E$C News: The Water-Energy Nexus, Incentives for Businesses, and New Consolidated Application!

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Thursday, Sept. 1, Tour: Teardrop Park. Teardrop Park, Battery Park City, River Terrace (between Warren and Murray), NYC, 4-6p. Please join Urban Green Council and Michael Van Valkenberg Associates for a tour of Teardrop Park. Teardrop Park is a 1.8-acre public park in lower Manhattan that transcends its small size, shady environment, and mid-block location through bold topography, complex irregular space, and robust plantings. Teardrop's design and construction were coordinated with the development of four surrounding apartment buildings, each ranging from 210 feet to 235 feet in height. In the development of Teardrop Park, sustainability was not merely a goal, but rather an organizing principle that influenced everything from material selection to contractor practices. Based on decades-long research into urban soils and non-toxic plant maintenance, environmental aspects of the park's design include fully organic soils and maintenance regimes that don't rely on pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Treated and recycled graywater from the adjacent LEED Gold Solaire Building and stormwater runoff from the site are captured in an underground storage pipe, supplying all of the park's irrigation needs. The tour will specifically focus on the sustainable aspects of the landscape as well as the on-site buildings' influence on the landscape. If you'd like to volunteer for this event, please contact events@urbangreencouncil.org. If you'd like to attend this event you can purchase tickets online. $10 for Urban Green Council Members, $15 non-members, $10 students (with student ID), free to Leadership Level Members ($250+ annually).

Tuesday, Sept. 6, Emerging Professionals | September Monthly: LEED Tour of Cushman & Wakefield. Cushman & Wakefield Office, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, NYC, 6:30-8p. Join the Urban Green Council Emerging Professionals for their September | Monthly Meeting and a private tour of Cushman & Wakefield's LEED-CI Gold certified offices in Midtown. This month we're thrilled to join John Santora, President and CEO, and Eric Duchon, Manager of Sustainability Strategies of Cushman and Wakefield for an overview of the company's sustainability approach and initiatives. Following the initial discussion, we'll be given a 45-60 minute tour of their LEED for Commercial Interiors Gold certified world headquarters, highlighting their rationale behind building out the space to LEED standards. As always, networking will continue at our *mandatory* extended happy hour(s) at the Heartland Brewery afterwards! Despite our different location for this meeting, there is still an HB right across the street at 1285 Avenue of the Americas. Please contact the EP Co-Chairs if you have any further questions: Jessica Cooper& Nicole McGlinn. PLEASE NOTE: This event is free for Urban Green Council Members, but there is a $5 admission fee for non-members. Your donation is critical in supporting Emerging Professionals events. Due to space limitations, you must register for this event. We cannot accept walk-ins.

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 1st Wednesday Technical Roundtable: Carbon Accounting and Management. 51 Madison Ave (b/w 27th & 26th Streets), 18th Floor, NYC, 8-9a. Please join Urban Green Council and Jon Dickinson of the Mayor's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability and Dale McCormick of the Maine State Housing Authority for a presentation and discussion on Carbon Accounting and Management. The speakers will examine initiatives related to Climate Change Goals in PlaNYC, and an innovative methodology developed by the Maine State Housing Authority to quantify and track carbon credits. Released in 2007, PlaNYC was created to prepare New York City for one million more residents, strengthen the economy, combat climate change, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The Plan brought together over 25 City agencies to work toward the vision of a greener, greater New York. PlaNYC initiatives include the reduction and tracking of GHG emissions among other Climate Change Goals. The Maine State Housing Authority recently finished a three-year project to develop a methodology for quantifying the carbon saved in residential retrofits under the Voluntary Carbon Standard. Carbon credits achieved through government efficiency programs are sold to generate funding for future projects. Earlier this year, the project led to the sale of $1 million in carbon credits to Chevrolet. This money will go to retrofit 170 low-income homes. If you'd like to attend this event you can purchase tickets online. $15 for Urban Green Council Members, $25 non-members, $15 students (with student ID), free to Leadership Level Members ($250+ annually).

Wednesday, Sept. 7, Screening: The Garden (2008, USA, 80 min.). BMW Guggenheim Lab, First Park, Houston at 2nd Ave, NYC, 6-8:30p. Located in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, a lush 14-acre community garden (the largest urban farm in the United States) began as a form of healing after the devastating riots in 1992. Led by South Central farmers, it grew into an oasis where an economically depressed community could grow its own food and foster a sense of belonging. But when the owner of the land, a wealthy developer, decides to sell, the mostly Latin American farmers must organize and confront City Hall. Scott Hamilton Kennedy's Academy Award-nominated documentary exposes the ensuing struggle, revealing the fault lines in American society and raising questions about equality and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us. Filmmaker Q&A will follow screening. The event is free to the public.

