The Green Dichotomy

Small Choices Towards Tangible Change

2011-06-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Soon after we moved to Brooklyn, Ali suggested that we start buying glass bottles of milk from Ronnybrook Farms at the local farmers market. I was resistant to the idea to say the least. The fact that we would be paying more- it's nearly the same price for a quart of Ronnybrook milk (which is not organic, but much fresher) as we would for a half gallon of organic milk from the coop. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to get to the farmer's market every saturday morning (rain, hail, sleet or snow) before noon. But Ali was persistent, telling me she would make the weekly trips to the farmers market, claiming that the cost difference was marginal.

Here we are, nearly two years later, and we've gone through more than 120 quarts of milk (along with a few heavy creams and half & halves). As far as the small inconvenience of walking or biking the mile to Prospect Park to pick up our weekly supply, I gradually embraced it as part of our Saturday routine and became rather fond of it. I enjoyed seeing the same people every week who sell the milk, plus I would often grab a pastry and sit in the park reading for a bit. While I'm sure we paid a fair amount more for Ronny's milk, the satisfaction of knowing that we didn't have to waste a milk carton every week is more than worth it. Now we have a collection of bottle caps, which I had envisioned using to create a piece of art from. I even imagined, well actually fantasized would be a more accurate word, that it might line the walls of the Whitney Museum on a sustainability exhibit.

I believe the single greatest factor that inhibits individuals from making more sustainable lifestyle choices is a feeling of helplessness. What's the point of bringing cloth bags to

the grocery store if all of the other 50 customers are choosing paper or plastic? It is daunting even to attempt ecological choices in a very unsustainable culture. I learned on NPR that the amount of plastic produced in America every year is nearly equal to the combined mass of every man, woman and child in the country. Not only that, but nearly 30% of that plastic is intended to end up in the garbage (such as packaging plastics). These figures are scary, but tangible change can be made with minimal inconvenience. If it were up to me we would have thrown away more than 60 milk cartons, but luckily I've been blessed with a partner who's a bit more thoughtful...

Progressive Nimbyism

2011-03-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

I read an article in the Times this morning about people who live in the most "liberal" hubs in America, yet they're not willing to make small sacrifices in order to progress the green movement. I try to be compassionate with these kind of scenarios, but frankly, it disturbs me when the populations of Brooklyn and Berkeley are NOT willing to make marginal sacrifices for the greater good of the environment. How can these people consider themselves progressives when they're not willing to promote progress in their own back yard? And if those citizens aren't going to make the effort or sacrifice, then who will? Checkout the article below to see the full analysis of the Progressive Nimbyism(Not In My Back Yard).

Lets Become Smarter Consumers

2011-01-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

This morning I read an article in the Times about how as consumers we've gotten into a cycle where every two years we dispose of our old gadgets-phones, camera's GPS (often times into the garbage), to purchase something brand new with all its bells and whistles, or maybe just its reduced price. Unsustainable doesn't even say it. This kind of consumption will lead us into materialistic suicide. It's not just with electronics either. With the help of China, a mentality has been developed in this country where cheaper is better, in almost every sense of the word. That means that we're ready to buy an item for half price, even though it would only provide a quarter of the shelf life as the full-priced item...

I have fallen into this pattern throughout my consumeristic existence. Why? Because if I can buy an item that appears to be exactly the same as another, and still walk away with extra loot in my wallet, why shouldn't I? Because of that mentality, our consumeristic ways have demanded cheap, poorly made products with minimal shelf-life. The companies are winning. This way they sell their products at a much faster rate, generating more capital. The producers are winning. Just google how much debt our country owes China. We seem to think we're winning when we leave Target with that brand new digital camera with 12 Megapixels for under $100. But then when it dies on us out of nowhere 15 months later with a year warranty, we tell ourselves- "I'll never buy another Kodak Camera..." But the chances are, the next company isn't all that different.

It's time that we become smarter, more long-term consumers, not just in regards to electronics, but with everything that we purchase. Instead of buying jeans for $20 at The Gap, Ali recently spent $200 on a pair that are so rugged she had to wear them in for a couple months before she could ride her bike wearing them. Supposedly they will last for the rest of her life. My logic tells me that I could buy 10 pairs of brand new jeans at the gap, if I can get for $20 a pop, so why drop a couple of Benjamin's? But that logic doesn't take into account details like our economy- Ali's jeans were made in this country, the environment- 9 extra pairs of jeans stuck in a landfill sounds like a lot. Or inflation. I highly doubt that I'll be able to find a decent pair of jeans at the Gap for $20 in ten years.

