Bronx Ecology

by Hershkowitz, Allen; Lin, Maya Ying; Lin, Maya Ying

• ISBN13: 9781559638647
• ISBN10: 1559638648
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

"The Bronx Community Paper Company teaches us that we have the power, if we muster the will, creativity, and cooperation, to recover lost pieces of America's environment, return them to good health, protect other lands and resources from being destroyed, and even create environmentally friendly jobs in the process." President Bill Clinton In 1991, frustrated by the failure of lawmakers to produce meaningful progress on environmental issues, Allen Hershkowitz, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) opted for an innovative approach. Resolving to put market forces to work for the environment, Hershkowitz devised a plan to develop a world-scale recycled-paper mill on the site of an abandoned rail yard in the South Bronx.Created in collaboration with colleagues at NRDC, the private sector, government, unions, and community groups, and with a building designed by renowned architect and designer Maya Lin, the Bronx Community Paper Company (BCPC) was intended to put the ideas of industrial ecology to work in a project that not only avoided exacerbating environmental problems but actually remediated them. One of the primary goals of the project was to show that environmental protection, job production, social assistance, economic development, and private-sector profitability can work together in a mutually supportive fashion.Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out like that.In Bronx Ecology, Hershkowitz tells the story of the BCPC from its earliest inception to its final demise nearly ten years later. He describes the technical, economic, and competitive barriers that arose throughout the project as well as the decisive political and legal blows that doomed their efforts to secure financing, ultimately killing the project.Interwoven with the BCPC tale is Hershkowitz's vision for a new, engaged environmentalism, complete with principles for a new era of industrial development that combines social and environmental responsibility with a firm commitment to profit-making. As Hershkowitz explains, while the project was never built, its groundbreaking collaboration can hardly be considered a failure. Rather the BCPC, in the words of veteran environmental journalis.Philip Shabecoff, "can be seen as the beginning of a learning process for entrepreneurial environmentalism, a pathway to a new approach in the 21st century." Bronx Ecologyoffers a compelling vision of that exciting new pathway.

Author Biography

Allen Hershkowitz is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Maya Lin
Acknowledgments	xv
Introduction The Hopes behind the Bronx Community Paper Company	1	(5)
The Seeds of Discontent	6	(2)
The Rise and Fall of the National Recycling Act	8	(7)
A New Beginning	15	(2)
The BCPC	17	(10)
A New Blueprint: The Practical Side of Idealism	27	(30)
Why Government-Dependent Advocacy Is Inadequate	30	(7)
The Prevailing Green Strategies	37	(3)
An Industrial-Ecological Approach	40	(6)
Eco-Realism	46	(5)
Conclusion	51	(6)
The First Step: Choosing a Target	57	(30)
A Dreadful Record of Damaging Impacts	59	(2)
The Enormous Surge in Paper Consumption	61	(1)
Upstream Burdens	62	(10)
The Problems with Tree Plantations	72	(4)
Downstream Impacts	76	(1)
The Influence of Government Subsidies	77	(3)
Conclusion	80	(7)
The Keys to a Better Ecological Bottom Line: Raw Materials and Siting	87	(34)
Using Recycled Raw Materials	89	(7)
Why a Brownfield Site Makes Sense	96	(6)
The Challenge of Infrastructure Issues	102	(15)
Conclusion	117	(4)
Confronting the Technical and Economic Facts	121	(50)
The High Cost of Brownfields	122	(2)
Cleanup	124	(5)
Permitting and Zoning	129	(17)
Construction-Labor Costs	146	(5)
Managing Water	151	(8)
Coping with Energy Expenses	159	(3)
The Difficulties of Using Recycled Raw Materials	162	(5)
Conclusion	167	(4)
Designing the BCPC
Introduction
Maya Lin
Concept Design
Collages
Clearing the Social Market	171	(26)
Understanding the Social Forces Shaping Market Possibilities	172	(2)
The Challenge from Existing Businesses	174	(2)
The Difficulties of Working with Community Groups	176	(2)
The Interests of Local Political Leadership	178	(5)
Litigation Intimidation from Construction Companies	183	(2)
The Impediments That Color Dealing with Unions	185	(3)
Dealing with the Culture of Business	188	(3)
Old-Guard Resistance to Environmentalists in Business	191	(2)
Conclusion	193	(4)
Getting Practical: Implementing Industrial Ecology	197	(18)
Guidelines for the New Industrial Developer	197	(8)
Understanding Systemic Barriers to Sustainability	205	(4)
Building Bridges: The Power of Collaboration	209	(3)
Conclusion	212	(3)
Forming Partnerships: Moving Past the Roadblocks	215	(36)
Creating a Development Partnership	220	(5)
Choosing Construction and Engineering Partners	225	(3)
Working with Investment-Banking Firms	228	(4)
Encouraging Community and Environmental-Group Participation	232	(13)
Fostering Mutual Respect among Collaborators	245	(3)
Conclusion	248	(3)
Getting Started: What Is to Be Done?	251	(18)
What Environmentalists Can Do	257	(4)
Allies Who Can Help	261	(5)
Establishing Mutual Respect and Trust	266	(3)
Index	269