Thursday, Sept. 8, What Is Your Personal Ecological Footprint? BMW Guggenheim Lab, First Park, Houston at 2nd Ave, NYC, 4-6p. Climate change caused by human activity is the sum of billions of individual activities that increase greenhouse gas emissions-which means that each one of us as an individual has a direct impact. Join Columbia University professor Clara Irazábal as she speaks about climate change, then measure your own ecological footprint and learn ways you might be able to improve your footprint in day-to-day activities that, when collectively practiced, can have direct and feasible results in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (Organized by Latin American and Caribbean Lab, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University.) The event is free to the public.

Saturday, Sept. 10, NY Daily News presents MCC Community Benefit Fund 3rd Ave. Street Fair. 3rd Ave. from 66th to 86th Streets, NYC, 12-5p. This is one of the city's largest and oldest street fairs which started in the 1970's! The New York Daily News is the presenting sponsor this year and Over one mile long with over 800 vendors and three stages of entertainment! The fair includes a Green Block featuring recycling opportunities! All funds raised from this fair are donated to nonprofit organizations in Community Board 8! Also nonprofit organizations will be exhibiting in the fair.

Saturday, Sept. 10, Bike New York Class: Learn to Ride -- Adults. Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 1, Old Fulton Street and Furman Street, Brooklyn, NY, 9:20a-12p. It's never too late to learn to ride! Sign up for Bike New York's Learn to Ride - Adults class and you'll be balancing and pedaling, starting, stopping, and steering before you know it. Bikes and helmets are provided at all group classes. Free and open to adults and teens. Pre-registration required at Bike NY's website.

Monday, Sept. 12, Green Breakfast Club. Green Spaces, 394 Broadway, 5th floor (btw Walker & White), NYC, 8-10:30a. As members of the Green Breakfast Club, we will be each other's greatest resource, helping one another and growing both our individual and collective triple bottom lines. Each month our featured keynoters will share their green business startup stories (success and failure). All-Star sustainability leaders and published authors such as Jed Emerson, Jacquelyn Ottman and Joe Sibilia will be lending their voices to the keynote speaking mix. We'll have a unique structured networking exchange for intergenerational mentoring, and bartering of resources, services and ideas. Share resources and help grow our local green business community. Register today and join us on September 12 with Carol Sanford! Sanford is author of The Responsible Business Leader. Registration is $20.

Wednesday, Sept. 14, Greenmarket's Educated Eater Panel Series: In Defense of Corn. The French Culinary Institute, 462 Broadway, NYC, 6-8p. Join our line-up of experts as they examine corn in its many incarnations: corn as animal feed, corn for human consumption, corn on either side of the equator, distilled corn, and corn through the ages from a native crop to its present state in the Northeast. Speakers include Jessamyn Waldman of Hot Bread Kitchen and Thor Oeschner of Farmer Ground Flour, moderated by Ian Cheney, co-creator of the documentary film, King Corn. A tasting of popcorn, local whiskey and corn-centric snacks will follow the discussion. Tickets are $15.

Thursday, Sept. 15, Salon: Sustainable Airports: Current Strategies and Future Goals at Stewart International. 76 Ninth Avenue, 11th Floor, NYC, 6-8p. When one considers air travel in and out of the New York Metro Area, JFK, LGA, and EWR are the airports that first come to mind. However, just 50 miles north of New York City, in the Hudson Valley, is another airport-Stewart International. Stewart International was acquired by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2007 with an aim to use this airport as a demonstration site for the agency's broader sustainability goals. Join Urban Green Council for a panel discussion of Stewart's Environmental Sustainability Plan and its key initiatives. The speakers will present measures put in place to date, planned strategies, and lessons learned. The panel will also address the effect on the surrounding natural habitats and other environmental impacts, and discuss how sustainable objectives can be achieved within capital constraints. If you'd like to attend this event you can purchase tickets online. $10 for Urban Green Council Members, $15 non-members, $10 students (with student ID), free to Leadership Level Members ($250+ annually).

