Green Options

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that BMW is giving the city a fleet of MINI Es as part of a feasibility test. In fact, BMW will be testing 500 electric MINIs worldwide. Other cities included in the program are Los Angeles, London and Berlin.

MINI E is the first product from BMW’s Project i program. Project i takes aim at vehicle and transportation strategies for the world’s mega-cities. The cars will be loaned to both customers and the cities for a full year.

The New York MTA is considering a green MetroCard program where riders can donate towards environmentally sustainable operations. The proposal also included that new construction should comply with LEED Silver guidelines. Riders will get to choose.

New York’s new cap-and-trade program has better emission standards than those of the EPA and it begins in March of this year. This is after many battles between the state and the Bush administration trying to lower pollutions standards.

A lobster, thought to be up to 140 years old, is to be released into the Atlantic Ocean, after briefly becoming an unconventional mascot at a New York City restaurant.

PETA found out about the plight of the 20 pound crustacean when a diner at NYC’s City Crab & Seafood called to say it was being kept in the diner’s tank. PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk praised the restaurant, saying, “We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace.”

Recently we’ve discussed how the Project Runway folks are working to make the world a better place. Now, let’s add Nigel Barker (a judge on ANTM) to the list of good guys in showbiz as he is utilizing his stardom to help raise funds to end the hunger crisis in Haiti.

This January 8th from 7:30-10pm, Nigel Barker and the Milk gallery in NYC will present Haiti: Hunger & Hope, which is an exhibition of photos and film taken during the food riots.

The cost to attend is a $25 donation and the goal of the event is to raise funds for Edeyo, an organization working in Haiti to educate and feed the poor children suffering there.

New York City’s Department of Transportation has tapped the Office for Visual Interaction for testing LED street lighting around the Big Apple. If successful, all of the city’s 300,000 street lamps could one day be made up of LEDs.

Most scientists are now in agreement that global warming is happening, and that, in the not too distant future, we may all have to get used to living in a world of mass species exctinctions, population explosion, resource scarcity and rising oceans. The question on many people’s lips is, how will mankind adapt to this drastically different future world?

One possible solution to this dilemma has come from a collective of New York based artists, who have proposed a mass shift towards a waterborne, nomadic existence. In May 2009, the team will launch a new work called Waterpod, a floating eco-habitat designed to support a fully sustainable community (more pics after the jump).

As part of our Behind the Burner food series, I had the unbelievable opportunity to chat with John DeLucie, Executive Chef and Partner of one of New York City’s top celebrity hang outs, The Waverly Inn, a spot so exclusive, the dining is by invitation only.

Needless to say, this gastronomic gem has catered to the highest of high profile crowds, making it a venue to see and be seen while serving up some of the most extraordinary cuisine this side of Eden.  But thanks to the passion of Divya Gugnani, chef, foodie and founder of Behind The Burner, a website that brings the most coveted tips and trends in the culinary scene to the masses, dining like a star is as close as this blog post.

So, read on as we literally go Behind the Burner of the Waverly Inn and inside the creative mastermind that has turned dining into a red carpet event.  

A federal judge has stopped Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to clean up the air in New York City by using fuel-efficient hybrid taxis.

Recently featured on MSNBC, model and student of art & cosmetology, Spirit Demerson has long been concerned about the environment and interested in beauty.  She used to concoct her own natural fragrances, lotions & scrubs in her kitchen and she’s been the “go-to” beauty girl in her circle of friends, family & colleagues for years.  Frusterated about having to send them in a dozen different directions, she decided to open up shop online.  After years of research (and obsession) her dream of opening her very own “beauty lounge” came to fruition last month. 

After two failed attempts, New York City has installed a new-and-improved aluminum alloy turbine in the East River, the only of its kind in the United States.

The turbine is the first of 300 which the city hopes to install in the waterway. Unlike the typical river which flows in a constant direction, the East River is a tidal straight with strong, fluctuating currents which allow for more efficient power generation. Once in place, the system could provide electricity to 10,000 households.