This Week in News: August 21st
Local Green News
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, has proposed a plan to completely change how the skylines and shores of the city would look. The plan involves building wind mills throughout the city in an effort to produce nearly 10% of the city’s power within 10 years. Though this wind energy plan is still in it’s early stages, it looks to be extremely promising. Bloomberg has already hired private firms and investors to study the financial feasibility and locations as to where the wind turbines can be built. There are many coastal areas that are extremely windy that would be perfect for this plan. Hopefully Bloomberg’s alternative energy plan comes to fruition and New York City can meet it’s renewable energy goal.
He later evoked the image of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, saying he imagined it one day “powered by an ocean wind farm.”
Photo by ProjectedImages.
Water Bottle Ban
The city of London, Ontario just passed a ban on the sale of bottle water with it’s city. The Canadian city is pushing for water fountains to be used instead of expensive and polluting water bottles.
We were selling bottled water for 1.75 dollars per liter right next to a public drinking fountain that dispensed water for less than an eighth of a cent (per liter)
The ban received an overwhelming 14-3 vote despite heavy lobbying from the beverage industry. Other major Canadian cities are also considering a similar ban including Vancouver and Ottawa. It’s great to see that a city is taking a stand against a product that is generally unnecessary. I am a little mixed on this decision though as I think people should be educated on the harmful effects that bottling water has on the environment instead of just banning the product.
Government
The Australian government released a 1600-page environmental effects study (EES) on the construction of a controversial $3.1 billion desalination plant. Even though the study says the plant will have no long-term affects on the environment, 1.4 million tons of greenhouse gases will be emitted during its construction. The government has pledged to purchase carbon credits to offset part of the emissions from the project. Even with the government support there will still be over 70,000 tons of carbon emissions still offset each year. Another concern about the plant is it could negatively affect the wildlife in the area, possibly putting several species and coral reef in great danger. The plant will be fully operational by 2011. As of right now, only 10% of the plant’s energy will be required to come from alternative energy sources. Hopefully that percentage will go way up to reduce some of the negative effects this plant will have on the environment.
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It would be marvelous if households would consciously make the decision to produce at least part of their energy needs by using wind or solar power. This can reduce their power bills and also impact the environment positively. In the event if the household used an electric vehicle, there would be the satisfaction of knowing that the electricity was produced from truly clean, truly renewable sources.
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