Are Yellow Taxis Turning Green?

It’s a well known truth that taking public transportation is a great way to help the environment. But did you know that public transportation itself is going green too? Watch this interesting video to learn the “story of how the hybrid taxi made its way to the streets of New York City and the beneficial impact this development will have on the environment and citizens of New York.”

Recently, Mayor Bloomberg along with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Board of Commissioners approved a financial incentive program to increase the use of fuel efficient and environmentally friendly taxicabs right here in the Big Apple. With over 13,000 cabs roaming the city streets everyday, most people may not know that there are already 1,551 fuel efficient cabs. TLC Chairman Matthew Daus summarizes the decision clearly in a statement he made, saying: "[Environmentally friendly taxicabs] save drivers around $6,500 per year and have been passing inspections 85 percent of the time, as compared to the average 54 percent for other prevalent taxicab vehicles. Switching to a hybrid makes more sense for drivers’ wallets, and for our environment." Check out this site to hear more of what Daus and Bloomberg have to say.

Here at Overbrook, we’ve supported grantees like The Natural Resources Defense Council that are dedicatedly following green taxi cabs too. Check out what Kate Sinding of New York City has to say in her blog on NRDC’s Switchboard. Or, like Bennett Madison says in his blog, “The gas-saving engines are a perfect fit for cabbies, who do nothing but accelerate and brake all day long and who stand to profit from reduced fuel costs.” Overall, this decision looks like a big step in the right direction towards a more sustainable mode of transport and hopefully greener cities across the US.

But that’s not all, at least in New York City….

MTA New York City Transit has complete descriptions on their website describing how not just taxis, but trains, buses, and subways are doing their part to improve the environment. Between their “Sustainable Development” and “Green Building Program,” to water and electricity conservation, New York City looks to be working hard to transport its seven million people in a more energy efficient way. For example, MTA subways now use regenerative breaking to conserve what would be lost energy while traveling, and even are replacing incandescent train signals with more sustainable LED lights-saving NYC Transit $4.8 million a year. And, not only does NYC have the largest hybrid-running bus fleet in North America, but some people may still be surprised to learn that Brooklyn’s Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station is run completely by 210 kilowatts of solar power. To learn more about how green Gotham truly is check out this site, and keep using public transportation.

Rally for LGBT Rights and Marriage Equality

Russell Saray, my husband, and I attended Equality & Justice Day, an all-day rally in Albany, NY organized by the Empire State Pride Agenda. Over 2,000 advocates from across New York State petitioned their state assembly people and senators demanding support for legislation that would advance same-sex marriage rights through civil marriage, make schools safer for LGBT students and protect LGBT employees from discriminatory employment practices.

It was great fun and quite an eye opener. Until you've listened to a 17 year old transgender, Latino student from the Bronx describe his efforts to organize a gay/straight alliance in his high school, you don't begin to understand the bravery of these young people. And it was amazing to see how diverse LGBT people are in New York State. Every corner of the state was represented.

But, at least to me, most impressive was the number of young people who attended and boldly presented their stories and their demands to state legislators. It is clear that LGBT rights will be guaranteed by the next generation now coming into leadership positions in the movement.

The Shopper's Guide to Pesticides

The Environmental Working Group has done it again. In addition to its Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database, the organization has published the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides.

According to an article in Redbook, the organic market is booming with about 70 percent of Americans buy organic food occasionally, and nearly one quarter buy it every week. The reason is simple: People want natural food that is healthier for their bodies and the environment.

While Organic food can be produced with certain synthetic ingredients, it must adhere to specific standards regulated by the USDA. Organic crops are generally grown without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, irradiation or biotechnology. According to the article, in the absence of pesticides and fertilizers, plants boost their production of the phytochemicals (vitamins and antioxidants) that strengthen their resistance to bugs and weeds. Pesticides have been shown to have carcinogenic and other adverse health effects in humans.

So why doesn't everyone eat organic all the time? The biggest reason is that organic food typically costs more.

The Environmental Working Group recognizes this conundrum and has responded by producing the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides. The guide ranks pesticide contamination for 47 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the USDA and the FDA. Nearly all the studies used to create the list tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled.

Results from the study show that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than two pesticides per day.

Here is part of the list for the most contaminated: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, and nectarines.

Here is part of the list for the least contaminated: onions, avocados, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, and mangoes.

Click here to see the full list and explanation. The best part of the guide is that it shows that eating healthy can be done without breaking the bank--it's all about making the right choices. I know I'm going to take this list with me whenever I go grocery shopping.

