Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Beware When Buying Green

Many websites (including this blog) have listings for green gifts for this holiday season. The thing about these lists (including the one on this blog) is that products listed on them may not be as green as you think.

When buying green, you have to take into account where products are coming from. The carbon emissions released into the atmosphere during that new water bottle's trip to the U.S. may harm the environment more than it benefits the buyer.

For example, I came across a website, planitgreenhome.com that advertises "earth friendly shopping." Many of their products, while they are 100% organic cotton, come from Europe. I'm not attacking the website in any way (as this blog made the same mistake), I'm merely urging consumers to be knowledgeable when buying green.

A good way to approach purchasing green gifts is to buy as locally as possible. Or maybe, if your gift took a plane ride to get to you, offset the emissions by visiting carbonfund.org.

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Toxic Gases in Greenpoint

The New York Times and Brownstoner reported this week that there has been recent investigation and testing of buildings in Greenpoint. The area has already been dealing with the effects of oil spills, but this time the worry is that toxins will rise up into homes from below. These are left over from dry-cleaning plants and other factories that used to be in the area.

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