Steve Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute

This summer I wrote about the need for increased public subsidies for mass transit and about the importance of keeping transit fares as low as possible. Due to over borrowing for capital improvements during the Pataki administration and the reduction in revenues from the City's real-estate transfer tax, estimates of the size of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget deficit continue to grow. The most recent estimate is for $1.2 billion in red ink next year. The MTA has proposed a "doomsday budget" of massive fare increases and widespread service reductions. They are hoping that the prospect of higher prices for less service will somehow scare the courageous and forward-looking leaders in Albany into action.  read more »

On November 19 Columbia University and the Manhattan Borough President's Office held a conference on The Politics of Food. The half-day conference was devoted to one of New York City's biggest challenges: ensuring that the public has ready access to high-quality food. Speakers included Columbia President Lee Bollinger, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and H.E. Father Miquel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the United Nations General Assembly.

At the conference, Mayor Bloomberg linked the food issue to what he considers to be his administration's most important achievement - increased life expectancy for the people who live here. That figure is now greater than the average longevity of the U.  read more »

The economic meltdown that began on Wall Street has spread to the rest of the nation and most of the world. Economic decline shapes the mindset of many American consumers as they start to hold their cash in the bank or hide it under their mattresses. On November 11, New York Times reporter David Leonhardt wrote an incisive piece on this issue:

"For decades - from the 1950s through the 1980s - Americans spent about 91 percent of their income, on average, and put away the rest. In the last few years, they have spent close to 99 percent and saved only about 1 percent.  read more »

With the city's tax revenues melting down along with our local economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and people in and around government are floating a number of large and small tax proposals. The idea of tolls on the East River bridges and even the recently defeated proposal to institute congestion pricing are once again getting serious attention as the MTA faces the need to make up revenue shortfalls. About half a million vehicles cross to and from Manhattan on those bridges each work day, and depending on the amount charged, a toll could generate up to $1 billion a year. It would also have the impact of reducing pollution, traffic and congestion in Lower Manhattan.  read more »

Tuesday morning the pageant of democracy began in earnest.  At 6:15am on West 120th street off Morningside Drive, I stood with my neighbors in the longest polling line I have seen in more than two decades of voting on the Upper West Side. Reading about the death of Barak Obama’s grandmother as I waited in line, I thought of my own grandparents, long gone, and the journey that took all four from Russia and Poland to Ellis Island and the shadow of the Statue of Liberty nearly a century ago.  America is a great country because it is, as John Kennedy once termed it, “a nation of immigrants”.  read more »

Last week, another element of Mayor Bloomberg's plan for sustainable transportation was dealt a significant, but by no means fatal setback. A federal judge blocked implementation of the requirement that all of the City's cabs be powered by hybrid engines. According to The New York Times' Sewell Chan: "In his ruling, Judge Crotty, who was the city's corporation counsel from 1994 to 1997, under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, agreed to block the city from enforcing the rule because the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their key legal argument - that the new regulations were pre-empted under federal law, which reserve regulation of fuel economy and emissions standards to federal agencies.  read more »

It has now been almost a half century since the idea of a global and interconnected biosphere was popularized by environmental pioneers such as Rachel Carson and Barry Commoner. It's been about four decades since astronauts broadcast the first images of our small, fragile bright blue planet from outer space. Until then, the idea of an interdependent planet was an abstraction. Those photos made the idea of our connectivity quite real.

Today, the issue of global sustainability has moved front and center in our political process, and it is reflected in the way we think about economic development, poverty eradication and even in the way we live.  read more »

If you read the transcript of the now famous exchange between Senator Obama and Joe the Plumber, you learn that Obama was making the point that rich people like him and those that make more than $250,000 a year should pay more taxes so that people who make less can pay fewer taxes – and so we can invest in our future. Now we learn from Senator McCain and the Fox News Channel that this is a fundamental principle of communism. I don’t think so. Let’s try to remember folks: In a communist system no one is supposed to make $250,000. It turns out that Joe is probably not about to make $250,000, has missed a few tax payments and may not even be a plumber.  read more »

During the recent presidential debates Senator John McCain said developing green technologies and alternative energies can "get our economy going by creating millions of jobs." On this point Senator Barak Obama agreed: "If we create a new energy economy, we can create 5 million jobs, easily, here in the United States." 

