Breaking News: US Airways Flight 1549 Floats Down the Hudson River

(from cnn.com)

(From my flip not ten minutes ago.)

A plane just made a controlled water landing in the Hudson River not blocks from the SuperForest offices!

From cnn.com:

"US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 headed from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, was down in the river after a failed takeoff, according to the Federal Aviation Administration."

I was sitting at my desk when the sound of a very loud plane made me get up and walk to the window. When sirens and helicopters followed, we grabbed our coats and went outside.

Video of the scene is uploading and will be available shortly.

Were are unsure right now as to the status of the passengers and crew, but from the wholeness of the plane, it looked to be a very controlled descent.

To watch a 737 float down the Hudson escorted by boats and helicopters is not something I'll soon forget.

Our hopes and prayers to the people on board, their families, and all parties involved or reading this.

The Hudson Valley Seed Library is Online and Open for Business!

Just got word in from the ever-hip SuperForester Severine about the Hudson Valley Seed Library, an organization dedicated to preserving and selling local New York seeds.

So sayeth the H.V.S.L.:

"Heirloom Seeds With Local Roots

After four years of germinating the Seed Library concept, we are ready to blossom--from selling seeds that are grown in distant soils to cultivating a regional seed production network in New York State. In 2009, we will be offering over twenty varieties of locally grown seed, and most of our varieties will be rooted in the history and soils of New York.

Every year we plan on growing additional varieties on the Seed Library farm and contracting with organic and certified naturally grown farmers in the Hudson Valley. Within five years, we hope to be 100% New York grown.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to revive the local seed trade. With your help, we can save heirloom seeds and their stories."

Thinking about planting a Spring garden? Start with some good ol' Hudson Valley seeds!

Huge thanks to Severine for the head's up.

Passive Solar Homes Go SuperNova!

(via treehugger)

(via trendir.com)

Folks is talking about Passive houses!

Using a mix of excellent insulation, high efficiency appliances, and an ingenious heat exchange system, passive solar homes use a fraction of the energy their normal counterparts use, and there is no sacrifice made in the looks department.

Thermogram of a Passivhaus building, with traditional building in background.

Here's a marvelously dry video tour of the Sustain-O-Casa of David and Harriet Borton.
The Borton's charming Troy, New York abode has been built with a number of design elements that keep its energy use in the ultra-low category.

Firstly, their house has huge windows on the southern facing side, allowing sunlight to heat the interior, while the northern side has very few tiny windows and is more heavily insulated.

As Mr. Borton helpfully explains, the 250 square feet of windows on the south side of his house generate approximately 60 million btus of heat, which is the equivalent of 500 gallons of heating oil. All for free, from the sun, just because he pointed his house in one direction. Amazing.

The Borton house is so efficient that the morning sunlight that comes through a window turns dishes on a rack into a radiator for the kitchen.

The video also includes a quick rundown of the Borton's three solar arrays, including a tiny little 25 year old chip of a panel that kept the family with a working fridge, telephones, and lights/t.v. at night when a snowstorm in the mid 1980's knocked out power for a week.



Here's the Passive house wiki.
Here's a US Passive house site.
A Passive house post from greenlineblog.
A wonderful piece in the Times about Passive houses around the world.

Thank you to David and Harriet Borton for allowing us the informative peek into their situation. The Grieco Brothers Christian and Christian for shooting the viddy, and to the Green Buildings Open House, for hiring the Grieco Brothers to shoot the viddy of the Bortons.

Here's the Green Buildings Open House affiliate site.

Sustainability can be fun!

Need Help Moving? Mean Green Trucking!

Hi Everyone,

I just noticed these guys driving down the street and I love sharing practical information about companies that are taking steps towards a more sustainable way of life. 

Mean Green Trucking is doing what they can to better our environment, while providing a necessary service. 

Their New York warehouse is solar powered, their trucks run on vegetable oil and they plant a tree (through americanforests.org) for every move they do. They have already planted over 1,000 trees this year!

So, if you live in NY or Los Angeles and you need help with a move, why not use these guys and help our environment at the same time? 

Sounds like a win/win situation to me.

Happy Monday!

