New York City – It Never Sleeps, but It's Learned to Douse the Lights

More than 11,000 traffic lights and “Don’t Walk” signals in New York City have been switched to light-emitting diodes that use 90 percent less energy than conventional fixtures. More than 180,000 energy-guzzling refrigerators in public housing projects have been replaced with new ones that use a quarter of the power of the old ones. By law, the city government can now purchase only the most efficient cars, air-conditioners and copy machines, and soon, computers will be added to the list. New York has one of the largest hybrid bus fleets in the country, and some of the first hybrid taxis. For years, New York has been the city that not only never sleeps, but the city that hardly ever remembers to turn the lights out. On the coldest days of winter, New Yorkers raise their windows to let out the heat. In the dog days of summer, a husky could freeze in the open doorway of a Fifth Avenue boutique. But now, measures like more efficient traffic lights and refrigerators are speeding up a long trend making New York one of the most energy-efficient cities in the nation – and officials in cities like Portland and Seattle that might, in […]

Read More