LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

Michelle Alaghband
Community Event #2
Due: 12/10/08

On the morning of Saturday, October 18th, 2008 I decided to spend my beautiful sunny day in the Bronx with over 8,000 other willing New Yorkers. The reason for my 8 a.m. wake up call was neither a marathon nor a special sale at some department store; in fact, it was to be a part of New York City’s largest day of volunteer service in honor of New York Cares Day. Though NYU’s Office of Student Activities organized a group of students to take part in the day of events, I participated directly through the sponsor by the name of New York Cares. The 17th annual six-hour volunteer event brought together city inhabitants of all ages in the hopes of creating a brighter future for public school students. The day’s theme was to help paint a brighter future for New York City students of over 100 different schools, thus, we set out to paint hundreds of colorful murals, plant flowers, and organize school libraries to help foster good learning environments. Those partaking in the event were of many different ages, nationalities, and even professions, yet we all shared a common goal of helping those less fortunate than us in a way which would not hurt the environment (most products used were all eco-friendly).
Upon registering to take part in New York Cares Day, I was assigned to an elementary school by the name of PS 86. The school is located in Kingsbridge Heights (in the Bronx) on Reservoir Avenue. Once I arrived via the number 4 subway train and a good two-mile walk, I was shocked to see the condition of the school. Considering I went to a small private school in Los Angeles for my early years of schooling, the shocking difference between the two schools was beyond belief. The walls both inside and outside the school were bare and they seemed to be uninviting, especially to a young child in grade school. Almost immediately, I knew I had a lot in store for me and I knew I was more than willing to help, since I knew I would not have liked attending the school as is at the age of seven.

Due to the sheer amount of work that needed to be done, we were all assigned a different area of concentration for our first few hours. For example, I was assigned to help paint new lines on the playgrounds to help for organized play (lines that made basketball courts was one of the primary focuses). Though this was one task, many other activities were taking part simultaneously; examples of such were planting flowers around the school’s grounds, painting hundreds of colorful murals both on the school’s interior and exterior, and organizing the PS 86’s school library. In all honesty, I have never been on my hands and knees to paint concrete, but the experience was less tedious than it was rewarding. Helping me paint my court was another student from a local university as well as a man who worked at Credit Suisse (he was also on the New York Cares Board of Directors). I found our unique group amazing, for neither age nor profession mattered. Though this Human Resource Advisor from Credit Suisse was an event organizer, he interacted with much ease and friendliness with all those volunteering. In all truth, I did not even know he was on the Board until he was called to help organize another schools’ activities.

As I said before, I never took part in a similar activity, though I have taken part in much community service. Though my hands-on experience on New York Cares Day was much different from my volunteering at numerous hospitals, I learned so much. Besides the obvious moral of “helping is good,” I got to see how important an academic environment is. For example, once completed, the playground looked ten times as friendly and it was all done in a way that did not hurt the environment. As I looked through the school in the hours that followed my playground painting, I was filled with pride and the desire to help New York City more in the future. Almost immediately upon returning to my dorm, I went online and searched for future New York Cares activities (for example, I recently took part in a coat drive organized by New York Cares and fashion designer John Varvatos where one donates a coat and receives a $200 gift card to the designer’s store in SoHo).
At the end of the day, the volunteers all gathered for a picture in front of a newly painted mural and the day’s events were recapped. In total, over 88,000 New York City Public School students benefitted from the day’s efforts due to the hundreds of classrooms and hallways that were painted, the 50 libraries organized, and the 400 murals painted on the exteriors of 119 public schools. The impact on the environment was little, in regards to pollutants, yet the people of the city benefitted great deals.

I personally thought the organization New York Cares did a phenomenal job organizing the day and that in all honesty, nothing could have been done better. I really enjoyed my experience and hope to take part in future New York Cares Days to come. I do not regret waking up early for one instant, in fact, I went back to my dorm and shared my experience with friends, urging them to get involved in the community themselves. Though I enjoyed attending the Central Park Zoo for the last community event report, I found this one much more worthwhile.