Niki 

Eyebeam: Holiday Hackshop!

"Eyebeam is an art and technology center that provides a fertile context and state-of-the-art tools for digital research and experimentation. It is a lively incubator of creativity and thought, where artists and technologists actively engage with culture, addressing the issues and concerns of our time. Eyebeam challenges convention, celebrates the hack, educates the next generation, encourages collaboration, freely offers its contributions to the community, and invites the public to share in a spirit of openness: open source, open content and open distribution."

Eyebeam is located just a few blocks away from our studio and always has amazing exhibits and parties going on. 

For the holidays, they are doing a program called "Holiday Hackshop". 

Here are the details:

"If you haven't yet experienced everyone's favorite holiday gift-making event, here's the scoop: For one day, and one day only, Eyebeam becomes an all-ages, multi-workshop electronic craft-making fair, with entertainment, decorations and plenty of holiday spirit.

The majority of the workshops are artist-led, with small fees for material costs, and you'll leave with gifts that will far surpass lopsided clay mugs of years past!

All in all: A fun, thrifty, edutainment alternative to the trance-and occasionally rage-inducing department-store crawl.

Workshops:

Extreme Weather Snowglobes made of recycled materials
Led by resident Andrea Polli and collaborators Heidi Neilsen and Chuck Varga
Fee: $5/For all ages
1 - 5PM (Jump in any time; information sessions at 1PM, 2PM, 3PM, 4PM)

Bright Bike!
Led by senior fellow Michael Mandiberg
Just in time for the holidays: an opportunity to wrap up your bike with retro-reflective material to make biking NYC far safer.
Fee for materials: Whole bike: $30; material to wrap selected parts of bike: $10
You must bring your own bike to participate!
Recommended for ages 12 years and older.

Session 1: 1 - 3PM: (can accommodate 15 bikes)
Session 2: 3:30 - 5:30PM: (can accommodate 15 bikes)
5:30 - 6PM: Bike Ride/parade with workshop participants to document the effectiveness of the Bright Bike wrapping!

Frankenstein your iPod!
Led by resident Hans-Christoph Steiner and Chris "the Widget" DiMauro
Turn you iPod (or one of the stash we'll have on hand) into something you never imagined possible.
Fee: Free (We recommend you bring your own iPod, though we will have some on hand.) Recommended for ages 12 years and older, unless accompanied by an adult.

Session 1: 1 - 3PM: Frankensteining 101: Hacking your iPod
Session 2: 4 - 6PM: Install iPodLinux for making music with PD or Rockbox for playing Doon on your iPod video (can accommodate 10).

We'll have a stash of old iPods on-hand for harvesting parts, but those interested are advised to bring their trusty iPods with the battery, software or hardware failures.

Bend it, Shake it Workshop
Led by resident Christina Kral with collaborators Jamie O'Shea, Drayton Hiers and Dan Ribaudo
In this two-part workshop we invite you to hack and bend discarded plastic, battery-run toys to turn them into a potpourri of instruments. As the "Petit Finale", we'll be play a score with the hacked instruments inside the Video Womb, a video installation/experience by Christina Kral, Drayton Hiers and Dan Ribaudo.
Fee: $5 Recommended for all ages, those under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult.

1 - 5PM: Workshop
5PM: performance in the video womb

Want to see what we mean? Bend it, Shake it: http://vimeo.com/2269185
Video Womb: http: //vimeo.com/2250069

Demonstration: A Reenactment of The Battle of the Pyramids
Led by resident Adrianne Wortzell
Come witness the assembly of Resident Adrianne Wortzell's latest project, A Reenactment of The Battle of the Pyramids. Wortzell and her team of interns and volunteers will hack 30+ "Talking Elmo" toys to allow them to move in unison. The team will be hacking away-assembly-line style, but on-hand to discuss the project and answer any questions.

Fee: Free, all ages welcome
1 - 5PM

For more: http://www.adriannewortzel.com/battle"

EVENT/WHAT: (Free workshops/Christmas party): Eyebeam's beloved, annual Holiday Hackshop!
DATE: Sat., Dec. 13, 1PM - 5PM workshops | 6PM: Holiday party (think spiked eggnog, cider and holiday treats!)
LOCATION: 540 W. 21st St., NYC
COST: Free to visit; minor materials costs for select workshops

If you are in NYC on December 13th--check this out! 

