“News of the closings will devastate many communities as their citizens rely on parks for affordable, close-to-home recreation and their businesses rely on parks to bring in revenue,” said Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York, the statewide advocacy group organizing the event. “The savings are miniscule compared to the hardship park closings will cause New Yorkers, and especially compared to the tax revenue generated by the visitors’ spending that will no longer be there when the parks are gone.”

 According to Dropkin, closing parks would be an unprecedented step in the state’s history and it would actually lose money for the state. 

Parks MAKE MONEY!

A 2009 study by the University of Massachusetts, The New York State Park System: An Economic Asset to the Empire State, found that the state park system generates nearly $1.9 billion every year in benefits for local and state economics and supports 20,000 jobs (not including state park employees). 

“We call on state leaders to restore at least $11 million to the proposed state budget so that all state parks can remain open this year,” Dropkin said.  “Two million more people visited New York’s state parks last year than the year, for a record total of 56 million. Closings mean no hiking, no picnics, no swimming, no fishing this year and for years to come.  New Yorkers need their parks now—more than ever.  Closing parks is a very, very bad idea.”

Proposed cuts of $29 million to the operating budget of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) will mean park closings in every region of the state, as well as service cutbacks in other parks during the peak summer season.  OPRHP has stated that a restoration of $11 million of that $29 million in cuts will enable the agency to keep parks open.

According to Shawn McConnell, Parks & Trails New York Campaign for Parks Director, “The Parks Agency’s operating budget has been cut 40% in the last 2 ½ years – much more than other agencies – inflicting deep wounds on our parks and on local and state economies.

Andy Bicking, Director of Public Policy for Scenic Hudson said.  “What we give to parks and land is returned in abundance – our investments support recreational opportunities and promote healthy lifestyles, conserve critical wildlife habitat, help protect clean drinking water and support the economic stability in the Hudson Valley, which is home to a $4.7 million tourism economy,”

 Tania Werbizky, Preservation League of New York State’s western regional Director for technical and grant programs, said “The State Park system includes the oldest park in the nation–Niagara Falls–and the first property acquired with public funds for historic preservation and patriotic visitation–Washington’s Headquarters. We can’t just lock the door on New York’s historic sites without putting priceless collections of artifacts at risk, and possibly losing forever the authentic places and things that give voice to our state and national history."

Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York, and 28 year veteran of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Executive Staff said, “Our State Parks are critically important economic engines that support local economies and an ever growing ecotourism industry, providing billions in revenue to the state each year.  Closing Parks is the wrong choice and will only further compound and prolong the economic woes facing the state.  We applaud Assemblyman Englebright and Senator Serrano for leading the charge to keep our

Parks open, and urge the entire legislature to join with them in supporting a restoration of Parks and environmental funding in this year’s budget.” 

William Ulfelder, New York State Director of The Nature Conservancy, said “The Governor’s proposal to disproportionately cut environmental funding, including the budget for State Parks, will have lasting, negative impacts on our communities.  Environmental programs, including our state parks, not only protect our natural resources and public health, they also play an important role in New York’s economic recovery by boosting tourism and creating jobs.  We look forward to working with our legislators to ensure that funding for important environmental programs including our state parks is restored so our communities can continue to experience the economic, public health and quality of life benefits these programs provide.”  

Speakers at the rally included:  Assemblyman Steve Englebright, Assemblyman John McEneny, Assemblyman Timothy Gordon, PTNY Executive Director Robin Dropkin, PTNY Campaign for Parks Director Shawn McConnell, John Kilroy of Friends of Thacher and Thompson’s Lake State Parks, Anni Murray of Save John Boyd Thacher State Park Facebook Group, and Patricia Riddell Kent, whose family donated Robert V. Riddell State Park near Oneonta.

Parks & Trails New York

Parks & Trails New York is a nonprofit organization based in Albany, is the leading statewide advocate for New York’s state parks.  For more information about the Campaign for Parks or about Parks & Trails New York, visit www.ptny.org.  The study, The New York State Park System: An Economic Asset to the Empire State, is available at the PTNY website: www.ptny.org/publications.  Photos will be available.   

 I'll be interviewingat 1:30 pm today March 4, 2010.

Shawn P. McConnell, Director - Campaign for Parks
Parks & Trails New York
29 Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207
p: 518-434-1583, f: 518-427-0067, www.ptny.org
Join Parks & Trails New York's  e-mail list

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Enjoy the radio show here or on blog talk radio.

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sethleitman/2010/03/03/green-living-guyvartan

Green Spaces started as an office and has now become home to hundreds of environmental innovators and stomping grounds for cutting edge entrepreneurs.

They have a newsletter with over 10,000 subscribers.

Green Spaces NY has many different membership levels:

Full-Time Desk Space: Have a desk with a lamp and filing cabinet. 

Lounge Desk Space: Access a floating desk space in their funky cool "lounge area". 

Then they have this thing called drop-in space for retail location or for when you just drop-in; duh.

They have all the amenities of a regular office, such as a vintage desk, filing cabinet, lamps, chairs, internet, printers, Copier, and Fax machines, a place to call your business home; aka a mailbox, conference rooms,  interns, workshops, GREEN EVENTS, a kitchen and FREE COFFEE!! YEAH!!!

Get a free day pass to try out the digs.

For more information, or to schedule a tour, contact them at at 646.738.8616.303.720.6850.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Marissa Feinberg, Co-Founder of Green Spaces on Blog talk radio.  Listen below!!