On Monday, September 15th, I attended a lecture on global warming from Jim Marston, the Attorney General in the Environmental Division of Texas, in the NYU School of Law. This event was hosted in the Greenberg Lounge at Vanderbilt Hall from 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. It was sponsored by the Environmental Law Society. It was an educational event aimed mainly for NYU graduate law students. Jim Marston is a senior attorney and the Executive Director of Environmental Health Funds in Texas. He sets the environmental policy in Texas by working on issues such air pollution, water quality, and energy. He also works with policy lawmakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and electric power plants, which was the main topic of his lecture on September 15th.
The lecture was very informative and interesting. Throughout the lecture, Jim Marston made a lot of jokes, most of them relating to the topic. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy the lecture. His lecture addressed the ways in which we can solve global warming. He first began his lecture by explaining the somewhat new policy, enacted in 2006, Cap and Trade. He asked if we knew exactly what it was and what it guidelines were, but surprisingly, quite a number of us did not. Basically, Cap and Trade is a policy aimed towards reducing greenhouse gases (particularly from big firms, companies, and plants) and carbon dioxide in the most manageable way in terms of the economy. Marston stated that the “cap” part, which allows companies to buy a permit for every ton of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases it emits into the atmosphere, is mandatory. This is one way of limiting the amount of greenhouse gases that companies emit. As for the “trade” part of the policy, compan
ies that would not be able to get these permits easily and for a cheap price can purchase them from the other companies, the ones that can purchase these permits easily. This is perfect for the companies that already have more than enough permits to emit their carbon dioxide, because they can make a profit by selling it to other companies in desperate need of permits. Marston stated that this “trade” part is optional. He also stated that both presidential candidates are in favor of Cap and Trade. This policy requires every plant to make a reduction.
Marston then continued his lecture with the different opinions and types of analysis from economists, environmentalists, and government officials. Apparently, the law says we need to make reductions, specifically reductions of eighty percent. We also need to get the industry making money and figure out how to make reductions. Some economists argue for carbon taxes, taxes on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. However, these carbon taxes would raise prices. Initally, economists said that we would not be able to solve global warming. They thought that it would cost too much to solve global warming, and that people would need to drive in different cars. However, the government stated that the solution would make a minor impact on the economy. Economists’ main fears are that the amount of needed to solve global warming would hurt our economy drastically. Marston proved in his lecture that this view is wrong.
Marston addressed this assertion by first stating that “small steps make a difference.” A little difference does matter and it will affect the atmosphere. He stated that a study showed that fourty pecent of reductions we need by 2050 can be done with our existing technology and also save us money. He stated that when Americans are given a choice, we could easily reach an eighty percent reduction in driving by simply biking, walking, or taking the train to work or school. He suggested that we should tie a campaign about obesity and health to environmental issues. Afterall, most of the environmental issues lead to diseases and health problems for humans. Marston stressed the importance of the need to go from high technology to clean technology. Marston’s argument showed that economists should not ways of solving global warming.
After Marston’s lecture was a Question and Answer session. One woman asked what is so great about Cap and Trade because she was skeptical since in the past there was much more regulation and energy efficiency. Marston answered that the main advantage is certainty. Cap is a guarentee, a “no matter what.” Cap gives credit to big companies and by 2020, there will be an increase in reductions of greenhouse gases from our current four percent to a twenty percent. Marston admitted that the downside is that it does not always work especially since we are not in the future yet. However, the more that people do in an early time, the more that gets done. Also, cap and trade would definitely work for the electricity sector. If this ever failed, there is always the alternative and back-up plan of carbon taxes. The next question of debate after this was from a man who pointed out that China and India have not signed up to the Kyoto Protocol. Marston answered, “Well, they
create their own problems.“ China and India’s failure to comply with the Protocol should not encourage failure in our own compliance.
Marston ended his lecture by stating that rich, industrial nations cause the problems, along with consumers. We cannot solve global warming by consumer regulation alone, but we cannot solve global warming without consumer regulation, as well. Our government has tried to educate people to reduce air pollution for about 30 or more years, but trying to tell people to help in reducing these problems for altruistic reasons and for future generations has been a failure. Marston stated the sad fact that we need an incentive just to get people to care about our environment. One possible way is by rewarding people for fuel efficiency. In conclusion, for the present moment, our best solutions to global warming are the Cap and Trade Policy and consumer regulation along with rewards for consumers. Marston stated that we can solve other problems simultaneously if we tackle global warming smartly.
I liked this event because it was so informative. I did not even know there were attorneys for environmental law before hearing about this event. I do think becoming an attorney for environmental law is something I would like to do in the future. Listening to Jim Marston speak showed me how passionate he was over the issue. He was very adamant about taking action in solving global warming. I can see myself doing something to better the environment, as well. I felt like he was a perfect example of people trying to make the world better. The event definitely informed me, as well as everyone who attended. I found it extremely worthwhile, because now I can add to my list my possible careers. The one thing I found very beneficial was learning about cap and trade. After attending this lecture, I realized that Cap and Trade is an important topic in today’s politics and I did not even know about it. So, not only did I gain knowledge of the way economists have thought, but I also learned one aspect of today's
debate and politics.

