Resliance

I thought Krasny and Tidball's paper was very informative. Their discussion on Resliance (abilitiy to change , self organization capability, ability to build and improve; vs. biological resiliance: ability to remain stable if a species dies out, or other catastrophe happens) explained away a little of my confusion on the topic. I liked how they discussed the different ways to make a community more perseverant under pressure - this seems like incredibly important knowledge in this time of constant fear of some sort of catastrophe happening to large cities, and especially after 9/11 and New Orleans flooding. The mention of how greenery can create human capital by luring people in to garden, which then creates financial and physical capital, and finally social capital, really struck me. Their arguements also had broad connections to world issues: instead of just sending money, people should reassess the good contributors to resiliance that are already in the community. This will help prevention of later catastrophes and help the community recooperate more successfully then just giving money, if the community finds a way to work within itself, and to foster community cooperation.

I found an article in the Community Greening Review book that I really liked called "New York City's Green Oasis Gets a Holywood Makeover". I like this article because it show how people can accomplish things when they stand up for what they believe in. The articl describes a garden on 8th street between Ave B and Ave C. Steven Speilberg wanted to do a movie on the street but did not like the fact that there was a garden, it ruined the setting. He wanted to destroy the garden for the movie, but the community opposed its destruction. They compromised by letting the film crew cover up the garden, causing minimal damage, and in return the garden was compensated greatly. They were able to get liability insuance, to build a new gazebo, and funding for a party in the garden to spread the word about the community gardening cause.

On another note, I could not find the Tanaka and Krasny Article. Once I figure out where it is, I will post about it. I am sure it is right infront of my nose, so...yeah.

Tanaka and Krasny Article

I found the Tanaka and Krasny article very informative and interesting. One of the reasons I choose to write a reflection on it was because I found parallels between their study and my term project. The article contained some helpful background on the community greening movement.
The purpose of the study was to determine the role Latino community gardens play in community development, open space, and civic agriculture. Interviews were conducted with community gardeners and with staff from non profit agencies. The study found that in addition to the gardens being sites for production of conventional and ethnic vegetables and herbs, the gardens host numerous social, educational, and cultural events, including neighborhood and church gatherings, holiday parties, children s activities, school tours, concerts, health fairs, and voter registration drives. The gardens also offered a way of maintaining Puerto Rican farming practices. In some cases, the gardens also served to promote community activism.

The article also reiterated that urban spaces such as parks and gardens provide a variety of benefits. Yet, community gardens are different from parks in that they are “community-managed open spaces.” The concept of civic agriculture introduced in the article was also very interesting. It offers a way to support community businesses as well as to supply food to poor people. At Latino community gardens, nature education is taught and agricultural literacy is instilled in young people from within a community. I found it interesting that Latino community gardens were so poorly studied. Intuitively though, I knew that they were more likely to occur in really poor areas. The study also illuminated the role of community gardens in providing leadership and landscape design. Since Latino communities are mostly immigrant filled and poor the gardens were predominately places for cultural interaction. The most important point the article made was that these garden are mainly areas of community development where people interact and to a lesser degree places where food is grown. Also, a large majority of the food grown in these gardens is given away instead of sold.

This is such an entertaining book! It has a lot of very interesting articles. I could spend the whole weekend reading it over and over again. If I only had that type of weekend in which time was not a constraint!! The part that attracted me the most was the section about The World in the Garden, but more specifically, I read the article titled Celebrating Cultural Diversity. In this article, I though that community gardens not only represent community, but also diversity. “Almost everyone comes from somewhere else.” The case is that many people move from rural places into town. I thought it was very interesting how Schimberg, the author of this article, pointed out that farming is many peoples way of life in rural environments. But by coming to the city, they keep a connection between the past and the future through community gardens.
For the Managing section, I read the “poem” titled Planning Ahead. I though that it was very interesting how education changes the way people see nature. One may sow a seed, plant a tree, but what makes the difference, or if one wants to plan way ahead, education is the best option and investment.
For the transformation part, I read the article titled Transforming angel. It is very inspiring how one initiative can motivate and encourage others to do and repeat a same positive action. Overall, this book is a gem. It provides a lot of stores about community greening in a very entertaining way, since many of the articles happened in real life.

