Good News Friday 3/18/22

Welcome to another edition of Good News Friday! Today, we’re covering

China completes first “Vertical Forest City”: In Huanggang, China, the city’s first Vertical Forest City Complex has recently been completed. Essentially a vertical greenspace, the approximately 500-person residential complex features balconies and plant installments containing over 5,000 shrubs and trees. This building joins a growing trend in urban planning of incorporating green spaces into building projects, which are touted as reducing energy consumption and removing carbon dioxide from the air. Like many other vertical forest projects around the world, Huanggang’s example is the product of architect Stefano Boeri’s designs. (For other examples of his work, see his website).

Image Credit: Carlo Martin Alcordo via pexels.com

2. UK grocery stores aim for refillable groceries: Five grocery stores and suppliers in the UK (Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, and CHEP) have joined the Refill Coalition (run by Unpackaged) and pledged to “roll out unpackaged options in-store as well as letting people fill containers with essentials during home deliveries” by the end of this year. This comes as the UK Government last year announced plans to phase out single-use plastics (it is estimated the UK uses 2.5 million metric tons of single-use plastic packaging annually).

Image Credit: Magda Ehlers via pexels.com

3. World leaders to develop plastic treaty: At an UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya late last month, representatives from 173 countries agreed to develop treaty on plastics to be developed over the next two years. The ultimate goal of the treaty will be to eliminate plastic pollution. Approximately 300 million metric tons of plastic waste are produced each year, and of all 7 billion metric tons of plastic waste produced to date, only 10% has been recycled.

That’s all for this week! Check back next week for more positive environmental news. In the meantime, if you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!

Take Me to the Airport: Public Transportation

Author: Adam Wickham ’22

Carbon emissions from air travel contribute to the disproportionate impact of carbon emissions from developed countries, at approximately 914 million metric tons of CO2 annually. Regardless, we figure most of you who don’t live in the beautiful state of New Jersey may want to travel home without spending money on an Uber. So here are some options for getting to the commercial airports in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania using public transportation. As you will see below, trips to New Jersey airports are the shortest.

New Jersey

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

Total Cost = $21.25

Estimated Travel Time = 1 hour 15 minutes

Princeton Station ↔ Princeton Junction ↔ Newark Airport Station ↔ Airport

NJ Transit Dinky to NJ Transit N.E. Corridor to AirTrain

Total Fare is $21.25 (This includes the price of the AirTrain ticket)

Fare is payable by ticket in the NJ Transit mobile app or with a ticket from the vending machines located at the train stations

Trenton Airport (TTN)

Total Cost = $3.45

Estimated Travel Time = 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes

Nassau Street/Palmer Square (Princeton) ↔ W State St at Calhoun Street (Trenton)

Take Bus 606 from Nassau Street to Trenton

W State St at Calhoun Street (Trenton) ↔ Airport

Take Bus 608 from Trenton to the Airport

Total Fare is $3.45

Fare is payable in exact change (Use $1 bills and coins)

New York

LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

Total Cost = $20.50

Estimated Travel Time = 2 hours and 45 minutes

FROM Princeton TO Manhattan:

Princeton Station ↔ Princeton Junction ↔ NY Penn Station

NJ Transit Dinky ↔ N.E. Corridor

Fare: $17.75

Fare is payable by ticket in the NJ Transit mobile app or with a ticket from the vending machines located at the train stations

FROM Manhattan to Queens:

34th Street Penn Station ↔ 74th Street Broadway – Roosevelt Avenue

MTA Subway

Take the Uptown/Queens-bound E subway train from the 8th Avenue side of Penn Station to Queens

Fare: $2.75 (Payable with MetroCard, OMNY Card or Tap with your phone or credit card)

FROM Queens to Airport

74th Street Broadway – Roosevelt Avenue ↔ Airport

Take Q70 Select Bus directly to the airport

Fare: Free transfer from subway (Validate the same method of payment as the subway before boarding the bus at the vending machine at the bus stop. Hold onto the receipt!)

