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On Earth Day, NYC greener than ever

By Marlene Naanes | mnaanes@am-ny.com

7:33 PM EDT, April 21, 2008

With hybrid buses and cabs, energy-saving light bulbs for municipal offices and a list of mayoral initiatives to reduce the city's impact on the environment, more than ever, New York is a greener apple.

As the city today prepares to mark the 38th anniversary of Earth Day, environmentalists and New Yorkers alike say that the holiday has taken on a more practical meaning in recent years, though all agree that more improvements are possible.

"We've gotten much more practical about Earth Day," said Marcia Bystryn, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. "It's no longer simply let's feel good about mother earth."

Earth Day gives agencies and groups a platform to inform the public about their environmentally friendly initiatives, but the holiday alone can't necessarily take the credit for making people more aware of the environment. Al Gore's 2006 Academy Award-winning movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," played a role in turning people's interest toward climate change, and local governments, industries and the media have increasingly been spreading the message of environmental responsibility.

Cory Grant, 29, of the West Village, said he has noticed improvements throughout the city, including more bike lanes, more green space and eco-friendly cabs and buses, but he doesn't think it's because of Earth Day.

"It reaches one demographic that already cares," Grant said.

While New York is greener, there's much more to be done, said Aurelia Kaelin, who works with the Lower East Side Ecology Center composting program. "Even the good stores are still selling plastic goods," she said. "The green market gives out plastic bags. New York public recycling cans are not everywhere. ... The city should do more to inform people of what they can do."