For Tomorrow...an opportunity!

We will be fortunate to have Dr. Barbara Bedford, of the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell, as our guest in class tomorrow. I know this is short notice, but you may want to do some quick reading on wetlands, her area of specialty, and take advantage of an opportunity to learn about wetland function, wetland science, and even pick her brain about urban wetlands! Dr. Bedford is an award winning wetlands ecologist.

Here are some useful links to "study up."

EPA WETLANDS SITE

URBAN WETLANDS FACT SHEET

EVALUATING URBAN WETLAND RESTORATION

America Community Greening Review

I really like this book. It had very personal, humanistic stories about community gardens focusing on different areas such as the benefits, history, art and compost, managing gardens, and community garden movements around the world. I wish I had time to read the entire book, but I looked over most of it and the points of particular interest to me were the World section and the Transformation section. The article I reviewed was called "Southeast Asian Gardeners: Teaching fish to swim" (149). It talked about the similarities of Thai villagers to North American citizens. The stereotype is that all Asians know how to farm and grow vegetables. Also, gardening in the tropics, you would expect that they could farm all year round because there are 365 frost-free days. However, Thai villagers are reluctant to farm; only plant during the cool season; and do not use intensive practices. Looking at the culture, some of these things can be explained by the fact that rice is the primary crop and food and vegetables are merely used to add flavor and color. There are 3 seasons: cool, rainy, and hot. During the rainy seasons, the vegetables rot from too much rain; and during the hot season there is not enough water and it is too hot for many crops. The only viable season to plant is during the cool season. There is little motivation for Thai villagers to grow their own vegetables. They view farming as a low status activity and wish to rise about their roots into a higher class and income level. The women would rather spend more time shopping and socializing than gardening. The families aim to be wealthy enough to buy their own food, so they do not want to resort to a lower status by growing food. Despite these oppositions to growing food, the article comments on the benefits. Nutritional education programs improve diets. Growing food saves money and can also produce some income. Intensive gardening saves labor, water, and soil fertility. In conclusion, inspiring people in Southeast Asia to grow their own food faces similar problems as people in North America. Successful extension of these practices depends on understanding attitudes, motivations, and sources of resistance as well as developing communication techniques between the people and the educators.

I also read about the success story of Seeds of Survival (SOS) in Ethiopia. It was inspiring to know that agricultural techniques that preserve the world's agricultural diversity and build food security can exist and even out-yield techniques of the Green Revolution that use single varieties of seeds. SOS showed that using diverse seeds can yield 10-15% more produce that even Green Revolution techniques. The article related this success story to community gardens by promoting the growth of heirloom varieties, buying seed stock from small companies, and educating people about the movement.

I looked through the Transformation section because I love the random, reused art pieces that are found in community gardens. The creatures made out of old bottles that we saw on top of the fence of a garden in NYC were really cool. In the book, there were lots of ideas for reusing unwanted items. I liked the bottle tree. The use of bathtubs and car tires for planting gives personality to the garden. Even the fence can be crafted using reused wood or other materials and made into a work of art.

FOR YOUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Here is a great link to many studies on the benefits of urban green... perhaps useful in your literature reviews.

http://www.projectevergreen.com/resources/index.html

Also, don't forget that there is a vast literature review at the back of your syllabus.

Finally, the following sites may also be of use:

Krasny & Tidball Civic Ecology

Tidball Green Security

Alt Break Reflection

I joined this class to learn something new, and I have not been disappointed! From urban wild life in Central Park, Community gardens, to environmental injustices in Harlem, so much of what I experienced over Spring Break was new to me. It never occurred to me that there would be so many species of birds in a city, that the trees lining the streets of Manhattan have to go through such a struggle to survive, that the community garden movement did so much for the people, or that such blatant wrongdoings were being perpetrated against the citizens of Harlem. Not only have I discovered things that I did not know but I also have been inspired to ask myself a different set of questions.

