I walk down my Avenue quite a few times a week, and am always greeted by two blocks of very mature oak trees (probably at least 50 years of age) shading the sidewalks and the road. Even though one has to watch out in October when the acorns go flying in the wind, these few blocks used to be one of the few respites from the white-hot sidewalks of my neighborhood.
The above picture doesn't show oak trees, but does show trees typical of a program in New York called "Greenstreets" that is resulting in a greener New York.
Last month I actually had to call 311 (New York City’s All-in-One information and city agency action non-emergency number) to request that some recently planted trees get trimmed. My neighborhood is starting to look like the stereotypical revered suburbs, and I’m loving every minute of it!
The greening of New York City has come during the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, someone who we will hear a lot from in coming years after he leaves office at the end of 2009. Not only has he started a program to plant more trees in the city’s five boroughs, but he and others also have done quite a bit to help make our city more “green” in this time of environmental uncertainty.
New York has a lot to loose if the climate warms dramatically. A good deal of the city sits very close to sea level, as does vast areas of New Jersey and Long Island. Whether or not Bloomberg is doing this to show he is environmentally responsible or not, we certainly are benefitting from the immediate effects of tree planting, bike lanes, and hybrid buses and taxis.
Yet more can be done, Mr. Mayor. What about requiring planting vegetation on roofs of apartment buildings, much like I saw done recently on Extreme Home Makeover? This might just bring the summer temperature of the city down by a good deal and also help lower air conditioning bills of long-suffering tenants of those buildings. Need more power for air-conditioning? Install windmills along the entire length of the Belt Parkway and hook them into the ConEd grid instead of building more power plants. Maybe all new buildings could be required to provide a portion of their own power for themselves through windmills and solar panels, both thermal and solar-electric. Extra and unused energy could be fed into the grid.
But I’m really not complaining. The greening of the city is more than I ever thought that I’d see in my lifetime in New York. Still, let’s not stop; let’s make New York a great example of Green Power and show the world that we can cool off and power up at the same time.
Speaking of wind power, T. Boone Pickens has an interesting and bold proposal for helping wean the United States off of expensive, polluting, environmentally unfriendly petroleum. This plan includes a significant investment in wind power and conversion of road transportation to a fleet of more environmentally friendly natural-gas powered cars and trucks. Check out his plan at: http://www.pickensplan.com His plan doesn't include geothermal or solar sources of energy, but it is a good start and it can be done.
