By Lucille Chi •
October 15, 2009
New York City plans to train one thousand superintendents on green buildings this year. City managers of commercial and high-rise residential buildings now have the chance reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city on a sky high level.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg took part in the program, “One Year, One Thousand Green Supers” which was also approved by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Building Performance Institute. It’s also made possible by the Thomas Shortman Training Fund. This is part of NYC’s huge goal to reduce their building-generated carbon footprint.
By Rhonda Winter •
September 3, 2009
“What’s on Your Plate?” is a compelling new documentary that follows two eleven year old African American city kids, Sadie and Safiyah, as they explore their local New York food systems over the course of a year. The film accompanies the two girls as they embark upon a quest to learn more about food politics and the origins of what they are eating.
Catherine Gund, filmmaker and co-founder of the feminist [...]
By Jennifer Lance •
July 30, 2009
As August rapidly approaches, summer is heating up! New Yorkers have found a unique way to cool off. The New York Times explains:
On a rented lot that’s hidden from the street they have erected what they call a lo-fi urban country club: three connected pools housed in Dumpsters; a boccie court; some lounge chairs, grills and cabanas…The idea, said David Belt, a real estate developer and the president of Macro-Sea, the company behind the pools, was not to create an exclusive party destination but to experiment with underused space and materials, repurposing them with urban renewal in mind.
By Jennifer Lance •
July 29, 2009
Have you ever heard the urban legend about alligators living in the sewers of New York City? Well if you want to know the truth, look no farther than The Underground Gators written by our very own Tina Casey! Tina actually worked in the sewers of New York City for the Department of Environmental Protection, so she knows the real scoop on alligators living under the Big Apple.
The Underground Gators is a delightful, imaginative story about NYC alligators that also explains such mysteries as to why school buses are yellow and socks go missing from the washing machine. Booklist writes:
This slapstick picture book begins by dispelling the urban myth about alligators living in the sewers of New York City: “To be honest, nobody has ever really seen them.” Then Casey hedges a bit. Just because there hasn’t been an eyewitness, she reasons, doesn’t mean that the alligators aren’t there. Together, Casey and Munsinger try to make a case for the ’gators’ existence, and the result is this over-the-top, comedic offering. All kinds of mysteries can be explained, it seems, by adding the alligator angle. Why are manholes round? So that the pizzas that alligators love to order can be easily passed through. What do babysitters do after kids go to bed? They play cards with alligators. There is a lot more silliness than sense here, but Munsinger makes it work in hilarious scenes of the endearingly goofy reptiles marching through the human world, from summer school to a child’s bedroom, where they stand in for the tooth fairy.
By Zachary Shahan •
July 24, 2009
Join other bicyclists or support a bicyclist to help combat global warming this Fall. For the second year in a row, bicyclists (and non-bicyclists) will join together for a climate conference “on wheels” — the Brita Climate Ride.
By Becky Striepe •
July 22, 2009
Getting out of your car and onto your bike is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint, get in shape, and save some cash!
With all that going for it, why aren’t more folks ditching their cars and pedaling their way around town? There are a ton of excuses, some legit, some not so much. You don’t have to cycle everywhere to make an impact. Even replacing a few car trips a week makes a difference, and you just might find that the more you ride, the more you want to ride. Here are some resources from around the GO network to help get you going!
By Lucille Chi •
July 7, 2009
On exhibit now at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City is Design for a Living World. The design show exhibits ten of the world’s leading designers commissioned by the Nature Conservancy to develop new uses for sustainably farmed and harvested materials. Each invention shares a special story about global design and conservation as well as the life-cycle of the materials used.
By Lucille Chi •
June 30, 2009
New York City’s Cooper Hewitt is highlighting their Fashioning Felt exhibit in a big way. My mind is now filled with ideas about the possibilities of felt.
”Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting processes; they exclude non-woven felt and techniques, in order to underscore the essential elements of feltmaking — wool fiber, agitation, moisture, and pressure.”
I fell for this Felt Ovoid Jacket and Empire Pant look. Isn’t this draped felt suit creative?
Keep reading for more inspiration:
By ZipCar •
June 25, 2009
Last year, 300 folks across North America turned in their car keys for a month as part of the 2008 Zipcar Low-Car Diet. And, in addition to cutting congestion, they also walked 85% more, biked 136% more and decreased their miles driven by 71%. Pretty impressive, eh? Starting July 15, a new crop of participants from all Zipcar cities worldwide* will begin the 2009 Low-Car Diet: one full month of living [...]
