Just this morning I saw a great tweet on the feed for Beyond Coal–the Sierra Club’s initiative to phase out coal fired power plants and stop new ones from developing–about new exercise equipment being tested for gyms. The “Green System” ellipticals and bikes will A) feed energy back to the grid and B) Show exercisers how many watts they are producing. Similar products in existence are inverters that can be attached to various stationary bikes. This set up, which includes both the bike/elliptical and the inverter, will increase system efficiency by 40%, allowing for up to 70% of the energy created by exercisers to be returned to the grid. Additionally, programs to incentivize maximum energy production are in the works. Discounts on gym memberships and other prizes will be awarded to those who perform, which is of course why we are at the gym in the first place.  The pilot is set to launch at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada this February.  But I think this could work in our over-achieving, competitive, vanity obsessed, future thinking city as well.

There are of course micro-scale examples of translating this energy into use. Occupy Wall Street campers were using bicycle power generators–only after the NYPD confiscated their gas fueled ones. The annual Coachella music festival has the Energy FACTory DJ Mixer, which is a power-cordless stage where musicians play their sets powered by the see-saws, bikes, and a human-hamster wheel that power the equipment. (Note, the video linked there talks about a whole slew of sustainability projects that people engage with at Coachella. Watch it!) And  on a similar note, there is the green dance floor that captures the energy of the party people upon it.  NYC apparently has a few of these. I have yet to encounter one, but let us know if you have!

The initiative to accept food stamps at Grow NYC markets began in 2007 and at that time, these transactions amounted to a few thousand dollars. By 2009, it was $251,000. In 2010 we were up to $505,000. And in 2011, $620,000 worth of food stamps was spent at participating Grow NYC markets. Note, there are other markets that accept food stamps that are not affiliated with Grow NYC. A map of them can be seen here.

Nationwide, low-income Americans spent about .01 of their foodstamps in Green Markets. GOOD has a nice map showing which states have signed on to make this type of transaction more convenient for their food consumers and they kindly outline which states continuously hold out. Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.  I’d be interested in seeing  a map that highlights overlap between big agribusiness turf and the program deniers.

We still have a long way to go in getting fresh food to all Americans. But it took many steps for the food system to change, to the point where the Crop Life Association came out against Michelle Obama for declaring the White House Garden as organic. For some seriously mind-blowing reading, take a look at the association’s call to arms for a letter writing campaign to tell the First Lady that the garden should not be organic.  For a more indepth discussion of that whole escapade, you can listen to Michael Pollan’s Illustrated Food Rules on the January 2nd, 2012 Leonard Lopate show.

Ultimately, every step taken to bring us to our current food system status-quo, every bill signed, every food pyramid created, every subsidy awarded, every cultural norm established, will need to be replaced by steps in a different direction, supported by a vision to take us there. I’d like to think that $620,000 worth of food stamps spent at  Grow NYC markets in 2011 is one of those steps.    [image via year of plenty]

While there seems to be a healthy amount of anti-fracking sentiment and concern over the long term losses in property values–the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY along with other businesses have issued a statement coming out against it–there are some loud voices in support of natural gas exploration. These residents claim that the towns are out of line and this is something the state decides.  One 3rd generation farmer who did lease her land to an oil company has already sued her town. And and it is quite certain that there will be more along those lines.

While the Institute for Sustainable Cities has no formal position on the fracking debate–as of yet,  I Carina Molnar, personally hold the view that the precautionary principle is likely the way to go here. So, interpret that as you like.  I also believe that the movement to restore local control over what actually happens locally is a shift in the right direction for all political strategy. But this particular situation proves the need for a larger authority to mediate and take into account the needs of one geographic place and all those who rely on something from there, water, in this case.  It is sort of the tragedy of the commons with a contemporary twist: If only we weren’t all potentially effected by the decision of Land Owner A, s/he could do whatever s/he wanted.The land itself is not the issue since A owns it. What is at stake is what happens to the public good based on what happens on A’s land. We can come up with ballpark figures as to how bad the worst case scenario would be. But the more important argument in my mind is, how much value is added by keeping that ecosystem in tact and healthy in the first place.

