Activists Brave the Cold Atlantic Waters

Image courtesy of the CI Polar Bear Club website

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is generally considered to be a unique breed. Namely, they are the only ones willing - or interested - in braving the ice cold waters at Coney Island this time of year. According to The Columbia Spectator, however, some other brave souls have ventured into the water this past weekend, to raise awareness of their cause:

The event was organized by JK Canepa of the New York Climate Action Group and Tim Keating of Rainforest Relief to raise awareness about climate change and the use of a rare Brazilian rainforest wood called ipê to build New York City boardwalks, including the one at Coney Island. The groups are advocating a switch from ipê to recycled plastic lumber.

Saturday marked a national day of action on climate change called "Keep Winter Warm."

It should be pointed out that while the Polar Bear club is primarily interested in their 104-year-old tradition of 'winter bathing,' they also work for a good cause. The club uses their annual New Year's Day dip as an opportunity to raise money for Camp Sunshine, a program which aids children with life threatening illnesses, and their families.

Club Jumps Into Ocean for Climate Change Awareness [Columbia Spectator]

- post by Ben Nadler

City To Finally Repair (Small Section of) Boardwalk

Image courtesy of jesskeylon (Flickr.com)

The NY Post has reported that the city has decided to finally replace the collapsing Coney Island boardwalk, starting with the stretch from West 12th to West 15th streets. Considering the boardwalk's state of disrepair, and the numerous resulting accidents, this is good news, even with the cautious start of three blocks.

Instead of replacing the boards with more Amazon hardwood boards, the city has decided to use synthetic imitation wood boards. This fits in with Bloomberg's pledge to reduce the city's use of tropical hardwoods.

Back in December, several activist groups organized a Polar Bear style swim to protest the use of rainforest woods on the boardwalk. It's unclear what impact the activists actions had on the city's decision.


WOOD-FREE BOARDWALK [New York Post]

- post by Ben Nadler