JFK

Total Cost = $28.25 – $36.25

Estimated Travel Time = 2 hours and 35 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes (with LIRR); 3 hours and 15 minutes (with Subway)

FROM Princeton TO Manhattan:

Princeton Station ↔ Princeton Junction ↔ NY Penn Station

NJ Transit N.E. Corridor

Fare: $17.75

Fare is payable by ticket in the NJ Transit mobile app or with a ticket from the vending machine

FROM Manhattan TO Jamaica Station:

LIRR Option (Faster): Take Long Island Railroad (LIRR) to Jamaica Station

NY Penn Station ↔ Jamaica Station

LIRR: Any train going towards Jamaica

Get off the train at Jamaica Station

Fare: Weekday Peak $10.75; Weekday Off-Peak $7.75; All Weekend $4.50 (Select “CityTicket” from the LIRR Vending Machine);

Buy a ticket at the vending machine or with the MTA etix app

Subway Option (Cheaper): Take the Subway to Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport

34th Street Penn Station ↔ Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport

Take the Uptown/Queens-bound E subway train from the 8th Avenue side of Penn Station

Get off the train at Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport and walk to the LIRR Jamaica Station

Fare: $2.75

Payable with MetroCard, OMNY Card or Tap with your phone or credit card

FROM Jamaica Station to the Airport:

Jamaica Station ↔ Airport

Transfer to AirTrain Red Line at Jamaica Station which will take you directly to the airport

Fare: $7.75

Fare is payable with Metrocard Only

Fill a Metrocard at the vending machine

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

Total Cost = $23.50

Estimated Travel Time = 2 hour and 20 minutes

FROM Princeton TO Trenton

Princeton Station ↔ Princeton Junction ↔ Trenton Transit Center

NJ Transit N.E. Corridor

Fare: $6.75

Fare is payable by ticket in the NJ Transit mobile app or with a ticket from the vending machine

FROM Trenton TO Philadelphia

Trenton Transit Center ↔ 30th Street Station

SEPTA Regional Rail Trenton Line

Fare: $9.25-$10.00

Purchase at ticket on board the train with cash or Buy a reloadable “Key Card” from the Ticket Office

FROM Philadelphia TO PHL Airport

30th Street Station ↔ Airport (Stops directly at each of the terminals)

SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line

Fare: $6.75

Purchase ticket from the vending machine at the station

Or Buy a reloadable “Key Card” from the SEPTA ticket office

Why Earth is my history

By: Tecla Mafa ’24

This poem is inspired by the complex historical and present relationship between blackness and the environment. It follows the journey and ancestral experiences from the continent of Africa (my Shona ancestors) onto the mid-Atlantic passage to the plantations relaying, a spiritual carrying of the black soul, as well its conflict with nature which was used against it. The poem ends with a hope for healing of both the black soul and the earth which were and are both oppressed by imperialist capitalism.

Why Earth is my history

The black water licked your skin cold, salting and healing the deep cuts from the chains, rusty seaweed

Blindfolded on a march to splintering vessels, losing gravity, losing your name

*Living Bulwark,* *Swordofthespirit.net*

Your grandfather told you that the soil on the earth held treasures and golden insects

And that our hearts also carried treasures and golden insects

Your healer cut the purple flesh of your chest with a hot stone to protect you

A hot stone wrapped in herbs and the earth – the earth carried your faith

Housed your ancestors in the trunks of her trees, and sang to you each night in the passing waters

Mvura hupenyu, but that very same water carried you away through dark depths where death was

The ocean’s water is bitter with our brother’s blood, scarlet ribbons lacing the blue

Those who chose to swim with Yemaya¹

To be buried in Olokun’s sediments²

Omio Yemaya, https://artelaguna.world/paintings/omio-yemaya.25840/

Arriving on alien earth that did not beat with your ancestor’s loud booming breaths

