Recently in New York City Category

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded an Innovation in Design credit under its LEED program for a specific two-stage water filtration system to eliminate the need for bottled water.

The combination of filtration technologies - an automatic self-cleaning screen filter at the main water supply's point of entry, followed by point-of-use filters at each faucet - delivers tap water of a quality equal to bottled water, without the environmental impact associated with the production, distribution and disposal of plastic bottles.

The two-stage process is what makes this system so innovative and environmentally friendly. By removing suspended sediments from the building's water supply at point of entry, the automatic filter minimizes the load on the point-of-use filters. This significantly increases the longevity of the cartridges in the home units.

And, they're made by an NYC company!

Photo: Betterwaters.com

Do you have a stash of old cell phones, outdated digital cameras and other unwanted electronics? Or have you thought about what you'll do with your cell phone when you (fingers crossed) get the new iPhone this Christmas? If you send your old devices to the landfill--and many people do considering 117 million cell phones end up there each year--they can adversely impact our water supply. As electronics sit in landfills, lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxic chemicals leach into the soil and travel to our waterways.

Luckily there's a better solution that's incredibly easy and might provide you with some extra shopping money. If you're shopping for gadgets this holiday season check out the Wired Store pop up at 415 West 13th Street in Manhattan. Bring your old devices with you and toss them in YouRenew.com's recycling bin.

YouRenew, an e-waste recycling start up, will data clear, refurbish and resell your unwanted electronics. If you bring something beyond repair (a Zach Morris phone circa 1989 for example), they'll send it to We Recycle, an e-waste recycling company that makes use of the plastics and metals.

Wired's gadget-filled store will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 12pm to 9pm now through December 27 if you want to donate your old stuff. But you can always visit YouRenew.com to recycle your gadgets and that's how you'll get paid! Simply visit YouRenew.com, search for your device and input information about its condition to find out how much YouRenew will pay you for your item ($100 on average). They'll provide a free shipping label so all you need to do is print the label, pack up your device, drop it in the post and wait for your check.

The NY Times reported this morning on Grand Central Terminal's beautiful drinking water fountain. The fountain has been there since the terminal opened in 1913 - although most people don't notice it, preferring instead to pay $2 for water in a plastic bottle.

Rivaling any fountain in Europe, the bubbler sports carvings of oak leaves and acorns -- a Vanderbilt family symbol - and is set into a marble wall. Stylish!

Upon testing, the NY Times found the water to be lead free, and after a phone call to Metro North, discovered that Grand Central's two fountains are cleaned twice a day - no safety concerns there!

So next time you're in Grand Central - don't reach for your wallet, go looking for this beautiful fountain instead. You'll save yourself some cash and reduce plastic waste that ends up in landfills!

Photo: Josh Haner, The NY Times  

New York City is stepping into the natural-gas debate in the Catskills, warning that chemicals from drilling could put NYC's drinking water at risk. And we could not be happier!

"The potential consequences of these impacts cannot be overstated," said the city's DEP, in a statement. "Any material degradation of the watershed or lack of faith in DEP's ability to protect water quality could "force the City to build a $10 billion filtration plant, requiring nearly a 30 percent increase to the City's water rates."

Of particular concern, the DEP said, are the more than 430 products and 350 chemicals used in the gas-drilling process.

The city is pressuring state officials to do more to study the effects of modern drilling techniques on water quality. It's also preparing comments and paying for its own study to submit to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which will oversee drilling permits.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment about its Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement On The Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program. This 809-page document, also known as an SGEIS, will dictate how the DEC issues permits to companies and how it regulates their activities. And we need you to get involved.

To submit a comment to the DEC, which will be entered into the public record:

E-mail
dmnsgeis@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Mail
Attn: dSGEIS Comments, Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation, NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources, 625 Broadway, Third Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500.

Go Online
http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments

From: record online. Photo: MICHELE HASKELL record online

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation released its guidelines for natural gas drilling in upstate New York yesterday. The report unfortunately did not ban drilling for gas in the New York City water supply watershed in the Catskills.

This was a very disappointing turn of events for those concerned with the long term safety of New York City's highly regarded and pure drinking water supply.

The proposed drilling would be in shale beds. Shale bed natural gas drilling has a bad track record in other states where it has been tried. A technique called hydraulic fracturing that is combined with horizontal drilling has the potential to contaminate the water table.

The natural gas industry argues that the reward to the economy outweighs the risk to the water supply. However, the idea that a marginal change in gas prices is worth risking the safety of the water supply of 15 Million people (including 9 million people in NYC) does not seem logical.

Only 8.5% of the area in New York where natural gas can be found is in the watershed. The watershed needs to be off limits for drilling.

For more information, you can read RiverKeeper's reports on natural gas drilling. You can also take action at RiverKeeper here.

We're always happy when we see celebs doing something sensible. Check out Scarlett Johansson and her husband, Ryan Reynolds with their refillable bottles and reusable Wholefoods tote walking in Midtown.

We wish Jennifer Aniston (or as Perez calls her, Maniston!) would follow their lead and stop promoting Stupidwater. 

Check out more photos here. Now all we have to get them to do is refill the bottle at a TapIt location!


Photo: Pacific Coast News Online

This last Sunday, TapIt spent a beautiful day at the West Side County Fair in Riverside Park talking to people about tap water and the growing TapIt network.

Thanks to 'Tap Into The City' we were able to offer a tap water challenge. We had two gallon jugs of water, both with Poland Springs Natural Spring Water labels. One jug was full of tap water, straight from the sink at home, while the other was Poland Springs. We offered blind taste tests to see what people preferred.

The results were decisive. Out of the 86 people who took the taste test, 61 thought tap tasted better (see results in the photo to the left).

Many of the kids taking the test offered their own water critiques. Surprisingly a few likened Poland Springs to salt water, and another thought the tap water was 'soft'.

One thing was for sure: everyone loved drinking water. After the taste test water ran out we spent the rest of the afternoon serving tap, refilling from a nearby water fountain.

Thanks to everyone who came out and visited us! It was great to talk to you all!