The portion of the break that I found myself reflecting on the most was the time we spent with the organization WE ACT. The information that they gave us left me wondering what sorts of environmental injustices were going on in my own neighborhood and if any organizations were attempting to correct them. At home, we have days when the news actually gives smog reports warning people with asthma problems to take caution. I am starting to wonder if anything can be done about this at a community level. Maybe we can do more than just carpool.

Reflection Blog

How peaceful urban environments can be in any weather! They seem to provide an unexpected escape from the everyday stress and constant noise of the city. They allow for self-expression and creativity. Looking at the community gardens, I aw how each one was unique to its surroundings. The gardens change with the community. The community and surrounding neighborhood create the garden from nothing and make it what we see today. For example, Open Road had a mosque and a school next door. These organizations contributed a lot to the community and made the garden unique, with its greenhouse, murals, and playground. I also loved the tower and 6th St. and Avenue B. The tower probably sprung from someone’s idea to use objects and junk and others added to it. I see community gardens as a group art project. Everyone has something to offer. Even in Central Park, the park would be nothing without the people who come to enjoy it. It is very man-made and managed, but is important to the wildlife and human-enjoyment of the outdoors in the city. I love spring! I like the surprise of nature that can jump out at any time in the city. It’s like a constant game of I Spy; you just have to be willing to look.

Spring Break Trip

Reflections in Central Park: 3/20/07

I've enjoyed the trip so far. I really liked hearing about Green Thumb yesterday. It is interesting to know how they got started, what they do, and what problems they have faced and are facing now. Today we wandered Central Park. I really like walking/wandering through places around Manhattan, especially the parks. I feel like I've taken a bunch of good pictures, and that makes me happy, but I am not sure if any of them will be really good for my project. I hope that in the next couple days we will go to more parks and places that I can get good pictures of art in parks and gardens. I don't like that my computer is being stupid and so I will have to go through the pics on the camera and delete the bad ones before seeing them on the computer. That never works out well, but I have taken SO MANY pictures that it is necessary.

I will post some pictures later on, but I have to go through and organize them first.

Alt Breaks

Monday: Though it was a little disappointing to not be able to work in the gardens, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet Green Thumb to see how a government funded organization worked, and to see what its employees were like. We learned a lot about the role that Green Thumb plays with the city's community gardens, and its history with the movement. One of my favorite parts of the trip was actually the walk we took to view the closed gardens, seeing the creativity and diversity of each park was so inspiring and contemplative.
Tuesday: This day was frustrating for me because I felt like we didn't do much work, though of course this was no one's fault.
Wednesday: I really enjoyed learning about how city trees are taken care of, especially the tree identification that we were introduced to. I was not that bothered by the fact that we didn't do much pruning; I valued the learning I got out of it. The Central Park tour was nice because I hadn't realized there might be more natural-looking areas, a good example of the idea that even parks in the middle of the city can have a multitude of environments other than the pruned field look. The tracks exercise was quality, though I didn't really get a good sense of the wildlife in the park.
Thursday: A very fulfilling day. I enjoyed the walk to Harlem. The visit with WE ACT I thought was too short and I would have liked to understand more of what they do and how they operate, but nonetheless I learned a lot about the innovative actions they initiate. Working and seeing the community garden was a really essential thing - I can't imagine what it would have been like to have missed this part, to not have been able to talk to a member of the bottom rung of community garden "bureaucracy".
Friday: It seemed harder to connect the Solaire tour to what we were doing the rest of the week, but nonetheless I loved seeing the technology.

