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 ›

Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo recently responded to the contentious hydrofracking issue by acknowledging that "the temperature is high. We have a process. Let's get the facts. Let the science and the facts make the determination, not emotion and not politics." But what about money? With $3.2 million spent by industry lobbyists in Albany last year so far dwarfing the $800K spent by environmental groups, it would appear that the gas companies are controlling the temperature. Who needs Indian Point, anyway? more ›

Whether or not New York City's forthcoming bike sharing initiative will be a welcomed success or a network of mini-madrassas remains to be seen, but could it save your life some day? A study (an actual study, not an internet poll) conducted by our old friends at the British Medical Journal of Barcelona's bike-sharing program found that it contributed to 12 fewer deaths a year, not to mention a reduction of 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide pollution. more ›

Finally, the city is going to try to eliminate those disgusting plumes of black smoke coming from buildings by proposing rules that will ban cheap heating oils. According to the NY Times' Green blog, "The rules, which are subject to a 30-day period of public comment and will be the focus of a hearing on Feb. 28, would phase out the dirtiest types of heating oil used by about 10,000 buildings in New York: No. 6, the cheapest but most viscous type pumped into aging boilers, and another heavy oil, No. 4, which is only slightly less noxious. Air pollution from these oils can irritate the lungs and worsen conditions like asthma and emphysema as well as increase the risk of heart attack and premature death." more ›

Red Hook used to be one of America's busiest ports of call. But the advent of containerized shipping required greater upland space than the neighborhood could provide, and most of the longshoreman jobs moved to New Jersey (where On the Waterfront was shot). Containerships still dock at pier 11, but the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is also welcoming a steady influx of cruise ships. It takes a lot of energy to keep these floating cities running, and some residents are fed up with the ships' constantly idling diesel engines, which are polluting the air in Red Hook. more ›

A new DOH study [PDF] tracked levels of fine particles like elemental carbon, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide throughout the city's summer air. And though all the maps are different, they paint the same picture: New York is really soiled. more ›

Even though anything growing in the Hudson immediately set off gag reflexes, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection doesn't trust Jersey citizens with their better judgment. Saying they can't adequately protect against poachers, the DEP has ordered a halt on oyster bed restoration projects in waters classified as polluted, even though the beds were built in the polluted water to help clean it up. The oysters are not meant for consumption, but the DEP fears people may get sick if poachers attempt to sell the oysters commercially, and that their sale could damage the legal oyster harvesting industry. The ruling just affects Jersey waters, so these kids are safe...for now. more ›

We've all heard about the Gowanus Canal's polluted waters, but now that Team Superfund is on board, it's time to get an up close look at the goo that oozes within it. The folks who run Characters of Gowanus were brave enough to get exclusive footage of the most talked about sediment in town, and it ain't pretty. EPA regional Superfund director Walter Mugdan explains the Superfund process in the below video and (spoiler alert!) talks about that time that the mud found in the waterway "had eaten its way through this heavy duty plastic" that it had been captured in. It's alive, people—and carrying gonorrhea. more ›

Just hours after a coyote was spotted in Chelsea and a seal turned up on the shores of Staten Island, a teacher from the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School reportedly saw a dolphin swimming in the Newtown Creek. According to a press release issued by the environmental group Riverkeeper, the educator and a colleague alerted authorities after seeing a dolphin in the fetid body of water, which could soon be deemed a Superfund site like the Gowanus Canal. more ›

Testing of Greenpoint's groundwater has revealed contamination by dry cleaning chemical, with alarmingly high levels found under the corner of Kingsland and Norman Avenues, right by McGolrick Park. Investigators started testing the area in 2008, and despite resistance from homeowners, they traced the pollutants and are naming names: They say former businesses in the area, including Spic and Span Cleaners, Klink Cosmo Cleaners, and current businesses ACME Metal Works and ACME Steel and Brass Foundry are to blame. But what's a Greenpointer to do? more ›

Hear the World, which works to prevent hearing loss around the world, is holding an event at Macy's Herald Square from January 6th to the 19th, offering free hearing screenings and information about protecting your hearing. Dr. Kasper tells the Post that the easiest way to save your eardrums is also free: "We have wonderful earplugs built in, they are called our fingers." Unfortunately, the incessant voices in our heads persist, no matter how deeply we burrow our fingers in. Below, Hear the World's list of some of the loudest spots in NYC. more ›

