Locally grown foods

Alright, so another important thing to consider is where does our food come from. Food can be grown and produced anywhere in the world, but it is important to think about how far our foods must travel in order to arrive on our plates.

In the fruits and vegetables section at the grocery store, one can find produce from everywhere in the world. Garlic from China, tomatoes from Mexico, berries from the States, sand cherries from the Caribbean, and many more. The first problem with this is transportation. The foods that are grown far away from where you live must be put on truck, planes, trains, in order to get to your local store. So the environment suffers from you buying foods from far away. The produce you eat often will have traveled more than you ever have, and that is not a positive thing.

The next thing to consider about local vs global foods is the freshness of your produce. Fruits and vegetables are usually harvested when they are ready to eat, but if they must then travel long distances before being consumed, they cannot possibly be at their freshest when they finally get to your plate. Companies will sometimes insert chemicals in the produce in order to keep the freshness. So, you will have "fresh" produce with chemicals that cannot possibly be healthy.

In all, the better option is to purchase foods that are grown locally. Farmers' markets are excellent places to find local foods. The next time you go out shopping for food, think about what they went through to get to you. The best part is that foods taste so much better when they are fresh and chemical free.

Water

Alright, so I have not written here for quite a while. I will try to stay more faithful to this blog.

So, today's tips will be all about water and how important it is to our planet. As we all know, the Earth consists mostly of water, but there is only a very small quantity of water that we can actually consume. To be more specific, the surface of our dear planet is covered by 71% of salt water oceans. That is a very large percentage.

The point is, every living thing in our world needs water in order to survive. Part of the Global crisis happening right now has to do with the shortage of water. I am lucky enough to live in a region where the fresh water supply is abundant, but very few people in the world are as lucky. Most people have to rely on bottled water that must be shipped to them and that involves transportation costs and of course more CO2 in our atmosphere.

Our job as citizens of a world in need is to use the resources wisely and not wastefully. Water will eventually run out and when that happens we will all wish we had done a better job preserving it.

Here are some easy tips for everyone to do on a daily basis that will significantly help preserve water:

1) when drinking a glass of water, if you do not feel thirsty enough to finish it, do NOT pour it down the sink, use it. How? well there are several ways: water indoor or outdoor plants; pour the rest in a pet's water bowl; pour in a bird bath; pour in a pool; pour in a bath; cover and place in the fridge for later

2) we all should know this one... turn OFF the water when brushing your teeth

3) when showering, wet yourself and your hair then turn the water off to shampoo and wash your body and turn it back on to rinse

4) when boiling anything, use minimal water i.e. do not fill the pot to the top, depending on what you are cooking the pot may only need to be filled halfway or even less.

5) when using a garden hose outside, walk with the hose off until you get to the area you want to water, then turn it on

These are all the tips about water for the moment, more shall probably come soon.

Hi all,
this is a first for me (by this I mean blogging) and I really hope to enjoy the experience. I wanted to create this blog to share my knowledge (and other people's too) and experience about living a green life.
I have been a vegetarian for over a year now and have loved animals all my life. I try, as much as possible, to live an active and green life. I recycle, I eat locally produced foods, I stay away from massproduced goods, and am aware of the bad companies who treat people and\or animals in a less than satisfactory way.

This blog will hopefully inspire and motivate some of you to live green. That is my goal ! If not, I hope you take in everything and learn from it.