So, where are the wind energy advocates on this one? A quick google search shows some action on this in Pennsylvania. But I am actually curious as to what the alternatives are…More on this soon.

[image via Chemical Heritage Foundation]

We recycle only 15% of our waste stream, which is down from our high of 21% (still not that impressive) in 2001. And the city is researching various pay-as-you-go systems that would charge people different rates on their waste, based on volume. As is usual, the reality of our sub-par recycling performance is a mix of behavior–New Yorkers allegedly only sort about half of what could actually be diverted from the landfill, bad communication–people are seriously confused about what can and cannot be recycled, and a lack of incentives and clear benefits to making changes.Public information is not going to be enough on this one. Sound familiar!?

The discussion of composting toward the end of the article focuses specifically on businesses and their practices. But mentions nothing of the pilot projects to collect compostables at more farmers markets–which of course are wrought with problems. That stuff gets hauled pretty far to become nutrient rich “black gold.” I am personally curious as to whether that stuff has had any sort of impact on the overall waste stream. Check out where you can compost in your neighborhood by visiting the Greenmap Compost guide. And save your take out containers and compostable items for a week to see where you can do more.

[image via Ecoteurre]

My favorite response was found on Tree Hugger, who very simply said: “You Are Now One of 7 Billion People on Planet Earth.  Our recommendation: Live accordingly.” There is of course a more in-depth discussion of what this all means for limited resources paired with growing appetites for them over at Dot Earth.

I guess I would probably say the same thing to these babies as I would to any other one: You were born into exciting and amazing times, but they are also full of anxieties and concern that a lot of things need to be fixed. So you will have to work hard to contribute to the cause of betterment. Also, that is not going to get any easier for you, so you will have to be innovative, but you will have tools and talent beyond measure to make that happen. You will also have to learn about the role of lobbying in politics if you want all of your efforts to go anywhere. Live in a city. Be close to the people you care about. And yes, you will survive your teenage years.

In the time I wrote this, many more babies were born. And we now have 7,000,274,589 people on the planet. What do you you want to tell them?

[image via World Population Day]

But their 2-D reality can sometimes create disconnect between the 3-D world we live in and what we are looking at. Enter the 4D map! Created by Stephan Van Dam, the only cartographer with work in the permanent collection at MOMA, and the creator of many maps you have no doubt utilized, the 4D mApp launches this week at AIGA New York. You will, be welcomed into the 4th dimension when you attend the event, as the exhibit space itself will be a 4D map. To learn more about the mApp and about the other great maps that Van Dam has created, visit their website.

To learn more about the event at AIGA, read the info below which is from their site:

“Stephan Van Dam has been playing with dimensionality and the sex appeal of maps ever since inventing the patented 3D UNFOLDS pop-up maps to 85 cities around the world, 26 of which are in the MoMA Collection. Here comes VanDam’s 4DmApp, the world’s first series of maps where you become part of the map in 4D cartographic space. Celebrate at the launch party and step inside the map while sipping a drink. See 4DmApp take over the AIGA National Design Center in a large scale “projection mapping”…a first for NYC. Immersive, sexy and fun!

TIME AND PLACE

Wednesday 26 October 2011
6:30–8:30PM

AIGA National Design Center
164 5th Ave
New York, NY, 10010

All of these options have benefits and drawbacks, conveniences and hassles, but they all help us support local, fresh food supplies, which is mutually beneficial for both producers and consumers.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Mallory Sustick who is involved in a new farm to table (via the internets) project called Plovgh (pronounced plough).  You will notice that their site is still in development, but as it says on there already, “Plovgh is a way to find, purchase, and receive food from farms.” It is sort of a hybrid, mash-up of many different models of sustainable food procurement in New York City. It is like a farmers market because there is no middle-man: You buy products based on certain farmers offerings, through Plovhgs website. It is like a CSA, because there is a specific pick up point in your neighborhood where you go get your goodies. And well, actually, nothing is really like the Park Slope Food Coop. It is, after all, the largest working food coop in the country. But you get my point. The Plovghs model will connect people to local farmers on their terms and schedule, at prices that are comparable to existing offers for such foods.