Perfect Timing

According to Energy Star, in the average U.S. home, lighting accounts for about 20 percent of the electric bill. One of the easiest way to avoid wasteful lighting is to use light timers.

In her latest article, Grist.org's Umbra advises readers how to find the right light timer. The cheapest timer can be found in a hardware store and only costs about five dollars. You plug the square box into the wall, plug the lamp into the box and set the color-coded plastic prongs by desired on and off times.

Digital versions of this timer cost only slightly more. There are also versions of this timer that are embedded in power strips and photosensitive ones that are made for outdoor lights.

Efficiency power strips can also be used to turn off all attached appliances to prevent vampire power. To see Umbra's article on power strips, click here.

For those interested in a little electrical work, Umbra suggests installing a more complicated electric timer wired directly into an electric box. The switch has four or so settings of time--10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minute, etc.--and turns itself off after an allotted time.

Saving money has never been easier!

Happy Earth Day!

As Elizabeth posted on Monday, today is Earth Day! Nearly 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970. Since then, Earth Day has spread around the world with thousands of events in more than 180 countries.

Last Sunday, 100,000 people attended Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Speakers and entertainers included Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Representative Edward Markey, and rock bands The Flaming Lips and Los Lobos.

Today President Obama is addressing plans for energy and green jobs in Iowa.

So what are you going to do today? Find an event in your area and do something!

To start, there's a cool photo project run by Earth Mosaic that will plot photos from around the globe on a map. Click here for more information. For more events, look at Elizabeth's blog post.

Greenhouse Gases and the EPA

We all know that greenhouse gases are horrible for the environment, so shouldn’t it be obvious that they’re bad for your health too? Well now, according to the EPA, this assumption has become a cold hard fact.

After being told back in April 2007 by the Supreme Court that greenhouse-gas emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act if the EPA determined whether or not they posed a threat to public health and welfare, the agency succeeded this past Friday in determining that yes, planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare.

Still, passing White House review is just an early step in this process, but a good step nonetheless. Obviously the Obama administration is moving closer to efficiently and productively regulating carbon dioxide emissions, but how exactly regulation will take place and what industries will be most affected has yet to be covered. Surely though, cars and power plants will be at the top of the list in terms of seeing drastic change, especially since “coal-fired power plants alone account for 40 percent of emissions.” To learn more about the Supreme Court rulings and what next steps are being taken check out more of what writer Kate Sheppard has to say over at Grist.

As for the actual health problems that are relevant here, the EPA is looking at six major emissions. As H. Josef Hebert of the Associated Press says in his article, besides the obvious, carbon dioxide-the main product of burning fossil fuels-scientists believe methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) to be the most dangerous. Directly, such emissions can create devastating results. Andrei Tchernitchin, secretary of the Chilean Medical Association's Health Commission, supports that in Chile, "Santiago's air pollution is causing not only acute respiratory infections and an increase in premature mortality due to cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, but in the long term also chronic diseases such as lung cancer and persistent impairment of immune function hormone regulation." Read more about what Tchernitchin has to say here.

On a broader level, the World Health Organization believes these emissions to affect the public health in the following ways:

-Increasing frequencies of heatwaves: recent analyses show that human-induced climate change significantly increased the likelihood of the European summer heatwave of 2003.
-More variable precipitation patterns are likely to compromise the supply of freshwater, increasing risks of water-borne disease.
-Rising temperatures and variable precipitation are likely to decrease the production of staple foods in many of the poorest regions, increasing risks of malnutrition.
-Rising sea levels increase the risk of coastal flooding, and may necessitate population displacement. More than half of the world's population now lives within 60km of the sea. Some of the most vulnerable regions are the Nile delta in Egypt, the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh, and many small islands, such as the Maldives, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.
-Changes in climate are likely to lengthen the transmission seasons of important vector-borne diseases, and to alter their geographic range, potentially bringing them to regions that lack population immunity and/or a strong public health infrastructure.

All in all, it looks like the US is in business for finding a sustainable way to regulate greenhouse gases and solutions for the health effects of these problems. Who knows, maybe this is just the beginning of an even bigger movement towards greener living, better health, and a better planet.

Only Two Days Until Earth Day

Attention all Earth lovers – Earth Day 2009 is just around the corner! This Wednesday April 22nd marks the start to a day of action, education, and civic participation across the country as communities of all shapes and sizes spark awareness and take time to appreciate the world that we live in.

Even better, this April 22nd will mark the beginning of the Green Generation Campaign. This campaign is a two-year initiative to improve public health and schools, as well as build solutions to national and global issues together that will culminate during Earth Day’s 40th anniversary in 2010.

