Green Your Caffeine!

If you’re like us, you need a jolt of caffeine to start your day, especially after spending half the night awake on these hot summer nights. You already know to buy organic, fair trade, and shade grown coffee and tea, so this week we’re giving you another tip for making your daily cup eco-friendlier.

Boil Water Efficiently

Both tea and French-pressed coffee require hot water, so you’ll likely need a kettle. To use energy wisely, choose an electric one (metal, not plastic) instead of the more traditional stove-top model, and don’t boil more water that you’ll actually drink. Clean your kettle often to keep it efficient — boil a mixture of distilled white vinegar and water to oust lime and calcium deposits, then rinse.

Are you all business when it comes to hunting down gifts and gadgets? Work it at Sustainable NYC, a petite one-stop shop for biodegradable-local-organic-recycled-or-repurposed everything: home stuff (bowls, vases), body stuff (soaps), clothing basics (tees).

There are electronics too, like the phone-, camera-, and MP3 player-juicin’ Solio Hybrid Solar Charger (an hour of sunlight = 20 minutes of chat), and books, like NYC-vased author Elizabeth Royte’s book Bottlemania (re: the no-good, bad, and ugly of bottled water). Or, pick up a pair of supersoft knee-high Mantra Organic Cotton Socks with sayings like “just breathe”.

More to take to the cooler: The store’s made with lumber reclaimed from NYC buildings and the wallpaper and paint are eco-PC.

Sustainable NYC
139 Avenue A, between 8th and 9th Streets
212-254-5400

TODAY: Thursday, July 22, 7pm

Come join a discussion on how the $300 billion federal Farm Bill affects:

• What you put on your plate
• Whether you can afford nutrition, not just calories
• What Food Stamps are allowed to buy and what school lunches serve
• The livelihood of small farmers in the U.S.
• Global trade and the survival of subsistence farmers in poor countries
• How a significant portion of the US economy is structured
• The future of a sustainable food system

Speakers:

Derrick Boykin, Northeast Regional Organizer, Bread for the World
Mark Dunlea, Executive Director, Hunger Action Network of New York State
Doreen Wohl, Executive Director, West Side Campaign Against Hunger

Where and When:

Bluestockings Bookstore and Activist Center
172 Allen St between Stanton and Rivington on the Lower East Side of Manhattan

Thursday, July 22nd at 7pm

Sponsored by the Hunger Action Network of New York State

“Yeah, maybe my grandkids will ride it one day.”

Remember those signs in the subway saying the subway would be done in 2015? Hilarious. Now we’re looking at 2018 (maybe…)

Until the project is finally done, Upper East Siders will continue to deal with ongoing construction, dynamite deliveries, runaway Tunnel Boring Machines and the like. In addition many businesses on the avenue have gone out and the ones that remain continue to struggle.

The Second Avenue Business Association, in conjuction with CIVITAS, has launched a new blog to help stifle up some commerce on the much maligned right of way.

We’d like to extend a big bloggy welcome to the new The Second Avenue Shopper!

The site was created to:

- Inform the public of events of interest taking place along 2nd Avenue
- Update daily specials from local 2nd Avenue merchants
- Attract foot traffic to 2nd Avenue stores
- Enhance the Shop 2nd Avenue brand

Also be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter!

This Thursday evening the Environment & Sanitation and 197a committees of Community Board 8 will be discussing whether to support retaining the caissons from the former FDR Drive Outer Detour Roadway, to be used as part of the project to close the midtown gap in the East River Greenway.

Its crucial that we have as many vocal supporters in attendance as possible!

Here are the meeting details:

• 6:30 on Thurs., 7/22, at the NY Blood Center (307 E. 67th St., between 1st & 2nd,) conference room 1
• Discussion of retention of existing caissons installed in the East River, for FDR Drive reconstruction, to complete the Greenway. (joint with 197-a Committee)

To learn more about the ODR caissons and how they play a critical role in closing the gap, check out the East River Greenway Initiative website at:

http://eastrivergreenway.org/gap/caissons/

With hot weather looming, are you looking for new ways to keep cool on the cheap? String together a plan to stimulate your pocketbook, air circulation, and energy savings simply by making sure your ceiling fan’s set to run counterclockwise.

