Cities around the world switch to LED Lighting

U.S. Cities like Raleigh, Ann Arbor, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco have begun to introduce LEDs for street and parking garage lighting. Toronto, Canada, Tianjin, China, and Torraca, Italy have also adopted environmentally-friendly LEDs.

LEDS are considered to be twice as efficienct as compact-fluorescent bulbs. They also turn on quickly, are compatible with dimmer switches and don't contain mercury, a component in CFLs. They do not contain toxic materials, which is a huge concerns with CFL disposal, and essentially last a life time. According to the New York Times:

Studies suggest that a complete conversion to the lights could decrease carbon dioxide emissions from electric power use for lighting by up to 50 percent in just over 20 years; in the United States, lighting accounts for about 6 percent of all energy use. A recent report by McKinsey & Company cited conversion to LED lighting as potentially the most cost effective of a number of simple approaches to tackling global warming using existing technology.

For the full article, click here.

Film Screening - tonight!

Check out the film From Elegance to Earthworms. You will have a chance to meet with and talk to the creative team behind the movie, including Producer/Director, Michelle Vey, Videographer/Editor Matt Kirk, Music producer/composer Elio Schiavo and film animator, Harrison Willett. You will also have a chance to meet with entrepreneurs and business owners who were featured in the film.

All Guests are invited to come to the event as early as 7:00pm. There will be three screenings of the film at 7:30pm, 8:15pm and 9:00pm. Between screenings you will be able to mingle with people in the lounge while enjoying complimentary Hors'dourves and a cash bar as a DJ plays great music.

From Elegance To Earthworms
Tonight @ 7pm - 12am (three different screenings)
Tribeca Cinemas
$20 bucks (portion goes to Sustainable Flatbush)

Buy Tickets.
Learn More.

High Line on Sundance

NYC Seed Giveaway

In an effort to encourage New Yorkers to be more economically and agriculturally minded, New York Restoration Project along with writer Amy Goldman will host the Vegetable Starts Seed Giveaway in community gardens around New York City.

Saturday, May 30^th
1 – 4pm
Brooklyn Target Community Garden (931-933 Bedford Ave, BK)
The Seed Savers Exchange will distribute over 2000 heirloom seeds to registered community gardeners and local residents, to make gardening more accessible to New York communities.

Experts will be on site to answer any questions and provide gardening tips and tricks. The selection of vegetable seeds that will be available was determined through suggestions submitted by the community. From tomatoes and corn to parsley and oregano, all of the seeds being given away are organic, untreated and have not been genetically engineered, exceeding industry standards and bringing high quality produce into the homes of New York residents for free. Amy Goldman, writer, passionate gardener and advocate of heirloom fruits and vegetables, has generously provided a majority of the seeds for the event.

Encouraging home-grown vegetables not only takes the sting out of higher food prices, but it brings horticultural novices and veterans together to the small sunny plots in their local community gardens. The New York Restoration Project is dedicated to restoring and maintaining community green spaces and the Vegetable Starts Seed Giveaway demonstrates their continued commitment to educating the local community on sustainable lifestyles.

Broadway Boulevard 2 to Start Soon?

According to NYTimes, The city plans to close several blocks of Broadway to vehicle traffic through Times Square and Herald Square, an experiment that would turn swaths of the Great White Way into pedestrian malls and continue  the mayor's efforts to reduce traffic congestion in Midtown.

Broadway traffic would also be barred in Herald Square. Officials believe the move will actually improve the overall flow of traffic, because the diagonal path of Broadway tends to disrupt traffic where it intersects with other streets. The city plans to introduce the changes as early as May and keep them in effect through the end of the year. If the experiment works, they could become permanent. 

The plan calls for Broadway to be closed to vehicles from 47th Street to 42nd Street. Traffic would continue to flow through on crossing streets, but the areas between the streets would become pedestrian malls, with chairs, benches and cafe tables with umbrellas.

Seventh Avenue would be widened slightly within Times Square to accommodate the extra traffic diverted from Broadway.

Below 42nd Street, Broadway would be open to traffic, but then would shut down again at Herald Square, from 35th Street to 33rd Street. Then, below 33rd, it would open again.

The plan is the latest move by Mr. Bloomberg to change the way the city thinks of its streets, making them more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists and chipping away at the dominance of the automobile.

Source: NYTimes

No Take-Out Challenge Tips

As promised, for the few the brave that signed up so far for the No Take-Out Challenge, we will provide some support to ease your burden.  

One challenge participant brought her own tupperware to Second Helpings on 7th Ave and 9th Street in Park Slope and they didn't blink an eye as they filled her stuff with food to go. 

Siggy's in the Heights uses greenware rather than plastic for their to-go containers.

When you do fail, remember to drop your #5 plastics at Whole Foods and the Park Slope Food Coop as part of Preserve's Gimme 5 initiative. 

Learn More about the challenge. 

Speaking of No Take-Out

Styrofoam Ban Grows in California

by Amanda Wills

PlasticNews reports that Palo Alto, Calif. will officially ban take out containers starting April 22, 2010. The move is a growing trend as 22 other coastal California towns are prohibiting the use of polystyrene takeout containers. San Francisco was the first major city to enact the ban in 2007.

The ban extends to containers, clam shells, bowls, plates, cartons and cups. However, it does not affect straws, utensils or hot up lids. In January, Palo Alto stopped accepting polystyrene packing peanuts and polystyrene blocks used in consumer goods packaging.

But while the ban will reduce Palo Alto’s waste, that’s not the initial intention of the prohibition. The current economic recession carried a lot of weight for lawmakers proposing the ban...

Learn More at Earth911.

We Got Your Curriculum Right Here

Cloud Institute let their listserve know that teachers can upload and download lessons on the Prince's Rainforest Project website! They encourage colleagues and teachers to help educate for rainforests and climate change.  

Go forth and share your rainforest lessons and units AND to take advantage of all the free multi-media educational resources. You can even make a frog video with your class and have it posted to the website! Please spread the word to your colleagues, share your lessons, and help us educate on rainforests and sustainability throughout our country and world. 

Questions? email Marie-Claire at Cloud Institute at claire@cloudinstitute.org

Let the Dredging Begin

According to the New York Times, G.E. began to dredge our mighty Hudson, removing the PCBs, on Friday.

An estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, flowed into the upper Hudson from two General Electric factories for three decades before they were banned, in 1977, as a health threat to people and wildlife. In high doses, they have been shown to cause cancer in animals and are listed by federal agencies as a probable human carcinogen.

Learn More.

The Story of Stuff

The New York Times recently published an article about "The Story of Stuff," a 20-minute video about human consumption and where the "stuff" we use everyday comes from. It's great for kids and adults of all ages. Watch it and pass it along to your friends.

ConEd on Sundance

Demonstrate Your Commitment to Less Plastic Tomorrow

On Sunday May 17, 2009 the NYC Bag Protest with special guests, No Impact Man and Reverend Billy!

Join the Back to the Sack bag campaign for a day of action to help reduce plastic bag usage in New York! The day will combine crafts, street theater, advocacy and petitioning with the Interdependence Project's principles of mindfulness and compassion.  Even if you haven't been involved with our project before, this is a great day to get started. Oh, and the bag monster will be there!

Bag making team in the morning and be trained to create reusable bags to be given out in the afternoon.  We've made over 50 already, help us hit 100.  No sewing/crafts experience necessary!  From 10am - 2pm @Lila Yoga Center 

Help push legislation! - Join the petitioning team and we'll train you to help us collect signatures in support of legislation that IDP members have helped shape to reduce plastic bags in New York. Gathering at 1 pm at Tompkins Square Park.

Help show support! - Join the protest going from Tompkins Square to Washington Square and ending up in Union Square to show your support for responsible consumption and a greener New York.  Gathering at 1 pm at Tompkins Square Park.

Hear inspirational people! - Not only will the bag monster be performing at all of our stops, but we'll be joined by Reverend Billy of the Church of Life After Shopping and No Impact Man.  Not to be missed!  

If you can't make it, we at Brooklyn Green Team suggest a plastic-free day! 

Learn More.