No-Impact Ice

Today, we took the kids "ice skating" on the new Polar Ice Rink that's part of the American Museum of Natural History. As part of their effort to highlight and combat global warming,we were told the rink itself doesn't require extra energy energy. I don't know how ice rinks are installed but this one has no super-duper cooler beneath it, no Zambone clearing it because it has no ice on it. Instead, the rink is made of large plastic puzzle pieces. When I first got on, I thought it was just awful, but then, I got used to it. It wasn't the end of the world, the plastic. Besides, the setting is lovely and the faux ice makes you work really, really hard to get a glide. Plus, on it my kids were champs. They were stomping away and when they fell, they didn't get wet or cold. They could've gone on for hours (this was good news-bad-news). I couldn't help wondering if in twenty years all ice rinks will be like this one. I prefer real ice even with the environmental impact (if we walk or take public transportation to the rink does it make any of the impact better?), but this rink was not without it's charms -- especially if you're with 4-year-olds. Thanks in advance for indulging the picture.