One of the city's wealthiest neighborhood is also among its most polluted, according to a new air quality study. Researchers examined data from 150 sensors mounted atop light poles to figure out which communities had the highest levels of air pollution from contaminants like elemental carbon, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, which "can irritate lungs, worsen asthma and boost the risk of heart attacks" — and the Upper East Side turned out to be one of the worst, according to the Daily News. more ›

Even though the average New Yorker has a smaller carbon footprint and uses about one-half less energy than other Americans, our Mayor — who has been widely praised for his ambitious environmental agenda — might be one of "the worst individual polluters ever to hold public office," according to the Times. more ›

While the Parks Department's solution to the city's garbage is a giant Dumpster amongst the trees, the same thing can't quite help our water. The Daily News has a report card on our beaches, and of the 13 rated in the annual "Testing the Water" guide... things aren't looking so good. more ›

Air pollution from cars and cigarettes can lower a child's IQ. That's the finding of a new study that tracked mothers and their children living in Washington Heights, Harlem, and the South Bronx. more ›

The bottlenose dolphins that have surrounded New York City in the past week are definitely a welcomed visitor. Not just because they are adorable and probably don't want to kill us (unlike some aquatic guests), but it means that our water could be cleaner than we thought (not to mention stocked with plenty of herring). Newsday reports that "fishermen and scientists said it has been 30 or more years since they'd seen bottlenose dolphins in the Sound in the summertime, and experts agree that the marine mammals came here following food. Experts say the real test will be next year if the dolphins return. If they do, there is a chance the Sound waters are clean enough to sustain a population of the animals." Dolphins used to be a common sight in the Sound, until the post-WWII development boom that helped pollute our waters, but maybe this is the first step in getting them back. Now, can we add some puppies to this story? more ›

Not surprising, but still troubling: A new study from the University of Washington and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health shows that subways are the loudest forms of mass transit in the city. Some of the noise levels recorded in the subway exceeded 100 decibels, which is loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss for regular straphangers if they're exposed to it for even as little as two minutes a day. (The subway system's average decibel level was 80.4) Health expert Robyn Gershon tells NY1, "For a typical day, you should not exceed between 70 and 75 decibels across that 24 hours. Once you do, it accumulates time after time, year after year, and after a while, you will have hearing loss." The MTA says noise reduction has long been a concern, and their efforts to hush up include retro-fitting stations with noise absorbing barriers and quieting track noise with welded rail fasteners. But we'd be happy if they could just do something about the maddening train brake screeching at Union Square! more ›

Toxic vapors are intruding into Greenpoint homes, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is having difficulty assessing the problem because many residents will not allow their homes to be tested, according to a scary report in the Times today. The vapors in question are not wafting from the famous oil plume in Greenpoint's groundwater that went undetected until 1978, but are believed to be left over from other businesses that no longer operate in the neighborhood. more ›

Responding to pressure from Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez, the E.P.A. has agreed to conduct “preliminary tests” that could lead to Newtown Creek being named a federal Superfund site, City Room reports. In 1978, the Coast Guard realized that a toxic oil plume in Greenpoint's groundwater had been seeping into the creek. A study the following year estimated the contamination at 17 million gallons and 55 acres wide, but it may actually be closer to 30 million gallons, according to a study released last year. If the E.P.A. tests qualify the site for Superfund status, the cleanup will be aided by millions in federal money, and the E.P.A. could sue Exxon Mobil and other companies for polluting the area. And last year attorney general Andrew Cuomo filed his own lawsuit. more ›

Yesterday, the U.S. Olympic cycling team arrived at Beijing's airport and their masked visages caused a frenzy. The cyclists wore the U.S. Olympic Committee-designed and issued masks to protect them from Beijing's polluted air. One team member told the NY Times, “They told us that the Chinese were mad and that this is a politically charged issue, but we didn’t mean to offend anybody. When [the USOC] handed us these masks, they never said, ‘Here they are, but don’t wear them.’" Now the team has apologized, saying, "The wearing of protective masks upon our arrival into Beijing was strictly a precautionary measure we as athletes chose to take, and was in no way meant to serve as an environmental or political statement." more ›

