Even to the jaded New York eye, it was difficult to enter ABC No Rio Friday night and not be bewildered. Over loops of brash R&B and his mother's anecdotes of his childhood, artist Michael Alan methodically applied just about every incarnation of paint, glue, paper, fabric and to the otherwise nude human instruments of his Living Installation. more ›

Days after the Koch brothers'-funded PAC released an ad critical of President Obama and Solyndra, Obama's re-election campaign has released its first TV ad to fight back. more ›

A draft report released by the EPA on Thursday indicating that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is probably the cause for contaminated water supplies in central Wyoming may affect New York's impending decision on whether to permit fracking upstate. Sandra Steingraber, an Ithaca College biologist, tells the Daily News, "It takes away the industry's claim that there has never been a documented case of groundwater contamination because of fracking." more ›

Thanks to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Ruling, Con Edision will be raising its rates by 12% this summer. According to NY1, "That's on top of another four percent state-approved ConEd rate hike. The typical apartment electric bill averages $74 but that will go up $12 from last summer. Businesses can expect a nearly 18 percent increase on their bill." Okay, start praying we don't have another heat wave. more ›

The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation denied a water permit for Indian Point, the nuclear power plant in Buchanan, NY, noting that two of the plant's cooling units "do not and will not comply with existing New York State water quality standards." (PDF of letter.) The permit is required for the plant to extend its federal license by 20 years. Entergy, which owns the plant, vows to appeal the ruling and points out the DEC's action is only a draft but environmental advocacy group Riverkeeper says, "This is a huge victory for citizens of the tri-state area, and a devastating blow for Entergy." more ›

Earlier today, President Obama announced that he would propose offshore drilling along much of the East Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico and in parts of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska. He said the move "is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy," adding, "We'll protect areas vital to tourism, the environment and our national security." (See map.) more ›

The managers of the Empire State Building announced today that they have hired California green company to retrofit the windows of the NYC landmark. Johnson Controls Inc., who are overseeing the greening of the ESB, have hired Serious Materials to retrofit and super-insulate 6,514 double-hung windows on the building. This is expected to save $400,000 a year in energy costs, and according to Crain's, it is one of four energy-saving measures that will eventually reduce the landmark's "energy use by 38 percent, saving $4.4 million per year in energy costs and reduce 105,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 15 years." This marks another victory in the ESB's quest to get totes hippie'd-out. more ›

If the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester is sold, New York City residents could see their electricity costs increase. And if the deal goes through, the new owner of the aging facility might be able to avoid paying for the eventual decommission of the plant, forcing taxpayers to cover the hundreds of millions of dollars of decontamination costs. more ›

Yesterday a group comprised of community leaders and elected officials got together to discuss small business owners going green. NY1 reports that the meeting took place in front of Camilo Grocery store in Washington Heights—one of the many businesses that could benefit in the long run from becoming more energy efficient. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said, "We need to make sure that people who fed our city for generations get to have the economic benefit of turning green." Congressman Steve Isreal has introduced legislation that would provide funding to help businesses like bodegas reach a greener goal—this would help with their own skyrocketing electricity costs, as well as be beneficial to the environment. Now, how about getting rid of those plastic bags? more ›

Environmentalists say they've come up with an unlikely way to keep the city's tap water from becoming polluted: cow manure. Amidst mounting concerns about the impact of upstate natural gas drilling on New York City's water supply, the blog CleanTechnica reports on the burgeoning cow-power movement. more ›

The Natural Resources Defense Council's New York Urban Program Director Eric Goldstein (that's a mouthful) has gone undercover to see what Manhattan retail stores are blasting their air conditioning with open doors to lure the customer inside. This is illegal, of course, and as Goldstein points out, while "the issue isn't tops on the national environmental agenda... it does serve as something of a symbol of shameless wasting of fossil fuels by some of our fellow citizens." more ›

Today's "who has Governor Paterson upset now" story is in the NY Times, which details how the governor "agreed to reconsider a key rule New York adopted as part of a 10-state pact aimed at reducing the threat of global warming by cutting power plant emissions...at the urging of the energy industry." (Okay, so he pissed off the energy concerns.) The pact is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which calls itself the "first mandatory, market-based effort in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," with participating states promising to "cap and then reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector 10% by 2018." According to the Times, Paterson's "reconsideration" would allow power plants to have more leeway in releasing emissions without cost. While his staff says the governor was thinking about the energy industry being, potentially, "unfairly" burdened, what also bothers environmental groups is that they only found out about Paterson's about-face this week when he apparently told the energy industry about this last fall. more ›

The City Council voted by an overwhelming margin to pass the bill requiring chain stores to shut their doors when their air conditioners are running, leaving many small business unhappy. Cookie Falack, the owner of six Cookie's clothing stores called it "anti-business" and claimed that when they closed their doors earlier this summer, business went down almost 25 percent. But Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the green initiative, saying "We are trying to take some reasonable measure to reduce energy consumption at a time when the systems are most strained." more ›

Last year City Councilwoman Gale Brewer proposed a bill that would fine establishments $200 per open door/window in air conditioned spaces (as well as heated spaces in the winter), the bill wasn't fully backed by the Bloomberg administration and never saw the light of day...until now! The NY Post reports that the environmentally friendly bill is now supported by Bloomberg and "is expected to win council approval tomorrow." more ›

Soaring gas prices have managed to edge gas prices to nearly $4/gallon in the area. At an Exxon station in Queens, WCBS 2 found $3.99/gallon gas, while a White Plains Getty offered it at $3.69/gallon. One White Plains resident said it cost him $55 to fill up his sedan, "I used to pay by cash, now I have to use my credit cards because I don't carry that much cash on me." more ›

Today between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., people in timezones all over the world will be turning off their lights for Earth Hour. World Wildlife Fund started the event as a way to "deliver a powerful message to the citizens and leaders of the world about the need for action." more ›

Yohji Yamamoto's recently opened Y-3 store at 317 West 13th Street in the West Village is upsetting some locals. One tipster writes in:

The idiots at the new Y-3 store on 13th street leave the front door (a garage door) open all day long. It is 30 degrees outside, yet that strip of the sidewalk is toasty warm.