I will continue to struggle with this battle, but I've got my brother to provide me with plenty of inspiration. The roof of his house has reached it's shelf life, allowing leaks in his house. So instead of replacing it with the most affordable option- only $5k, he's going to spend twice as much to have metal roofing with an extra foot overhang in order to protect the house. It's not going to be easy for him, since he doesn't even have that kind of cash sitting around (who does?), but with a little time and sacrifice, he'll be making the intelligent, long-term purchase that should provide a shelf-life through 2111. Not bad, ehh?

Edible Art

2010-09-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

Do you ever spend way too much time in the ice cream section (as I used to) searching for the perfect flavor? Well, I'm happy to offer a relatively sustainable alternative to this tragic situation which many of us gluttonous americans are currently facing...

We picked up the Cuisinart 1- 1/2 Quart Automatic Ic Cream Maker on sale for $40, which has worked like a charm. Before I continue this posting, you need to understand that it took at least 7 other trials of simpler flavors (vanilla, coffee, dark chocolate, peach, cookies n' cream, and mint chocolate chip) to realize my true ice-cream flavoring potential.

With that said, this is what you'll need...

1 cup milk

2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream

1 package of Jules Destrooper Butter Crisps (if you can't find this, search for a crisp, high quality waffle cone)

1/2 to 3/4 cup Salted Hot Fudge Sauce II

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (if desired)

Heat up a cup of milk on medium heat, then add a half cup of sugar. Continue heat until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside until mixture is room temp.

Meanwhile... You can get crackin' on the Hot Fudge sauce. I added nearly a teaspoon of salt to give it that naughty salted chocolate flavor flave. I also used regular milk and sugar, and it was still delish. I made a quarter of the recipe and still had plenty leftover, which I can assure you was not in the least bit problematic. I made a couple fudge sandwiches using the Butter Crisps- merely as means of preserving the ice cream for as long as possible, but it didn't even last a week (what's a sweet-toothed brother to do?). Set the Fudge aside to cool (as difficult as that may be).

Now you can add the milk/sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla (if desired, but certainly not necessary) together in a bowl. Get your Ice Cream maker ready, and add the above ingredients into the icy contraption. Each ice cream machine works differently, so the time frame for this next step may vary. I waited 20 minutes until the mixture was thick, possessing similar qualities to soft serve ice cream.

Crumble in the amount of butter crips you want, at whatever size you prefer (I did em pretty small, using a little less than half the package- about 3 oz). Then add in the fudge. Let it swirl for no more than 10 seconds, then turn the machine off. If you do it for longer it will not be a swirl, but merely chocolate ice cream. I have found, after vast scientific experimentation, that the ice cream tastes better after it's been stored in the freezer for an hour or so. Of course this have never inhibited me from loading a small bowl of decadence directly from the ice cream machine before doing so. Now you may enjoy the Salted-Chocolate, Butter-Crisp Delight!

The Expiration of the Ziploc Bag

2010-08-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

For years I had been using ziploc bags to carry everything from sandwiches, to chips, to cookies, to cherries. And before that, it was the zipless plastic bag or "sandwich bag". Remember those? Well I've finally found the next progression in the evolving plastic pouch. It's dubbed: the Fresh Snack Pack, and it's the first reusable plastic bag I've found that isn't a hassle to clean. It's made from EVA plastic, the same material used for baby teethers, which has been approved by the FDA and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) if that accounts for anything. The design in relatively sleek, and very practical. The food is placed inside the plastic sleeve, then it's folded over, so as not to allow the contents to spill out, and then a velcro strip secures it shut. On their website, they boast that:

We recently passed the 100th day of school and have been using and reusing the same sandwich bag all year...can your disposable bag do that? (That was last school year and guess what? We're still using the same sandwich bag.)

After having used my fresh little snack packs several times, they still look brand new. And they've been filled with tuna-salad sandwiches, PJ&J's, exploding cherries, you name it.

Now, the questions you all have at the tip of your tongues (or fingertips)- How much do they cost? The smaller one(4"x6"), which they call "snack size" costs a whopping $4.50, while the larger (8"x6") "sandwich size" costs $5.50. Plus, you can pick them up at your local green store, if you live in a relatively urban location, to avoid shipping costs (and packaging).

