will be involved.
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Legislation, Politics, Pollution, Technology | Permalink
