Being Green ... Starts in the Kitchen

Trying to go green on a budget? Are you finding that task almost impossible?
It may be easier than you think. You just have to know where to shop, and that might mean staying away from stores like Whole Foods Market (at 5120 S. Rural Road in Tempe). Supermarkets like Safeway (at 2140 W. Grant Road in Tucson) offer many of the same products at the same or lower price, while also offering sale prices on said items. With Safeway's exclusive line, O Organics, its stores carry over 150 different products from cereal to ice cream.
So here's the lowdown on prices of some of those necessary household products:

Produce:
Peeled baby carrots at Whole Foods: $1.99/each
at Safeway: $1.99/each ($1.79 on sale)
Fresh zucchini squash at Whole Foods: $3.99/pound
at Safeway: $1.79/pound

Dairy:
Clover Farms organic milk at Whole Foods: $6.69/gallon
O Organics milk at Safeway: $6.59/gallon ($5.99 on sale)
Large organic brown eggs (dozen) at Whole Foods: $3.99/each
at Safeway: $4.29/each (less than $3 on sale)

Meat:
Organic ground beef (93% lean) at Whole Foods: $7.99/pound
O Organics chicken tenders at Safeway: $8.99/pound

Hygiene:
Whole Foods Market brand toilet tissue (four rolls): $5.99
Nature's Balance toilet tissue at Safeway (six double rolls): $4.99 (less than $4 on sale)
Whole Foods Market brand paper towels (eight rolls): $6.99
Nature's Balance paper towels at Safeway (six rolls): $5.99 (less than $5 on sale)

Cleaning products:
Seventh Generation laundry detergent at Whole Foods (50 fluid ounces): $5.99
Tide high efficiency (HE, 100 fluid ounces): 13.99 ($10.99 on sale)

Of course this is just a short list of products available at these stores. While Whole Foods offers more diverse products, such as feminine hygiene products and organic makeup, if you're on a tight budget, supermarkets are answering the demand for organic and healthier choices. And while organic lipstick may be a stretch for Safeway, at least you can find organic food for your mouth.

Defining Green Living

It's about more than recycling and hybrids. It's about a lifestyle.
I, too, had a narrow outlook on being green before I started this blog. (Being green to me had a lot to do with Kermit the Frog.) Now, I hope through research and reporting I and my readers will have an understanding of what it truly means to be green.
I will look at what efforts are being made to accomplish a more earth-friendly lifestyle at a local, state and national level. I will report on Tucson's efforts, whether it be local businesses or organizations. A relatively envionment-conscious city already, I will find what new steps Tucson is taking toward green living in 2008.
And Tucson's greatest resource - the University of Arizona - will also be under my green microscope, as I look at how it is becoming more green-conscious. From asking questions about the solar panel project from a few years back to eating roasted corn at the farmer's market on the Mall, no report on green living at the UA will go unnoticed.
So I hope you check in every Monday to see how I'm learning more about this new lifestyle and how I'm applying it to my life. My greatest hope though is that you, too, will find something to add to your life.