I feel like I'm creating an advertisement for this product, but really, I'm just excited to have an alternative to the ziploc bag. I've been pretty anti for a while, and I can't tell you how stoked I am to have found a sustainable substitute...

http://www.freshsnackpack.com/home.html

"Sandwich Size"

"Snack Size"

Sunday Parkways

2010-08-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

I know that Portland, OR is considered the best biking city in the country, but I have to say I've been biking much more here in NYC, especially now that it's summer. This past weekend, Colin and I decided to explore a new neighborhood. We picked Forest Hills, Queens. Unfortunately, Queens is not the most bike-friendly borough, but the streets were quiet enough that we were able to have a peaceful seven mile ride out there. After brunch and a stroll through Forest Hills Gardens (a private community of beautiful houses) we headed over to PS 1. Unlike the neighborhood crawl we had taken to get to Forest Hills, the ride to Long Island City was a bit gruesome. We had to spend some time on a busy road and only had a bike lane for about one mile of the seven mile trip. After perusing the museum for the second time since our arrival in NYC, we realized that perhaps it is a bit too contemporary for our tastes. Nonetheless, I liked the outdoor exhibit of the giant balls in the nets, and this crazy room with a billion colors.
Then-- a free show at SummerStage in Central Park! We had been waiting for The xx since we found out they were playing there earlier this summer. We biked over the Queensboro bridge (a somewhat new discovery- it's a nice ride) and were able to get in. Not the most amazing show, but we had a fun time. And hey, free is free. The nine mile ride back home was a bit tiring (we DID have bike lanes 80% of the way, though), but luckily we had some homemade cookies and cream ice cream waiting for us...

Plastic or Cloth?

2010-06-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

This morning, while shopping at the Park Slope Food Co-op, I noticed this contraption:

What a great idea! Simply wash your old plastic bags, hang 'em on the wooden prongs and reuse them after they dry. Brilliant, eh? I'm not so sure...
Ten minutes earlier, I was picking through the red skinned potatoes when the woman next to me said "That is so neat, where do you get those?" She was referring to my cloth bag, which, incidentally, was a shopping bag from a dress I had purchased in SoHo two years before. I explained that the co-op sells drawstring bags, and my brilliant friend Kris had also made me some out of an old sheet. This is one of many, MANY incidents that have occurred since we switched from plastic to cloth. It mesmerizes me how many people are mesmerized by the use of cloth bags to put produce in, when it is, in fact, much easier than reusing plastic bags, wooden contraption or not.

Ou est le jardin?

2010-06-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...summer is here-- or it certainly feels like it. The hot days of sun mixed with some rain in the evenings has been great for our garden. After a few sad weeks of all our plants being eaten (it turned out to be rats, but a neighborhood cat now patrols) we were able to turn our little plot into a small but thriving oasis. When I miss a day or two of visiting the garden, it always amazes me how much everything has grown in my absence. We've been eating the basil, sage, rosemary and lettuce so far-- and looking forward to the beets and tomatoes down the road. There's a mulberry tree producing tons of fruit right now, although most of it is out of reach. I had a grand idea of making jam from the berries, but I only seem to be able to pick enough to eat five minutes later....so jam might have to wait until berries are super cheap at the co-op.
Our garden is a true blessing; we've been barbecuing like mad ever since the first nice day hit. Despite the roar of traffic and a siren or three, it feels peaceful in the garden and it has become a small escape for us. I've been reading Alice Water's Chez Panisse Vegetables and Chez Panisse Fruits (from la biblioteque), and I think I would be perfectly happy eating berry cobbler and grilled asparagus in our garden all summer long...

Spring is here, Bliss is near

2010-04-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

Enjoying homemade Kombucha (which is delicious) and BBQ in the spring sunshine of our community garden has been our recent excitement. We planted our very first garden last saturday (which also marked our 2 year anniversary!), which seemed very successful at the time. Who knew that the birds would be so interested in out tomato plants. We planted 12 little starters, and now we're down to 2.

I bought 4 more tomato starters and we're going to let them grow bigger before we let them grow buck wild in Mama Dee's Community Garden. At least our lettuce and beets seem to be thriving...

Watch out Synergy, poppa's got a brand new batch!

2010-04-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Since settling into our Brooklyn lifestyle, we've bought fewer and fewer bottles of kombucha. Which is funny, because I was so excited when I discovered that a bottle of Synergy and Brooklyn brand kombucha only costs $2.60 at the Park Slope Coop. I guess we found that it was an unnecessary cost, as well as one more bottle to add to our recycling. But now that we're making our own yogurt and pickling our own beets, why not brew our own kombucha?

