Carbon Footprints
I was in New York last week, during one of their many hot sweltering summer days.
Being someone who can't sit still, New York city is the place for me; there is a non-ending river of activity that flows down every avenue, from the tip of Manhattan to the toe where the water flows towards Brooklyn.
I stood outside the hotel, I felt the heat slide down my back as perspiration started to build; it was so early in the morning and here I was already ready for another shower. Walking five blocks in NYC is going around the corner, walking twenty blocks is saving cab fare, and taking the subway is an exercise in remembering which is north and south.
By the end of my trip, my feet were blistered and I knew every Starbucks location. It's been a long time since I had that much wear and tear on my feet, the last time was Hong Kong when I walked the island during the holidays.
Back to Los Angeles and to my car. I missed my car, I could not imagine lugging around groceries in the summer heat or winter cold of New York. Here I was blasting cold air into my face as I idled at a red light. And would I ever take the subway in Los Angeles? Only as a tourist with out of town friends, but not as a necessity.
If Los Angeles was mapped out like New York, I would walk more often, but its not. To plan a trip across town, you have to factor in drive time and the time of day; in New York, it's just how fast you can move physically. In Los Angeles, I am powered by fossil fuel, in New York I am powered by caffeine. If I had a choice I would choose the latter.
Maybe one day I will be there in New York making footprints, and not in Los Angeles leaving a carbon footprint.
Image: ophelia chong/ still life at the Met.
