Going Green

Greetings:

Last week I wrote a Day about going green. No I am not talking about St. Patrick's Day. I am talking about what is popular once again, and that is the environment. In fact I mentioned that the current issue of Shape (April 2007) was dedicated to "adopting an eco-friendly attitude." Just a note of interest, Shape Magazine is one of 100 magazines, out of about 18,000 printed in the United States, that use some version of recycled paper. Although to be honest I was not surprised about Shape featuring a eco-friendly addition, but when I received my Town and Country, the Special Green Issue, I knew that this Green thing is really a trend.

The Shape Magazine featured among other things a list of 46 doable actions you can take to protect the planet and your health. Some of the ones I thought were interesting and doable were to buy products in biodegradable packaging, use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), buy coffee that is labeled "fair trade certified," which mean that the farmers who harvested your coffee beans were compensated fairly and worked under humane conditions, and to buy locally grown produce which is more nutrient-rich and less resource intensive and of course supports your local growers. (It is easy being green, 46 doable actions you can take today to protect the planet and your health. By Bari Nan Cohen, pages 174-185)

In the Town and Country Green Issue special section they did a great job of providing all types of information about what to eat, what to buy and suggestions for how to go green a little at a time. The report was extremely informative. They provided a list of things to recycle and things not to recycle. They listed several cleaning products that were green and good to use. My

favorite however was the article about paints that are free of VOC's which can create toxic gases, particularly right after the paint has been applied. Anna Sova's paints are made with 99% food grade ingredients. If you like you can have a variety of aromatherapy fragrances mixed into the paint that will last up to 12 months. I like the idea of good smelling paint. If you get a chance pick up a copy of the April 2007 issue of Town and Country, the special edition is really the best I have seen on going green. Very informative.

Since writing the Day about going green and with every thing in the news I have been focusing on what I can do. What I like about what I am reading is how it is stressed that every little bit helps. Every small thing you do makes a big difference.

Live the Day,

Rachelle