As environmentalism shifts to the mainstream, and becomes apart of the capitalist money making trends; how is the actual environment holding up in the midst of this green craze? This year Forbes compiled data to create two lists: first, of the cleanest cities in America, and second, a list of the most toxic. The rankings were based on five measures: air quality, water quality, number of Superfund sites, the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, and the number of days when the Air Quality Index exceeded 100 in 2009 (sadly that’s the most recent data available). Unfortunately for New York City, we wound up in fourth place of the latter. We scored this ranking from the data in 2009, in which we had 5 unhealthy air quality days, 4.1 million pounds of on-site toxic releases, numerous Superfund sites, and a EWG (Environmental Working Group) top water concern because of the “total haloacetic acids, dieldrin, and total trihalomethanes,” found in it.
However, the city and its citizens have been working very hard to clean up its act. Even though, the EPA designated the 1.8-mile Gowanus Creek Canal in Brooklyn as a Superfund site (in addition to other locations surrounding NYC) the city has been planning to cleanup the area for quite sometime. PlaNYC has been working 25 City agencies to create policies for more efficient and effective green space within the very limited area of NYC. Furthermore, many locals have taken into their own hands to create green spaces, educate communities, and sources their food locally (all of which you can see on our website!). The 596 Acres Project is a public education project aimed at making communities aware of the land resources around them. 596 Acres maps out every city own piece of vacant land in Brooklyn that can be transformed into a green space. This project provides an opportunity for local citizens to take change into their own hands and control their environments.
So don’t let these facts and figures discourage you, in order to make an impact we have to start small, and work with local communities before we try tackling larger infrastructural change.
An easy way to start reducing the city’s toxic waste is by taking a look of the products used within your own home and workspace. Eliminate products that are toxic, carcinogenic, and flammable; these types of chemicals can end up in local waste water systems, and using less of them lessens the potential impacts on the environment.
Another way to get involved in the bigger picture, is to get your local soil sampled. You should check your soil health before planting, because even raised beds are not completely safe from the chemicals leaking in. Additionally, if you are building a raised bed get your wood sampled to make sure its free of any harmful toxins. By getting both of these items analyzed you can contribute to the greater knowledge of soil conditions in NYC and help improve the health of your backyard and neighborhood.