Grass Skirt

Competition. . .

. . .or symbiosis?

Liquid Assets

Here in the Big Apple, it's been an unusually rainy summer so far, with more predicted next week.

However, the urban hard-scape makes it difficult for the rain to 
find its way back into the earth. Instead, it is channeled 
into the city's sewer system. This system can quickly 
become overwhelmed, especially during 
heavy rain (or snow) storms.

This often results in CSOs ("combined sewer overflows"), which cause untreated waste-water to discharge directly into local waterways.

The use of "green infrastructure", gradually being implemented through PlaNYC and other programs, can help to mitigate this problem. By storing these excess flows for slower release back into the environment, or for future use, which can also be thought of as "yields".

But until such strategies become more widespread, every time it rains, it's like leaving money on the table!

Hmmm. . . .maybe clouds really do have silver linings!

Tiny Forest

Gateway

Sea of Green

adrift at "sea". . .

  . . .in mid-town Manhattan!

Pedal to the Metal

NYC launched its bike sharing program this week, with 300 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, for a total of 6,000 bicycles.

There's a station in the pedestrian plaza across from my office building, which seems to be getting a fair amount of use.

It is hoped that bike sharing, among other things, will help to reduce traffic congestion, while boosting air quality and physical fitness for users.