Buckets of Rain
The rain has inhibited my ventures into the out of doors. I traveled to Brooklyn this weekend through torrential downpour, in hopes of having a small mental vacation. We were in, possibly, a city with the best public transit system in the country, but found ourselves consistently searching for parking along the busy streets. Perhaps the excuse was that the public transportation within a borough is not adequate; or the torrential rain would soak through our nonexistent rain coats and poorly chosen shoes; or perhaps, we have just been spoiled by the willingness of our peer to drive us around the city. Although our excursions were not done in a sustainable way, we made an effort to be conscious of our food consumption in support of local urban economy.
I have noticed that I make a conscious effort to consume in a sustainable manner, and that I know what is manageable. Although it is a small matter, I was rather proud of myself for spending a good part of the day out of my apartment yesterday, even through the rain. I had a vanilla chai and a hot chocolate over the course of two hours. I consciously asked for both items to be "for here" and not "for here" in paper cups. I looked around the café, 1369 Coffee House, and noticed several people sitting in for their beverages but drinking out of paper cups. I was a little disheartened to see a pretty enviro-conscious coffee place not pushing their patrons who dine/drink-in to use glasses and mugs, as opposed to the very disposable paper cups.
The rain has inhibited my ventures into the out of doors. I traveled to Brooklyn this weekend through torrential downpour, in hopes of having a small mental vacation. We were in, possibly, a city with the best public transit system in the country, but found ourselves consistently searching for parking along the busy streets. Perhaps the excuse was that the public transportation within a borough is not adequate; or the torrential rain would soak through our nonexistent rain coats and poorly chosen shoes; or perhaps, we have just been spoiled by the willingness of our peer to drive us around the city. Although our excursions were not done in a sustainable way, we made an effort to be conscious of our food consumption in support of local urban economy. 
I have noticed that I make a conscious effort to consume in a sustainable manner, and that I know what is manageable. Although it is a small matter, I was rather proud of myself for spending a good part of the day out of my apartment yesterday, even through the rain. I had a vanilla chai and a hot chocolate over the course of two hours. I consciously asked for both items to be "for here" and not "for here" in paper cups. I looked around the café, 1369 Coffee House, and noticed several people sitting in for their beverages but drinking out of paper cups. I was a little disheartened to see a pretty enviro-conscious coffee place not pushing their patrons who dine/drink-in to use glasses and mugs, as opposed to the very disposable paper cups. 
Awesome photos, Mel! It's weird when you see people who you assume to be at least moderately eco-conscious doing stuff that has an obvious (and usually easy) alternative. At the school I was at yesterday, a teacher was drinking a coke in the computer lab (isn't that a no-no anyway?) and she was young and stylishly dressed so when she walked out and plunked her soda can down in the regular trash can I was shocked frozen. How can people just do that! I thought, especially young people who have probably been learning about recycling since they were 5.
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