The Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS) in Queens, NY, home of Sesame Street and a multitude of other television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded music, has produced much of our cinematic history, hosting such stars as Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Woody Allen, and Denzel Washington. A mainstay in New York City since Adolph Zukor opened its doors in 1920, the studio's recent productions include Wall Street 2, Nurse Jackie, and the remake of the Taking of Pelham 123. This New York landmark has begun a transition from traditional heating oil to a blend containing bio-diesel fuel.
The switch to a bio-diesel blend will eliminate the use of over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide and reduce the consumption of 4,000 gallons of petroleum per year. The fuel is known as "GreenHeat" and is contracted through local energy distributor Metro Oil. KAS had been using #2 oil, but has switched to a B5 residual/bio-diesel blend and is now the largest user of this fuel in New York City. The studio's president, Hal Rosenbluth. says it was an imperative to "move to greener, more renewable heating oil... it was the perfect time to make a change as we have been looking for ways to go green around the complex. The initiative to switch our heating oil fit naturally into our plans and we now have a new heating plant in the studio."
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February 2, 2010
Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, and Elmo…Tickle Me Green
The Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS) in Queens, NY, home of Sesame Street and a multitude of other television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded music, has produced much of our cinematic history, hosting such stars as Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Woody Allen, and Denzel Washington. A mainstay in New York City since Adolph Zukor opened its doors in 1920, the studio's recent productions include Wall Street 2, Nurse Jackie, and the remake of the Taking of Pelham 123. This New York landmark has begun a transition from traditional heating oil to a blend containing bio-diesel fuel.
The switch to a bio-diesel blend will eliminate the use of over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide and reduce the consumption of 4,000 gallons of petroleum per year. The fuel is known as "GreenHeat" and is contracted through local energy distributor Metro Oil. KAS had been using #2 oil, but has switched to a B5 residual/bio-diesel blend and is now the largest user of this fuel in New York City. The studio's president, Hal Rosenbluth. says it was an imperative to "move to greener, more renewable heating oil... it was the perfect time to make a change as we have been looking for ways to go green around the complex. The initiative to switch our heating oil fit naturally into our plans and we now have a new heating plant in the studio."
More...
The switch to a bio-diesel blend will eliminate the use of over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide and reduce the consumption of 4,000 gallons of petroleum per year. The fuel is known as "GreenHeat" and is contracted through local energy distributor Metro Oil. KAS had been using #2 oil, but has switched to a B5 residual/bio-diesel blend and is now the largest user of this fuel in New York City. The studio's president, Hal Rosenbluth. says it was an imperative to "move to greener, more renewable heating oil... it was the perfect time to make a change as we have been looking for ways to go green around the complex. The initiative to switch our heating oil fit naturally into our plans and we now have a new heating plant in the studio."
More...
Comcast’s thePlatform Celebrates 10 Years and Announces New Technology (video)
Seattle's thePlatform, a high-end online video services provider to cable and broadcasters, is aiming its sites on a broader range of customers with today's announcement of a new publishing system.
Yesterday in Manhattan, I interviewed Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO. He explained to me that the new system will be easier to use, making the product more accessible for a broad range of customers.
Here is the take by Ryan Lawler over at NewTeeVee.
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Taking Elections Back From the Corporations and the Constitution Back from the Gang of Five
Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mi) and chair of the House Judiciary Committee today introduced an amendment to the Constitution to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Citizen's United that gave corporations the right to spend unlimited funds in election campaigns as a matter of free speech.
Edwards, a brilliant first term legislator with a long commitment to free elections, quoted Justice Lewis Brandeis: 'We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.' It is time we remove corporate influence from our policies and our politics. We cannot allow corporations to dominate our elections, to do so would be both undemocratic and unfair to ordinary citizens."
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Edwards, a brilliant first term legislator with a long commitment to free elections, quoted Justice Lewis Brandeis: 'We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.' It is time we remove corporate influence from our policies and our politics. We cannot allow corporations to dominate our elections, to do so would be both undemocratic and unfair to ordinary citizens."
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Facebook Page Pressures Wells Fargo to Waive Fees for Haiti
Acting to contain viral anger on a Facebook page called "Wachovia=Fail," a spokesman for Wells Fargo, Wachovia's parent company, announced today -- in a Facebook post -- that the bank is waiving and refunding all transaction fees related to donations for Haiti.
A 3% fee on certain donations to Haiti led college student Heather Lynn to create the Wachovia=Fail page on January 20. In his post on the page today, Edward Terpening explained: "You spoke and we listened and appreciate the feedback. This was a complicated issue on our end to address, so I'm sorry for the time it took for us to get back to you. It was never our intention to make money from fees charged on foreign transactions to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti."
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A 3% fee on certain donations to Haiti led college student Heather Lynn to create the Wachovia=Fail page on January 20. In his post on the page today, Edward Terpening explained: "You spoke and we listened and appreciate the feedback. This was a complicated issue on our end to address, so I'm sorry for the time it took for us to get back to you. It was never our intention to make money from fees charged on foreign transactions to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti."
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Senators Pushing Pelosi To Introduce Single-Payer Bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that she was getting calls from senators urging her to bring the public option back into the debate or to introduce a single-payer bill in the House while the Senate plots its way forward on health care reform.
"Is there really a market for these things?" Pelosi said she asked them.
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"Is there really a market for these things?" Pelosi said she asked them.
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New Orleans Deserves the Best
I am in New Orleans and it is a pretty exciting place right now. After more than forty years the New Orleans Saints are finally going to the Super Bowl. This is much more than a football game for this still recovering city; it is a symbol that excellence is possible.
New Orleans is arguably the country's most distinctive city. But even before the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina it has been plagued by poverty, crime, neglect, and municipal mismanagement. It is a great city, but it is a city that often has a hard time imagining itself as truly capable and worthy of things other cities take for granted: low crime, good streets, quality schools, little blight, strong leadership.
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New Orleans is arguably the country's most distinctive city. But even before the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina it has been plagued by poverty, crime, neglect, and municipal mismanagement. It is a great city, but it is a city that often has a hard time imagining itself as truly capable and worthy of things other cities take for granted: low crime, good streets, quality schools, little blight, strong leadership.
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Coming out of the Darkness: Haiti after the Earthquake
When I got back from Haiti last week, people who had seen the news coverage on television in the States greeted me with sympathy and the greedy eyes of performers anxious to deliver what they had been rehearsing. They rubbed my shoulder and scanned my eyes for signs of distress. I smiled and sometimes even laughed. I am not mad. Not yet, anyway.
The question "How do you feel, I mean, you are from there?" -- especially when posed in the even tone of matter-fact talk -- rattles me. I am from there but please don't talk about it as if it is the end of the world. It is only 1,400 miles from here, the capital of international politics, the seat of the U.S. government, that beacon of hope to which many cry out for rescue from injustice, poverty and war.
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The question "How do you feel, I mean, you are from there?" -- especially when posed in the even tone of matter-fact talk -- rattles me. I am from there but please don't talk about it as if it is the end of the world. It is only 1,400 miles from here, the capital of international politics, the seat of the U.S. government, that beacon of hope to which many cry out for rescue from injustice, poverty and war.
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Sleep Challenge 2010: Man, They Sell Some Weird Stuff To Make You Sleep Better — But Does Any Of It Work?
Among the 972 weird things about sleep I didn't know until Arianna Huffington and I started the Sleep Challenge: There is a toothpaste that supposedly makes you sleep better. Also, sunglasses, smoothies, body patches, special sheets and even sleep-promoting cherries. Surprised? Not as much as I was when I found out that some of it actually works.
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