Image: The country’s tropical climate with high rainfall, mountainous interior and low population gives it a distinct advantage in terms of renewable energy. Photo credit: Shutterstock

ecowatch.com - March 23rd 2015 - Tierney Smith

For the last 82 days, Costa Rica has powered itself using only renewable energy sources

That means the Latin American country hasn’t had to use fossil fuels at all so far in 2015.

Last week, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced that 100 percent of the country’s electricity came from renewables for the first 75 days of the year, as heavy rains boosted the country’s hydroelectric power plants.

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Image: A 1.6 MW wind turbine installed at Mount Wachusett Community College. (Photo credit: Mount Wachusett Community College)

nesea.org - February 17th 2015 - Karl Rabago

For more than 100 years, taxpayers, ratepayers, investors, and policymakers have supported the growth and operations of the electric utility industry. The ratemaking formula, under which capital investment is recovered and healthy profits are guaranteed, has helped make electric service in the United States nearly universal and relatively cheap. For much of the last century, the model leveraged increasing economies of scale to enable the provision of electricity as well as profits and dividends.

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CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON WINTER STORM JUNO:

The Weather Channel - Winter Storm Juno

Status of Airports, Trains, Schools and Other Services in the New York Area

NYC Severe Weather

Notify NYC

NYC Office of Emergency Management

Twitter - NYC Emergency Management

Facebook - NYC Emergency Management

New York State Emergency Management Association

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

Twitter - NYS DHSES

Forecast snowfall accumulation from the Euro model through Wednesday morning. This is just one model forecast. Final snow accumulation depends heavily on the track the storm takes, and how quickly the storm develops. (weatherbell.com)

abc.com - AP - by Verena Dobnik - January 25, 2015

A "potentially historic" storm could dump 2 to 3 feet of snow from northern New Jersey to Connecticut starting Monday, crippling a region that has largely been spared so far this winter, the National Weather Service said.

A blizzard warning was issued for New York and Boston, and the National Weather Service said the massive storm would bring heavy snow and powerful winds starting Monday and into Tuesday.

"This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at a news conference Sunday.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: Workers install solar paneling.

fortune.com - January 16th, 2015 - Kirsten Korosec

SolarCity, the largest installer of residential solar systems in the U.S., nearly doubled its workforce last year, hiring 4,000 people to do everything from system design and site surveys to installation and engineering.

The hiring spree at SolarCity isn’t slowing; it’s picking up speed as the company attempts to install twice as many rooftop solar systems than last year and readies its 1.2 million-square foot factory in New York, which is scheduled to reach full production in 2017.

SolarCity SCTY plans to eclipse 2014’s hiring numbers, CEO Lyndon Rive tells Fortune.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Air Pollution Vulnerability

Ozone Smog and Allergenic Ragweed Occurrence

nrdc.org

Climate change will worsen smog and cause plants to produce more pollen pollution, increasing respiratory health threats, particularly for people with allergies and asthma.

CLICK HERE - See how New York is vulnerable to air pollution impacts...

August 29, 2014 by Linda Hardesty

New York is hosting a $40 million NY Prize Competition to inspire a new generation of local power by challenging New York businesses, entrepreneurs, and electric utilities to design and implement community-based microgrids.

The competition aims to inspire new plans for protecting and strengthening the electrical system in the face of major storms.

http://www.energymanagertoday.com/ny-spends-40m-microgrid-contest-0104504/

August 6, 2014 7:31 PM - cbslocal.com - CBS Radio Inc.

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to use clean water funds on the new Tappan Zee Bridge was approved Wednesday by a key state board despite objections from environmental groups that said the money should support drinking water and sewer treatment projects. 

The $256 million loan from the clean water fund would help pay for the $3.9 billion span being built north of New York City. Cuomo’s administration argues the novel use of the funds would help minimize the cost of tolls on the new bridge and pay for work associated with the construction that would protect the Hudson River Valley.

 http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/08/06/gov-cuomos-plan-to-use-clean-water-funds-for-tappan-zee-bridge-okd/

CLICK HERE - Newsletter - August 2014

PlaNYC is the sustainability and resiliency blueprint for New York City. Together with our collaborators – the agencies, organizations, and New Yorkers who make this plan a reality – we have made significant progress in just a few years:

• The cleanest air in 50 years
• 865,000 trees and five million square feet of reflective rooftop added to our urban landscape
• Building codes upgraded to prepare for floods, wind, and extreme weather
• 19% reduction in carbon emissions since 2005, well ahead of our goal to reach 30% reduction by 2030

A changing climate, a growing population, aging infrastructure, and an evolving economy with increasing inequality pose challenges to our city’s success and quality of life. Recognizing that we determine New York's future by how we shape our response to these challenges, PlaNYC includes actions to mitigate climate change while also preparing for the risks it presents, ensuring quality of life for generations of New Yorkers to come.