Check out their website and sign up to receive updates and news. You can follow them on twitter too @plovgh. [Image credit: Hand Plough by Frankie Roberto, on Flickr.]

Maathai dedicated her life to building active civic societies that could address both economic and environmental destruction with simple yet impacting solutions.  The Green Belt Movement, which she founded and led until her passing, started with a simple idea that has profound meaning, both symbolically and in reality.  They began by planting trees as a means of economic development, women’s empowerment, environmental restoration and the securing of sustainability for future generations.  Think the Million Trees NYC campaign is impressive? (it is!) The Green Belt Movement wants to plant a billion and they have already planted 40 million.

I would highly recommend that anyone who might need some pep in their step regarding our global state of affairs read her book: Unbowed. She seamlessly makes the connections between human rights, environmental health, and economic equality; she exemplified the idea of thinking globally and acting locally. Her courage is awe inspiring and she spent plenty of time in a jail cell while fighting for what she believed in.  And really folks, just look at that smile.  RIP Wangari Maathai. We will try to make you proud! [image courtesy of The Green Belt Movement]

City Atlas, a digital platform developed by the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College and Artist As Citizen, launches this Thursday at www.thecityatlas.org. Generously supported by a 2010 Rockefeller Foundation Cultural Innovation award, City Atlas guides and inspires New Yorkers to participate in building a more sustainable future. An optimistic, relevant, and accessible hub of daily resources and ideas, the Atlas creates new and larger audiences for sustainability by mapping the important work being done by members of New York’s rich cultural, scientific, political and grassroots communities. City Atlas consists of the following components:

Explore | A collection of interactive maps tracing New York’s changing present and possible future

Lifestyle | A daily feed of events, tips, new ideas, and  ‘     NY Back’ volunteer opportunities

People | We ask New Yorkers–everyday people and experts alike–to share their thoughts on the city’s present and future.

Lab | Our very own micro funding initiative supporting innovative, participatory, and on the ground sustainability work in NYC

Archive | A collection of recent creative projects about the city

The weekly ‘Atlas Beat,’ which is pictured above, will feature a map of our top listings for the week, including current events,  new ideas, and fun facts.

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Although the event seems to be well received and extremely well produced, full with celebrities of both the Holly Wood kind and the academic, and includes an exceptionally well made and disturbing video clip linking the methods of big tobacco lawyers and scientists to the practices of our contemporary contrarians, I still wonder whether this event can be the game changer it wants to be. Gore made a statement to NPR that got me thinking that before I even tuned into the live broadcast for a little while. Going off the statistic that 98% of climate scientists believe in anthropogenic climate change (which prompted the title of this post), he says, “If 98 doctors told you you had a heart condition that required you to make some changes and two doctors say, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ … hopefully you’d go with the 98.”

But what if those 2 doctors were paid by people who continuously invaded your frequently viewed television, print media, and blogosphere outlets and kept saying, there’s more than 2 of us who believe this? What if they were employed to keep selling you products that would ensure their salaries and their ability to provide for their families, even if it meant, you as an individual would keep suffering? What if those 2 doctors managed to make you think that the stuff that the 98 doctors said and believed was still not entirely confirmed? What if you are just pretty comfortable with your lifestyle and fear that making lots of changes is going to be too hard–because the 2 doctors told you it would be or because you actually really enjoy those foods and no exercise. And finally, what if you decided to actually make those changes, to heed the warning of the 98 doctors, but it seemed that every thing you did paled in comparison to the larger changes (in your environment, your job, etc) that needed to be made in order to see results?

While of course an analogy is not meant to be taken entirely literally, I believe this one is a particularly good example of how we still may be failing in our communication and ultimately in our mitigation tactics. Coming off of a summer of extreme weather events, we may have more peoples attention on the issue. But ultimately the lack of regulation from a federal and international level (the external factors that you can’t control, unless in you’re in the government) suppresses the efforts, actions, and political will of believers.  Don’t get me wrong. I am still all about creating an informed populous who can remind their political constituents that they want to see action on climate change. But without a lobby as powerful as that of the 2%–that 2% that has effectively altered reality–we are still on a constant defensive to reclaim it.