PAPER OR PLASTIC? A customer holds up his plastic bag of groceries at an outdoor market in Venice, Italy. Plastic wraps, used worldwide, are adding to the landfill problem. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The term “Being Green” conjures up many concepts from being “in the money” to Kermit the Frog’s famous song lamenting his skin color. But in fact, the term “Being Green” actually came about in the early 70’s when a movement to be kinder to our mother earth was just starting to take full swing. Do you remember the T.V. commercial showing the Native American with a tear rolling down his face as he looked at tons of garbage littering our lakeshores? Do you remember the boy who, playing in the fields and woods, says “I hope they never find my secret places, ”just as a bulldozer rips into trees? These images document the beginning of a new way of thinking which continues to this day. “Being Green” has become one of the most popular terms to describe a revolutionary way of being responsible to our environment.

We have “over done” ourselves when it comes to wreaking havoc on our little space ship- Earth. For example over 2.3 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually on US farms alone, and 275 million tons of those pesticides are used just to grow conventional cotton. Slave labor is at an all time high with millions working without pay for capitalist demands. Our lakes, oceans, rivers, forests, and air has never reached the dangerous states as they are in today and it appears they will never be able to return to the purity of the past. We have very little room in landfills for all our gleaming plastic packaging and yet we still bombarded with more and more ... stuff.

Some of us feel a deep voice in our hearts telling us that commercialism and materialism may not be the best way to go about things. At the very least, our way of living needs a major overhaul. If we start to develop a higher form of consciousness and begin to unravel from our egos, we may see to our shock that our surroundings have deteriorated horribly, and it is not a pretty sight. So what can we do then? How does one start to make a positive impact and start to turn things around?

PAPER OR PLASTIC? A customer holds up his plastic bag of groceries at an outdoor market in Venice, Italy. Plastic wraps, used worldwide, are adding to the landfill problem. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

We could do something as simple as to bringing our own shopping bags when we go to the store so that we do not need to answer that ubiquitous question, “paper or plastic?” We could do something as elaborate as building a sustainable straw bale home complete with solar heating and solar electricity.

This column will encourage those who would like to leave much smaller footprints on the environment. We will introduce ideas to help readers change their lifestyles, introduce sustainable products and some incredible healthy alternatives so readers will not even miss less healthy choices. We will introduce some experts in the environmentally friendly circles and hear what they have to say about our ever-changing world.

If each of us can take up our responsibility to make sure what we buy, eat, sell, and do is not harming other humans and beings sharing on our planet, then our world would improve at a very rapid pace. Those of us at the forefront of this lifestyle change know that setting a good example can help others who are not as aware to take notice … especially if it saves them money and time.

Let’s find a starting place for “Being Green.”