More than 500 million people in 164 countries today participate in Earth Day so, what are you going to do? Want to learn how to organize your own event? Want to find out what college students are doing to celebrate on their campuses? Want to do your part and volunteer, but don’t know where? Check out this site to find all the answers to your every Earth Day need.

Curious how Earth Day started? Read the Father of Earth Day, Senator Nelson of Wisconsin’s interview to find out how.

And, don’t forget to check out Walt Disney Studios’ release of “Earth,” the first feature-length nature documentary from its new production banner, Disneynature. Watch the trailer for this beautiful and dramatic tour of our home planet.

New York to Legalize Gay Marriage?

We’ve been following pretty closely the issue of gay marriage the past few weeks here on the Foundation’s blog. The recent victories in Iowa and Vermont have been very positive developments for gay marriage advocates.

Well we may be adding another state to the list very soon. And it’s our home state of New York! Many New Yorkers know that in May of 2008, Governor David Paterson directed that All New York agencies being to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. As a result of this, New York became the first state that did not allow same-sex marriages, but whose states agencies would recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

Well just yesterday morning Gov. Paterson announced during a news conference that he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage here in New York, adding it to the four states that have already approved such unions. Mr. Paterson said he would lead the movement to authorize same-sex marriage in New York. Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke immediately after the governor’s morning news conference and said, “I’m happy today and still today New York City is a major center for worker’s rights, for immigrant rights and for gay rights.”

Bloomberg also said he believes the “tide is turning” on same-sex marriage. We certainly hope so.

Rainforest Alliance Gets Naked!

Well, kinda!

The Rainforest Alliance is teaming up with Naked Juice, a beverage brand found throughout North America, to certify that 100 percent of the company's bananas will come from environmentally sustainable and socially just sources.

Eighteen of the 25 available products will have all of their bananas sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and carry the seal. The company will begin by launching its strawberry-banana flavor.

The Rainforest Alliance will continue to work with Naked Juice and its parent company, PepsiCo, to source additional certified fruits and to grow the number of certified farms across a whole spectrum of crops.

Naked Juice has a great web presentation on its site that discusses the initiative. I'm excited to see that my favorite flavor, Berry Blast, is on the list of certified drinks!

Is your iPhone Green?

Are you as addicted to your iPhone as I am? Well, looks like Foundation's intern, Sarah Kelly certainly is. Check out her piece below to find out how green your cell phone is!

Did you know that your cell phone might be green?

Going green isn’t just trendy right now; it’s so easy you might not even realize your doing it–especially with something as technological as your phone. Some people may be surprised to know that companies like Apple have joined in on the fun. Check out their website to learn exactly how Apple’s iPhone is environmentally sustainable. Or, check out the iPhone’s long list of “apps” or applications that make it even easier to stay green. By downloading these types of programs you can get free tips on your phone using the “Go Green” app and learn a little something new every time you click—or touch in this case. With “MeterRead,” pay just $2.99 and you’ll be able to calculate and log your personal electrical consumption, and therefore, your upcoming bill. Addicted to shopping, but want to stay eco-friendly? Try Apple’s free app “3rdWhale,” a location finding shopping app to all eco-friendly shops nearest you. Like many apps for the iPhone, the possibilities are endless. So if you’ve got an iPhone, be sure to check out the App Store now to find easy ways to stay green. Check out Apple’s own “Go-Green” blog here to learn more.

And for those without iPhones, don’t fret because Apple isn’t the only one thinking green thoughts when it comes to the future of cell phones. In fact, LG is looking to launch a phone capable of recharging through solar power sometime in 2009. Even better, the phone’s manuals will be printed on recycled paper with ink made out of soy. Nokia’s Research Center launched an “Eco Sensor Concept Phone” that “comes with a sensor unit that can be worn on neck or wrist with the help of the strap made from solar cells to examine health, environment and local weather conditions.” Want to see the Top 12 Green Concept Phones of All Time? Check out this site to be amazed at both the quality and quantity of environmentally friendly phones out there. Whether you’re looking to purchase a phone made of bamboo, or just trying to become a more eco-friendly mobile user-there’s obviously a lot of interesting and creative ways to participate.

Written by Sarah Kelly

Rainforest Alliance and Sustainable Chocolate

By 2020, candy corporation Mars said that all its chocolate products will be made from sustainable sources. Beginning with a popular candy bar sold in Britain, Mars will buy cocoa from suppliers who meet certain environmental, labor and production standards.