Being cut to bleed by strange herbs, strange plants that are foreign to you

Soft cotton, murdered your spine, peeled your palms red

Your blood watered the earth, your blood gave the ground life

bearing strange fruit, the earth stole away your breaths and locked them away deep beneath

where they buried your souls and those of your ancestors to be

When your relationship with the earth is converted into oppressive turmoil and toil in the heat

When they broke your back so you could break the ground to bear them broken fruit

When your God is turned against you by a man in khaki trousers and black polished leather shoes

Forced to cut down the trees you worship, miti hupenyu³

Your estrangement from your faith becomes your desolation, your death

They ask you why you look disturbed in nature?

Why are you not a vocal environmentalist?

Explain to me how the oppressed becomes the oppressor

*Kazmaleje https://www.pinterest.com/pin/595741856932294580/*

How will I learn to heal? How will the earth heal?

Little did they know that by wounding me they were wounding the earth.

By killing me, they were killing the earth

A complex relationship- is not a pretty relationship

When you have been at war with something you’ve loved for years

When your love bleeds black crude oil beneath the earth

When they turned you against each other then condemned you for it

Why it’s hard to forget, to not remember

Why it’s hard to connect to the roots that feed your ancestors

I want my rest unbroken in the fields of southern earth;⁴

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/opinion/sunday/black-bodies-green-spaces.html

A history buried beneath the ice, heavy sedimented rock

Pain unknown, entangled with heavy vines of life green

A history that has travelled with the water, with the soil and the grey winds

Water has memory, the fingerprints of those lost at sea, the scent of the living dead

We shall plant justice, seeds of remembrance, seeds that become heirlooms

To carry a heritage lost and suppressed

And those seeds will bloom flowers

The sweet-smelling, night-blooming cereus flower⁵

Notes

^[1] Goddess of the ocean in Orishi tradition, dwells on the surface waters

^[2] Her twin, dwells in the depths of the ocean

^[3] Trees are life

^[4] Excerpt from Southern song Poem by Margaret Walker

^[5] From Southern song poem by Margaret Walker

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/opinion/sunday/black-bodies-green-spaces.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/25/drexciya-how-afrofuturism-inspired-calls-for-an-ocean-memorial-to-slavery

Good News Friday 2/23/22

Author: Grace Liu ’23

Welcome back to Good News Friday! We’ve taken a break over the past couple of months, but we’re excited to be back with more hopeful developments in the sustainability sector. To kick off the series for this year, we will look at the greenhouse reductions of virtual conferences, oyster restoration efforts, and solar panels in landfills.

Image credit: Anna Shvets via pexels.com

Virtual Conferences Mitigate Climate Change: According to a life cycle assessment published in Nature, hosting conferences virtually rather than in person can reduce their carbon footprint by 94% and energy use by 90%. Additionally, supporters of the virtual format point out that virtual conferences are more accessible and inclusive than in-person conferences. Other ways to make conferences more sustainable include having more plant-based food options.

Oyster Restoration Collaboration: Conservationists and community members have been working together to restore oyster populations in Chesapeake Bay. The method of restoration includes pumping oyster larvae out of a fire hose from a boat deck. The mission has been named Operation Build a Reef, and last year it led to the planting of 24 million juvenile oysters. This restoration is promising for the aquatic ecosystem because an adult oyster can filter 190 liters of water in a day.

Locating Solar Panels in Landfills: Communities around the United States have been considering converting landfills in to solar panel sites. Because many closed landfills are located in environmental justice communities, repurposing the landfill sites into non-hazardous solar farms could give these communities better access to clean energy. At the same time, these installations will create jobs and help offset CO2 emissions.

That’s all for this week! Check back next week for more encouraging environmental news. If you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!