On Friday, November 21st, 2008, I went to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. I visited a few different exhibits, including an exhibit called Our Hudson Home. This exhibit is sponsored by a couple of organizations, including NASA, Port Authority, the Victoria Foundation, the New York Shipping Association, and the Charles Hayden Foundation. Our Hudson Home is an educational exhibit for the public on the wildlife and biomes of the Hudson River Estuary, and how they have developed over time. The exhibit also addresses how this environment must be maintained for the Hudson River to continue to remain a suitable environment for everyone.
The New York-New Jersey Harbor, where the Hudson River Estuary begins, includes the Upper New York Bay, Lower New York Bay, Newark Bay, and the mouth of the Hudson River. The harbor is surrounded by Jersey City, Bayonne, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. It is shared by wildlife and humans alike. The Hudson River supports several different species of fish and birds, as well as sailing vessels and port activities. It has created different types of wetlands in the area, including marshes, swamps, tidal flats and shoals. Most importantly, though, the Hudson River is a perfect example of how one body of water creates several different types of habitats and niches for many diverse species to live in, and why it is crucial to preserve these places.
One aspect of the exhibit that I found very interesting was the oyster restoration that is happening in the Hudson River Estuary. This restoration is being conducted by the River Project. There used to be oyster reeds in the Hudson River, but since the early 1900s they’ve declined, and now the city is working again to see if oyster reefs could be restored. Oysters are very beneficial to the bodies of water they live in. They naturally purify the water, removing sediments, improving the clarity and making it easier for deeper plants to receive sunlight through the water, which benefits the fish as the plants are producing dissolved oxygen. Oyster reefs also create habitats as well as food for other species. The oysters have already begun to clear the waters of the Hudson River, and it is believed that if the oyster reefs return to the numbers they used to be at, the water quality of the Hudson River could rise very fast. However, it is still questionable whether such a large number of oysters will be able to adjust to the Hudson River habitat after almost one hundred years and recreate the reefs that previously existed. The River Project can only encourage the growth of the wild oyster population so much; at a certain point, there is nothing more we can do to encourage their growth. I thought this portion of the exhibit was very important. This is a natural way to improve water quality that doesn’t pollute our environment even more. It could also benefit the other wildlife in several different ways. I think it is important that we search for natural solutions to resolve environmental issues. Sometimes it is better that we don’t create something that can solve the problem, but search for something that might already be a part of nature.
The part of the exhibit that addressed the wetlands was also very educational for me. Wetlands have a pretty significant effect on the environment that I was not previously aware of. Many people believe that wetlands are one of the less useful biomes, and so they are often built over or filled in. I live in a town that is full of marshes and swamplands, and before I visited this exhibit I don’t think I realized how important they are to the environment. Wetlands support a diverse wildlife, remove pollutants from water, protect cities and farms, and shelter and feed migrating species. Wetlands house many unique plants that cannot grow in other environments. They often provide shelter for the young of fish species from the birds that hunt in wetlands. Unfortunately, because it took us so long to understand the benefits of wetlands, many of them have been drained so they can be used for urban purposes, while others have been flooded to create rivers or lakes. Now, there are organizations in place to preserve those wetlands that are still left. It’s important to remember that everything has a purpose. We didn’t understand the purpose of wetlands until we had begun to wipe them out, and we should try to learn from this mistake.
I found this exhibit very educational. It is relevant to the people of New York and New Jersey, which certainly makes it more interesting. The Hudson River is an important part of our lives, even if we don’t see that on a day to day basis. It is also one of the few natural habitats in a very urban location. The oyster restoration project is fascinating because we get to see how nature takes care of itself, when in today’s world we usually just create something new to get the effects we desire. I didn’t know about all of the oyster’s beneficial qualities before I went to the Liberty Science Center. It is amazing that oysters could restore the water quality of the Hudson River in just a few days if there were enough of them. This exhibit was also interesting to me because we have been doing a lab about this very topic. Lab 2.2 addresses the water quality of the Hudson River, and this exhibit gave me a whole new view on how to improve water quality. It gave me a better understanding of what we have been studying in class as well as a more hands on look at what is happening just a few miles from here. I liked visiting the Liberty Science Center in general; museums often offer a fresh take on material we’ve already learned. There are lots of different exhibits to visit in one place, and there’s something for everyone.