Image: Eleni Kalorkoti

nytimes.com - by David J. Hayes - July 17, 2014

STANFORD, Calif. — AFTER years of hype, renewable energy has gone mainstream in much of the United States and, increasingly, around the world. . .

. . . But many communities that need small-scale renewable energy remain out in the cold — literally and figuratively.

In Alaska, for instance, the vast majority of the more than 200 small, isolated communities populated primarily by native Alaskans rely on dirty, expensive diesel fuel to generate their electricity and heat.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Joe Browder

Offsetting carbon emissions by conserving ocean vegetation

thebluecarbonproject.com

What is Blue Carbon?

The problem: The growing emission of carbon dioxide from a wide range of human activities is causing unprecedented changes to the land and sea. Identifying effective, efficient and politically acceptable approaches to reduce the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ is one of society’s most pressing goals.

Prepared by the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) for the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, September 30, 2013
homelandsecurity.org

CLICK HERE - The Resilient Social Network: @OccupySandy #SuperstormSandy (103 page .PDF report)

Acknowledgements

The Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) would like to acknowledge the numerous individuals from government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, and the Occupy Sandy volunteers who generously granted time for interviews.

Particularly, HSSAI would like to thank Dr. Michael McDonald, Megan Fliegelman, Meghan Dunn, and Jill Cornell for providing points of contact and documentation. They greatly assisted the task team in the development of its research and analysis.

HSSAI would further like to acknowledge COL Terry Ebbert, USMC (Ret.), the former director of homeland security for the City of New Orleans and currently a distinguished visiting fellow at HSSAI, for providing a critical review of this case study.

superpedestrian.com

Superpedestrian, Inc is a venture-backed company operating out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our diverse team is developing lightweight electric vehicles with integrated online platforms, finding new ways to connect people with their environment. Founded in late 2012 by Assaf Biderman, Associate Director at MIT's SENSEable City Lab, Superpedestrian seeks to provide new forms of human-powered mobility for cities. Ultimately, our vision is to offer an improved quality of living to everybody.

The Copenhagen Wheel was initially developed at MIT's SENSEable City Lab as a research project, sponsored by the Mayor of Copenhagen. It has won multiple design awards and been reviewed in over 1,000 media publications, including BBC, Wired and the New York Times - not to mention a glamourous acting debut during a whole season of TV series Weeds. Most importantly, Superpedestrian has been receiving daily requests for pre-orders - over 14,000 messages to date.

ncfpd.umn.edu - April 4, 2014

Webinar - Community Resilience and Impacts of Interdependent Infrastructure Disruptions as Experienced from Hurricane Sandy (One hour long)

Presented By: 
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
Chairman, Global Resilience Inititatives
Executive Director, Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc. 

Facilitated By:
John T. Hoffman, Col., USA, Ret.
Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Under the dynamic conditions of rapid climate change and broader global changes, resilience and sustainability are not being achieved through traditional emergency management and humanitarian approaches alone. While community-based resilience networks are now beginning to emerge in a race to stabilize New York City's coastal communities significantly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, many impacted neighborhoods are still trending toward greater vulnerability plaguing recovery and preparedness for the next wave of potentially larger storms.

nyc.gov

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection offers a grant program for private property owners in combined sewer areas of New York City. The minimum requirement is to manage 1” of stormwater runoff from the contributing impervious area. If selected, DEP will provide funds for the design and construction of the green infrastructure system. Eligible projects include blue roofs, rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement and rainwater harvesting on private property in combined sewer areas.

Private property owners in the combined sewer areas of all five boroughs of New York City are eligible to apply.   This year, for the first time, DEP will accept applications in both the spring and the fall, and applicants will have the opportunity to review conceptual ideas with DEP engineers prior to submitting their application.  More information on the program and the online application can be found on DEP’s website.   The fall due date is October 21, 2014.