It sounds like a lot of fun and really neat to be led through these workshops by local artists. I'm sure you can also get great ideas for hacking your own holiday gifts! 

Have fun!
Niki

The Sky is Falling! - #56 Leonard St. NYC

Herzog & de Meuron's residential building on 56 Leonard Street, NYC.




Amazing.

NY Mayor Does Not Fancy Plastic Bags

There's so much cool stuff to talk about right now. Someone who would score high on the awesome-scale posted an instructable on how to make your own Lego Gummies (Lego candy), and today is Poppy/Remembrance/Veteran Day. But maybe more about that later.

But first, the New York Times reports that the NY mayor has a plan to reduce the usage of plastic bags. Since plastic bags are bad for the environment because they are almost always thrown away after they have been used, they also contribute to a bigger ecological footprint. So, reasons enough to get rid of the bags. Bloomberg (the mayor) wants to do this by charging shoppers 6 additional cents at the counter.

Photograph by nadi0

I can imagine people reconsidering using a plastic bag if they are charged for it. Experience has proven it's true, when the Brooklyn IKEA raised the price of their bags with 5 cents the demand was cut by half.
Hopefully New Yorkers will invest some bucks in sustainable alternatives (as in the picture above) that are made from organic cotton and can be (re)used many, many times. (And thereby reduce their own ecological footprint).

-jdh

Meadowlands

It's not a shocking fact when I tell you New York is a big city, neither is it when I tell you it's close to New Jersey. But have you ever wondered what is between New York City and New Jersey? What fills up the gap? What area you have to go through if you want to travel when going from NY to NJ or the other way around?

The Meadowlands. It's the area you go through when visiting acquaintances that live in the State next door, it's an area that's rural instead of urban and thus can't compare to New York, it's an area most New Yorkers haven't even heard about. So what does life look like in this 32 square mile district that's only being used for passing-through and neglected for the rest? That's pretty much what the New York based photographer Josua Lutz asked himself.

For the past ten years Lutz focused his attention and camera on the Meadowlands, an area where life stood still, an area that totally contradicts New York. And created a solid collection of desperate, emotional photographs that often make you wonder how that can be so close to NYC.

Not unlike a neglected child, the Meadowlands has grown up without guidance, constantly unsure of what the future holds. It is this loneliness and solitude that continues to bring me back year after year. - Lutz on his photo series

This is probably one of my favorites. Showing a black mother with presumably two of her children sitting somewhere in the Meadowlands, this photograph probably depicts "unsure what the future holds" best. Lutz' gems are available on his website, they're even printable. The pictures are also available in print and Lost At E Minor interviewed the photographer in question a few weeks ago.

-jdh

My Sad Ignorance of Islam

Good Morning SuperForest!

Jackson here.
I have a confession to make. I am sadly lacking in knowledge and experience about one of Earth's major religions: Islam.

I know what I was taught in school: the eight pillars of Islam (or is it five?) The role of the Prophet Mohammad (or is it Muhammad?) but there my experience ends.

I have never been to a mosque, never recited a verse of the Koran in Arabic, never really tasted Islam.

I am wonderfully curious! I want to know more.

Is there anyone in the New York area who would be willing to act as a guide? Some one willing to invite me along to experience Islam?

I would be forever grateful. I pledge to bring my best manners, a most open mind, and a heart unclouded. If anyone out there would be willing to help, please email me:

superforestnyc(at)gmail(dot)com.

I had a thought the other day: I will live a finite time. I want to experience as much as I can.

Thanks for your help!

Love,

Jackson

Street Conversation

This is a little chunk of concrete on 19th St. between 7th and 8th Avenue.

I pass this little cement rectangle every day during my walks to and from work, and so I've been able to follow an interesting conversation as it progresses.

First, an Obama supporter carved the words "God Bless President Obama!" into the still-wet cement. This was up for a week or two before a McCain supporter sprayed the red "McCain" over the word Obama.

