Source: The New York Times
Publication Date: Sept. 17, 2007

 

Taking the subway or bus is already one of the greener things you can do, according to environmental advocates and experts on climate change. But whether the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does enough to minimize harmful effects on the environment is a different question. Today, the M.T.A. announced the creation of a Sustainability Commission to develop an environmental master plan for the agency by the next Earth Day - April 22, 2008.

The master plan will attempt to estimate the authority's "ecological footprint" and come up with recommendations to reduce carbon emissions.

"The M.T.A.'s public transportation network makes the entire New York region sustainable, but in the era of climate change we have a responsibility to go even further," said Elliot G. Sander, the authority's executive director. "The commission will build on the exciting green initiatives we've already completed to make sustainability a permanent part of the M.T.A.'s DNA."

Even before Mr. Sander took over the authority this year, the M.T.A. had taken steps to become more environmentally friendly, notably by running a greater number of buses on compressed natural gas or a hybrid of gasoline and electricity and by incorporating "green" elements, like photovolatic cells, into new transit stops like the Coney Island subway station, the Gun Hill Bus Depot and the Crotona train yard. The authority also has invested in recycling and wind-power initiatives and bought more light-duty alternative-fuel vehicles for use by its workers.

The new sustainability commission will develop a set of recommendations to reduce carbon emissions and "minimize the impact of the M.T.A. on ecosystems in the M.T.A. region and Northeast Corridor," the authority said, by examining energy use, waste management, transit-oriented land development and "green" buildings. The authority said it hoped that the recommendations would also help the authority to find financial benefits from the environmental initiative.

The commission will try to set targets and goals for the authority's carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste management practices; examine how the authority can "capitalize on the massive carbon savings the M.T.A. produces," and examine local and regional planning initiatives.

The commission, which will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, will have 18 members. Its chairman is the housing developer Jonathan F. P. Rose, the president of the Jonathan Rose Companies, who has often spoken about the so-called smart growth movement and about environmentally sustainable buildings.

Other commission members include Rohit Aggarwala, New York City Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability; Julie Belaga, Connecticut League of Conservation; Marcia Bystryn, New York League of Conservation Voters; Peter A. Cannito, M.T.A. Metro-North Railroad; Cecil Corbin-Mark, West Harlem Environmental Action; Jonathan Drapkin, Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress; Robert Fox, Cook and Fox Architects; Emil Frankel, independent consultant; Ashok Gupta, Natural Resources Defense Council; Sarah Lansdale, Sustainable Long Island; Kevin Law, chief deputy county executive, Suffolk County; Emily Lloyd, commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection; Alex Mathiessen, Riverkeeper; Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation; Ned Sullivan, Scenic Hudson; Michael White, Long Island Regional Planning Board; and Robert D. Yaro, Regional Plan Association