You don't always need more green to go green
Arizona Republic, Mary Beth Faller
Published August 21, 2008
You can afford to go green. And when you think about the big picture, you can't afford not to.
Though some green products, such as organic milk or chlorine-free toilet paper, cost more than conventional products, the whole point to living an eco-friendly lifestyle is to use - and buy - less overall.
Diane MacEachern, author of the new book Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World (Penguin Group, 2008, $17.95 paperback), said consumers should stop and think before buying any product, green or not.
"People will spend eight to 10 dollars a week on bottled water, and say they can't afford organic milk or apples," she said. "With bottled water, you're paying for, basically, trash to capture water that is tap water anyway. With paper towels, people say they can't afford the green option. Well, the green option is a sponge."
In some cases, the cost difference is very little. Eco-friendly paint, made without volatile organic compounds that pollute indoor and outdoor air, costs about the same as regular paint, and the quality has improved greatly over the past few years.
In other cases, the extra dollars pay off in a big benefit to the environment. Factory farms that produce meat are one of the biggest polluters of air and water. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported in 2006 that livestock farming is responsible for one-fifth of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions - more than transportation. Paying more for meat that's organic, grass-fed or locally produced is worth considering.
But spending extra isn't always worth it. Some vegetables and fruits, even if grown with pesticides, don't retain enough of the toxins to bother spending extra on organic. The Environmental Working Group said the produce with the lowest levels of residue include onions, avocados, frozen corn, pineapples, mangoes and frozen peas. Those with the most pesticide residue include peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines and strawberries. For a complete list, visit
www.foodnews.org/ walletguide.php.
