CitiesGoGreen - October 2008 - (Page 8) In Motion NYC to Protect Infrastructure Shoreline floods, blackouts, and overheated subways causing medical emergencies and transport delays are among the effects experts predict for New York City as a result of higher temperatures and more frequent and powerful storms. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is determined the city will be prepared, and has announced a Climate Change Adaptation Task Force to forecast local impacts and devise safeguards for the city’s infrastructure. Bloomberg says action must start now due to the costs and long term nature of the project. “By planning now, we can reduce our exposure to weather-related events,” said Bloomberg, emphasizing the importance of accurate data in devising the city’s plans. The task force has representatives from city and state agencies and private companies involved with critical infrastructure, and an advisory panel of academics and other experts. Polish Your Performance Does your community measure performance? Do you know how effectively your time, money and resources are being used? How do you turn statistics into concrete improvements and better results? Leading Performance Management in Local Government, a new book by ICMA Press, responds to these questions with a collection of writings from leading experts in the field. The book gives an introduction to measuring and managing performance, and includes many examples of successful efforts as well as a step-by-step guide to designing a performance management system. MayorTV Ever wonder what other mayors are thinking? MayorTV (mayortv.com), a joint project of The Nation newspaper and the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, presents brief video interviews with mayors with articles highlighting their perspectives. Mayors from Scranton to Honolulu air their views on infrastructure, the environment, poverty, politics and more. Spotlighting the needs and influence of urban populations, the site seeks to reframe political debate to include more emphasis on urban issues and to push national candidates to talk more about cities. As Douglas Palmer, Mayor of Trenton NJ puts it, “Our cities are where it’s at.” Douglas Palmer, Mayor of Trenton NJ Gas from Trash Biofuels from food crops are increasingly seen as raising food prices and encouraging deforestation, so the world’s third-largest chemical company, INEOS, in Britain, is looking to garbage for ethanol, instead. A patented technique heats waste to produce gases which are fed to bacteria, which in turn produce ethanol. Municipal solid waste, organic commercial waste and agricultural residues are all feedstocks. “The fact that we have been able to decouple second generation biofuel from food is a major breakthrough,” says Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio. Commercial bioethanol for cars is expected within about two years. October 2008 8 Photo courtesy INEOS Photo courtesy flickr.com/photos/bionikk1 http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/nyc-to-protect-infrastructure http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/mayor-tv http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/polish-your-performance http://www.mayortv.com http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/gas-from-trash http://citiesgogreen.com
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