The Benefits

Unbelievable bill savings. You’ll save up to 40% on A/C in the summer and 10% on heating in the winter by managing air flow with a ceiling fan (that’s up to $10/month)

More energy for drinking lemonade. Most ceiling fans use only about as much power as a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

Comfier setting. Running your fan counterclockwise in summer directs air downward and creates a breeze; in the winter, running it clockwise will force cold air upward and warm air down to you.

Wanna Try?

Set Your Blade Direction – counterclockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter

Gossamer Wind Ceiling Fan – this is an Energy Star fan you can get at Home Depot under the Hampton Bay label ($169)

Energy Star – visit the Energy Star website for a list of fans that are 50% more efficient than conventional fans

photo via macro-sea

Grab your swim trunks because this year’s Summer Streets will now have 300% more pools. That’s right pools.

The “dumpster pools” of Gowanus are officially moving on up to the East Side. Three former dumpsters will be recycled and transformed into pools on the east of Park Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets this summer as part of Summer Streets 2010.

For the third year in a row, the City will temporarily close Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park to motor vehicles and open it up to people on three consecutive Saturdays in August (August 7, 14, & 21).

Check out more details on the DOT official site here.

Take your pick of two great discussions coming up on July 21st:

If you happened to miss the CB8 air quality forum a few weeks back, have no fear because CIVITAS will be hosting a great panel on the topic this coming Wednesday 6:30pm at Doyle Gallery (175 East 87th Street). Learn more about the process for residential buildings to switch to cleaner heating oil. What are the financial, social and environmental benefits? The panel will include:

• Isabelle Silverman, Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund
• Kizzy Charles-Gruman, Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Office of Long-term Planning & Sustainability
• Lewis Kwit, President, Energy Investment Systems Inc.
• Sean Wade, Resident Manager, The Future Condominium

Space is limited and registration is required. Tickets are $5 – no charge for CIVITAS members. To register, please email info@civitasnyc.org or call (212) 996-0745.

Also on July 21st, GreenHomeNYC will be hosting a discussion with METRO Biofuels on using biofuel in buildings and vehicles – including, how to convert to biodiesel, what makes it an efficient resource and what tax credits are available.

• Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
• Hafele Showroom 25 East 26th Street, Manhattan, NY
• Light refreshments and beverages will be provided.
• Please RSVP below. AIA/CES credit available here.

Speakers include:

• Catherine Barton, Principal, The Pinwheel Group Inc.
• Paul Miller, President, 308 E 79th Street Cooperative Board
• Gene Pullo, CEO, METRO Biofuels

The Holton Farm Truck on one of its 22 stops in Manhattan (image: NYTimes, courtesy Holton Farms)

New to New Yorkers continuing recent love affair with food trucks is Holton Farms’ innovative CSA Select farm truck; bringing farm fresh produce straight from their Vermont farm to the big city for pickup via the power of the internet.

While their farm is not as local as the upstate farms at GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets or those servicing most traditional CSAs (community supported agriculture) in the city per se, Holton’s service is more flexible than a traditional CSA, offering custom ordering instead of receiving a pre-chosen share. In addition, the truck enables Holton to offer many locations and times for pickup, including two on the Upper East Side, five on the Upper West and one in Harlem.

A unique hybrid of the CSA, Greenmarket, Fresh Direct and food cart/truck concept, one wonders why other farms haven’t tried something like this before. It may simply be more convenient and cheaper to work within existing systems like GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets and Just Food‘s CSA facilitation — both excellent options for fresh, locally grown food. In fact, one need not track down Holton Farms truck in order to pick up fresh food; they are also working to participate in the Greenmarkets and to establish a retail presence at La Marqueta in East Harlem.

Is it just a matter of time before more CSAs/farms offer more share choice and delivery? Many CSA’s already offer flexible monthly ordering of specialty items such as meats and grains and the Internet increasingly makes all these things easier. However the trend develops, with more ways for people to get fresh, locally farmed food, everybody wins.