Montreal-based food writer Taras Grescoe thinks something fishy is up with the global seafood economy. From pollutants to piracy, preservatives to Patagonian toothfish, Grescoe surveys the state of our collective waterways in his new book Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, which combines some literal seabed muckraking with a fascinating travelogue. Each chapter follows a specific fish down the food chain from net to dinner plate; the book is a sort of aquatic The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Grescoe emerges with a clear breakdown of the issues, and a guide for sourcing seafood with an emphasis on sustainability. more ›

NYC’s air quality has gotten substantially worse compared to other cities, according to the American Lung Association's annual "State of the Air" survey. Since last year the city jumped from 10th worst in the nation for ozone pollution (smog) to an eighth place ranking. And in the category of short-term particle pollution (soot), NYC nabbed 13th place after ranking 17th worst in the last study. (L.A., the undisputed smog heavyweight, coasted to 1st place again.) more ›

The growing backlash against bottled water as an environmental abomination is stretching into some of NYC's premiere eating and drinking establishments. Ten years ago it was the de rigeur of fashion to be toting a bottle of water everywhere one went; now it marks you as a polluting pariah. According to the New York Post, bottled water is being banned at places like the Waverly Inn, Il Buco, Del Posto, Gemma in the Bowery Hotel, Bobo, Gusto Organics and Broadway East. more ›

Moving can take a real toll on the environment. Think of all the cardboard boxes, the truck(s), the frequent opening of doors to climate-controlled rooms and the products and solutions you use to clean the whole place down for the next tenants because you're an awesome person bucking for canonization. Step one on reducing your impact -- the easiest step -- is recycling. And it's not too hard to find earth-friendly cleaning products. But... more ›

Two companies are vying to be chosen to lay an electricity transmission cable from New Jersey to Manhattan and ultimately, both may wind up doing the job to feed the city's need for juice. The deadline is 2010, when the Charles Poletti Power Project in Astoria, Queens is scheduled to shut down. According to The New York Times, the EPA has identified that plant as the third-largest source of toxic pollutants in the city. Two... more ›

Yesterday morning, surfers contacted the Coast Guard about "tar-like balls of oil washing up" on the shoreline of Lido Beach, near Jones Beach on Long Island. The surfers said they also had oil on their wet suits. The spill seems to be about 3000 feet wide and 1500 feet long. Now the Coast Guard, working with other local, state and federal agencies, are trying to figure out where the spill is coming from as they... more ›

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Seattle yesterday to give a keynote at the United States Conference of Mayors. The Mayor, aka Mr. "I'm not running for president in 2008" Bloomberg, discussed NYC's efforts to be more sustainable and how governments need to invest and innovate to encourage energy efficiency. And one of the innovations would be to introduce pollution pricing. He said:

we have to stop ignoring the laws of economics. As long as greenhouse gas pollution is free, it will be abundant. If we want to reduce it, there has to be a cost for producing it. The voluntary targets suggested by President Bush would be like voluntary speed limits - doomed to fail. If we're serious about climate change, the question is not whether we should put a value on greenhouse gas pollution, but how we should do it.

ART: Secrets of Coney Island Creek opens at the Brooklyn Public Library tonight. The exhibit of photographs by photog/author/Coney Island native Charles Denson goes back to the 1960s "when the waterway was at a low point, surrounded by industry and suffering from neglect and pollution. Since then, portions of the creek have been reclaimed, drawing both wildlife and residents to its shores. The photographs in Secrets of Coney Island Creek document those early decades and offer a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of the creek today and its relationship to the Coney Island community." more ›

The taxi strike is over and rates are back to normal, but many people may have discovered that ride-sharing in a cab is a great way to save money. Fortunately, there are a few online services that can facilitate sharing a cab and splitting the fare to the airport or around town with fellow New Yorkers. Consider it yellow-carpooling. Last year we wrote about hitchsters.com, the online service that formalizes ride shares by matching users through its database. Hitchsters.com works by matching flight information with time, dates, and locations of passengers to make splitting a cab to the airport easier. Similarly, the recently launched SplitaCab.com also focuses on sharing rides to the three major area airports using a GoogleMaps mashup. Both services focus on rides to the airport to and from Manhattan, although hitchsters.com has a beta version that includes Brooklyn. more ›