Luckily our friend Kris, who has inspired us a great deal, posted step by step directions on how to brew kombucha (and make yogurt) on her own blog-http://roomtogrowpdx.blogspot.com

So I found a mother/pet kombucha on craigslist, and got busy. I just bottled it today, with high hopes of some tasty bidness in just a few days time. More news on our home brewed kombucha is yet to come...

Snow Day

2010-02-26T09:17:00.001-08:00

I don't eat breakfast during the week, but the weekend is a different manner. For the longest time, Colin and I would make ambitious brunches- usually 8-ingredient scrambles with a bagel and bacon. However, I've had to stop that after a blood test came back with the news that my cholesterol was high. Thus, we have discovered the miracle of steel cut oatmeal! While not nearly as complex in flavor as our fattening egg/meat brunches, oatmeal is a remarkably sustainable and healthy choice. Our first experience was John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal in a tin, but then we discovered it in bulk at the co-op. The recipe is simple: Boil 4 cups of water, add 1 cup of oats and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Yes, it takes a little while, but in comparison to our old meals, it's quite low-maintenance. I like to eat mine with dried blueberries and a banana (or other fruit), while Colin eats his with brown sugar.

General goings-on

2010-01-28T04:34:00.000-08:00

Bread update: my first sourdough that I made only from my starter turned out very small, but probably because I didn't use much flour. Not very sourdough tasting; overall, kind of disappointing. I'm looking forward to continuing the experiment...

Also- I'm very excited to report that milk in glass bottles is located a mere mile away at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, right by Prospect Park. Milk costs $3.75, which includes a $1.50 bottle deposit. Not exactly cheap, but I think it's worth it to avoid the cardboard carton waste. We have officially said goodbye to soy milk, as well. We are making a little less yogurt these days, as Colin has started a day-time job, and no longer eats an 11am meal.

Been cooking up a general storm and straying from the cookbooks that I'm normally attached to. Made a very tasty risotto with butternut squash, prosciutto, onions and parmesan cheese. Ran out of chicken stock, so I used beef bouillon cubes instead. We simply broiled the squash, cooked up the onions, made the rice part and added the mashed squash, prosciutto and cheese at the end. Sometimes leaving the cookbook on the shelf produces the best results...!

No other news, but I might have a project involving a LES co-op coming up soon...

The Next Step...

2010-01-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

The way that Colin and I have been living a more sustainable lifestyle is piece by piece. I'm the kind of person that becomes very passionate about something, tries to make drastic changes, and then loses heart quickly. However, by taking things one step at a time, our lifestyle has become quite different from a year ago (when we moved in together). While Portland is certainly a more earth-friendly city, we have not had to change too much in our lives when we moved to Brooklyn. In a way, this city has forced us to think about being sustainable even more because it is so easy to see the people who just don't care.
Currently, my new step is baking bread. Although Colin and I don't buy all that much bread, we buy the occasional baguette or bagel for soup or brunch. However, I've found that it is incredibly easy and better tasting to make my own (not exactly a surprise). I'm working on a sourdough starter which I think might be a long process as I figure it out. I'm trying out my first sourdough bread as I type this.
My other step, which isn't really a step at all, is winter biking! I must admit I was afraid of it at first, and wanted to have my car in Brooklyn. However, I'm quite glad I didn't end up doing that. So far, we've been lucky with the lack of snow, and the weather has been beautifully sunny, if unbeautifully 20 degrees. Still, with long underwear, two pairs of gloves, a face mask and a hat, it is bearable to bike. Last winter in Portland we didn't bike nearly as much, because we had two cars at our disposal. Without that luxury, however, biking is the only way to go. So...I very much hope it doesn't snow too much this winter.
By the way, any suggestions on what we can do to take our sustainable living even further are much, much appreciated.

