Promoting sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia and a legendary figure in the Livable Streets movement, speaks here with transit activists Commuters United for Transportation Equity (COMMUTE). If you care about our city’s future and particularly the mobility of low-income New Yorkers, have a look.
Lots of interesting local developments occurred during my two-week foray into the world of Carnaval in Brazil (still catching up!), and here’s one of my favorites: NYC is seeing the light on addressing the Combined Sewer Overflow problem – where even a minor rainfall can […]
Ever wondered why New York State, and New York City in particular, are so far behind other parts of the country (and even the region!) when it comes to actual numbers of installed renewable energy systems (especially solar panels)? I’ve received some inquiries on this topic from people who want to see more solar power in NYC, and it seems that a good place to start is knowing what the roadblocks are. One of the biggest is our state’s restrictions on net metering (allowing excess energy generated to be sold back to the grid). With high installation costs and long payback periods for solar and wind power systems, limiting the owner’s ability to sell power back to the utility can be a deal-breaker for many. This further discourages an increase in the number of installations that could potentially bring prices down through economy of scale. Here are some details, courtesy of Environmental Advocates of New York‘s [Green] Capitol Insider e-newsletter:
NYS Gets “Dâ€on Clean Energy Report Card
New York’s net metering policy, the practice that credits consumers for the clean power they generate, received a grade of “D†on a report card released earlier this month by the Network for New Energy Choices.
New York has one of the most restrictive net metering policies in the Northeast. Pennsylvania and New Jersey received “Aâ€s and Connecticut scored a “B.†The report card is available at www.newenergychoices.org.
New York’s net metering policy, often referred to as “spinning the meter backward,†restricts the size of eligible energy systems. We are also one of only two states in the nation (out of the 40+ that are currently home to net metering policies) that doesn’t allow commercial and industrial customers to receive credit for the excess power they generate back to utility companies. Current New York State law limits system capacity to sizes too small to give businesses incentives to invest in their own clean energy systems.
The state can improve its net metering policy by increasing eligible system size, opening up net metering to all customers—residential, agricultural and business, expanding net excess generation for wind, and increasing the overall limit on net metering enrollment.
Fixing the state’s net metering policy would go a long way toward unleashing the economic development potential of the growing clean energy industry in New York.
True that. Judging from a panel discussion on solar power in NYC that I attended recently, there is a growing citizen movement to address this problem through lobbying and activism. I’ll post info as it comes in.
Oil vs. Pashmina, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush. One Soho scarf vendor’s take on Peak Oil.
Yesterday New York’s City Council voted in favor of implementing what would be one of the most stringent electronics recycling laws in the country. According to the New York Times, the bill would impose a $100 fine on anyone who throws an old computer, printer […]
The Sustainable Flatbush Gardening Commitee is spearheading this great free community event:
On Sunday, February 24, residents and other members of the greater Flatbush community can learn what they can do to beautify and improve the environment of their neighborhood.
“Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are” is an afternoon of short lectures, demonstrations, and workshops on topics ranging from planting and caring for street trees to composting with worms in your kitchen.
“Garden is a verb,” says Chris Kreussling, co-chair of the Gardening Committee of Sustainable Flatbush, which is sponsoring the event. “It’s not just a place you visit. It’s something you do.”
“Hearing about what others are already doing can inspire people to work with their neighbors to takeaction,” says Kreussling, who also authors a local gardening blog, Flatbush Gardener. “We want to build community through gardening.”
Greening Flatbush is Sunday, February 24, from 1:30 to 4:30pm at the Flatbush Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at 22 Linden Boulevard.
The event is free, but space is limited. To register, or if you have questions about this event, please email greeningflatbush[at]gmail.com.
For directions, see the Flatbush branch web page on the Brooklyn Public Library Web site.
Have I mentioned that our Gardening Committee is amazing? Check out their mission statement:
We envision a clean, green, and beautiful cityscape for and by the inhabitants of Flatbush.
Our purpose is to empower our community through shared gardening and pro-environment projects.
To achieve this, we will:
Anyone interested in becoming an active member of this committee can request to join their listserv here. Go Gardeners!!
A cargo bike like this costs a month’s salary for some. CD vendor on two wheels. I previously visited Recife and Olinda in 2005, and for some reason it feels like there are more people riding bikes now… my imagination? perhaps. But bikes make a […]
P1000961, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush. P1000960, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush. Public Recycling bins for Paper (Papel), Glass (Vidro), Metal (um, Metal), and Plastic (Plastico). These bins were not around when I was here in for Carnaval in 2005; I haven’t poked my […]
P1010105, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush.
Lixo (trash) Organico and Lixo Inorganico dancing together. Anyone know what SESC stands for?
P1010102, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush. Cargo bikes are very big here, carrying everything from huge bottles of water to sounds for the party!