All in all, I look back on the week and am incredibly impressed by all that we did. I loved the fact that we were never really doing the same thing twice. We got a good look into all the levels of urban greenery, from the goverment sponsored groups, to the NGOs, to the business side, and community members, as well as a good background in the different ways that urban greenery REPRESENTS itself: parks, sidewalk trees, community gardens, business ventures, memorials.
I found this trip amazing on at least another 3 levels beyond simply the programmed activities, the reason for which should go mostly to our T.A. I learned so much about New York, its feel, the different areas, but also its people and cultures that I've never been so close to before. I'd barely ever considered working with the city before, but this experience makes me want to explore that option more. I also feel so inspired because all of the group members were so interested in the topic and so interesting to talk to, and I loved getting to know everyone a little better each day. Everything we did left me with so much to talk and think about.

Urban Environments Trip to NYC-Reflections

On Sunday, our group (along with other ones) departed to NYC. We arrived at 4:30 pm, and went to the hotel. We relaxed. On Monday, the environmental adventure started. Topic: Community gardens. We went to GreenThumb, a large national community garden organization. We watched a video. By the end of the day, I concluded that soil is really “brown gold,” as the video pointed out. Many people rely on this natural resource. At GreenThumb, I also recall Edie Stone saying: “Community gardens are all about community…gardens are just incidences.” That same afternoon, while walking around downtown NYC, I noticed how community gardens come to represent a culture, its traditions, and unity through a common interest: gardening. I noticed how different gardens have their own style and personality, some of them being more attractive than others (in my opinion). One can see casitas, toys on top of metal fences all around the garden, and a lot of other ways to represent beliefs and a culture. These gardens took me back to my home country, when visiting the country sides and other rural areas. “These places,” I though, “are where people gather and build a common space together, each contributing with a piece of one’s belongings.” Community gardens are, indeed, about uniting people and communities needing to identify with each other, considering that many people are away from home. By the end of the day and during our discussion before going back to the hotel, I also reflected: How will NYC look in 20 years? The NYC green (almost paradisiac) picture that Akesh, at GreenThumb, showed us constantly came to my mind. Is it fair to call this expectation utopian? Is the Environment well and appropriately appreciated?
On Tuesday, the topic was Urban Wildlife, so we went to Central Park. We began by identifying different types of birds (by their sound and color of feathers) around the reservoir: Mallards, Canada Gooses, Buffleheads, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe; Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, Coopers Hawk, Downy Woodpecker.
On Wednesday, the topic was Urban Forestry. We went to Trees NY, and discussed why trees were important. Some of the reasons are: Trees are habitat for wildlife, they provide shade, their beauty adds value to a property, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and because they are cool. We went around the downtown neighborhood and identified various types of trees, pruned some, and discussed the dangers that they face (such as being exposed to the asian long-horned beetle which feeds on fresh, not dead, wood). We had a group discussion which raised a question in my mind: Is it better to be an optimism, or a realist when taking environmentally tough decisions in the midst of adversity? It is ideal to be both, but many people tend to go one way or another. What am I?
On Thursday, the topic was Environmental Justice. We went to We Act, an Environmental Justice organization dedicated to build community power to fight environmental racism and improve environmental health, protection, and policy for communities of color. We discussed the problems that would emerge if Columbia University decided to expand over eight city blocks along the Manhattanville waterfront in West Harlem. Afterwards, we went to a community garden and worked a few hours picking up wood boards, and organizing the garden’s warehouse.
On Friday, the topic was Green Design, and we went to the Solaire. The Solaire, in Battery Park City, NYC, is a green design model, and Americas first environmentally advanced residential tower. “Fresher air, natural light, and fresher water… Live Healthy, Live Green.” The apartments are innovative, and the water is recycled; the Solaire has a green roof, and it is built up of natural materials for floor and wall designs. Afterwards, we went to the Irish memorial, where we concluded with the trip activities.
At about 12am on Saturday 24th March, I arrived home, in Ithaca, NY.
...My Environmental Conservation journey has just started!