Return to Brooklyn

2009-12-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

Took a small hiatus from this blog to visit Portland (magical) and my parent's house (cozy). It's my first real day back in Brooklyn, and as I'm still on vacation, I did a little bit of cleaning. I was feeling incredibly frustrated with all of the useless crap we had accumulated in a short while.
"It must be human nature to collect things," I said to Colin. "I keep coming across stuff that I'm wondering why I have it in the first place."
"I can think of many things like that," he agreed.
It doesn't make sense to me that we should have SO MUCH, especially since the two of us think of ourselves as minimalists and work hard to not accumulate items. It must, in fact, involve a lot more concentration and effort to not collect things than we are putting into it. Luckily for us, we have a small apartment with little closet space so we don't have much freedom to become pack rats...
In other news, I took my first bike ride in almost two weeks (!) It was a beautiful day, not too cold or windy, and all the snow from last week had melted. Even though I had gotten slightly out of shape from eating eight too many special treats and sitting around, it was lovely to ride through Brooklyn. Still the best mode of transportation, even in late December!

Mayor Bloomberg Drops Effort to Cut Energy Use

2009-12-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

I read an article in the NY Times this morning about how Bloomberg has dropped his effort to cut energy use of property owners throughout the city. I was actually unaware that this proposition was part of his campaign, so I became excited and disappointed all at once. I decided to write a letter to him, expressing my beliefs. What I wrote went something like this...

I believe that by letting property managers off the hook, as it seems you will be doing, is a big mistake. While it may be expensive, we need to send the message to property owners that they must take responsibility for the most efficient management of their buildings. Then once they get new windows, appliances, or whatever their building needs, they will be begin saving money long-term. Whats the point of spending thousands, maybe even millions of dollars towards energy audits that may not lead towards any kind of action taken? I understand that there isnt enough public funds to be loaned out right now, but we must put some of this burden on the property managers. If they can manage a building full of tenants, and collect our large sums of money, they are also capable of making gradual plans to improve their buildings efficiency...

I think it's important to put pressure on the people who make these types of decisions. If the people aren't keeping them in check, they will be running with their own agendas, and who the fuck knows where that will lead us. Not that Bloomberg is suddenly going to change his policies, but we must take the stance that we as individuals DO have power, even if it's one voice among a millions, we must not sit quietly...

Live More Make Less

2009-12-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

At the hospital I am interning at, I am eligible to eat $6.50 worth of food from the cafeteria for free. While this is quite a lovely thing for a perpetually pennyless student, I have run into some eco-moral problems. The food is served on styrofoam plates, or more popular, containers. Drinks are served in styrofoam cups, and the fruit salad comes in a plastic container. The thought of going through so much styrofoam and plastic made me cringe-- watching the garbage in the cafeteria fill up with everyone else's waste was bad enough. The first few times I ate in the cafeteria, I ate a salad off a styrofoam plate or got one of the plastic container fruit salads. However, a few weeks ago, I decided it wasn't worth the guilt I was feeling (and yes, I did feel very guilty). From there on out, I have only gotten whole fruits (apples, bananas and oranges) and coffee (in my own cup). I bring my own lunch from the leftovers of our dinners, or make peanut butter and jelly. I've felt a small weight lifted from my chest, and, to be quite honest, the food I bring tastes much, much better.
Sometimes I think about the waste I create each day and feel that there are always ways to make less. Even though we've cut our waste of yogurt containers by making our own yogurt from milk, there is still the milk container to think of. One of the things I would love to be able to purchase regularly is Ronnybrook Farms milk that comes in glass bottles-- only I haven't found a good place to purchase it, yet. Perhaps I will suggest the Park Slope Food Co-op carry it...

Alice + Maira = a Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

As a long time Maira Kalman fan and reader, I was delighted by the piece she posted involving a favorite topic of mine: Alice Waters, sustainable eating, and edible schoolyards.

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/?8dpc

Sorry, don't know how to insert links in here yet. I've been a fan of Alice Waters since I was nine, when my mom bought me the book Fanny at Chez Panisse.
Since then, I've followed Waters' Edible Schoolyard project, which allows children to grow, cook, and eat their own food (as yet, only in one lucky school in Berkeley, but apparently, one is opening in a Brooklyn school soon). I find this idea miraculous, as many children (and adults) have very little idea of where their food comes from, and growing it yourself is fun and yields much better results than what's found in the average grocery store or school cafeteria. Not sure exactly what kind of funding is needed to start one, but it seems like it wouldn't be terribly expensive as long as the school had room for it.

Looking forward to seeing how the one in Brooklyn turns out. Might be worth paying a visit...

