Greener You, Greener World

Hello again! I am wide awake at 12:25 am for 2 reasons:
1) I drank coffee at noon today. TERRIBLE IDEA. I usually try and avoid coffee (it's an expensive habit) and therefore it effects me more than a regular coffee drinker. I'm still buzzing from the caffeine!

2) I am so excited about this blog that I cannot sleep. It's a great feeling when you find something that excites you!! So here is my blog titled "Greener You, Greener World."

Along with general health principals, I am also a little bit neurotic (maybe more than a little) when it comes to energy saving practices (i.e. reduce, reuse, recycle). I do believe that there is a positive correlation between a healthy lifestyle and a healthier planet. Here is one example:


A month ago, I spent time volunteering in a kindergarten classroom. One day, I brought in a big batch of strawberries for the students. I had more than I could eat, and I didn't want them to go bad. The teacher and I used the strawberries as a platform for a discussion about the earth- since it happened to be earth day (April 25th. . .?).
I asked the students, "How does eating healthy food help the planet?"
The responses were more profound than I expected (kids often surprise me with their insight). One girl, said, "If you eat healthy food, you will have strong bones that will allow you to ride your bike instead of driving."
WOW. What a simple, yet important concept that so many people overlook.

My mom is the true fanatic of riding her bike everywhere she goes. I do the best I can, and if I'm not riding my bike or walking, I usually feel guilty about it. One instance when I am frequently required to ride my bike is when I am at home in Boulder, and my mom and I are going to the gym. No matter how hard the workout at the gym is going to be, if it is a nice day (which it usually is - 360 days of the year), my mom demands that we ride our bikes.
Sometimes, I do not want to ride my bike because I feel "tired", "stressed", or just plain lazy. These feelings are most likely due to the food I have been eating, the sleep I've been getting, and the general way I am feeling about my body.
Isn't it true that sometimes, when we are feeling down about ourselves, we actually avoid exercise and activities that will ultimately make us feel better? There are probably many different reasons for why this happens.
The bottom line is that despite my whining and begging not to ride my bike, then workout,  I usually do it anyway. Instantly, I feel happier as the wind blows through my hair and the sun shines down on my face (so cheesy, but true!).

I'm not asking that all of you ride your bike to the gym, then workout for 2 hours as my crazy mother and I do, however, I am asking you to think about the connection between your personal health, and the "health" of the planet. It is a concept that I ponder frequently. 

Anyways, enough about that. I just wanted to introduce another important, yet very related topic, that will appear in my blog frequently. Eat green, live green!

Thanks~
Dana

More to come on this topic: Quality versus quantity when choosing organic versus non-organic; ways to conserve electricity, but burn your own energy; and discussions about related readings such as "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (Michael Pollan).