Samantha Roberts - OnEarth Magazine, from NRDC

Exploring the Benefits of Green Roof Architecture

In 2007, Columbia joined with nine other universities in the City in Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC Challenge, pledging to decrease carbon dioxide emissions 30 percent by 2017. One initiative that is in the process of being explored to aid with this effort is the expansion and development of green roof (or vegetated roof cover) architecture.
Photo 1: Green Roof Con Edison Training, Long Island City
According to the National Institute of Building Sciences Whole Building Design Guide there are two types of green roofs: extensive, which are the most common and lightweight consisting of 3-4" of soil and low growing ...read full post

Comments (0) | November 18, 2009
LED Traffic Signals: Mitigation or Migraine?

In my usual rushed commute from Barnard College on the west side of Broadway to Columbia just across the street I was stopped by a red illuminated pedestrian signal. I suppose the two hours I had just spent in Environmental Ethics stirred the environmental conscience in me, and I began to think about the electricity consumed from the traffic lights, pedestrian walk signals, and streetlights that adorn every city street corner. A city would not be able to function without such devices, and yet the fact that traffic signals run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week never occurred to me (the things we take for granted as native New Yorkers). With this as my incentive I decided to do a bit of research on the topic.
According to the PlaNYC 2007 Emissions Data, such traffic signals accounted for 3.7 percent of government greenhouse gas emissions during the Fiscal Year of 2006 (translated ...read full post

Comments (0) | November 16, 2009
The Channels of Climate Change Exploration

Partially in response to an accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, temperatures are rising and patterns in climatic behavior are changing. Though it was, and still is a hotly debated topic of discussion, there is an ever increasing arsenal of scientific evidence that supports that succession of climate change. International, national, and local actions and policies have to be molded to address potential adaptation plans.
On the local level, since my interest is primarily in New York State, there have been policies and programs put in place to address the issue of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example in 1998 New York State established a System Benefit Charge that is based on electricity produced by investor-owned utilities. NYSERDA launched the New York Energy $mart programs to improve energy efficiency and advance research and development of renewable energy (Get Energy Smart). Similarly the ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 28, 2009
911 Response to Climate Change in New York State: ClimAID

In recent times New York State has experienced several emergencies as a result of weaknesses in critical infrastructure posed by climate change. These include, but are not limited to, more frequent black outs and combined sewage overflows as a result of severe storms that lead to unsanitary conditions in neighborhoods. However climate change can also create challenges in the agriculture sphere. For example higher temperature can increase crop yield but will also lead to the introduction of aggressive invasive species that will offer competition to native species and which might pose threats in terms of loss of biodiversity. Additionally human health impacts are identified to be related to climate change including increased heat-stress, morbidity and mortality rises, respiratory conditions as a result of poor air quality, as well as changes in the intensity and range of insect-borne infectious diseases. There is also always the potential for variation in pathogens which are ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 15, 2009
Green Action Project Beginnings

As a current senior at Barnard College, I am pursuing a major in Environmental Science with an emphasis in environmental policy and law. Perhaps best explained by my years of interest in meteorology, my idea of the perfect vacation would be an invitation to join the "Twister Sisters" and chase tornados in the Midwest. Realistically speaking, this is not going to happen any time soon and I am left with the task of desperately trying to find alternative, healthy, outlets to express my passion for the environment and to incorporate my interests in public policy and education. When I learned about the agenda of the Environmental Ethics class taught at Barnard I was immediately interested because it was perfectly harmonious with my desire to channel my energies into a meaningful initiative.
In partial fulfillment for the Green-Action Project component of the Environmental Ethics class, I was offered the opportunity to work with a senior research scientist at the NASA ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 11, 2009