Back to the Nature

2009-11-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well, we hadn't left the city since Yom Kippur. It was two months later and our short visits to Prospect Park and the community garden were no longer satisfying our desire for trees and grass-- we needed to leave the city. After searching for a B&B in New Paltz and surrounding areas that wouldn't cost more than 1/10th of my student loan (not possible), we decided staying at my parent's house in West Nyack, NY would suffice. Part of being sustainable in the city, it turns out, is making trips outside of the city to maintain your sanity, even if said trips do not fall under category: sustainable. Such as driving a car all over the place. Which we did, in order to go for a hike in Bear Mountain, which somehow involved more cars and more money, but we'll leave that story undocumented on this blog. Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable stay and we had some quality time with my parents as well as some reconnection with our friend, nature.

In other news, I found this article enlightening: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/nyregion/23neediest.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=brooklyn%20green%20job%20daughter&st=cse

Sick days are more fun when you leave the house

2009-11-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

1) Colin's homemade yogurt turned out amazing. Thank you, Kris.

2. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is free on Tuesdays and certainly worth a visit.

The Green Scene in TriBeCa

2009-11-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some babysitting lately for an extremely wealthy family living in this ridiculous loft in Manhattan. The mother makes a conscious effort to stay "green", maybe even ecological, but it's a very limited effort. It mostly shows in the groovy/green/organic products that they purchase, but apparently her efforts go further. The other day I took the oldest boy (Alex- 6 yrs) to the Laurence Hall of Science in Queens, with a friend of his. Half way through eating lunch in the cafeteria, Alex looks directly at me and says "I'm done eating this pizza." Then pauses as if he's waiting for me to respond.

"I guess I could eat it then..." I said.

"Yea, that would be good," he replied. "Then I wouldn't have to waste it. It's bad to waste food..."

I must say that I was shocked by his thoughtful attitude, as he's typically only concerned for his own well-being, but clearly somebody has been sprouting little eco-friendly seeds in that rapidly growing mind of his(he's some kind of baby genius).

I feel conflicted about those "all natural" groovy products that are too high of a mark up for the average American, but inconsequential for the elite. I try to stay away from major corporate products, so as to support smaller, (and hopefully) more thoughtful companies. So in that sense it's really nice to see them eating Barbara's cereal instead of Kellogg's or using Ecover dish soap instead of Palmolive. But for those millions of people who can't afford the extra couple bucks to buy the groovy dish soap (that doesn't even keep the sponge soapy!), what's a brother to do? Being green is the thing to do right now, so of course our consumer marketing culture is taking advantage of it. But it my be turning into this elitist, snobby culture that raises their nose to those who don't buy organic produce for their kids.

Did you know that the person who discovered how to genetically modify plants earned a nobel peace prize because he confronted world hunger by discovering how to grow more than twice as much produce using the same amount of space? Here are some tough questions that I've been asking myself lately... How do I know it's better to eat organically? What the hell does it actually mean when it says the fruit has been "minimally treated"? Should I really spend the extra few bucks to buy the "green" product? Are these "green" companies really doing better things with their proceeds? Or is it just a get-rich-quick scheme on the newest fad?

If any of you have answers, thoughts, insights, or more questions, I'd love to hear em...

(Post) Midnight Bike Ride

2009-11-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Last night, Colin and I broke our in-bed-by-10:30 rule and went to go see the Roots- a show that started at TWELVE-THIRTY AM. Honestly, I couldn't believe I was going to be out so late, but we made Americanos on (Colin's) new espresso machine and we were off-- on our bicycles. Originally, I had no intention of biking there; I had subway directions to the bar we were hitting up beforehand (2 for 1 Rolling Rock! Free pool!), and I figured we'd suck it up and spend 2 hours getting home. However, once Colin pointed out that the weather was fantastically beautiful, I realized how silly it was to do anything but get there by bicycle.
The ride there was quite nice; it was about 11pm, not too many cars out and a handful of bikers were crossing the Manhattan bridge with us. After the show (or rather, at 2:15am when we realized we weren't enjoying the show very much) we hopped back on our bikes. I was reminded of the movie I Am Legend, where Will Smith is the last person alive in NYC and wandering the streets with the zombies. It was DEAD. And beautiful. It helped that the weather was abnormally warm for a November evening, but the lack of cars, bikes and people meant that we could zip through Manhattan, over the bridge and through Brooklyn without so much as one or two stops. Six miles of straight bike riding in this city is quite a feat- and to think we turned what could have been an excrutiating wait for the subway into a 40-minute trip. Even though the show was a disappointment, we played three fine games of pool at the bar, made friends with the nice couple whom we beat at pool, and had one of the most enjoyable bike rides of my life. Not bad for NYC.

