NYC Environment Blog

             During our scavenger hunt through New York City we were destined to find both environment friendly items and some not so environment friendly items. The city is huge and filled with close to 8.4 million people therefore it is hard to keep clean and safe for the environment. As I was strolling through the city I did come across many things that were both good and bad for the environment. Seeing how NYC is a very populated area, there seemed to be a lot of garbage just lying in the street, as I’m sure you can imagine. Garbage sitting in the street is polluting the earth and harming the organisms that live there. A soda can that you on the street one-minute can end up in the water the next and get somehow break down and get stuck on a helpless mammal in the ocean. On a more positive note, there was almost a recycling bin at the corner of each block. The question is though, how many people are actually using the recycling bins in general, and how many people are actually acknowledging them as recycling bins and not trashcans?

            Another thing I was on the look out for was good and bad sources of water. I saw multiple fountains in NYC, which are fun, and beautiful to look at but other than that, what is their purpose? To me it just seems like a waste of water. I was highly disappointed after walking all day and not finding an area to fill up my water bottle or see any water fountains. Water fountains would be a great installment in the city but I highly doubt it will ever happen. The city is a place where they want you to spend your money and buy a new water bottle every single time. That is such a waste of money and a huge threat to many animals in the environment. Plastic bottles also take forever to recycle and decompose. A plastic bottle takes 450 years to dissolve and a tiny plastic bag takes at least 10 years to decompose.

            Public transportation is easily accessible in the city so it blows my mind that people drive their own vehicles. I hate driving in general, so it was very nice being able to get on the subway and go wherever I needed to go last week. Public transportation is a great option in the city for places outside of walking distance. The only downfall of public transportation is it might take longer than it would normally. On the other hand, traffic is crazy in the city and it would probably end up taking you the same amount of time as it would on a bus or train. Owning a car is expensive and the cost of gas is always up and down. Cars also generate pollution into the air that can make its way into the food chain and so on. Cars emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming as well. Another alternative for transportation is riding a bicycle. Biking was common in the city and it is a great way to get from point A to point B without walking or taking public transportation. It does no harm to the environment and will end up saving you a lot of money in the longrun.