- April 11, 2006 • 4:20 am PDT
- + responses
So this isn't quite as easy as I thought it might be. Then again, in certain ways it's not quite as hard. So despite the slight lag between the experience and the reporting, I'll break down my first "greenest week" and with it offer the first glance of this month-long exercise in extreme urban environmentalism.
It's worth first mentioning, though, that I have struggled a bit in trying to figure out exactly what to report in this here space. Thinking that it'd be a terrible bore to give too lucid an account of all the daily activities (much of this project isn't so riviting), I'm going to try to project the general trends and hit some high- and lowlights. If folks seem keen on a more detailed disclosure, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Feedback encouraged through comments.As I'd been up in Massachusetts visiting my folks, on the initiation day of this greenest month I actually had to make my way back down to NYC. I expect that my travel this one day will be the largest source of carbon emissions throughout the whole process. Fortunately, last year my parents made the wise and conscientious investment in a Prius, which delivered me to Boston's South Station after a 40 mile drive or so. A drive, worth noting, that my mom was going to have to make anyways for some mom-type of weekend happening (a baby shower, perhaps?). From there, the perilious Fung Wah Bus carted me back to this Utopia of energy efficiency that is New York City.
I refuse to feel guilty about the Flaming Lips concert I saw that Saturday night, despite their excessive use of balloons, confetti, and spotlights. Such communal gatherings are, in my book, essential to the urban allure, and realistically when dividing out the energy spent and waste generated by all the audience members, the impact is nearly negligible. That said, I'll be sure to account for it all, in my best estimation, when calculating the full impact of my month upon its conclusion.
Everyone seems to wonder what I'm doing about food. Fortunately, NYC is blessed with a tremendous Greenmarket system and Union Square hosts a remarkably thorough one every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Sure it took a couple of slightly malnourished days to get into the habit of shopping for more than one meal, but I'm getting into the swing. The diet staples: fresh breads from locally-grown organic grains, New York State heirloom apples, select veggies, some quesadillas made with the locally grown beans, locally curdled cheese, and more whole grains.
Caveat: I returned to some leftovers in the fridge--some Annie's mac & cheese and some less-than-ideal brownies. Surely it's better to rescue this stuff from the waste stream and turn the calories into fuel, isn't it?
Rather than push this entry beyond the limits of reasonable blog word counts, I'll save the rest of the week for later.
Previously: Ground Rules And Guidelines
Next: Wasting Away
Ben Jervey is the author of The Big Green Apple
It's worth first mentioning, though, that I have struggled a bit in trying to figure out exactly what to report in this here space. Thinking that it'd be a terrible bore to give too lucid an account of all the daily activities (much of this project isn't so riviting), I'm going to try to project the general trends and hit some high- and lowlights. If folks seem keen on a more detailed disclosure, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Feedback encouraged through comments.As I'd been up in Massachusetts visiting my folks, on the initiation day of this greenest month I actually had to make my way back down to NYC. I expect that my travel this one day will be the largest source of carbon emissions throughout the whole process. Fortunately, last year my parents made the wise and conscientious investment in a Prius, which delivered me to Boston's South Station after a 40 mile drive or so. A drive, worth noting, that my mom was going to have to make anyways for some mom-type of weekend happening (a baby shower, perhaps?). From there, the perilious Fung Wah Bus carted me back to this Utopia of energy efficiency that is New York City.
I refuse to feel guilty about the Flaming Lips concert I saw that Saturday night, despite their excessive use of balloons, confetti, and spotlights. Such communal gatherings are, in my book, essential to the urban allure, and realistically when dividing out the energy spent and waste generated by all the audience members, the impact is nearly negligible. That said, I'll be sure to account for it all, in my best estimation, when calculating the full impact of my month upon its conclusion.
Everyone seems to wonder what I'm doing about food. Fortunately, NYC is blessed with a tremendous Greenmarket system and Union Square hosts a remarkably thorough one every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Sure it took a couple of slightly malnourished days to get into the habit of shopping for more than one meal, but I'm getting into the swing. The diet staples: fresh breads from locally-grown organic grains, New York State heirloom apples, select veggies, some quesadillas made with the locally grown beans, locally curdled cheese, and more whole grains.
Caveat: I returned to some leftovers in the fridge--some Annie's mac & cheese and some less-than-ideal brownies. Surely it's better to rescue this stuff from the waste stream and turn the calories into fuel, isn't it?
Rather than push this entry beyond the limits of reasonable blog word counts, I'll save the rest of the week for later.
Previously: Ground Rules And Guidelines
Next: Wasting Away
Ben Jervey is the author of The Big Green Apple
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