Demystifying Public Transportation in Princeton: Local Buses

Author: Adam Wickham ’22

“Have A Nice Day” by Joe Shlabotnik is licensed under the Creative Commons

Welcome to Princeton, NJ! Most of the time, it can feel like the University provides everything you may need without even having to leave campus or Nassau Street. Yet, sometimes you may need to go off campus for whatever reason. Your first step may be to call an Uber or rent a car, but there’s a way that’s better for the environment and your wallet: the bus!

The bus is not a luxury experience, but public transportation is an effective way to reduce greenhouse emissions. According to Princeton’s Sustainability Action Plan, transportation emissions are one of the largest sources of carbon emissions along with electricity usage in both New Jersey and the United States as a whole. Public transportation in the United States is underdeveloped and does not have a great reputation. But it is safe, clean and affordable if you learn how to use it to get around Princeton and beyond.

What services are available?

Within walking distance of main campus are three different bus services available to use: Tiger Transit, NJ Transit and Princeton Municipal Transit. TigerTransit is operated by the University, while NJ Transit and Princeton Municipal Transit are operated by the government. Most undergraduate Princeton students are probably most familiar with TigerTransit’s Weekend Shopper (Route W-S), but there are more options if you don’t need to go to Route 1 on a weekend.

Here is a helpful chart with clickable links to guide you to your next public transit journey!

	TigerTransit	NJ Transit	Princeton Municipal Transit
Fare	Free	$1.60*	Free
Relevant Routes	Route 4: Princeton Junction to EQuad Route W-S: Weekend Shopper	Route 605Route 606	One route only
When does it run?	Route 4: Monday – Friday Route W-S: Saturday – Sunday	Daily	Monday – Friday 7:30 AM – 8:50 PM except holidays
Relevant Stops	Route 4: Princeton Junction Rail Station, Princeton Rail Station, E-Quad Route W-S: Princeton Station, Whole Foods, Wegmans/Target, Trader Joes	605: Princeton Shopping Center, Princeton Station, MarketFair, Whole Foods, Wegmans/Target, Quaker Bridge Mall, Trader Joes 606: Princeton Shopping Center, Palmer Square, Trenton Transit Center	Princeton Shopping Center, Palmer Square, Firestone Library
Official Apps	TripShot	NJTransit Mobile App MyBus Plan Your Trip	TripShot
Routes and Schedules	TigerTransit Routes & Schedules	Route 605 Route 606	Schedule
Compatible with *Google Maps*?	No	Yes	No

*Note: NJ Transit fares can be paid using the NJTransit Mobile App or cash. You need exact change for the bus, but you can use $1 bills and coins.

All this information may seem overwhelming, but the most important thing is to give you options. If you don’t know where a bus is going, first check the sign or ask the driver, and they’ll help you out.

Good News Friday 12/10/21

Author: Camellia Moors ’22

Happy first post-classes Good News Friday! We hope you’ve had the chance to destress a bit before the semester fully wraps up. In the spirit of motivating you through the end of the semester, here is some more positive environmental news! Today, we’re covering India’s solar power expansion, Colombia’s efforts to confront environmental crimes, and McDonald’s Canada’s project to reduce single-use plastic waste.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledges to increase solar power: India’s leader recently pledged that his country would move away from its current dependence on coal to instead produce more energy via solar power and other renewables than its entire grid produces now by 2030. This comes after he made a pledge at the recent COP26 conference that India would aim to achieve net zero by 2070. As one of the largest energy consumers in the world, the majority of India’s electricity is sourced from coal, meaning this new goal could have a profound global impact on international efforts to fight climate change.

2. Colombian police will expand investigations of environmental crimes: Earlier this week, Colombia’s government announced that its national police would be deploying 100 criminal intelligence and investigation officers to target environmental crimes. These crimes include things like illegal mining, animal trafficking, and the targeting of environmental activists. As Colombia faces increasing environmental degradation, this new effort might provide some hope for the success of environmental initiatives there.