Oysters

The Hudson River Estuary

On October 29, 2008, I attended an event where Peter Young, an animal rights’ activist, told the story about his trial and imprisonment for his activism. This event was hosted in Vanderbilt Hall at N.Y.U. School of Law and was sponsored by the Environmental Law Society. It was an educational event for the general public, to raise awareness about the terrible acts committed against animals. Peter Young related all the details of his discovery of slaughterhouses in his hometown when he was young, the actions he took after this discovery, and the unjust repercussions he suffered for carrying out these actions. He was imprisoned for standing up for himself and his beliefs.
Before Young started his story, he presented a couple of slides showing the aftermaths of different animals that had been tortured and mutilated. These were extremely disturbing images. The two that stuck out the most was a monkey with several wires stuck into its brain, and a cat lying on a table with its stomach bleeding and its intestines spilling out. When Young flipped through these slides, everyone reacted with expressions and sounds of shock, disgust, and hurt. Many people gasped, including me. These images automatically made me feel angry at whoever was responsible for the torture of these animals.
Young began with his discovery of the chicken slaughterhouse in Seattle in 1997. His friend had been walking on the street when he stumbled across one, and he told Young. Young and his friend then both planned to break into this slaughterhouse. They saw chickens being grabbed and hung by their feet on a conveyor built, then slit at the throat. Young gathered a group of people, who were also activists, and broke into that slaughterhouse. They did not vandalize that slaughterhouse, rather, they removed and discarded all the tools in it that were used to kill the animals. Young and his friend also found other slaughterhouses. He stated that they could even smell rats, dogs, and rabbits from the outside of these slaughterhouses. From that day on, Young and his friends felt that they had an obligation to find out where the trucks that dropped off these animals to the slaughterhouses had come from. Young and his friend followed these trucks in their car to downtown Seattle, where they discovered several fur farms. Young and his group released at least 8,000 minks and foxes from these fur farms.
However, in 1998, when Young and his friend were in Young’s car, they were pulled over by the police. The police received a search warrant and searched their car. They found evidence that showed Young and his friend were responsible for the release of those minks. Following the search, Young was charged with four counts of extortion and two counts of animal rights enterprise terrorism. Young fled, though, and was in hiding for seven years. Young stated that the government considered him a federal fugitive. However, in 2005, Young was found and arrested. He was sent to two years of federal prison. After he had served his two years, he was released.
Young ended his story with the emotions he felt after being released from prison. He said that while he was in prison, he did the math on how many mink he had saved, and how of those minks he released had been recaptured. He saved at least 8,000 minks. The way he looked at the whole situation was: for every mink he saved, he served ten hours of prison for it. He felt honored to “have given so little to get so much.” By “so much,” he meant that he received the feeling of happiness and pride for having saved so many minks. He looked at his rescue mission as something that he would never take back. Young stressed that when he saw five or six chickens packed into small cages in filth and darkness and pigs that could not even turn around in their metal crates, he knew that he wanted to act quickly. Young told us that there are numerous labs and slaughterhouses in the nation, even in NYC, that are all in secrecy. The people working in these places know that what they are doing is wrong, hence their decision to keep these places in secrecy.
Young concluded on a personal note. He stated that he is disappointed by the lack of human care for animal rights. He said that even though people know that animals are being tortured and tested inhumanely daily, no one does anything about it. People may write essays and letters concerning this topic, but that does not compare to actually going out and lobbying. The difference between fighting on paper and fighting in reality is that when one investigate in person, he or she actually sees what he is fighting for. He advises activists to not just know what they are fighting for, but to see it first-hand. What he had seen in the past motivated all his efforts. In his conclusion, he also told us that we should consider turning vegan, as he has been vegan for fourteen years. At least by doing so, we would not be the reason for the mass-slaughtering of animals.
The part I liked best was the ways in which Peter advised people to become active about animal rights. He said that if you are dedicated to what you are fighting for, you need to win in mass numbers. He encouraged people to encourage others to show a sense of concern and care. He said that although it is cliché, “one person can make a difference.” It only takes one person to record what goes on in a lab or slaughterhouse and expose it to the media. He finally said, “don’t just get upset when you see photos, get angry and do something.”
Overall, I enjoyed listening to Peter Young’s story since I am also an animal-lover. I learned the elaborate details on a story about a young man who actively fought for animal rights, something is passionate about. What Young did amazed me; I never even realized just how possible it was for one person to free so many minks. I am now interested in participating in a one-day project that helps or allows people to interact with animals. I know this event definitely touched the audience, since it touched me. I am sure at least one person in the audience must have also felt inspired to engage in some kind of beneficial act towards animals after attending this event. Attending this event was a worthwhile experience.

