Times Square’s “Military Island” is being transformed into a little public park today, as the above rendering depicts. Of course, the area is ordinarily open to the public, but now there are some plants there, and the new green look coincides with World Environment Day – not to be confused with Earth Day – and the launch of the climate change campaign “Together” – not to be confused with Al Gore’s “We" campaign.
But just to make sure we’re all on the same page: Earth Day was started in 1970 by Washington State senator Gaylord Nelson, while World Environment Day was established by the U.N. in ’72. The We campaign is part of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, while Together – launched by the British-based Climate Group – proclaims itself to be “the largest-ever consumer engagement campaign on climate change.” So feel free to choose a side, but remember that only one was founded by a Nobel Laureate.
Anyway, there’s some sort of pop-up park in Times Square now, and it’ll be open until 8 p.m. tonight. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cut the ribbon this morning and corporations like Nestlé Waters, MySpace, and Timberland are involved. So is the National Wildlife Federation and the Center for a New American Dream, a Maryland-based non-profit that tries to promote sustainable consumption. Photos and more details pending.