Because his show is so styling, “The Lazy Environmentalist” took home “best reality show” honors at the 20th annual Environmental Media Association awards ceremony, which honors film and television productions and individuals that increase public awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Josh for my blog talk radio show.  Josh in turn wrote about the story on his website too!! Thanks Josh!!

Darren Moore is a great architect and celebrity green guy from the Alter Eco TV Show on Planet Green.

Recently I had the chance to interview Darren about Project Green Search and his other plans for the future.

GLG   Tell me about what got you interested in Project Green Search; not that it was too difficult to say yes.

DM   I became involved in Project Green Search (PGS) through Remy Chevalier who put me in touch with Aysia Wright from the Green Loop.  The idea was interesting; an opportunity to give hardworking advocates a medium to display their pretty faces alongside their knowledge and passion.    

GLG   What got you hooked up with Planet Green for the show?          

DM    I was dancing for a living in one of those village people troops, as the construction worker, and someone from planet green spotted me.  The Said they wanted to make me into a real construction worker and put me on TV...that's the Hollywood version.  Actually, I was a real general contractor running my small operation involved in "green building".  But, behind all that is a guy who's travelled the world on a bicycle and lived abroad in the third world.  Those experiences were part of what I brought to the table when a friend told me about the show and a call for casting on it.    I went in for my first audition and was hired after three other visits.      

GLG  Are you friends with Adrian G from entourage and Angela Lindvall  and what are they doing now to go green or was it just a big party on camera for them?

DM    We are friends. There were a few parties at Angela's that we all enjoyed and a couple after the wrap. Adrian and I did some hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains.   We all met up in New York for the premier of Entourage in New York and a fashion show "Be Eco Chic" with Angela that I hosted with her, Boise too.  We've had some fun times together.                              

Adrian just launched shft.com and Angela has modeled for some causes, and together they hosted a National Resources Defense Council event...you can be sure there's more that I am unaware of, I’m barely able to keep track of myself.  

GLG   Did you think the right person was picked for PGS?

DM    Rachel Avalon had the best name.  She wasn't my first pick; I thought we needed to bring attention to someone in another region of the US, outside of the Bubble of Los Angeles.  But at the end of the day, region wasn't what the search was about.  It was about character and in Rachel I see such sincerity.  It was tough to pick just one winner...I would like to see 4 or 5 categories next year.  

GLG   What are your most favorite things to do when not greening the world?

DM    I love biking.  I ride a bicycle just about every day, whether it's around my neighborhood to and from places...or at my family's place in Northern California during these past Holidays to get some exercise and revisit my old neighborhood.  I brought my folding bike up for that trip.                         I also love to travel.  I haven't done much as there has been little time for it, but I hope to spend some months south of the equator next year.  I'd like to do it on my bike. 

GLG   What's your next move?  Any new plans?  

DM   I have some plans, but nothing concrete enough to talk about.  I’m staying open to new ideas and am working on a couple that haven't hatched yet. 

GLG   Any last bidding green advice for the readers?  

DM   Now that most readers have already "gone green", I would suggest writing to your congressman.  Ask them what specific plans they have for the future and what policies they are working on to incentive further changes.   If they hear from you, we are more likely to see change in government policy that will produce major shifts leading to mainstream adoption.                                                      

For Example:  If the government gave free loans to homeowners, building owners and tenants so they could have their buildings retrofitted to save money every month (while saving energy= green thing to do) we could basically create massive amounts of jobs and get people comfortable and safe in their homes/offices while saving money and getting people back to work.   Sounds good to me...if it sounds good to you, call your congress person and let them know, give them your ideas!

The environmental line that was born was not only all these things, it was also super cute, which was super important. It was made completely of environmentally respectful materials and organic fabrics. And it was made in the USA, which meant no sweatshop labor.

It was a great hit and snagged placement in the gift bags at the Grammys, Sundance and The Image Awards.

But the sisters had more work to do before this line would be all they could make it. They uncovered a true, but startling fact: it took an average of 15-25 gallons of water to traditionally dye just one t-shirt. To them, 15 -25 gallons too many.

They educated themselves further. Not only about the statistics concerning global water shortage but also more regionally about the challenge of California’s strict water conservation policy over the next 5 years. That paired with the issues of toxic dyes and the fact that bamboo and cottons aren’t all that healthy for the planet (they require a lot of processing to make them soft and therefore are not so environmental) they sought to be the pioneers of the ultimate sustainable, environmental shirt.

Their journey paid off. They found amazingly soft material that people would love to have rub against them. And the best part was, this amazingly comfortable fabric was made entirely of RECYCLED BOTTLES. The materials saved from not having to grow, harvest and process the raw materials not only helped conserve our planet’s limited resources. At the same time, it also played a huge part in removing non-biodegradable materials from our landfills.

In this interview we will talk about why EcoDivas started, the Upcycling party at the Green Lodge at Sundance Film Festival, A Lot To Say clothing, Livity.org hats and more.

websites

Check out my interview where we discuss the current lineup of shows on Planet Green tv network (part of Discovery Communications), energy policy, style with going green and future shows that Planet Green has in store.

Gotta thank A Lot To Say and Egg Geothermal for their commitment to my blog talk radio show.

He chose a Toyota Celica because a VVW bug (first choice) and a Honda Civic were too small.  Therefore, here we go.