My sister who moved to the burbs always brags about her composting and guilt-trips me about our takeout containers. Are they that bad?

Your sister really is green…with envy! Corny puns aside, this is a case of a recent transplant who is conflicted about leaving the city for strip mall central and who is trying to convince herself that relocating was the best decision ever. You’ll be happy to know that while she may have the right to feel superior when it comes to getting more space for her money or having a better selection of public schools, her carbon footprint is definitely bigger than yours. Why? Even if she’s hitting the farmers’ market in her Prius, she’s still using up way more fossil fuels than typical New Yorkers, 82 percent of whom travel to work by foot, public transit or bicycle. And her four-bedroom house may allow for a composting corner in the yard, but it takes a lot more energy to heat, cool and light her spread than the shoe box you live in. Not only that, but you, too, can compost if you like—visit nyccompost.org for details.