Image Credit: Mikechie Esparagoza via pexels.com

3. McDonald’s Canada aims to cut single-use plastics: By the end of this month, “McDonald’s Canada… will introduce wooden cutlery, wooden stir sticks, and paper straws at more than 1,400 of its restaurants across [Canada],” which will eliminate 840 tons of plastic waste. This could serve as a model for the almost 13,700 McDonald’s across the United States and nearly 40,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world

That’s all for now! Check back next week for more positive environmental news, and until then, feel free to get in touch if you have environmental news to share and best of luck with the end of the semester!

Good News Friday 12/3/21

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

Hello and welcome back! We hope that your Thanksgiving break was restful and filled with good food. If you’re anxious about the elevated campus risk status, new covid variant, finals and projects, etc., that’s totally understandable. However, we hope that this article about potty training cows, plastic-free veggies, and coral reef recovery will boost your mood a bit.

Image Credit: BorgMattison via pixabay.com

Potty trained cows help fight pollution: It is an unfortunate phenomenon that cow urine produces a pollutant called ammonia which is harmful if inhaled and an indirect greenhouse gas. However, researchers have found that potty training cows to pee in a latrine called the “MooLoo” could lead to a 56% reduction in ammonia emissions. The cows trained using a combination of treats and spritzes of water show a success rate on par with children.

Image credit: Jerzygorecki via pixabay.com

France frees fruits of plastic: There are a growing number of grocery stores and supermarkets in Paris that sell produce without single-use plastic containers. Recently, the government announced that, starting next year, plastic packaging for produce under 1.5 kg will be banned. The plastic waste savings from this policy are estimated at over a billion units.

Image credit: visavietnam via pixabay.com

Nobel Prize-winning economic theory helps save coral reefs: Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia are applying modern portfolio theory (MPT) to identify coral reefs with the most potential to repopulate other damaged reefs. The stock market theory was developed by the economist Harry Markowitz in the 1950s to help investors maximize returns while minimizing risk.

Thanks for reading, and we hope that these news snippets have brightened your day a little! Please check back in next week for more positive environmental news and in the meantime, feel free to take a look at previous posts or share some good news with us!

Good News Friday 11/19/21

Author: Camellia Moors ’22

Welcome to another edition of Good News Friday! To get you in a good mood for Thanksgiving break, we’re covering some positive news about emissions in the travel industry, the halting of oil leases on Indigenous lands, and the “right to repair” Apple devices.

Travel industry makes climate change commitments: In the wake of the COP26 negotiations, more than 300 global travel stakeholders signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. This requires all signatories to submit a concrete plan to halve their emissions by 2030 and become net zero by 2050 within 12 months. According to one study, worldwide tourism accounted for 8% of global emissions between 2009 and 2013, meaning these commitments to cuts have the potential to make a large—and needed—dent in global emissions.

2. Biden administration halts oil drilling leases: Early this week, the Biden administration announced it intends to “block new federal oil and gas leasing within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, one of the nation’s oldest and most culturally significant Native American sites.” While the move was not universally popular—the Navajo Nation, for example, said it prefers a smaller, 5-mile radius—it does reflect an (admittedly halting) trend of limiting oil leases.

3. Apple to expand customers’ ability to self-repair iPhones: This week, Apple announced it will soon sell the parts, tools, and instructions for people to perform their own iPhone repairs. Proponents of the “right to repair” argue that limits on consumers’ abilities to fix their electronic devices force them to throw them out, contributing to the massive global “e-waste” problem. With Apple selling more than 217 million iPhones in 2018 and 100-120 million phones being discarded each year, the move by the tech company represents a potentially huge, untapped means of reducing global waste.

That’s all for this week! Tune in next time for more environmental news, and until then, we hope you have a relaxing Thanksgiving break and feel free to get in touch if you have environmental news to share!

Good News Friday 11/12/21

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

Welcome back to another Good News Friday! There’s been a lot happening in the climate sphere as the COP26 draws to a close. The snippets below highlight clean energy funding, carbon-neutral aviation goals, and indigenous forest conservation projects.