ASSIGNMENT UPDATE

Because we were unable to work in the community gardens in the Lower East Side on Monday due to weather, there is no Garden Mosaics assignment due.

Please be prepared to discuss in class your reflections on the ASB trip overall, as well as specific observations you want to point out. Don't forget to post your journal entries from Central Park.

See you tomorrow!

New York City!

This spring break has been far different from many of the trips taken by my peers. I am glad that I was fortunate enough to be a part of this trip because it exposed me to a great deal of new experiences. Meeting the non-profits in NYC was awesome because they were each very unique in their goals but were all very interested in encouraging us to get involved. Green Thumb was really cool because they shared an interesting history and I really liked reading about the seminars they offer to community gardeners-- I really think that it is this type of sharing that will successfully make cities sustainable (as opposed to the commercialization seen at perhaps the Solaire). The open access to information and opportunities is what is really important for the success of cities, perhaps that is why the tree pruning was so frustrating--we did not feel like we had equal freedom to make a positive impact. Thursday was the most fascinating day for me. I really appreciated the walk to Harlem and seeing the differences in how the streets were used. Better still was hearing about WE ACT because they were very knowledgeable and seemed to have their long term goals in order. I would love to work with this kind of non-profit in the future, their work seems really exciting. Better still was being able to hang out and help out in the community garden. I loved the natural approach that was taken towards the garden because it really made it seem like you were in a fairy-tale. I was sad to hear that so much of the garden had been lost to development and now I regret not asking what they did to fight the development.

NYC Trip

I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in the urban environmental alternative spring break trip. Instead of blogging all of the experiences on the trip I rather reflect of the experience that touched me most. That was learning and being informed about environmental justice. We Act a Harlem community action group informed us of the wrongs and misdoings by Manhattan on the Harlem community. In addition, they face a continuing battle with Columbia University expansion into Harlem. We Act fought the city for a waterfront park that now will be separated from Harlem by the expansion of Columbia. The actions by the city and Columbia show a glass ceiling that faces minority populations. That is that minorities cannot live in nice areas and when they do gain access to such spaces the status quo tries to take it away from them. It saddens me that the Harlem community fought hard to have a waterfront park and that Columbia sees that the Harlem community could not possibly take care of have such a green space.I hope that the Harlem community can exercise their basic human right to green space and maintain their waterfront park and fight for their environmental rights.

Along the same lines as Solaire...

Being healthy and green is bound to become a luxury. Just thought everyone would find this interesting.

The first certifiably green mansion
Earth-friendly no longer equals Space Age design. Welcome to EcoManor, built in Atlanta by Ted Turner's daughter. Fortune's Patricia Sellers takes the tour.
By Patricia Sellers, Fortune editor-at-large
March 14 2007: 12:48 PM EDT


(Fortune Magazine) -- From the outside, the Seydel family's new home looks like any old Tudor manse. Well, it's too tall for its quiet block. (Neighbors have complained.) But who would guess that this is the largest eco-friendly house in America? With its 27 photovoltaic panels on the roof, solar tubes that snake into interior rooms, geothermal heat pumps, and rainwater-collecting cisterns, this is, in fact, the first home over 5,000 square feet ever to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council - and evidence of a new wave of eco-building that doesn't look like eco-building.

"Everybody has in their head a picture of an environmental home - usually some Space Age design," says homeowner Laura Turner Seydel, who moves into EcoManor in March. "We wanted to prove that it doesn't have to look odd."


EcoManor won LEED certification using innovations like geothermal systems, photovoltaic panels and soy-based insulation.

In the attic, cellulose insulation costs more - but is super efficient.

The Seydels at home: (from left) Vasser, John R., Laura Elizabeth and parents, Laura and Rutherford.

