A new form of pollution...?

So, I'm working on the green side of things, recycling more, using environmental products, unplugging things or using surge protectors, cancelling my New York Times subscription (oh, the paper!), and I think I'm doing a pretty decent job.
Tonight I discovered a new form of pollution: NOISE pollution! Living in one of the noisiest, craziest cities around, you get used to the noise; the street sounds, the car alarms, the domestic fights, the clattering of the subway, the honking of the traffic...All those things are expected, par for the course, the sounds of the city, and I can deal with them. But this? This specific noise? This incessant, repetitive, tinny, tinkly, grating-in-my-brain cacaphony? It starts seasonally, in the late afternoon and doesn't stop until after 9 pm??? Yes, you got it, I'm talking about the Mister Softee ice cream truck. I have no idea how they composed the inane jingle, or why they are allowed to play it over and over and over and over for HOURS???
I've done some research on the topic, and apparently I'm not the only one to feel this way...
This is taken from a Legal Aid pamphlet
"According to a federal Environmental Protection Agency pamphlet, noise "loud enough to cause hearing loss is almost everywhere in the city." Or as one writer put it. "New Yorkers are expected to work and live in an aural state of siege.

Despite the inevitability of noise in a crowded city, much of the raucous blare can be curtailed, and there are some laws on the books designed to do just that. The principal noise abatement law in New York is the Noise Control Code--Chapter 57 of the city's administrative code. The law declares, "It is the public policy of the city that every person is entitled to ambient noise levels that are not detrimental to life, health. and enjoyment of property." The general rule about noise set forth in the code is Section 1403.3-3.01, which states: "No person shall make, continue or cause or permit to be made or continued any unnecessary noise."

And this is taken from the New York Times article: "Mister Softee May Fall Under Cone of Silence":
"Most trucks start cruising around noon and do not return to Mister Softee operations depots, like the one on Carroll Street in Brooklyn, until 10 p.m. or later. Drivers say they make most of their money between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., when parents come home and can give their children the 75 cents to $1.25 for a soft-serve cone."

Ummm, hello? Children do NOT need ice cream late at night!!! It's bad for their teeth! That is the most ridiculous capitalist argument at the expense of our kids I have ever heard!
At least I'm not alone in this crusade:
"Charles G. Sturcken, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, which enforces the city's noise code, said that in the month of May alone there were 243 noise complaints about ice cream vendors. Mr. Sturcken said he did not know how many had involved Mister Softee trucks."

Well, so I contacted the City of New York Department of the Environment, under the noise pollution section, and I called my local police precint (who were completely unimpressed and unhelpful! "Uhhh, yeah, he's just trying to make a living") who were clearly not going to file my complaint. I'm thinking of drafting a petition next and driving this noise mongering, cavity-peddling torturer out of my neighborhood!

Have a peaceful, quiet evening (if you don't live near a Mister Softee truck!)

Plug it in, plug it in...or don't?

I live in a tiny (huge by Manhattan standards!) apartment, but still have a LOT of appliances. Computer, TV, DVD, refrigerator, stove, toaster oven, microwave, coffee maker, electric toothbrush, hairdryer, fan, and air conditioner, of course.
After reading a great article in Glamour magazine ("The Woman's Guide to Saving the Planet" May, 2007) where it stated that appliances consume 75% of their energy when plugged in, yet NOT in use, I decided to get serious about this!
First of all, just how much energy do appliances consume, anyway? Especially my computer, which is pretty much always on, yet in "sleep" mode.
Here is a chart from the US Government website on energy efficiency and conservation (actually, pretty informative and helpful!).


In doing more research, I came across the Boston University website for greening of their campus (good job! Wish Columbia would follow...) and the same statistic of 75% came up again, so I'm starting to believe it. Some solutions are to keep appliances on a surge protector so you can simply shut it off and turn it on quickly. I've noticed that my electric toothbrush can be unplugged for MONTHS and still work great! Then I charge it overnight, and, presto, it works!
Never mind the fact that I let the water run for far too long when I brush my teeth, but more on that later...

Get out there and enjoy the beautiful May weather...!

p.s. I found a Columbia "environmental stewardship" website (not too user friendly!) and I submitted a comment about installing more recycling at Butler Library...we'll see what they have to say!

The Greening of Me...

Like all great and crazy ideas, this one came to me randomly, while ordering soup at a little cafe on the Upper West Side. I started making mental inventory of all the things that were environmental and those that could use work at this restaurant, and wondered if we all changed things just a little bit, just tweaked it some here and there, if we couldn't make a difference in this save-the-planet endeavour that people are finally catching on to.
I haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth." I keep meaning to. And I will. My sister has and it inspired her to host her own screening back in Montreal! I know there is a lot more that I could be doing, so I have decided to write a little bit about it, document things I've discovered, things I'd like to change, things that work and things that don't. I'll try to link to interesting sites and information. I'm open to suggestions. And maybe if more people start reading and getting inspired with their own efforts things will start heading in the right direction.

1) Take-out: We New Yorkers order a LOT of take-out. I don't know any hard statistics off hand, but I'm sure we're the world capital! And it is SO tempting to just toss the containers. But don't. They're recyclable! Even those flimsy plastic covers for the sesame noodles. Yep, those too. If they have the little triangle thingy, rinse them and recycle them. I'm certainly trying to.

2) Laundry Detergent: I've started using this new natural citrus stuff from Seventh Generation. It's non-toxic, biodegradable, and hypoallergenic. It also smells divine and gets my clothes superclean, soft, brighter, and somehow smoother (?) than before. I'm hooked.

3) Columbia University/Butler Library: So, kudos to them for installing bins for recycling paper everywhere, alongside the trash bins. But, while you're at it, why not put a third bin for recyclable plastic/bottles, etc? Almost EVERY student is sitting there drinking out of a water bottle, juice bottle, or coffee cup. What a waste! Which reminds me: I need to buy a really great coffee mug. One that doesn't leak and doesn't taste metallic! Any ideas on the best one out there?

Ok, those are my green thoughts for today.