7:00 AM
fantasy:
Rise and shine to NPR
blazing on my solar-powered satellite clock
radio. Hear news that the U.S. set automobile-emissions
targets and Bush signed the Kyoto Protocol. Yay, Earth Day
is off to a great start!
reality: Wake up in my tiny Manhattan loft
to NPR on my solar-powered (but not satellite, sadly) radio
(freeplayenergy.com). Hear more statistics about melting ice
caps. Hit snooze and crawl under the covers for another 15
minutes.
8:12
fantasy:
Turn on my
lean, green MacBook Air (apple.com), which connects to a
workstation treadmill. While I type,
I walk, producing energy to juice the laptop.
reality:
Boot up my old power-hogging, toxic chemical-containing laptop. Check in on inhabitat.com, the green-design
blog I publish.
9:05
fantasy:
It's a beautiful morning for a jog. Pull
on my organic Veja sneakers (veja.fr) and head to the
waterfront. Pass throngs of old men fishing in the crystal-clear
East River.
reality:
Jog down to the water. See old men fishing in the
murky East River and lament rising mercury levels in tuna.
10:00
fantasy:
Back home to blog. Scan sites for news
to post on Inhabitat. Spot a groundbreaking story about
how NYC has decided to ban landfill-clogging plastic bags.
reality: Not finding any interesting stories after an hour of
browsing, I sit down at my custom recycled-wood dining
table (scrapile.com) to read The Onion and clear my head.
Chuckle at the headline "Nation's Snowmen March Against
Global Warming."
11:33
fantasy: My architect
calls. She's just completed a green renovation of my loft. I
wax ecstatic over the secret drawers we put in behind
the staircase risers. The dual-purpose design,
which we copied from a photo in Vogue
Living Australia, is both eco-friendly and
beautifully efficient.
reality: With no staircase drawers (or closets)
to speak of, I am The Container Store's best
customer.
12 PM
fantasy:
Pop over to vegan
bakery BabyCakes NYC for a treat (babycakesnyc.com).
Order tea and a vegan croissant for $2. In its
rise to world dominance, the company hit on a butterless
recipe for flaky French pastries!
reality: Go to BabyCakes for a delicious,
but $3, frosted lemon spelt cupcake.
1:30
fantasy:
Tonight I'm covering
Project Earth Day (projectearthday.com),
a showcase of ethical fashion. I pop into
Swedish clothing boutique Ekovaruhuset (ekovaruhuset.se)
to look around. Lo and behold, everything is 50 percent off,
and I find a gorgeous Misericordia organic cotton dress that
fits perfectly (misionmisericordia.com).
reality: Stop by Ekovaruhuset. Despite my
love and longing for the inventory, the dress
I covet comes in one size only—5'11" Swedish-model
size—and doesn't work on my 5'5" self.
3:44
fantasy:
Take the long way home to pass by artist Edina Tokodi's
"living graffiti." Edina creates flora-and fauna-shaped
street art out of moss, reminding urban pedestrians of our
detachment from the natural world.
reality: Rush home to blog. Keep an eye out
for Edina's graffiti along the way. Sadly, the city took down
the installation.
6:40
fantasy:
Hail an electric
taxi and make it to Project
Earth Day in 10 minutes. Now
that Mayor Bloomberg has
instituted a congestion surcharge, Manhattan traffic is a
breeze.
reality:
Take a regular gas-fueled cab to the show; sit in
traffic for 30 minutes.
9:00
fantasy:
I invite a few of the show's designers to
dinner at my very own organic, vegan and wildly successful
restaurant, Urbavore. Everything is local and in season—
and on the house since it's my restaurant!
reality:
Vegan dinner at home in front of
The Daily Show, cooked with farmers-market produce by
my husband, Peter.
10:02
fantasy:
Enjoy the glow of my cordless,
phosphorescent E.L. Flutter night-light.
reality: Plug in my E.L. Flutter light (juvieshop.com). Hope that a zero-energy version comes out by Earth
Day 2009. Shut down my laptop, plop into bed and return
to dreamland.
