April 22, 2021
The first Earth Day celebration was held way back in 1970 when Richard Nixon was President. A lot of water’s gone over the dam since then including some ups and some downs. But this year looks like an up so far. President Biden has announced a goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030. He had already rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement from which his predecessor had withdrawn the USA.
On the local front, CitiBikes have arrived in the heights. You can download the app and hit the road this Earth Day on a “Classic” (human powered) bike or on an electric assisted one. Pro tip: when you sign up they’ll send you a discount code for a 15 day free trial of a membership option that provides, “all the Classic rides you can handle (er, peddle…), discounts on ebike rides, and a whole lot more.” There are some steep membership discounts for NYCHA residents among others, so be sure to see if any of them apply before paying anything.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were plenty of bikes available all around Inwood. Only time will tell if this reduces carbon emissions or not. Dozens of parking spaces were commandeered for this project and that will certainly lead, at least in the short term, to more cars circling the blocks while hunting for a spot.