Finally, someone came by and put a sticker on the fire hydrant that reads: "Abort the Republicans."

Amazing. In New York, even the sidewalks have opinions and arguments.

We say: Better a hundred thousand arguments than a single fist fight.

God, I love this town. Blessings to both candidates, to free speech, and to the incredible city of New York.

Love to All,

Jackson

It's Fall! Go Upstate!

Good Morning,

Here in NYC, the fall crispy air has arrived!It's not peak fall foliage time yet, but it's close and it is amazing in upstate NY.

If you have the opportunity, hop on the Trailways Bus and take a look at the beautiful trees changing colors and while you're there, go apple picking!!

Here is a site with a listing of all the places to go apple picking in the area.

I've only been to Stone Ridge Orchards, which is absolutely magnificent.

They have a great blog, too--called Organic Schmorganic: "Debunking the myth of organic in favor of local, ecological agriculture". Check it out. The owner, Mike Biltonen, goes into depth about the whole Organic vs Local debate, I've posted about in the past.

Have a local apple today (keeps the fuel consumption away!)

Niki

Oh...and then you can make a lovely apple pie!

Sweet Solar Panel Building in Williamsburgh!

I was walking around Williamsburgh last weekend and came across this brand new building on Metropolitain.

It appears that some delightfully clever architect has clad the southern face of the building in a gorgeous set of solar panels! How clever.

I wish I knew more. (If anyone lives near there, would you be so kind as to snap a pic and send it in?)

I think it looks great, and I'm very curious how much power it will generate.

Must investigate further!

In the meantime, I checked on Google maps and found that we can do a tasty little before-and-after.

Before.

After!

Double-sweet. If you are near, why not go check this place out? Please tell us who the builder and architect are.

Here is map, go find.

Plaf!

If you'd consult your Spanish or French dictionary and look up the word plaf you'd probably find out that it means splash (it's a bit of a slang word so you may not find it in a dictionary). But anyway, in the comming context it means splash.

Plaf is the result of a collaboration between MOMO and Eltono. Both being two really great art blogs/instances who do street art and related stuff.
Plaf can be seen as an outdoor exhibition through the entire metropolis of New York. The exhibited objects are so called "autonomous mechanisms", mechanisms that function on their own. In this art perspective it are just sculptures that move due to natural influences. For example the wind, the tides and the sun. In fact the objects in Plaf are a bit like Theo Jansens Strandbeest. Take a look.




This is in fact the first object in the outdoor exhibition and it was placed in the East River at Hallets Cove (an area in Queens). As you see the installation requires some wind and a bit of streaming water to start moving.

The coming time Plaf will be placing their autonomous mechanisms throughout the city. They'll even be giving out maps showing where you can find their work

via:wooster collective

-jdh

What's in Season NY?

Hey Everyone!

TimeOutNY, this week, has a great chart to show us what is locally in season from October through December! Which green market has the best brussels sprouts? Which farm sells the yummiest pears? They have the answers:

This is sooooo useful!

Here is a link to their site, so you can print it out and put it on your fridge (if that is the most effective way for you) or you can just keep it on your desktop, when your wondering what to make for dinner!

If you have one for your local area, feel free to email me and I'd be glad to post it!

Yummy Yummy!

Niki

SuperForester Savannah!

This is our amazing friend SuperForester Savannah, in all her mighty glory.

Her shirt reads: Carpe Per Diem, (or: Seize the Cash)

Love!

Walls full of imagination!

Hi!
I just stumbled across this New York City artist named Ami Suma who specializes in murals for kid's rooms!

Her work is fun, modern and not overly 'kid'. I never see kid paintings that I would put on my son's walls, but Ami's work, I totally would!

Check it out:

So, how does it work? Here's the process, it's simple:

Of course, she only uses AFM safecoat and zero VOC paints that have no harmful toxins to cause indoor air pollution.

What a great service to offer! A room full of imagination and endless fun for the kids!
(Could also be a great gift, for a very special friend!)

And thanks to DesignSponge for the tip!

Keep Painting!
niki

Industrial Revolution, in Brooklyn!

Hey!