Expansion of clean energy: World leaders, representing more than 35 countries and large firms, have pledged $400 billion to the expansion of clean and renewable energy. The commitments also aim to provide reliable energy to developing countries. The targets include cutting the number of people without access to electricity in half by 2025, achieving universal energy access by 2030, quickly transitioning to clean energy sources, and minimizing disparities in power access.

Image credit: Lars_Nissen via pexels.com

US targets net-zero aviation by 2030: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated during the COP26 climate talks that the US aims to have all air travel be carbon neutral by 2050. The goal was supported by an analysis by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Given the fact that the aviation industry accounts for 2.5% of all CO2 emissions, this pledge could have significant implications for climate change mitigation.

Indigenous forest conservation: During COP26, the Peoples Forest Partnership announced that the US aims to contribute $20 billion in funding by 2030 to support Indigenous community-driven forest conservation and restoration projects. According to the group’s estimates, this initiative could lead to a carbon emission reduction of at least 2 billion tons per year as well as protect approximately 500 million hectares of biodiverse tropical forests.

There were a lot of good news articles to choose from this week. Here’s to hoping these wonderful initiatives will be successful! Check back next week for more encouraging environmental news. If you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!

Level Up Your Leftovers #2: Creamy Israeli Salad and Garlic Bread

By: Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23

Hello everyone, welcome back to the second installment of Level Up Your Leftovers, a series where I (Naomi) take your leftovers and turn them into a refreshed recipe! For this post, we have an anonymous submission: “I have tomatoes, bread, and yogurt, [and] I am looking for a savory snack/meal.” The post also graciously included some photos to show us what we’re working with:

The supplies include: almond milk yogurt, bread, and grape tomatoes.

This one was a bit of a challenge for me, as I don’t often work with almond milk yogurt, nor do I combine tomatoes and yogurt all that often. But after a bit of research, I think I’ve found a great and healthy meal that you can make with just a few extra ingredients! You can turn the tomatoes and yogurt into a creamy Israeli salad, and that bread looks perfect for a quick toasted garlic bread to eat on the side.

This recipe was adapted from Tori Avey and Food52.

Ingredients

Israeli Salad

1 package of grape tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
1 bell pepper and/or 1 small onion, diced (optional)

Yogurt Dressing

½ cup yogurt (regular or non-dairy)
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or crushed
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp black pepper
Salt, to taste

Garlic Bread

1 loaf of bread, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
⅓ cup olive oil or melted butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley or other herbs, to taste (optional)
Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Preparation

For the salad and dressing:

Combine all diced vegetables in a bowl.
Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients before pouring over the vegetables. Stir to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

For the garlic bread:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil or melted butter with the garlic, herbs, and spices. Stir to incorporate.
Lay out slices of bread on a baking sheet. Using a spoon or pastry brush, generously coat the tops of each slice with the garlic oil/butter mixture.
Place in the oven until the edges of the bread turn a deep golden brown, for around 5 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy with the Israeli salad!

Fun Facts

This recipe is incredibly simple, and quite delicious! A few fun facts about our star ingredients:

Cherry tomatoes can help prevent both strokes and cancer!
Nut-based yogurt contains the same healthy bacteria as dairy-based yogurt, promoting gut health.
Yogurt, nut-based or otherwise, is a great source of protein.
A bit of an objective opinion, but eating bread definitely raises my happiness levels 🙂

Yogurt is a great protein option for those trying out vegetarianism – it is very nutrient-dense in relation to the amount of energy used to produce it and has a much lower impact compared to meat. Making a small swap like this is a great way to lower your carbon impact in the long term, and it’s healthy as well!

If you try this recipe, let us know over on Instagram or Facebook. If you want to try and stump me with your own batch of leftovers, send in a submission here! Your recipe could be the next one featured on the Tigers Go Green Blog.

Happy Cooking!

Naomi