Despite the enthusiasm of the presidential candidates, in recent days we've seen lots of old-style thinking that the financial crisis would require steming efforts to build a green economy. The concern is that a recession is the wrong time to increase the costs of energy by regulating or taxing carbon dioxide emissions.  read more »

We like to think greening is more than a passing style, and that the idea of sustainability is taking root in our values and becoming a real presence in our communities. One of the neighborhoods that is working hard to re-brand itself green is the lower east side of Manhattan. In fact, the environment will be big in that community this Sunday, when a street festival will feature everything from chocolate apple truffles to CFL light bulbs. Dubbed Apple Day, the one-day event will highlight Go Green Lower East Side, a new environmental initiative kicking off this weekend by handing out 500 such eco-friendly bulbs to help educate households about going green.  read more »

The good news from the presidential campaign is that even though Senator McCain and Governor Palin have resorted to swift-boat tactics, the fundamental issue of economic well-being has begun to dominate the race for the White House. In the past, that would be bad news for environmental protection and sustainable development, as we’d be hearing we can either have either economic growth or environmental protection. Fortunately, Senator Obama is connecting economic well-being with energy efficiency and renewability, and he often links science and technology, education and health care with the growth of our economy. While Senator McCain is not articulating as comprehensive a case for sustainability, he clearly understands the need for a focus on renewable energy and basic research and development.  read more »

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent announcement that he would seek a third term as mayor brings back the issue of term limits and its connection to good government and long-term planning. I am against term limits anywhere, including the American presidency. The 22nd amendment was an anti-democratic, anti-government mistake, just as the term limit mandate in New York is a bad idea. The argument against term limits is simple and has two parts:

1) People should be able to vote for anyone they want (this is a concept known as democracy).
2) Term limits extend an elected official’s “lame duck” period from about a year to four.  read more »

One of the simplest things we can do to improve our productivity and economic well being is to increase the efficiency of our use of energy. We are so wasteful that there is an enormous amount of low hanging fruit. As New York state begins to get serious about this, we should look west to California, for a place that really knows how to make the most out of a kilowatt.

Since 1981, I've taught public management at Columbia, and I am not one of those people who believe that government is incompetent and only the private sector is efficient and effective. Some work is best performed by government, some by nonprofits and some by the private sector.  read more »

At the end of June, when parts of Iowa were underwater, I wrote that the United States needed to develop a rainy day fund and do more to routinize emergency response and reconstruction. In that piece I mentioned that, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: "The U.S. has sustained 78 weather-related disasters over the past 28 years in which overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. The total normalized losses for the 78 events exceed $600 billion."              

Now, we are all horrified by the impact of Hurricane Ike on the Gulf Coast and on Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. The financial impact of this latest disaster is still being calculated, and even though the impact was not as great as it could have been or as devastating as some predicted, the financial cost will be huge.  read more »

In speaking about his support for the military "surge" in Iraq, John Mc Cain said that he would rather lose the Presidency than lose the war. It's too bad he hasn't followed the same principled approach on energy. The New York Times lead editorial this past Sunday reiterated a point I have made a number of times on this site. We cannot drill enough oil and gas to solve our energy crisis. There are too many people on this planet and we use more and more fuel every day. John McCain has missed an historic opportunity to develop an American consensus about renewable energy, instead taking on the expedient, poll-driven mantra of "drill, drill, drill: here and now".  read more »

On January 5th of this year, Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin wrote an op-ed in the New York Times opposing listing polar bears on the endangered species list. Her argument was well reasoned and thoughtful, although in the end, unsatisfactory. In her piece Governor Palin noted her support for policies that helped preserve polar bears:

"We have a ban on most hunting - only Alaska Native subsistence families can hunt polar bears - and measures to protect denning areas and prevent harassment of the bears. We are also participating in international efforts aimed at preserving polar bear populations worldwide.

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Last week Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed that New York City engage in a serious effort to develop alternative energy sources, and in return for his trouble he faced skepticism and even ridicule from a cynical media. Cartoons were drawn with King Kong trying to swat a windmill off the top of the Empire State Building. Still, even the tabloids could not dismiss the idea entirely. Bloomberg commands respect, and $4 a gallon gasoline has everyone looking for alternatives.

New York City has been built by people who dreamed large and were able to project into the future. Imagine the city without Central, Van Cortland or Prospect Parks.  read more »

The Presidential nominating conventions are now approaching, first the Democrats' and then the Republicans'. The President hangs out at the Olympics, stomps his feet over the Russian invasion of Georgia and then makes another pass at gutting the Endangered Species Act by reducing the time and scientific analysis needed to assess the environmental impact of federal projects. The energy and climate issue have provided some environmental content to this campaign, but the folks running the country still don't see the stake we have in environmental sustainability.