The event that I attended on Wednesday, October 22 was the "Energy, Environment and the Election" at Vanderbilt Hall of NYU Law School, sponsored by NYU Wagner Environmental Department and Environmental Law Society. Three speakers who discussed energy and environment issues related to the election were Josh Klainberg, a current deputy director of New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), Richard Farren, a member of NYLCV and Republican delegate, and Dan Abbasi, a senior director of MissionPoint Capital Partners. The panel started around 6:20 P.M, and most attendees were students at law school, faculties, journalists, and some students from this course!
In the panel, the speakers discussed two candidates’ campaigns dealing with energy and environmental crisis especially climate change and resource independency. Josh Klainberg pointed out that the energy and environmental issues now had become one of the key concerns of voters. It seemed that people hope to see some fundamental changes in government policies that would resolve ever increasing prices of oil and gas. Two main challenging energy issues are oil supply independence and trade balance with countries like Venezuela that the U.S. purely import resources from.
Richard Farren, a supporter of the former president candidate Mr. McCain, stated that historically the U.S. economy was built on cheap energies. But we are not even able to grasp the idea of cheap energy in this time period anymore. Therefore we need a broad based search for substitution energy. Mr. Ferren believed that McCain was the one who would be capable of finding substitutions and resolve energy crisis. Farren mentioned very briefly about using a nuclear power as a possible replacement of oil energy but didn’t say much further.
Dan Abassi explained Mr. Obama’s campaign on energy and environment in three different categories: to build clean energy economy, to achieve oil independency, and to resolve climate change. Mr. Obama, now as the new president elect has been advocating for accumulation of renewable technology and clean air policy since 1995. In his presidential campaign, he proposed that he would spend $ 300 million on clean air policy to upgrade national air quality. Abassi also stated that in last month’s presidential debate, Mr. Obama chose building a new, clean energy economy as a number one priority of his administration along with issues of economic recovery. Abassi spoke with confidence that Mr. Obama and his campaign have more detailed, rigid, and stable planed policies and strategies to deal with energy independence, climate change and clean air development. Lastly, he pointed out that even looking at the records of past few years, it is certain that Mr. Obama has been an active participator in solving energy and environmental problems and ready to give out a profound and systemic solution.

Few days before I attended the event, I watched the second presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and John McCain over the issues of energy and environmental crisis. Two candidate’s heated debate inspired me to learn more about the issues of climate change and resource independency. I also became curious about what the experts would say about their arguments. So I decided to attend this event, “Energy, environment and the election. It was a great and meaningful experience for me to learn about the most concerned current energy and environmental problems and their interactions with politics. I learned why there are rising debates over the issues of oil dependency and climate change and how the new president-elect and his policies must deal with them. These problems of energy and environmental crisis, which now all Americans acknowledge as a rising threat to the U.S economy, requires fundamental changes in behaviors of society as a whole.
At this moment, our new president-elect seems to recognize this need of policy changes well enough. Dan Abassi spoke in the panel that Mr. Obama believes that the cost of inaction is twenty times greater than the cost of action. This is why Mr. Obama prioritized matters of energy independency and climate change over other public concerns. One article from New York Times quoted Mr. Obama after the election. “My suggestion to all of you is to enjoy the holiday season and rest up because I think it’s going to be a very, very busy 2009”. Mr. Obama’s concern about solving climate change and reducing greenhouse gases already excite many environmentalists in and out of the United States with a hope of seeing real changes in government actions.

Every time I watch Mr. Obama’s speech, I feel that he knows how to present himself credible. He has charisma that appeals people and persuade people. Through his speech he has shown people that he knows what he’s talking about ‘what he’s talking about’! As Josh Klainberg mentioned at the end of the panel, I also believe that both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain had will to resolve energy and environmental crisis, but what matters more is not the willingness but the ability. And if someone asks me who would be a better dealer with energy/environmental problems, I would say it is Mr. Barack Obama. What I noticed in the panel was that Abassi gave more tangible and detailed strategies and policies of Obama Campaign than Farren did. Mr. Ferron seemed to speak more general ideas about concerns of energy and environmental crisis rather than specific methods of how to solve them. From my observation in the panel at least, it seemed that Obama campaign has more things to say about energy and environment. The ideas and strategies of Obama campaign were more organized and realistic—realistic in that it is actually helpful and effective.
I remember the night of the Election Day. People were having parties celebrating Mr. Obama’s victory and shouting on the streets. Although our new president-elect faces many hardships including economic crisis, I look forward to seeing his great leadership as well as successful changes in energy and environmental issues.

[Videos]

Energy, Environment and the Election Panel Video

Mr. Barack Obama’s speech on energy and environment

CCN news clip on the president elect’s first year plan on energy/environment
*in case it doesn't link to the video site go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2rfetK8vSY