There was a great article in Time Out NY last week about 2 companies that are focusing on producing their products as close to home, as possible.

One, we've mentioned before on SF, is Mast Brothers Chocolate. They are a great, small chocolate company, started by 2 brothers in Brooklyn that has gone from making 300 bars a week in their Williamsburg apartment to making 1,000 bars a week in their new Greenpoint factory.

“We could have opened somewhere cheaper,” Rick says, “but that would be doing what everybody else has been doing. We want to be connecting to the community.”

If you live in NY, they are opening what they refer to as a “chocolaterie and laboratory” in October in Greenpoint. It is the only bean to chocolate bar making factory in NYC. Check it out.

The other company mentioned is one in Red Hook. Mark Snyder is opening Snyders Winery in Red Hook which will be made using only grapes from Long Island. They will crush, ferment, and age the grapes on-site. Red Hook is an amazing industrial neighborhood that has slowly become the home to larger chain stores like Ikea and Fairway. It is great that it can retain some of it's history.

Thanks to TimeOut for the great article and enthusiasm for local industries. Hopefully, other companies will be inspired to produce their products locally.

Support local manufacturing!

Niki

TRASH: anycoloryoulike

Garbage is just part of the everyday scene in New York. Just some gray bags containing everyone's trash.
But the casual gray bag isn't safe anymore. Well, at least if we should believe a New York visual artist who goes by the name of Adrian. Take a look at his vision on the garbage bag.



Block by block he goes through NY to hand out the pink, polka dotted bags with the request to use them instead of the gray ones.
And apparently the New Yorkers dig it!


On the left there's a flick taken in West End and on the right there's SoHo.
Adrian considers TRASH: anycoloryoulike an art project, with the goal of linking the environment and art. Since garbage bags are a part of the environment in NYC I can only conclude he managed to link the two in a very good manner.
One last note, the bags are made entirely out of biodegradable materials.

-jdh

Solar and Wind Powered Billboard in Times Square!

Sweet!

SuperForester Justin just sent this in. It was originally posted on engadget.

"Ever walk through Times Square and wonder how much electricity all those flashy billboards are soaking up? No? Well, Ricoh has, and now they're doing something about it. Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo is erecting a 47 x 126-foot billboard at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street that will be completely powered by the sun and wind. Fueled by 45 solar panels and four wind turbines, the billboard won't even need a backup electric generator. On days that the sun and wind aren't enough to power it, it will simply go dark. In the end, the billboard is said to reduce carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. The billboard will go live in December, or just in time for the sun to go dark."

That's triple awesome. One billboard down, many to go.

Little by little, the world shifts and adjusts to the new responsibility.

Full story on engadget.

Green Building in Battery Park

Good Morning!

If you are moving to NYC or already living in New York and are looking for a new neighborhood, how about trying Battery Park? Many developers have been attracted to the area and there a couple options for cutting edge "green" buildings.

The Riverhouse and the Solaire.

By comparison:
They both have on-site water and air filtration systems for the purest air and cleanest water. Both use materials that are locally acquired and renewable. They use non-polluting emitting paints and materials (you know, all the nicey nice woods and flooring), Energy Star appliances and lots of other good stuff that has been carefully thought through to make your surroundings as environmentally responsible as one can expect from a luxury high-rise building in Manhattan.



They both also have Photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electricity.



Some differences are the Riverhouse seems to be more luxury and cater to the more posh crowd. Yes, this is the one that Mr. Dicaprio might be moving to.

The Solaire also has a neat water system. They use an in-building waste water treatment system that supplies toilet water and make-up water for central air conditioning. They also catch the rainwater from the rooftop garden for irrigation.

Neither one seems to address the issues of composting or recycling programs, but maybe in time...

These aren't new concepts or something that hasn't been done before, but they are novel for these urban environments. It is very forward thinking for developers to hop on the "green" trend and realize that just because we live in a loud, dirty, congested and polluted (but absolutely spectacular and inspiring) city doesn't mean our homes need to be that way.

We can look forward to going home at night and enter our own oasis amidst the chaos.

Nice progress New York!
Live well!
Niki

This is from The Solaire's website-I just think it's funny: