New York
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Critical List: Court upholds local fracking ban; New York could ban shark fin sales
A New York state court upheld the town of Dryden’s ban on fracking. Republicans are trying to pin rising gas prices on President Obama. Apple could allow independent environmental reviews of two factories in China. Chinese air pollution is visible from space.
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Government energy geeks: Fracking might not get us as far as we thought
Government energy geeks from the Energy Information Administration this morning released the abridged version of their Annual Energy Outlook. One of the most dramatic bits of the outlook for 2012 is that the EIA cut their estimate of “technically recoverable” shale gas almost in half, from 827 trillion cubic feet to 482 trillion cubic feet. […]
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New York State legislators get $1.3 million from gas industry
New York State is considering whether and how to move forward with hydrofracking in the state, and by TOTAL COINCIDENCE the natural gas industry has spent $1.3 million -- a fortune in state-level campaign finance -- in donations to the New York legislators who will decide its fate.
According to an analysis by Common Cause New York, most of the money went to candidates for state legislature. Republicans received more than twice as much as Democrats. -
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Paris had the High Line before the High Line was cool
Oh, New York. You think that you've got a cool new idea, but always (always!) Europe beats you to it. NYC’s been getting all kinds of excited about its High Line park, an abandoned train platform converted into a wonderland of local plants, awesome places to sit and people-watch, and hibiscus ice pop vendors. But at TreeHugger, Alex Davies points out that NYC is just a couple decades late to the elevated park party. For almost 20 years, Parisians have been enjoying a stroll above city streets on the Viaduc des Arts. And just like the High Line, the elevated platform is a converted rail line.
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The Big Apple takes a bite out of childhood obesity
New York City appears to have won a skirmish in its war on childhood obesity. According to a new report out from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), between 2006 and 2011, the obesity rate among children ages 5-14 in New York City dropped by over 5 percent. Obesity is, of course, not so much […]
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This Chicago park will be almost 10 times as big as Manhattan
On Chicago's South Side, 140,000 acres of brownfields and other underused land are just sitting there. But Illinois is putting $17 million into turning that fallow ground into what will be the largest city park in the lower 48. (Alaska has one that's bigger.) The park will be called the Millennium Reserve and will promote […]
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Farming: A New York state of mind [VIDEO]
Farms aren’t the first thing that come to mind when one thinks of New York City. But walk along its streets and you will pass hundreds of urban gardens; jump across its rooftops and you might find yourself in the middle of a commercial farm. Heck, drive just 20 minutes from downtown and you could […]
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Critical List: A small fracking victory; fracking still sucks
In New York, government officials are extending the public comment period on fracking rules. In Pennsylvania, a judge gave Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. permission to stop supplying fresh water to families whose well water was tainted by fracking operations. And the Chesapeake Bay Foundation used infrared video to document emissions pouring out of natural […]
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Global warming to swamp one-third of NYC’s streets
Right about the time Miami has turned into a barrier island, a single flood supercharged by higher sea levels and rowdier storms will overwhelm New York City's low-lying infrastructure, including its iconic subway system. It will cost $80 billion to clean up … and then it will cost another $80 billion to clean up again […]
