Tag Archives: New York City

Do Property Taxes Pay Back Wastewater Infrastructure Costs?

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Philip Orton

Today, while river advocacy groups are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act with Swimmable Action Day, I’m reflecting on the economics of these efforts to reduce sewage pollution. Often when I read anything truly descriptive about what … Continue reading →

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Monitoring Air Quality, Empowering Communities

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Philip Orton

Would you stand in front of a truck to stop injustice? If you were pressed to contemplate such an extreme action, wouldn’t you want to have accurate information first on how serious of an injustice was being committed?  I certainly … Continue reading →

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2012 Fleetweek Parade of Ships on the Hudson

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Philip Orton

This week is Fleet Week in New York City, and my colleague Alex Sedunov captured this amazing time-lapse posted at YouTube and several great photos of the march of ancient sailing vessels up the Hudson yesterday. Can you name any … Continue reading →

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Trees Tell the Story of 500 Years of NYC Drought History

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Philip Orton

by Neil Pederson I didn’t see this coming. Yes, winter 2011-2012 has been quite unusual and it is becoming more obvious that almost anything can happen with our weather these days (see October snowstorm followed by days in winter 2012 … Continue reading →

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Five Flavors of Fog Turn NYC Greyscale

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Philip Orton

A rare but often beautiful sight around New York City is dense fog.  It might have to do with my vantage point, from Hoboken or Manhattan, where we often look over it from the outside.  It might not be so … Continue reading →

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“Winter” 2011-2012: Hitting 50+ degrees Every Week

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Philip Orton

It keeps striking me how we seem to hit 50+ degree temperatures every week this winter, so I checked it out.  Here’s a plot showing hourly temperature data at Central Park and La Guardia.  Not only have we hit 50+ … Continue reading →

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Our Cozy Little Heat Island

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Philip Orton

As our year’s coldest weather may be on its way this weekend, it might warm you to compare this spell to one lesser-known historical cold temperature record.  New York City metro area winters are a quite a bit warmer than … Continue reading →

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Garbage Transfer Stations and Delicate Ecosystems

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Philip Orton

[This is an Op-Ed that was originally published in text-only form yesterday in the weekly free newspaper Our Town, serving Manhattan’s Upper East Side] Mayor Bloomberg has been pushing to rebuild and reopen a shuttered marine garbage transfer station (MTS) … Continue reading →

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King Tides and Sea Level Rise (and beachcombing!)

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Philip Orton

Some of the highest tides of the year are coming in the next two days, and an event is being organized to raise awareness of sea level rise.  Kate Boicourt at the New York / New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program … Continue reading →

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Fall Colors and The Urban Heat Island

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Philip Orton

One of my favorite things about living in New York City is checking out the fall colors on my bike commute through Central Park.  However, for subway commuters and tourists who don’t get to cruise through the park every day, … Continue reading →

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