Expert Q&As

Professor Kevin Bone teaches design and sustainability at the Cooper Union School of Architecture, in addition to working with Joseph Levine at their shared practice. Bone is the editor of "Water-Works: The Architecture and Engineering of the New York City Water Supply" and "The New York Waterfront: Evolution and Building Culture of the Port and Harbor." On April 15, Bone will moderate a symposium on hydro-fracking at The Great Hall at 7 East 7th St. He and a panel of experts will be discussing the risks of proposed drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

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An expert on transportation and urban planning solutions, Dr. Catherine Ross was selected to advise the Obama Administration for the first-ever White House Office of Urban Policy in 2009, and is currently the director of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development. Her notable resume also includes authorship of the newly-released Megaregions: Planning for Global Competitiveness, which addresses the growing demand that accompanies the nation's economic centers. As populations rise and resources shrink, the book explores comprehensive solutions to ensure that American cities remain both healthy and prosperous. Although their future is uncertain, Ross explained to MGB more about what megaregions are, how they affect the environment, and potential solutions to their many problems.

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Maurice D. Hinchey is a Democratic Congressman representing New York's 22nd Congressional District, which spans eight counties from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes region. Born on Manhattan's Lower West Side in 1938, he was raised there and in Saugerties, and now resides in Hurley. Prior to being elected to Congress in January 1993, Hinchey served 18 years in the New York State Assembly, including 14 years as Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Conservation. While Chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee for the Assembly, the committee conducted a successful investigation into the causes of "Love Canal," the nation's first major toxic dumpsite. He also successfully led the fight—first in Albany and later in Washington—to force the cleanup of PCBs from the Hudson River. Now serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hinchey is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which allocates funds in the federal budget. He has long been an advocate for the economic and environmental health of New York. One of his many accomplishments was the 2007 establishment of The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC), an industry-driven, nonprofit organization that aims to create green jobs and a major solar energy industry cluster in New York. Congressman Hinchey is also very involved in the issue of gas drilling in New York. He has told the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that he has serious environmental and health concerns about drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation, large parts of which are in New York. He has urged the DEC, to take a series of concrete steps before further drilling should be permitted in New York. MetroGreenBusiness.com spoke with Congressman Hinchey about gas drilling and other issues shortly before his keynote speech at the Forum on the Future of Gas Drilling in New York State, held at SUNY New Paltz on March 8.

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Located in Millbrook, NY, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies has become a leader in environmental research, providing important information to scientists and policymakers, influencing environmental laws, and helping to update educational curriculum. One of the organization's goals is to make the public more aware of general ecological issues and challenges, which it achieves by hosting various presentations and workshops. Recently, Dr. William Schlesinger, president of the Cary Institute, hosted a travelogue on Antarctica, which despite being the coldest continent, is still being threatened by human activity. Dr. Schlesinger provided MGB with details on the state of Antarctica's ecosystem, its surprising fragility, and what we can expect to see from the Cary Institute in the future.

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