Recently in New York City Category

The New York Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), who is responsible for the New York water supply, has partnered with Fishs Eddy, a Manhattan housewares retailer, to encourage New Yorkers to stop using bottled water and switch to tap water.

Fishs Eddy has produced a line of glasses, t-shirts and coasters carrying the slogan  "drink NYC water" with the DEP's tap water logo.

"We're very New York and we see ourselves as an institution. And we developed this idea with a fun graphic on the glasses to promote NYC tap water", said Julie Gaines, the store's owner. "I think the bottled-water industry is getting ticked off at us because of this". Great to have them onboard! Glasses will run $5 or $20 for a set of four. Coasters are $3.95 for a set of ten. Order them here.

photo credit: Fishs Eddy

New York has some of the best water systems in the country. We are surrounded by water and rely on our waterways for so many things. It is one of New York's greatest assets.

As in any highly populated area, New York's waterways are very much threatened. Some of the area's waterways are very polluted. Residents are in a constant struggle to keep our water clean and clean up some of the dirtiest areas.

On Earth Day, PBS Channel Thirteen put out a great documentary on New York's trials and tribulations with its water. It is almost an hour long, but very worthwhile if you interested water issues. You can watch below:

As we have mentioned in earlier posts and cannot mention enough, there is a conglomeration of plastic waste, at least the size of Texas, floating in the Pacific Ocean (see also 'Plastiki'). In my opinion the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' is the single most shocking reminder of our impending plastic crisis. It is easy to forget that the 80% of our plastic waste that is not recycled has to go somewhere, and a great deal of it ends up in the oceans.

A new project called The Plastic Planet in New York City is planning to draw awareness to how much plastic waste we actually create. The plan is to section off a fenced in area of a school playground and have everyone in the neighborhood add their plastic bottle waste to the area, everyday. As you can imagine, it will be no time at all until there is a massive mound of plastic filling the playground, drawing attention from residents and the media. It will be called the 'NYC Plastic Ocean'.

Right now you can read about their plans at The Plastic Planet blog or to get in touch, write theplasticplanet@yahoo.com. Ideally this project could be launched in a few cities at once to maximize exposure to the plastic crisis.

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.