The Rainforest Alliance will work with Mars to certify its Galaxy chocolate bars with its trademark tree frog seal. The initiative will cost tens of millions of dollars over the next decade, though the company does not intend to charge more for its candy.

The partnership between Mars and the Rainforest Alliance aims to improve the yield of the crops and to ensure that the practices of farmers do not damage the environment. Last year Mars began working on a five-year, $10 million project to map the entire cocoa genome with the aim of developing trees that can better survive drought and disease.

Cocoa is farmed on more than 18 million acres of tropical land and can be cultivated under the shade of native canopy trees. According to the Rainforest Alliance, without training farmers cannot sustain strong yields in the face of disease, inclement weather and price fluctuations.

Working with the Rainforest Alliance will help Mars--one of the world's largest chocolate makers--take an unprecedented step to make a positive impact on the cocoa industry, farmers and chocolate lovers. To read more about the partnership, click here.

A Greener Empire State Building

Owners of the Empire State Building announced that the iconic landmark will undergo retrofitting to reduce its energy use by 38 percent a year by 2013. The annual savings is projected at $4.4 million.

While upfront costs often deter owners from retrofitting older buildings, the energy savings for the Empire State building, built in 1931, are expected to pay back initial costs in only three years.

According to an article in The New York Times, people involved in the retrofit want to offer an example of how older buildings can have the highest energy standards and effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The largest share of New York City's greenhouse gas emissions, 78 percent, comes from the city's buildings, with commercial buildings contributing 25 percent.

The retrofit plan aims to cut down the pollution the building produces by 105,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year. Most of the energy used in the Empire State Building goes toward lighting, cooling and heating. The retrofit consists of eight different projects, including upgrades to the ventilation and electrical systems and installation of sophisticated electronic instrumentation.

Tenants will also become involved by monitoring their own energy use through a Web-based dashboard accessible from their computers.

The retrofit company aims to achieve platinum certification and expects the building to fall in the top 10 percent of Energy Star office buildings when renovation is complete.

Unfortunately, the building supervisors say that a greener building might mean higher rent because of its desirability. If the building owners really want to make an example, however, they would demonstrate that retrofits are economical and can be done without adding monetary stress on its tenants.

To read the original article in The New York Times, click here.

Vermont Joins Iowa In Support of Same-Sex Marriage

The victories keep on coming for advocates of gay marriage! I was clearly too pessimistic when I blogged last week about the state of Vermont. Although I was thrilled to see the Vermont House had joined the Senate in passing the gay marriage bill, it looked likely that Vermont’s Republican governor, Jim Douglas, who opposed the bill and called it a “distraction”, would veto it when it reached his desk. As of last week it wasn’t clear there were enough votes to override his veto.

Well, I’m glad to say I was wrong. Yesterday morning the Vermont Legislature did in fact override Douglas’s veto. As I mentioned last week, this makes it the first state to allow same-sex marriage through legislative action instead of a court ruling. The law will go into effect on September 1, 2009.

Approval of the bill in the Senate was expected (the vote was 23 to 5), but the outcome in the House of Representatives was a little less clear, until Rep. Jeff Young, a Democrat who had originally voted against the bill last week, reversed his position. In the end, the vote was 100 to 40, which was just enough of the required two-thirds majority to approve the bill.

Vermont’s historic decision comes on the heels of the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling that not permitting gay marriage is unconstitutional and makes Vermont the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we are blogging about the fifth state.

Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage

Gay marriage received another huge victory last week. On Friday morning, Iowa’s Supreme Court unanimously voted to overturn the state’s gay marriage ban. If you’re interested in reading the full reading you can access it here.

Here's a brief excerpt from the ruling:

“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification. There is no material fact, genuinely in dispute, that can affect this determination.”

This victory is important on many levels. First, it is only the third state in the country to currently offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But just as it importantly, it represents the first Midwestern state to overturn a gay marriage ban and legalize same-sex marriage (other liberal states like Massachusetts and Connecticut have passed same-sex marriage laws, and just last week the Vermont House passed a same-sex marriage bill although the state’s governor has promised to veto the bill) . Although you might not think of the state of Iowa as being at the forefront of liberal politics, the state does have a history of progressive politics. It struck down slavery in 1839 and segregation in 1868 and 1873.

Will last week’s victory in Iowa be the tipping point in the battle over gay marriage? Only time will tell, but I think we’re starting to get closer.

Rocket Fuel Chemical in Baby Formula

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control found perchlorate, a hazardous chemical in rocket fuel, has been found at potentially dangerous levels in powdered infant formula.

