Most of us are concerned about global warming and preserving our earth.  We want to be responsible consumers and citizens.  In a recent edition of Connections, the publication of the Women’s Council of Realtors, Marilyn Urso, in Green:  It’s the New Black, briefly lays out some interesting points and suggestions.  She lists several immediate actions one can take: 

1.  Make your next car a hybrid

2.  Replace light bulbs with LED or CFL varieties

3.  Shop local markets, use local produce and products

4.  Recycle everything you can; look for sustainable products and energy-efficient appliances

She brings out that changing our consumption practices will eventually lead to the large companies changing what they odfer to more sustainable, environmentally friendly items.

     But there are cautions in this article, as well.  Greenwaching is the practice of a company trying to make it seem like it’s greener than it actually is.  Five major forms of greenwashing are:  1) words that mislead; 2) misleading visuals or graphics; 3) green claims that are vague or seemingly unprovable; 4) overstated or exaggerated claims of how green a product, company or service actually is; 5) an ad that leaves out or masks important information, such as diverting attention from something else that is definitely not green.  The old warning holds true:  consumer beware.  Read green ads carefully and investigate all claims before you purchase.

     Here is something I learned from Ms. Irso’s article.  Did you know that the fruit and vegetable labels in the supermarket indicate information about how the edible is grown?  If the label is  four digits, it is conventionally grown.  A 5-digit label beginning with 9 is organically grown, and beginning with 8, it is genetically modified. 

    Are you tired of unsolicited catalogs and paper mail?  Here are three sites to visit to decline these:  www.CatalogChoice.org, www.DirectMail.com, and www.OptOutPreScreen.com. Another site,  www.Green-e.org certifies organizations using renewable energy.    An article, “Green: Easy Does It” by Maggie Sieger includes simple home greening tips and can be viewed at www.Realtore.org/Realtormag.  Did you know that you can buy caebon offsets for your car, travel and even your wedding?  This can be done at Terrapass.com, NativeEnergy.com, CarbonFund.org and GreenTagsUSA.org. 

     Finally, she provides tips for going green with your business.  These include an area about green on your web site, an opt-in green newsletter or tips e-mail, recycling, using compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, shifting from mass marketing to personalized digital media, creating green gift baskets for clients and holdin a recycling drive and donating to MyThings.com or FreeCycle.com.

     So, clearly there are immediate things each of us can do.  What if everyone in our city, state, or country followed at least two of these suggestions?  Don’t you think that would create an impact that is positive?