Our Newly Green Mayor, And A New Blog About Green New York.

When Mike Bloomberg was first elected Mayor of New York City, the only thing green about him was his money. In his first term he cut back the city’s residential recycling program to save money, opposed hybrid cabs and paid very little attention to the City’s environmental quality. In the last eighteen months something changed his mind, and Bloomberg is becoming New York’s first green mayor. So what happened?

Let’s start with what didn’t happen: Mayor Mike is not a tree-hugger and probably never will be. He’s not in it for the love of nature, but for the health of the city’s people and economy. While the Mayor’s sometimes hard to figure out, I’m guessing he read the projection that the city would grow by 1,000,000 people in the next two decades. He thought about the impact of a few hundred thousand more cars (all heading south of 59th street), a few million more green garbage bags with no place to put them, and all those new folks smoking cigarettes outside the bar on his corner. Actually cigarettes may be the key to understanding our newly green mayor. This is a mayor who cares deeply about public health. The top public health school in the country is Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health- the name reflects the Mayor’s dedication and donations to the cause of public health. One of the Mayor’s first “green” initiatives focused on the issue of indoor air pollution caused by tobacco smoke. In a controversial, but now celebrated decision, the Mayor banned smoking in public places. When one looks at that decision and the creation of PlanNYC2030—we see a Mayor who starts to push hard for a healthier, cleaner city. That’s clearly one side of the coin.

The other side is just business. The Mayor realizes that businesses have become global and more mobile. If they find one place too unpleasant or too expensive they can always move to another city. Get off the airplane in Mexico City, Beijing or Delhi and keep in mind that you’re not supposed to see the air. No matter how cheap it is to operate, you’re going to think twice about moving your business there. Cities around the world now compete with each other to attract business. New York City, as Mayor Bloomberg has observed, is a luxury product. Despite the cost, the city remains a magnet. College age kids want to come here to go to school, and over 40% of the people who live here were born in other countries. We are expensive, but we like to think we give good value for the money. New York City is diverse, energetic, fun and fascinating. Its also an ecologically and energy efficient place.

Much of the biodiversity in this place was destroyed a century ago, but by developing our brown fields we can preserve rural greenfields. New Yorkers use less energy per capita than anyone else in the country and we use more mass transit too. And something else is happening…

Businesses are discovering that there is money in going green. People will pay for green buildings-- and because they use less water and energy, green buildings are increasingly paying for themselves. Protecting the environment no longer needs to be traded off against economic growth. A clean environment is a cause of economic growth. Here’s the real bottom line and the punch line for the week. People like to breath. And they are willing to pay for it.

This space will focus on the politics, programs, innovations and science that are making New York City America’s most sustainable city. We’ll look at what communities, businesses, nonprofits- big and small-- and government are doing to transform this city from gray to green. The goal is to reduce our environmental impact while continuing to grow our economy. While we’re doing well, we have a long way to go. Let’s share stories, lessons and knowledge and see what we can do to truly become sustainable. To paraphrase the old anti-litter campaign: “Remember—a greener New York is up to you."

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