Saturday, Sept. 17, Emerging Professionals | Urban Green Career Fair 2011. The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, 10a-4:30p. Urban Green Council's Emerging Professionals are proud to present the 5th Annual Urban Green Career Fair. Hosted by the New School, this event offers an unparalleled opportunity for young professionals and students to connect and market their skills to some of New York City's most esteemed architecture, engineering, construction, real estate, and product manufacturers in the green building industry. The event will also feature a dynamic panel discussion with some of New York's most successful green building young professionals, offering insights and guidance into how to design a career in the green building space. Whether you are looking for a job, internship, career transition, networking opportunity or general information, this event will provide you with the knowledge and networking opportunities that you need. This is also a great opportunity for firms seeking fresh new talent - recruiting tables are available for purchase until September 2, 2011. Have questions? Contact: Joshua Magee at jmagee[at]negawattresearch.com.

Sunday, Sept. 18, Ecofest (New Date due to Hurricane Irene). The Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum, Pier 86, Westside Hwy and 46th St., NYC, 11a-6p. ECOFEST celebrates its 23rd Anniversary this year. Launched as an environmental event where people would get information, get involved, find products, learn about services and be entertained by people who care about the environment, ECOFEST started as a visionary effort for a better world. 23 years later it is still going strong supporting environmental causes and issues. ECOFEST is a cultural and educational environmental festival, free to the public, that is organized and produced by the West Side Cultural Center in New York. In its 23 year track record, ECOFEST has developed an unequaled base of public and private sector support and is a mainstay on the New York City calendar of events, bringing thousands of people to the historic NY locations including Central Park, Lincoln Center, and now at the Intrepid Air Sea and Space Museum. ECOFEST and its participants benefit from publicity, promotions and extensive advertising, and have always been generously covered by local and national media. A major focus of ECOFEST is conservation of our natural resources and innovative alternative-energy technologies. This year's ECOFEST will again feature the SEOTO (Sources of Energy Other Than Oil) Alternative Fuels Display which demonstrates a wide variety of alternative-energy vehicles - ranging from prototypes of solar cars to electric, natural-gas, hybrid, fuel cell and ethanol vehicles already in use by private businesses and many New York City and New York State Agencies. The vehicles stay on display with exciting demonstrations and activities scheduled throughout the day. In addition to the SEOTO Display, ECOFEST regular features include the ECOFASHION SHOW on the World Solar Stage and the ECOFEST ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE with renowned experts. The ECOFASHION show presents collections made of 100% organic and recycled material and the Conference offers free seminars where key environmental issues are discussed. Through dynamic exhibits, stimulating entertainment and celebrity performers and speakers ECOFEST fosters public awareness about opportunities for environmental change. It spurs people to take the initiative in making their homes, businesses and communities more ecologically advanced and environmentally sound, while encouraging education, inspiration, activism, membership and volunteering. Ecofest is a free event!

Saturday, Sept. 17, Alternative, Sustainable Economies Tour. BMW Guggenheim Lab, First Park, Houston at 2nd Ave, NYC, 2-5p. Learn about alternatives to capitalism: economies where worker and food cooperatives, credit unions, barter and skill-sharing networks, and gift economies can flourish. See these unconventional systems firsthand and discover what an anticonsumer economy could look like. The event is free to the public, although you can RSVP.

Monday, Sept. 19, through Monday, Sept. 26, Climate Week NYC. Events all week long! From 19-26 September 2011 - less than seventy days before the United Nations' climate summit in Durban and in the critical run-up to Rio +20 - New York City will once again become the epicenter of the Clean Revolution. Climate Week NYC is an annual summit boasting high-level meetings between the world's leading businesses and governments and an exciting array of public-facing events, all focused on driving a 'clean industrial revolution'. A Clean Revolution is a swift and massive scaling-up of clean technologies which will help create jobs and economic growth, securing a better, smarter and more prosperous future for all. In just two years, Climate Week NYC has become a key moment on the international climate change calendar. Now in its third year, Climate Week NYC brings together The Climate Group, Carbon Disclosure Project, China Center, PlaNYC, the United Nations Global Impact, the UN Foundation, The City of New York, The New York Academy of Sciences, TckTckTck and an array of international business, government, non-profit and thought-leaders to call for urgent action against climate change.

We're excited to report that this year's agenda is really taking shape, so keep an eye on our Events for updates on the latest activities and events as they're confirmed. From the high-profile Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony to our ever-growing list of diverse affiliate events, we'll all play a pivotal role in driving the Clean Revolution. Join us.

Wednesday, Sept. 21, Green Building September Monthly Forum: Composting. The forum will be held from 6:30-8p. Please check the GreenHomeNYC blog for location details. The Green Building Forum is held on the third Wednesday of each month (except December) at 6:30 PM and features presentations by green building practitioners followed by discussion. The events are always free and open to the general public.

