Sustainable Living- Give it a Try!

(Photo from cover of the Green Living Handbook; Saving the Planet...One Household at a Time by David Gershon)(Find more information about David Gershon and his Sustainable Living theories here )

Now that we have settled into our new community near Columbia South Carolina, I am thrilled to be back in the game of writing about my passion for green and sustainable living!

Things here are proving to be much more Eco-friendly than our last place of residence in rural Georgia. We have curb side recycling, stores that encourage customers to bring their own shopping bags, a wide variety of health, gourmet and organic food stores and restaurants, and several widely supported farmers markets. It has been exciting as well as a huge sigh of relief to me to once again be living in a community that recognizes the value of making an effort to conserve and protect the environment.

Lately, I have been gearing my interests in the direction of sustainable living. The basic concept is to reduce ones' use of the Earth's quickly depleting resources. Proponents of this movement strive to nourish their bodies through buying and eating locally grown and harvested foods (so as to reduce the carbon emissions associated with transportation as well as the wasting of gross expenses related to the cost of that transportation, for example); Support and purchase products at the retail shops and services in their own communities; simplify their lives by surrounding themselves solely with the tools and objects necessary for sustaining life, as well as for the pursuit of enjoying that life in a healthy and educational manner.

Although there doesn't appear to be an overwhelming amount of Columbia media or Internet presence regarding green living, I was exceptionally pleased to find this article about a local dairy farm spread across the front page of our newspaper the other day. It talks about one of the area's last remaining dairy farm's ambition to support itself by selling their milk under their own dairy farm name in addition to their selling it to regional and supermarket brands. I was so moved by their aspirations that I vowed to begin a search for stores which carry and sell their milk, and support their efforts through buying their milk.

Take a little time out to discover the vast local retailers, farmers and tradesmen and women in your community. For more information on how you can make some simple changes in your life to begin a more sustainable way of living, visit:

http://greenopolis.com/partnerships/empowerment-institute/green-living-handbook
http://eartheasy.com/homepage.htm
http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/buylocal/

http://www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp

Thanks for reading!
Kate