Living on the East coast isn't always east on the pocket book and financial resources. But in Connecticut, residents are trying to lighten their loads by buying resources that will last longer, be more efficient and help to keep the earth cleaner. Here are some of the tips that they are using to help them buy green.
One of the first resources that they are looking to clean up is the foods that they use in meals. There is a group out there called the Environmental Working Group that has a list of foods that aren't good for consumption because of the use of pesticides on them. This list has twelve different items on it that are all in the category of fruits and vegetables. To replace the items on this list, the organization recommends buying and eating organic versions of these products, which include celery, nectarines, strawberries, peaches, apples, spinach, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, nectarines, cherries, imported grapes and lettuce.
Other thing residents in Connecticut are doing by buy green is to purchase items with the most recycled content as possible. This information can typically be found on the packaging, and as of lately has been a very important part of labeling. Common items you can find this on include toilet paper and laundry detergent as well as anything in a plastic bag. The great part about these resources is they have already been recycled and can be recycled again when you are done with them.
When cleaning the house it is especially important to look for green house cleaners as most ordinary house cleaners are toxic. This is a resource that often ends up getting thrown out and ending up in a land fill that will eventually get into the soil and sediment and eventually find its way into our working water systems. The water is a resource that we cannot risk contaminating. Make sure the labels on the cleaning supplies you use say that they are nontoxic and if you are in doubt call the company. Baking soda and vinegar are always good replacement cleaners as well.
Also, when going out and buying it is always good to buy local, and not just for the local business owners. We know that any resources that come from local stores have not traveled far to get where you buy them. This means that there is less gas used in the transportation, saving financial resources on gas as well as air pollution from the traveling. Products that were shipped from somewhere over in Asia had to be flown in. Think of the cost to our environment if everything we bought had to be flown in and then driven from Asia.
Second hand stores are also a great way to preserve resources. The energy does not need to be put into making new products and the items you buy will typically be cheaper because they have already been used. There's less transportation used which means less fuel fumes released into the air and less of an impact on our environment.
If you take all of these little tips on how to preserve your resources, you will be financially ahead of the game, as well as environmentally ahead of many of your coin habitants of the earth.
Beth Olignerf reports on weather and other problems that damages homes. See:
http://www.localwaterremoval.com/Connecticut
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