What does an extinct frog have to do with human well-being? What does the environment have to do with economic wealth? Can't our technology solve any environmental problem we make? The short answer, as we learned nearly half a century ago from Rachael Carson and Barry Commoner, is that everything is connected to everything else.  read more »

Watching the wonderful spectacle of the Olympics this year, one finds the world outside the sports arenas constantly intruding. Russia manages to invade Georgia, human rights activists try to communicate their message to the world and oh yeah, breathing in Beijing remains a challenge. All of these issues are important, but as you might expect, I'm going to focus on breathing today.

I have the honor of participating in a program at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs where we provide management training for senior government officials from Guangdong Province in China. Guangdong is an industrial province with about 80 million residents and a large number of guest workers, and is at the heart of China's massive effort to develop economically.  read more »

The energy issue has become central in the presidential campaign and we see little to suggest that either candidate will engage in a real discussion about the real choices we have. The fact is that the era of fossil fuels is coming to an end. There are too many people and too much need for energy for this to continue for very long. How long? More than a decade and less than a century. Why should we care? Because we probably can think of better things to do with petrochemicals than burning them for fuels. Because we shouldn’t be handing this problem to our children to solve.  read more »

If we are to make this planet more sustainable, all of us--individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, and especially corporations--will need to change our behavior. This does not mean that we must live grim lives where we stay at home freezing in the dark. It does mean that we need to pay attention to the resources we consume and we need to switch as quickly as we can to renewable resources. This is going to require changes in public policy and increases in the funding for scientific research and development. It is also going to require the private sector do more to incorporate sustainability principles into best management practices.  read more »

Over the past weekend we got to hear President Bush, Senator McCain and then Senator Obama all supporting drilling for oil off our coasts. Both Bush and McCain maintain that the way to reduce gasoline prices is to develop more supplies of oil. They argue, and polling shows people believe, that drilling for more oil will lower prices. Although Obama is not crazy about drilling in fragile environments, he's willing to allow some drilling in exchange for a bill that would promote alternative energy.

For a brief moment I admired the artfulness and subtly of Obama's perspective-a little carefully controlled drilling can't do much harm, as long as our policy encourages renewable energy.  read more »

As summer heats up, our thoughts return to garbage--specifically New York City's garbage. As I've mentioned before, it would be hard to invent a more environmentally damaging, or more expensive system of waste management, than the one we use. To reiterate--in New York City we collect the garbage that residents place on the curb and then dump it on the floor of huge warehouses that tend to be located in low-income neighborhoods. We then scoop it up and load it on to trailer trucks and ship it far away--mostly to landfills (dumps), or waste-to-energy plants (incinerators). In the old days, when we had more vacant land in the city, we dumped the garbage in our own landfills.  read more »

In the early 1980's a water engineer once described the Hudson River to me as "the biggest and fastest flushing toilet in the world". Until the North River sewage treatment plant opened in 1986 for what was called "advanced preliminary treatment" we dumped all of the west side's raw sewage straight into the Hudson. No wonder Riverside Drive is about ¼ mile from the river--up on a bluff with railroad tracks and later a park and highway between the fancy apartments and the river. No wonder the most expensive residential avenues in Manhattan, 5th Avenue and Park Avenue, were traditionally those furthest from the East and Hudson Rivers.  read more »

One of the central elements of Mayor Bloomberg's plan for a sustainable New York City is to improve mass transit and get people out of their cars and into busses and subways. In addition to better and more frequent transit service, the city also needs to ensure that the price of mass transit is kept under control. In the aftermath of the defeat of congestion pricing, we see that mass transit in this region is under greater financial stress than at any time since the fiscal crisis of the mid 1970's.

State and local tax collections are in decline, and the MTA bears the burden of the Pataki philosophy of borrowing to fund transit infrastructure.  read more »

Last Thursday, former Vice President Al Gore joined the many voices that have been calling for a crash program-a "moon-shot" national effort to get us off of fossil fuels. Senator Obama applauded the speech saying "For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat."

At the moment, neither Senator Obama nor Senator McCain are taking as aggressive a position as Gore is taking. The energy industry doesn't know how to deal with this newest energy crisis. At the heart of the discussion is the impact of our current energy practices on our economic well-being and on national security.  read more »

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of reading Peter Applebome's wonderful piece in the New York Times about the new River Pool at Beacon a swimming "pool" in the Hudson River that Pete Seeger and some friends dedicated last week.

