The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, enhanced the importance of the port and is credited as helping towns and cities grow across the state. The famous and beautiful Statue of Liberty was formally presented to the U.S. Minister to France, representing the Franco-American Union, and arrived in the United States in June of 1885 in 214 packing crates. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in 1886, and it has since become one of America's most well-known symbols.
New York City is a leading national center for art, music, and literature, as exemplified by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera Company, and large publishing houses. While New York City is best known for its urban and international atmosphere, Manhattan's skyscrapers, the New York Stock Exchange, and the United Nations, most of the state is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation works to encourage kids across America to become and stay healthy. Childhood obesity, or children who are overweight, is a growing problem in our country. Kids’ health will improve with increased exercise and a well balanced diet. Thousands of young people have already taken the pledge to “Go Healthy.”
It is especially important to focus on good health in schools. One in five Americans spends nearly thirty hours a week in a school. Unfortunately, health education often gets cut when funding is low, and candy and soft drinks are usually available in vending machines. The Alliance’s Healthy Schools program provides teachers and students with solutions to these problems. Research indicates that when students are healthier, class attendance, grades, and behavior also improve. A more enjoyable school environment is better for everyone.
New York City serves as headquarters for the Alliance.
Clinton Climate Initiative
The Initiative targets ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Cars, factories, and other items that produce large amounts of pollution are encouraged to find new and cleaner ways to help the environment. Large cities are the source of about 75% of the world’s pollution, while only taking up 2% of the world’s land area, so they are an extremely important part of this effort.
After cleaning the air by improving emissions, the Climate Initiative wants to focus on making more energy efficient technology. Resources are energy efficient when they are renewable. An example would be wind or solar power rather than a fossil fuel like coal or oil.
It is suggested that if buildings are built and include sunlight-powered solar panels, the use of fossil fuels will dramatically decrease. As a result, pollution will decrease, which will be beneficial to the environment.
New York Profile
Population: 19,306,183
State Bird: Bluebird
State Flower: Rose
Nickname: Empire State
Religions: Catholic (40%), Protestants (30%), Jews (5%), Muslims (3.5%), Buddhists (1%), No Affiliation (13%)