The Beginning

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...