mass transit

In many ways NYC is a big mess. I thought that when I first moved here and I still think that. But both then and now I always recognized that NYC, in its own haphazard ways, sometimes gets it right.

Let's talk some greenhouse gas numbers. The United States is the single largest contributor to global warming. With only 5% of the earth's population we contribute 25% of the human-contributed greenhouse emissions. Per capita that pretty much sucks. Those conservatives who want to say population growth and China are the worst of the problem have to explain those numbers. Not that population growth and China aren't PART of the problem, but the USA is the biggest part of the problem.

According to Salon.com, NYC by itself contributes nearly 1% of America's emissions, making NYC an equivalent contributor to Ireland or Portugal.

Sounds bad, right? A single city contributing 1% of America's entire global emissions or .25% of the emissions of all humans on earth. But then you realize that NYC contains 2.7% of America's population. We in NYC produce only a little more than a third of the emissions as the average American.

So what are we doing right? Well, DUH! We have a mass transit system! Yes it's a chaotic, dirty mess, but it means we don't drive nearly as much as everyone else.

In the not too distant future I want to be working with our local Brooklyn New Democratic Majority group to host a series of talks on a "Green NYC." Among the topics I want to cover is how each individual residential building in NYC (or ANY city, for that matter) can reduce its carbon emissions and energy usage and save money in the process. This is an idea that is precolating among several minds in the city and may, within a few years, start to become mainstream. Let me use this as a chance to ask if anyone out there is interested in speaking in this series. Obviously you would have to be able to come to NYC to speak. We already have a couple of possible speakers and slots will be limited. Meetings are the second Thursday of every month, 7 PM at the Ozzie's on 5th Ave. and Garfield in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Not all meetings will cover "Green NYC," so again, slots will be limited. If we start intentionally greening NYC, we can save money for ourselves, reduce the pressure on the grid at peak times, thus reducing the risk of blackouts, and FURTHER reduce our per capita carbon emissions.

Here is an update on what's going on with the Iowa Democratic Party. Both newly elected Governor Chet Edwards and newly (and unexpectedly) elected Congressman Dave Loebsack are doing good things.

Culver proposes big bump for schools (Des Moines Register)

...The governor's proposal for more than $200 million in new spending for education programs would mean new college scholarships, more money for preschool programs, and higher salaries for teachers and college faculty...

One of Culver's priorities is to bring teacher pay from 40th in the nation to 25th. He said his proposed $70 million appropriation for salary increases in fiscal year 2008 would be the largest single increase in teacher pay ever made in the state...

Salaries for K-12 teachers in the 2007-08 school year would go up roughly $2,900 per teacher. "That's still about $5,000 below this year's national average," Schlapkohl said, "but it sure gets us closer..."

Highlights of Culver's plan for Iowa's schools:

PRESCHOOL: Place more certified teachers in the early childhood education classrooms and reduce waiting lists until all 4-year-olds have access to quality preschool. Proposed new spending: $20 million, with increases over four years.

TEACHER SALARIES: Boost teacher salaries to the national average. Proposed new spending: $70 million.

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION: Improve the quality of classroom instruction. Proposed new spending: $95 million for the 2007-08 budget year, based on a 4 percent increase in per-pupil spending.