Though I didn’t make a formal announcement or send out a mass e-mail, this year I officially decided to kick a couple of bad eco-habits. Plastic grocery bags were first on the list.

The process was easy. I simply located a couple of sturdy reusable bags (canvas works well), parked them by the front door next to the umbrellas and before I knew it each trip to the store was enhanced by an undeniable feeling that I was contributing to the planet’s well-being. Filling those bags with food that was locally and/or organically grown only increased my status as a responsible citizen.

Next on my list was bottled water. I will confess that I’m not 100 percent there — I occasionally cave in to the convenience of prepackaged H20 while waiting at the airport or when I forget my reusable Sigg bottle — but I’m close. My primary motivation for fighting the lure of bottled water can be traced to the nagging question that fills my mind each time I take a sip of the prepackaged stuff: Where do all these bottles go when we are through with them?

Read More