Thursday, Sept. 22, MCC Quarterly Green Business Networking Event. American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, 132 West 32nd Street (Between 6th and 7th Avenues), NYC, 8:30-10a. Join us at the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, for the MCC Quarterly Green Business Networking Event. For further information about MCC's Green Business Committee see www.manhattanccgreen.org or contact Laura Bucko, Director of Communications, at info@manhattancc.org (attn: Laura Bucko). Registration is $15 for non-members and free for members. For those who do not register 24 hours prior to the event and wish to pay at the door an additional charge of $10 will be applied. Only cash and check are accepted at the door.

Friday, Sept. 23, Unleashing Green Chemistry and Engineering In Service of a Sustainable Future. This event will be put on by EPA Region 2 and the EPA Office of Research and Development from 8a-3p in New York City at a venue that has yet to be announced. This event is designed to highlight and encourage green chemistry / engineering innovations, investments, applications, and policies which can lead to improved human health and the environment and a more sustainable economy. The workshop aims to: Promote the general concepts of green chemistry and engineering and their practice; Encourage the exchange of ideas between stakeholders; Showcase innovations, products, and applications of green chemistry and engineering; and Provide information on best practices and experiences in the development of green chemistry curricula and service learning programs for secondary (e.g. high schools) and tertiary schools (e.g. colleges and universities). Presenters at the event will include nationally recognized technical experts and champions in green chemistry and engineering. The appropriate audience for this event is diverse, including leading change agents and stakeholders within the public, education, and private sectors with an orientation to expand their knowledge, relationships and innovative capacity to support a more sustainable regional economy. Further information confirming the final date and location of the event, along with an agenda, will be distributed in the near future. If you have any immediate questions, please contact Randi Chmielewski at chmielewski.randi@epa.gov or 212-637-3579.

Tuesday, Sept. 27, MCC Transportation Transformation Series: Overview and Panel Discussion. Con Edison Headquarters, 4 Irving Place, NYC, 8-10:30a. After a highly received opening at the Tesla Motors' showroom this past May, the Transportation Transformation series will have its first workshop. The first workshop will offer an overview of all the exciting transportation improvements taking place around the world. To warm up the crowd Maria Aiolova and Tom Glendening (of E3NYC) will provide a 30 minute overview of transportation innovations around the world, including highlighting innovations in China, Singapore, and Brazil. They will focus on transportation innovations from bikeshare to Meglev trains and much more. Next will be a panel of experts: Bob Burns (BCycle, NYC Bikes) - BCycle is a bikeshare company that was recently identified by Fast Company as being the #5 most innovative transportation company in the world. It is also lead partner in NYC Bike, identified by the press as being one of the two companies for New York's proposed bikeshare system. Willem Houck (Park Pod) - The electric car revolution cannot happen without electrons being fed to the motors. Park Pod is a leading charging company in the EU and the US. Willem will outline the different approaches from charging stations and battery swaps like the system currently deployed in Israel. Zia Yusuf (Streetline) - New Yorkers spend a lot of time and emitting greenhouse gasses just looking for parking spaces. Streetline makes that easier. It provides drivers with the knowledge of available spaces. The argument is that it increases parking capacity by 30% and facilitates greater flexibility with respect to parking fees. Streetline was ranked by Fast Company as #7 most innovative transportation company in the world. Other panelists are TBA. The last part of the workshop the team will work with the audience and collectively to work on a transportation system for the future. This collective exercise will push the imagination, but in a very practical way. Registration fees are $10 for MCC members and $20 for non-members. For those who do not register 24 hours prior to the event and wish to pay at the door an additional charge of $10 will be applied. Only cash and check are accepted at the door.

Thursday, Sept. 27, Environmental Due Diligence in Commercial Real Estate Transactions. Berdon, LLP, 360 Madison Avenue, NYC, 8:30a-12p. This class provides attorneys with an overview of the due diligence process required of an attorney representing a purchaser of property with possible hazardous contamination or of a company that has facilities which are, or may be, contaminated. The class addresses Federal and State laws that apply to contaminated sites, measuring potential risk to the client, contract provisions that will best protect the client, Phase I and II environmental reports, CERCLA issues and other environmental due diligence matters of interest to the practitioner. This class is for attorneys, and it is free with registration. To register, contact Roy Fenichel at 646-695-7925 or rfenichel@kvnational.com with your first name, last name, telephone, email, company name, and the name of the class.