Make your house a green machine
Not everyone has the means (or the desire) to build an environmentally sound house from the ground up. But here are five ways to make your own manor more like EcoManor.
Roof:
Install photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight into electric energy. The Seydels paid $34,000 for their 27 solar panels from One World Sustainable Energy Corp. oneworldsec.com
Lighting:
Solar tubes and skylights direct natural light into closets and interior rooms, and also block infrared heat and UV rays. The Seydels paid less than $2,500 for their Velux components. velux.com
Heat:
Make sure your water heater and plumbing systems are insulated. Or consider a "tankless" model, which can slice your bills dramatically. The Seydels went all out with underground electric pumps, which use the ground temperature to help heat or cool the house. Residential systems average $7,500 and reduce energy costs 30 to 60 percent.
Materials:
For floors, forgo traditional hardwood in favor of rapidly renewable alternatives like bamboo or cork. The Seydels also used Lyptus, from eucalyptus trees, for their cabinets.
Water:
Recycle your runoff: The average home sends more than 100,000 liters of usable water down the drain each year. Thanks to a local company called RainHarvest, the Seydels reuse rainwater and water from sinks and showers to flush toilets and irrigate their yard.


Seydel is also the daughter of Ted Turner - which gives you a clue to where her environmental drive comes from. While her billionaire daddy has practiced what he has preached by buying two million acres to preserve (he is America's largest individual landowner), Seydel thinks big on one tiny tract: a half-acre in Atlanta's highbrow Buckhead neighborhood.

She and her husband, Rutherford, an environmental lawyer, spent $1.5 million to construct EcoManor - some 10 percent extra for going green, estimates architect Bill Harrison. But he predicts that the Seydels' energy costs will be 80 to 90 percent below average for a like-sized Atlanta home.

EcoManor was born four years ago when Laura - who serves on more than a dozen nonprofit environmental boards - and Rutherford bought a shabby two-bedroom cottage behind their sprawling hilltop home. They had planned to turn it into a guesthouse.

But a few weeks after their purchase, a magnificent 200-year-old oak, whipped by a storm, fell and crushed the tiny house. Ted Turner is the one who, after touring the devastation with Rutherford, prodded the Seydels to tear it down and rebuild. "And when they started from scratch, they decided to go eco-friendly," Ted recalls.

Or more like eco-obsessive. Self-proclaimed environmental activists, the Seydels collect rainwater to fill their toilets - low-flush, dual-flow units from Japanese manufacturer Toto. ("Press button No. 1 when you go No. 1, and No. 2 when you go No. 2," instructs Laura, 45, as we tour the master bathroom, which is naturally lit via four solar tubes.) Meanwhile, used "gray" water from the Seydels' sinks and showers passes through filters and irrigates the lawn - which is drought-tolerant, of course.

Throughout the five-bedroom house (the Seydels have three children, 9, 11 and 14), the doors are wheat-core - yes, composed of wheat, and formaldehyde-free. In the first-floor study the wallpaper is recycled newspaper, though you'd never know it: It's an elegant-looking linen white.

The floors downstairs are made of fallen oak from Ted Turner's plantation, Avalon, in Florida. (Upstairs the floors are sustainable wood from Home Depot (Charts), and they don't look as nice.) In the attic the insulation is made of soy-based cellulose. "It's the most expensive but also the most efficient," says Rutherford, 43, as we explore EcoManor's 6,000-plus square feet.

While Laura thinks of EcoManor as the ultimate nontoxic environment (she evangelizes about hemp pillows, jute draperies, and natural cleaning products), Rutherford views their new home as a sort of energy toy. His favorite gizmo, in the kitchen, is a 15-inch monitor that measures and controls the family's energy costs per second - "down to a hundredth of a cent," Rutherford boasts. "If the kids have a party in the basement, I can tell how much the party cost." Predicts architect Harrison: "Five or ten years from now we'll be building homes that are totally self-sufficient in terms of energy usage."

