New York is one of the most glittering places in the United States, not just for its opulence, but for the glowing lights as well. What is hurting though is the large chunk of energy consumed on a daily basis to power those lights. With the judicious use of energy becoming a priority to help cool the earth it is mandatory to think of greener solutions in the Big Apple.

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The Statue of Liberty is dubbed as a symbol of freedom to the shackled, a symbol of hope to the deprived, a symbol of refuge to the homeless and beyond all, a glorious symbol of human spirit and its undying faith in a better tomorrow. The planet today is at a delicate and vital turn where every move we make could make or break the future for the beautiful planet that we all call ‘Home’.

This present and the consequential future largely depends on the way we treat our planet and how well we adapt to renewable and clean sources of energy by inviting the alternate power into our homes and lives. It then seems only an obvious matter that the ‘Statue of Liberty’ should also spread the ‘Green Light’ with her eternal golden torch.

Why is the Statue of Liberty green?

First of all – and less relevant to the environment, it has a very well known green tinge largely due to the copper of the statue reacting with the elements to produce the copper salts which give its green hue. Now, it only seems appropriate that the visual green inclination is being backed up by some solid green intent. If the ‘First lady of Freedom’ cannot break the shackles of conventional power and fossil fuel, then it would surely have been indeed a shame!

Secondly, it’s because the Lady Liberty and her flaming light are now being lit up each night with wind power that is being bought by the government from a company that produces wind energy from its farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Pepco Energy supplies all the energy that lights up the statue and while it looks strange that New York is not tapping into offshore wind energy that is available in plenty at such close quarters, it seems the wheels are in motion to ensure that the statue is indeed powered by green energy produced in New York.

The Statue of Liberty has always been a symbol to many of a bright future. Perhaps now she can be a symbol to all of a bright green future.

Images courtesy of 1, 2, 3, 4

The Critical Mass rides are no longer what they used to be, a protest against the bicycle unfriendly cities. Why? Because even though a New York City judge ruled that these people don’t need a special permit to ride, NYPD’s stance remains somewhat adversarial.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUkiyBVytRQ[/youtube]

Here we have another violent episode of law enforcement excess, from last Friday (July 25), when a policeman kicked a cyclist off his bicycle at the curb at 46th street and Seventh Avenue. Why? No one knows, but we can only speculate. Maybe the guy didn’t have the required lights or maybe he crossed a red light? No!

A Times-up! representative said that the cyclist in the video, Christopher Long, was arrested and held for 26 hours for attempted assault. What am I missing? Who assaulted, who? Can you see the step back the policeman had to take, to “properly” pull the guy down?

Because of his recent behavior, the 22-year-old Patrick Pogan lost his badge and gun (relief!!), and was placed on “desk duty pending the outcome of a department investigation.”

I’m not a fan of crowds and I’m not sure if I would enjoy walking the streets when the mass comes by, but this is obviously the wrong way of law enforcement.

The human-powered floating gym is the latests cool concept I’ve read about these days. I never thought that pedaling on a bike and burning calories, could actually be turned into a very green (river) transportation solution in New York City. Apparently architect Mitchell Joachim and personal trainer Douglas Joachim, did. They designed the River Gym.

I don’t know about you, but to be honest I thought at least once, that there is a significant amount of lost energy during workout and how can we use it somehow. I never managed to be that creative as these guys, and since their idea is really great for using the human power to tackle some transportation needs, they get my vote.

If they’ll ever be produced, the River Gyms will be floating along the Hudson and East rivers in Manhattan, stopping every 15 minutes to a new destination. Isn’t it a great way to peak on the view from a non-polluting “vessel”?

Though it’s a great idea, I’m holding my horses knowing that this thing won the New York Magazine’s Create a Gym competition in 2005 and we can’t workout on the river yet. Maybe there’s someone interested to invest and make it a great attraction in NYC. What do you think, does it have a chance?