To have a genuine goal or purpose, especially in regards to the environment, is acknowledgeable. Having means or a plan, however, as alluded to in class, is noteworthy because this plan provides a way to achieve the goals. Even better than having a plan is putting the plan into action, which New York City demonstrated with its PlaNYC environmental initiative, which sets out to improve the land, water, transportation, energy, and air of New York City. This program may be the start of even more environmental programs and initiatives that will help us restore the Earth’s natural balance and maintain this equilibrium.
Personally, I am proud as a New Yorker that the government is tending to such goals. These goals show that the government apparently cares about the well being of the ecosystems on Earth and wish to preserve what is in its power to preserve. After all, besides federal funding and long-run benefits, there seems to be no quick, easy scams as incentives for implementing such environmental plans into New York City’s future. By this statement, I mean that government officials do care, or are taking into account the opinions of people that feel strongly about the environment, which probably explains partially why they would even form such a plan.
I must note that, although I am pleased that New York City is making an effort to practice limits and sustainability, I am a bit apprehensive about whether some of the substituents of the initiative are actually going to be effective. In addition, I am skeptical of whether the implemented plan is mostly intended to make a cleaner Earth for all biodiversity or just for New Yorkers, in which case, PlaNYC does not have the intrinsic value of Earth and it resources in mind. For example, I was a bit confused in class of why the program funds land cleanups to create parks that look more so like shopping areas. Perhaps the intent is that everywhere we go, whether it is the store, the bank, or the gym, greenery and sustainability surrounds us. My hope is that this reasoning is why this new area looks as it does, and not necessarily for the aesthetic wants of us humans. After all, we must remember that humans should be selfless if we truly want to mend our wrongs in the environment and must be willing to adapt ourselves to the favorable equilibrium of the Earth. We must learn to live according to ways, that is, that favor the natural, normal equilibrium of Earth.
This notion brings me to the fourth path of the Five Paths to Enlightened Environmentalism. That is, if we want to enjoy all that the Earth has to offer, such as its land and its resources, we must preserve the Earth as much as we can and not destroy the Earth’s multiple reservoirs of valuables, which we use daily and miss deeply if not readily available for us, such as natural gas or drinking water. The PlaNYC program promotes this fourth path by attempting to create a cleaner, more environmentally sensible New York City.
PlaNYC is a great opportunity to emanate environmental responsibility and sustainability to New Yorkers and the rest of the world. That is, New Yorkers have the opportunity to see change first hand and can, thus, reproduce on a smaller scale the actions taken in light of PlaNYC. In addition, once other cities in America and around the world notice what we are doing in our city, they too may strive too achieve similar goals as ours for their own benefit. This increased awareness and dissemination of strategic ways of achieving sustainability goals have the potential to enhance the positive impact humans can have on the environment. Just as every small action counts, so do the larger actions of individuals, cities, and countries as well.
New York City’s plan highlights the role of government in creating solutions to the environmental crisis. Although I am not a strong advocate of the government’s hands in people’s lives, I do condone the government’s actions that work towards the interest of the people and what is right. PlaNYC is a program that I feel will work in the best interest of the people environmentally, economically, and socially.
Sherifa Baldeo