The Seydels are pioneers in a growing movement. Currently there are 98 homes that are LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, but the group, which is based in Washington, D.C., expects some 5,000 to be certified in the coming year. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

Most LEED-certified homes are in the West and Northeast; EcoManor is the first in the Southeast. The movement is spreading to mass-market home development: Between 5 and 10 percent of new homes will probably be eco-friendly by 2010, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Meanwhile, Rutherford wants to entice everyone, especially the luxury set, to go for LEED status. Currently LEED judges favor small homes in their rating system, which effectively penalizes rich folks who like to live large.

"That shouldn't be the case. People who can afford to build stately homes tend to adopt revolutionary technologies early. These are the people who can make a huge impact," says Rutherford, who is lobbying the Green Building Council to ease the restrictions. The council is considering it.

Meantime, the Seydels have already swayed one rich guy: Ted Turner. Even though Turner has given hundreds of millions of dollars to environmental causes, he confesses that he has paid scant attention to building green. (Why bother, since with 22 ranches and other properties, he says, "I don't spend more than a month each year at any one.")

Lately Turner has started using recyclable materials and nontoxic paints - and also has invested millions in a solar-energy startup. Says Laura: "We guilt-tripped him into it."

March 13th

I found “The Greening of NYC, as Seen by A Designer,” to be a very informative article shattering the stereotype of New York as a concrete jungle. The presence of specialized schools incorporating the environment into their curriculum, gardens, parks and greenmarkets was a given to me. I recognize that New York is a very diverse place where one can find just about anything one is looking for. Nevertheless, the idea of locally grown produce sounded odd. This concept of agriculture within a large city amazes me even now.

The Solaire living Green is a wonderful example of how human beings can live in an environmentally friendly dwelling without suffering the loss of convince. This building seems almost unreal. It has everything a person could want without a cost to the environment. It is also a rational way of preparing for our future. All this proves is that we can change our ways when we actually make an attempt at it.

The article “Sustainable Urban Ecosystems” paints a very sad picture and then goes about mending it. Every problem that it mentions has a reasonable correction and a profound incentive to take action. Human beings have clearly altered the surroundings in urban areas; however, we do not have to be as destructive as we have been in the past. We have the education and the technology to change. Now all we need are people willing to make an effort. The mere presence of these three articles proves that those people do exist and that their numbers are growing. These articles give hope.

Tuesday March 13

All Things Considered: This NPR report made a good complement to what we are learning about NYC. I have this idea in my mind of L.A. being all highway, in fact I don't know if I even realized there was a L.A. river! It's kind of amazing to think that this huge city has no park system - I think of my pretty small town at home which had tons of green space. Of course, the industrialization of a big city makes sense that green space would be tougher to have, and I can understand how green space in a city could be forgotten, but it's still amazing that L.A. hasn't one. The community residents are taking the situation into their own hands, and carving our green spaces along the river which I think is a beautiful thing.

The Solaire
This website actually impressed me because I was afraid its mention of environmental engineering was going to be vague. But actually it had many legitamite sounding things to say, not just the phrase ''naturally harvested wood" but it went into that they had a 500 mile resource transporation limit and that it was harvested from sustainably. It was interesting how most of the technology was well known - lots of Energy Star appliances, solar power, insulation - which makes it more believable. I did like their focus on rooftop irrigation, and the inbuilding water treatment system.

The Greening of NYC
I really enjoyed this article. Though the author did perhaps veer from the negative, she made sure to mention some issues that NYC has, for instance programs that have been cut. She gave a wonderful overview of everything that is going on in NYC for sustainability, lots of policy and programs that sound very creative and make me want to look them up (for instance, Transportation Alternatives, Recycle a Bicycle, NYC's Bicycle Blueprint, Big City Forest, the Gaia Institute). I know after reading this that NYC is putting forth a big effort to make the city more environmentally friendly. I especially liked the transporation part, because reducing automobiles would be a really beneficial thing for NYC to do for pollution, traffic, and they already have a great transit system. An fun, educated, lighthearted read, 4 thumbs up.