Things We Can Do To Save The Environment - Issue No. 15 - Move to a High-Rise

If you currently live in a high-rise, or about to move into one, then by all intent and purposes - you are helping our environment.  How?  Well, considering that you're likely living in a smaller place, means less gas and electricity.  As the article states below, people living in cities such as New York, are living in really tight places. The smaller the area, the smaller the carbon footprint.

Ryan and I enjoy living in the suburbs.  We like our quiet, peaceful life; If we want a little noise we can always take the 15-20 minute trip south into Houston.  Hey, we have a Prius C - we're helping the environment dammit!

Giving credit to TIME,  I'd like to thank them for showing us the many ways we can help save the environment.  Just one person can make a difference, and it starts with YOU!
 
                                                   ~ Peter aka Blade7184  

15. Move to a High-Rise

If you're a true environmentalist, a dyed-in-the-wool greenie, then why not pack up your leafy rural home and move to New York City—preferably to a tall building right in the middle of Manhattan? 

The Big Apple is home to the greenest citizens in the U.S. Relatively few New Yorkers own cars—one of the biggest contributors to an individual's carbon emissions. Most walk, bike or ride public transit to work—all more efficient transport than the best hybrids.

And New York has developed up, rather than out, which limits wasteful sprawl. Eight million New Yorkers are squeezed into 301 sq. mi.—less than a fortieth of an acre per person. Even a fairly dense suburb devotes about a third of an acre to each person. Density means that commutes, shopping trips and supply chains are shorter. Plus, New Yorkers tend to live in small spaces, although they're a little cranky about it. The denser the area you call home, the smaller your personal carbon footprint—not to mention your gas and electricity bill.
 

Make sure to follow Blade 7184 every Tuesday for a new issue of Things We Can Do To Save The Environment.  Each issue is thought-provoking, informative and may hold the key to saving your children and grandchildren's future.  Please feel free to click on my logo to read any of the back-issues.

Central Park From Above

For the New Yorkers who see this everyday and it's nothing new, but still mesmerizing.  And for those of us who have never been and are fascinated by these type of images...

A glorious view of Central Park from up above.

Crimes of the Century - No. 12 - The Son of Sam

THE SON OF SAM, 1977

New York seemed to be going to hell in the summer of 1977. Already in perpetual fiscal crisis the city was plunged into a 25-hour blackout on July 13 that saw massive looting and arson. And the Son of Sam killer was still out there after more than a year, waiting to kill again, sending his perverse missives to the police and to New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin. The killer had called himself the Son of Sam in his letters, which spoke of Papa Sam as a drinker of blood and master of Satanic mayhem. And on July 31, the Son of Sam struck again, shooting a young woman, who was killed, and her male companion, who would be blinded. But it would be the last attack. 

A witness on the night of that shooting saw a man in the neighborhood remove a parking ticket from a Ford Galaxie. The police tracked their records and found 24-year-old David Berkowitz, a dweeby, pudgy employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Trained as a sharpshooter with the M16 rifle in the U.S. Army, he had used a .44 pistol in all the shootings, killing six and wounding seven. Who was Sam? Sam, said Berkowitz, was a cantankerous former neighbor. But Berkowitz said he was the devil and that he transmitted his orders through the infernal and incessant barkings of his dog, Harvey.

 ***

You can learn more about this notorious killer here, and yes the maniac is still alive.  He is currently serving time at a correctional facility in Fallsburg, New York with his next parole hearing due in May of this year.  He has been denied the previous 5 times so it is unlikely he will be granted one.

TIME Magazine posted this article online several years ago, along with a list of 24 additional notorious crimes that I have been posting and will continue to post every Saturday on my blog.  Hope you enjoy.

Go back and read the previous 11 crimes here.

According to the Rest of Us...

Yesterday, I posted the United States according to Texas, and today they really treat us like crap...

I get it, everyone's still pissed over the New York post from last week.

Breaking News: New York State Passes Gay Marriage Law!

The GOP Controlled Senate of New York just passed the same-sex marriage bill! We love you New York! All Americans can marry in New York in 30 days! Woo Hoo! As one Republican senator stated, he could not put himself to vote "no" for this bill, when he and his wife have 1300 rights in his state, and many other human beings do not. 

With a vote of 33 to 29, the state of New York approves Gay Marriages

Where Were You On That Cloudy September Day in 2001?

"I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children." 

These were the words broadcast late last night, as Ryan and I watched President Obama explain what had just happened. He had given the order to kill Osama bin Laden after months of secret intelligence briefings kept under wraps from the American people and the world.  

"Last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden," Obama said. "It was far from certain. And it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we could locate bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan." 

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," the president continued. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body."

I moved to Houston from Corpus Christi on August 16, 2001, and in less than one month's time, one of the most memorable events in our nation's history took place.  I remember sitting down as a PBX operator at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center when the news broke out, "the towers in New York have been hit by a missile!" someone yelled.  At that moment, everyone jumped and ran to the main lobby to see the real-time events on the big screen.

We knew that one of the Twin Towers in New York had been hit, but no one was sure what it was.   A few minutes later, the world watched unimaginably in shock, as another plane hit the second tower.  You couldn't hear a pin drop as everyone gasped and covered their mouths - our eyes open, and our hearts beating a mile a minute.  

Tears ran down our faces as we saw the images of people jumping for their lives and the anguish people were feeling while this was happening before our very eyes.  The last time I felt so heartbroken was back in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger, with all it's crew on board, exploded.   

Never in a million years did I expect another horrific moment to happen before my very eyes.

"It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history," Obama said. "The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction."

"The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts," Obama said.

 "Tonight we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counter-terrorism professionals who have worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome," Obama said. "The American people do not see their work nor know their names, but tonight they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice."

And I couldn't have said it better myself when Obama thanked our U.S. Military for Sunday's operation that they, "exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of burden since that September day."

A Huge Shuttle Show Down - It's Texas vs. New York

Things are getting ugly between Houston, Texas lawmakers and their counterparts in New York City, New York.  The War of Words started Friday when Texas lawmakers introduced a bill that would strip New York City of the Space Shuttle Enterprise and give it to Houston, Texas.

New York city Congressman Charles Schumer released a snarly statement by saying, "When people from Paris, Beijing, Tokyo and Amsterdam start saying they want to go to Houston, maybe then they'll get a shuttle. I'd say to Texas, don't mess with New York,"  knowing full well Texas is famous for their quote, "Don't Mess With Texas," the slogan used during the 1990's to keep people from littering our Texas highways with trash, or garbage.

Texas Congressman Ted Poe then fired back, "whether Senator Schumer likes it or not, the Big Apple had nothing to do with NASA or the space shuttle program until Tuesday."  Which is true, New York never had anything to do with the space shuttle program, Houston has long been involved since the beginning of space exploration.

Seventeen congressmen and congresswomen wrote and signed the letter which reads in part, "We can find no logical explanation for this decision."

 

I'm really curious to see how far this issue will go.  Are we heading towards a huge Texas Showdown?  Because if it's one thing Republicans in Texas are good at, is sticking it to others.  So Democrat, Schumer better be prepared.

The New York City No One Sees

I saw this video about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I was fascinated with the quality and imagination the artist projects in his work. Steve Duncan (undercity.org), who describes himself as a historian & photographer goes underneath the city of New York to show people a piece of America no one ever has the chance or will ever get the chance to see.  Due to laws and regulations no one is allowed underneath particular parts of the city.  Together with videographer Andrew Wonder, Steve creates a work of art. I highly recommend watching this video.