I do believe the first step to doing anything in life is to plan. It’s nice to see that NYC is planning on being greener, but how many people have planned to do so? Way too many and nothing has happened. So when you were going over the steps NYC planned to take, from cleaning out brownfields to achieving the cleanest air out of all the cities, I couldn’t help but think: “yeah, yeah, being clean and stuff, yeah.” It’s unfortunate, because some of the ideas truly were good, such as developing a backup network for the water system and reducing global warming emissions by more than 30%. But I couldn’t help but believe that this was just another amazing to-do list that wouldn’t actually be done. I mean, I know from experience. My to-do lists are phenomenal but rarely get accomplished.
So it really was surprising for me to see that NYC has actually done something to achieve its goals by 2030. They aren’t procrastinating, which is the biggest shocker here! They have created new land by decking over infrastructure, Park Avenue being the example that relates most to us Hunter students. It is also good to see that brownfields have been made useful, such as in Atlas Park, Queens. It’s a shame, though, that these areas aren’t being supported enough. Not sure if it is the consumers fault or not, but I am wondering how they advertise something like this. Do they simply say “Hey, new mall over here! Grand opening!” Or do they mention that is was once nothing but a chemically polluted piece of land?
What I also liked from what NYC is doing is that they are doing something about the horrible train traffic we have to face daily! In class we discussed the 6 train and how crowded it was, to the point where it is the most crowded train in the nation (right?)! In all honesty though, I do believe the 4 and 5 trains are worse, but the class was really dead set on the 6 train so I didn’t bother saying anything. But that’s not the point; the point was that the government is building a 2nd avenue line, which I strongly believe will help very much with the overcrowding issue. Unfortunately, this will probably be built once I no longer need to use the 4, 5, or 6 trains anymore, but at least it’ll help those to come in the future. I’m wondering, though: since they are now building a brand new subway line here, why don’t they try and make it more environmentally friendly? We learned about the issue of inhaling steel and how dangerous that it. Maybe they can do something to fix that? Better ventilation? I understand if they don’t want to rebuild/fix up the old train stations, but I don’t think they have an excuse right now with this new one.
I also loved learning about the Bluebelt program in Staten Island. I think it was a very smart way of “not killing the bees” and using nature to solve the combined sewage overflow problem that we have when it rains. I read an article on Scientific American about this program and it mentioned that it did not obviously prevent the huge amount of water coming in during Hurricane Sandy, but it wasn’t built to prevent that. When it comes to rainwater, it is very successful, so they plan on building one like it in Queens. I’m wondering if they are going to build it in every borough, or if they’re just going to build it in the ones that truly need it? I assume every borough needs it, so why not build one in all of them? Why one at a time? Money issues? That seems to always be the obvious answer.
But the greener issue that I’d love to see NYC solve is making the city have lesser global warming emissions by 30%. The senate legislation (me!) was calling for 40% less by 2022, but hey, it’s something. I wonder how they’ve been doing in this area? I feel this may be the most difficult out of the bunch.
