Definition of Green
Living
How green living benefits your health
What do you think the definition
of "green living" is? Choosing paper
instead of plastic grocery bags? Recycling your beer cans
and newspapers? Driving a fuel efficient car? Eating organically
grown food?
Those certainly are all activities that
contribute to keeping our planet Earth and our personal
health in good shape... But what exactly is "green
living" and what does it have to do with improving
personal health and energy? Let's take a look!
The broad definition of green
living is any action or activity that results in a positive
impact, to any degree, on the environment so that the planet
can continue to support future generations.
The
effect of green living on the environment...
Let's take a dip! |
Looking at it from a different perspective,
the practice of green living minimizes or eliminates toxins
(poisons) from our environment as well as reducing and eliminating
purely destructive habits.
The goal and purpose of green
living is preserving and improving the health of planet
Earth for all who live here!
This definition of green living embraces
our personal environments, including the internal environment
of our bodies, our home, work and social environments as
well as the whole planet's environment.
Adopting a green living philosophy
simply means making choices and decisions that have the
most positive effect possible for all of these environments.
Being able to make good choices depends
first on having good information. Here's a simple article
that answers the question, "What
is carbon dioxide?" and how it relates
to our health.
More about the definition of green living:
What is "sustainability" and "renewable?"
Most likely, you've heard the terms "sustainability"
and "renewable" in connection with the subject
of green living. Let's clear them up while we're at it because
they are essential to gaining a good concept of the definition
of green living.
"Sustainability" refers
to using resources in a way that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their needs.
This is commonly heard in relationship
to energy consumption, such as the energy needed to light
your home or the energy required to drive your car. For
example, there are finite amounts of oil resources on the
planet, a major source for energy production. It is not
sustainable as a resource because you can't go out and plant
any oil seeds and grow more oil. When it's gone, it's gone!
Likewise, "renewable"
means that a resource can be created again. For
example, trees can be cut down, but more trees can be planted
and grown. Energy obtained from the sun and the wind (solar
and wind power) are essentially "renewable" sources
of energy because they aren't likely to run out.
Green living and personal health
This
is the effect of destructive manufacturing and lifestyle
choices. Wanna take a dip? |
The subject of green living is
growing in popularity and importance as we face several
different problems relating to lifestyles and practices
that are actually destructive to our environments. The severe
weather of the past several years is one example.
Public awareness of these situations and
their causes is increasing, and solutions are being sought,
found and applied. Learning and practicing green
living is something that we can do about these problems
as individuals, families, groups and nations to start turning
the scene around!
One practice that is particularly
destructive to our personal health and well-being
is the use of toxic chemicals in our food supply, household
cleaning products and personal care products.
For example, most laundry soap and bleach
that we use drains out into the ocean and because it is
highly toxic, it destroys the ocean environment on which
man depends for many things.
Additionally, the toxic chemicals from
the laundry soap and bleach are absorbed into your body
through the skin.
Add to that the toxic household cleaners,
"air fresheners" and personal products that
contain synthetic chemicals (man-made, not found in nature)
that you also absorb into your body through the skin and
breathing, and you have a toxic wasteland right in your
own body!
If you are a candle lover,
as so many people are, even burning regular candles creates
toxic, indoor air pollutants! I found this out at a very
informative site, Scented
Soy Candles. These are naturally scented
candles that are clean burning and toxin free.
The body gets overloaded with toxic
substances that cannot be eliminated through normal means.
This toxic overload, caused by toxins
staying in the body because there's just too many for the
body to eliminate, causes poor health and illness. That
is why body
cleansing and detoxification are important health improvement
topics nowadays.
Why are these toxic products being
made and sold? That is a good question!
From the research that I've done and the
observations that I've made, when these practices started
several decades ago (such as spraying crops with toxic pesticides
to meet the demands of a growing population, or producing
and selling toxic household products) the harmful effects
were mostly unknown.
However, now that the negative effects
are known, the reason boils down to the motives of
individual companies and their understanding and agreement
with the definition of green living.
There are companies who are honestly improving
their practices and products because they are motivated
to provide positive benefits to their customers and then
there are those who are only motivated by making a profit.
There are, unfortunately, companies who say that they are
improving their practices and products to be more "green,"
but really aren't! That's a whole different subject.
This article on certified
organic skin care provides valuable information on what
to look for in choosing healthy skin care products so you
aren't misled!
How can you start practicing green living
to protect your health?
According to our definition of green living,
you can make more choices that benefit your health. This
of course, depends on knowing how your personal product
choices and actions affect your health and the environment.
For starters, find some green
living products and tips to try. Then incorporate those
that work for you into your lifestyle.
For example, look for household cleaning
products that are not toxic. I found a great natural dishwashing
liquid at a local store recently and was thrilled to read
the ingredients and find out that there weren't any chemicals
or mystery ingredients in it.
I feel better knowing that the food
on my dishes isn't absorbing some toxic dish soap and
that my dish water is not harming the environment. Feeling
better about my actions also helps my health!
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands
of resources for safe, non-toxic household products that
conform to the definition of green living.
But be alert for "fixed ideas"
you might have that can get in the way of making these sort
of choices.
For example, a fixed idea that
I've personally had my whole life is that nothing is as
good and effective as bleach for whitening, disinfecting
and "killing germs." I wouldn't even
consider looking at anything else!
Well, I found out that bleach is one
of the most toxic substances in our homes. Makes sense
- have you ever used it for cleaning? How did you feel
after breathing in the fumes? Or not using rubber gloves
while using it like I used to do? Bleccchhh!
There are products available today that
do what bleach does but without killing anything. Find
one and try it. If you don't like it, look again.
The same thing goes with personal products
such as soap, shampoo, deodorant and cosmetics. Most of
the products we grew up with might make us smell better
but they will also make us sick eventually by gradually
robbing us of our health.
Another false idea is that "natural"
or non-toxic products don't work. That's baloney. Some do
and some don't, just like their toxic counterparts.
Find out for yourself! Yes,
you'll need to make a bit of an effort to move out of your
comfort zone of familiar practices and products in order
to apply the definition of green living in your life - but
if you try new things one or two at a time, find something
you like and then move on to trying something else new,
it won't be very uncomfortable.
Look for non-toxic cleaning tips - ingredients
such as baking soda and white vinegar do awesome cleaning
jobs at a fraction of the cost.
This section of the Care2.com
site provides non-toxic and safe household tips: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/healthy-home/household-hints
Enjoy yourself as you apply the
definition of green living to your life... The benefit is
improved health and energy for you, your family and the
planet!
Return
to General Health Discussion from Definition
of Green Living
[Return
to the top of the page]