Perchlorate exposure can damage the thyroid, which can hinder brain development among infants. In the new study, scientists tested 15 brands of infant formula and found perchlorate in all of them.

The formulas with the highest perchlorate levels are the most popular among consumers. The most contaminated brands were lactose-based as opposed to soy-based and accounted for 87% of the infant formulas on sale in 2000.

The chemical is also found in the drinking water sources of at least 26 states and two territories around the country. When perchlorate-contaminated powdered formula is mixed with water that is also contaminated, the final product can be particularly harmful to babies.

According to Grist, the CDC study found that, hypothetically, 54% of infants consuming the perchlorate-contaminated formula would exceed EPA’s reference dose, if the formula were mixed with water containing perchlorate at 4 ppb.

In a statement sent to reporters last night, Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Environment and Public Works committee, said the study prompted her to ask the Food and Drug Administration to inform the public “how best to protect children from perchlorate.” As she has done in the past, Boxer called on the EPA to “overrule the Bush Administration’s policy which was to walk away from setting a safe drinking water standard for perchlorate in our water supply.”

To read the article in ProPublica click here.

Vermont House Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill

I blogged last week on Wednesday that the state of Vermont appeared poised to pass legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. The Vermont State Senate passed the bill by a vote of 26-4. Well yesterday, the Vermont House passed the same bill by 95-52. Although this was the expected outcome, it’s still important to recognize the significance of the event.

The bad news however, is that Vermont’s Republican governor, Jim Douglas, opposes the bill and has even called it a “distraction.” And although significant, the House's vote of 95-52 is not enough to override the veto which Douglas has said he intends to bring. In a letter written last week, Douglas asserted, “I believe our civil-union law serves Vermont well and I would support congressional action to extend those benefits at the federal level to states that recognize same-sex unions. But, like President Obama and other leaders on both sides of the aisle, I believe that marriage should remain between a man and a woman.”

Democratic Vermont Senate President Peter Shumlin, who is the main sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, has described Douglas’ decision as “cowardly.” He says, “You cannot veto love and commitment between two people. This is a civil-rights issue. It is time for the governor to show some courage.”

Douglas’ override could come as early as next Tuesday. We’ll keep you up-to-date on what happens. As a reminder, only Massachusetts and Connecticut have passed same-sex marriage laws, while several other states have civil-union laws.

Environmental Reporting and Press Freedom

It’s great when the Foundation’s two program areas, the environment and human rights, intersect, and we always look for opportunities to link our two program areas in meaningful and productive ways. A great example of how that can play out is demonstrated in an article published by the World Policy Journal, written by Joel Simon, the Executive Director for Committee to Protect Journalists. In the article, Simon calls on environmental and press freedom groups to work together to support journalists.

It’s clear that environmental reporting around the world is under siege, from newsrooms that have slashed budgets for environmental beat reporting, to journalists that are threatened when reporting on environmental issues. Simon cites various cases, such as the case of Russian journalist Mikhail Beketov, who was savagely beaten last November. As editor and publisher of Khimkinskaya Pravda (Khimki Truth), Beketov had been reporting on a local environmental group campaigning to stop a planned highway that would have cut through the Khimki Forest, destroying one of the last areas of pine and oak near Moscow.

Simon is pretty clear when it comes to what he sees as one of the major problems facing environmental news reporting. He writes, "Press freedom groups and environmental groups both speak out about such abuses, but they don't work together to ensure that there is systematic documentation of violations and a strategy to confront the worst abusers." That kind of collaboration is imperative if we want to solve these kinds of issues.

Simon's article will bring a wider audience to the discussion surrounding environmental reporting and environmental justice. It's a start to combining to of our passions, human rights and the environment.

Less Pesticides in French Fries

According to Reuters, McDonald's Corp, the largest purchaser of potatoes in the United States, has agreed to take steps toward reducing pesticide use in its domestic potato supply.

The world's largest fast-food chain has agreed to survey its domestic potato suppliers, create a list of best practices in pesticide use reduction and recommend those best practices to global suppliers. Its findings will be shared with investors and included in its annual corporate social responsibility report.

McDonald's Corp's investors teamed with Investor Environmental Health Network. Dr. Richard Liroff, executive director at the Network, said that these are early steps, since McDonald's must first know where it stands in terms of pesticide use in potato supplies before it can set targets for reduction.

Liroff said food companies such as Sysco Corp, General Mills Inc and Campbell Soup Co have already demonstrated that cutting pesticide use can make sense from both an environmental health and business perspective.