A Trip to the Farm

2009-11-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

When Colin and I first moved to Brooklyn, we had a conversation about farms in the borough. "There's no farms in Brooklyn," I said "this is Brooklyn." Colin, however, was not convinced. As it turns out, he was right. Yesterday, we visited East New York Farm as part of a volunteer trip of Sustainable Silver, the greening initiative group I am a part of through my school. East New York Farm is located in the place of its title, about five miles east of our apartment. It turned out to be a sunny but chilly morning, and we biked over with our friend Shane, also of Sustainable Silver. As it turns out, the farm is really more of a large garden, but it is admirable in its community involvement and environmental justice promotion. A tour of the farm revealed teh various vegetables and fruits grown there through the season as well as a large compost pile, a rainwater collector, and two honey bee colonies. As it was the end of the season, our job included pulling the long beans off the fence that they had weaved themselves on and removing the weeds in the path. Despite the destruction aspect of the job, I thoroughly enjoyed the work and found it meditative and productive- and it made me very excited to have my own garden in the spring. When we took a break for lunch, we wandered over to the farmer's market where a few stands were selling homemade Caribbean food. We tried some patties, which were like miniature pot pies, rice and peas with barbecue chicken, and a fish fry- a sandwich of fried fish. The food was new to me, and tasty, if a bit heavy. After lunch, we completed the long-bean-taking-down, and Colin single handedly removed the fence. Then, a full-tummied ride home.
I really enjoyed the community aspect of the farm and hope to have more volunteer days there in the spring.

Early Bird Special

2009-11-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to daylight savings time, I have been waking up earlier than usual. The weather has been unusually beautiful, so I decided to take advantage of it this morning and go for a run in Prospect Park (I might or might not be training for a half-marathon). Prospect Park is a haven for me; I feel so lucky that we live close by and are able to have a small piece of nature in this beast of a city. When I got home, I had plenty of time to shower, make a latte, hang out with Colin and bike to class, which started at 11. AFter classes ended at 3:45, I had an appointment at the Apple Store, since my iPod stopped working and needed some doctoring. As it turned out, they simply replaced the iPod on the spot, free of charge. As excited as I was, it made me wonder what was happening to the old iPod: did they take it apart and use the parts for something else? Did they simply chuck it? I love the idea of an iPod: compared to owning hundreds of CDs, iPods are much more sufficient. But it makes you wonder about all the old versions of iPods that are tossed when new ones come out...
By the time I got home, it was getting dark, and Colin didn't have time to go to the co-op, so I was going to go. I was dreading the trip until I saw that our bike panniers had arrived! We'd been waiting about a month for them. I immediately put mine on my bike, and was suddenly thrilled to have a chance to use it right away. It is quite a life saver, and I can't wait to use it with my school books as well.
It is 9pm and I am just about ready to go to sleep...

The Beginning

2009-11-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

The idea to write a blog about sustainable living in NYC has been on my mind since Colin and I arrived here. Living in Portland was easy: everyone has a garden, everyone composts, everyone rides a bike, recycles, shops at farmer's markets, brings their own mugs to coffee shops, uses cloth napkins, and so on. Furthermore, everyone seemed to enjoy what they were doing and it wasn't very difficult. Before moving to NY, I knew that this would not be the case. Yes, there is very much a sustainable movement happening in the city, but day-to-day living proves otherwise. Colin and I have witnessed (on multiple occasions) people eating out of styrofoam containers and upon finishing, dropping the container in the street. Coffee shops don't always have ceramic mugs "for here", even if they have ample seating for customers to sit and drink their coffee. People are fond of plastic bags, it seems, and there are always a handful of people with a variety of them on the subway, each containing a separate item from their shopping. I could go on, but there isn't much need for that. The point of this blog is to record the positive: what we HAVE found that is green, sustainable, eco-friendly. And if something isn't working, what we are doing to try and change that. To end this post on a positive note, here are some things we love about this city:

*The community garden a block away that we can bring our compost to (and have a garden plot in next summer)

*The biking! bike lanes are plentiful, hardly any hills, and some pretty awesome bridges to cross.

*Park Slope Food Co-op, which has an awesome, cheap selection of produce, cheese, and other delicious foods (the bulk section is a bit lacking...)

*Our lovely little kitchen which we cook dinner in (almost) every night.

*Certainly more to come...