Many people know the story of Pete Seeger, who brought American folk music to the hit parade with the Weavers in the 1950's and was then blacklisted and banned from TV for refusing to cooperate with the communist-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). When brought before the committee in the mid 1950's, he asserted that testifying against his will was a violation of the first amendment's protection of free speech and refused the protection offered by the 5th amendment protection against self-incrimination.  read more »

New York City produces a lot of garbage. Over 36,000 tons of solid waste is produced every day by the city's 8,300,000 residents and millions of workers and visitors. While New York still has not developed an effective waste management system, and the Bloomberg Administration made some unfortunate changes in recycling rules in their first term, there seems to be a growing awareness that we have a major problem on our hands. The solution to our waste problem has four key dimensions:

1. Waste reduction.
2. Better waste transport.
3. Better waste disposal.
4. Increased recycling.

A small, but symbolically important part of the recycling puzzle is recycling waste in public spaces.  read more »

I made the mistake of watching some of the T.V. coverage of the Presidential campaign last night—I guess that's what happens when the Yankees have the night off and I'm too tired to do anything else. Listening to the commentary is mind numbing and most of it ranges from misleading to out and out inaccurate.

As I watched these candidates move around in the security and media bubble of the modern Presidential campaign I was thinking that they must feel as if they've been abducted by aliens. Poor Barack Obama-he's going to travel to Iraq so he mentioned that while he was there he might listen to what the military folks have to say.  read more »

On March 17, 2008, Lieutenant Governor and former State Senator David Paterson was suddenly placed in the center of Albany's storm and assumed the Office of Governor. While it may seem premature, we decided to review the environmental record of his first 100 days. New York State's League of Conservation Voters is known for their thoughtful representation of the electorate's interest, so we asked them for their view of our accidental governor's environmental record. Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters observed that:

"In the course of his first 100 days, Governor Paterson has shown that he can work effectively with the Legislature and that he understands the importance of an environmental agenda.  read more »

I'm on vacation this week, enjoying the sun, surf and sand here in Long Beach New York, where we've had a small summer home since 1987. I'm on the West End of town, where the biggest problem over the last few years has been the proliferation of second and third cars and the difficulty of parking on the narrow and crowded streets: Until this summer. This summer the big news is the price of gasoline. In the last year and a half, the price of gasoline has doubled. In January, 2007 gasoline was less than $2.20 a gallon, today it is well over $4.  read more »

According to the June 25, 2008 edition of the DesMoines Register, many of the people who have lost their homes and farms in the recent flooding there do not have federal flood insurance:

"David Maurstab, an assistant administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency whose duties include overseeing the flood insurance program, conceded Tuesday that few Iowans have purchased coverage. FEMA reported that as of September 2007 there were 10,649 policies in force statewide.

"That is troubling to all of us," Maurstab said. "We have a remarkably low number of insureds in the affected areas."

The state of Iowa is in excellent fiscal condition and has a $620 million reserve fund that the state government appears reluctant to send on emergency relief.  read more »

There is a small town America that is idealized in myth and literature, but even in the internet age thrives outside our largest cities. In these places community spirit and what used to be called civic virtue (or values) is nurtured through local schools, churches, little league, scouts and a wide variety of community based organizations. The force of economic power is as present in these places as in large cities, and I do not want to leave the impression that all is light and joy in these places, but community is always present and taken for granted.

Here in New York City community must be nurtured in the face of big anonymous institutions and the speed and intensity that is always present and taken for granted.  read more »

In 1990, the first Bush Administration banned off shore oil exploration and yesterday the current President Bush decided to ask Congress to end the ban. This is the same policy now being pushed by Senator John McCain in his effort to show he cares about rising gasoline prices. According to Sheryl Stolberg in The New York Times on June 18:

The Congressional moratorium was first enacted in 1982, and has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf, 3 miles to 200 miles offshore. Since 1990, it has been supplemented by the first President Bush’s executive order, which directed the  read more »

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The good news is that more and more people want to reduce their ecological footprint- the impact that we all have on this fragile and interconnected planet. The bad news is that some companies care much more about looking green than being green. Companies have learned that people care about the environment and are willing to pay for green goods and services. Advertisers and marketing folks are busy painting the world green. Some of this is real and useful and some of this can be silly or even deceptive. Fortunately consumer groups and the Federal Trade Commission have started to pay attention to corporate claims of sustainability.  read more »