Great Green Idea: Green Living: How Living Green Will Make You Healthier

How Living Green Will Make You Healthier

To many of us, living green is a worthy, but mysterious concept. It is hard for us to know what personal advantages will accrue to our individual lives if we recycle, use less, and repair the things we have rather than using precious resources to create new. There are advantages, and here are just a few.

For one thing, eliminating smoke and other air born pollutants will make our air cleaner. We can do this by properly disposing of trash, and making as little of it as we can. We can also lobby our government officials to concentrate on legislation and regulations that will force industrial air polluters to produce things in a cleaner and more responsible way. The benefits to all of this for us is obvious.

Respiratory diseases and allergic conditions are less common in places where people can breathe clean air. We all need oxygen, and the more saturated our lungs are with that, instead of air born chemicals, the better our bodies will be able to protect themselves and remain healthy.

Another advantage is that clean air just smells better. Aromas such as flower fragrances and cooking are even more enjoyable if they are not masked by the stench of chemical fertilizers and other such pollutants.

Recycling saves money. People with children especially benefit if they share clothes and toys with each other. That pair of pants your son outgrew might fit your friend's kid. That stroller your sister's baby doesn't use anymore might be a great gift for your pregnant friend. The more things you and your friends, relatives and social groups can share, the less will have to be produced using limited resources to meet your needs.

Imagine eating food that hasn't been exposed to commercial fertilizers. It tastes fresher, and when you swallow organic broccoli, you know that your vitamin c and iron aren't mixed with solvents, and that your food has only the genes God gave it. You may not fall over sick if you eat the stuff from the grocery store. However, you may not know the cumulative effects of the herbicides, antibiotics and other unnatural substances that can make their way into the food chain, and thence into your family's stomachs.

The scariest fact about not living green is that we are constantly bombarded with substances whose long term effects are unknown. Pesticides and herbicides infest our fruit and vegetables. Our meat supply is poisoned by antibiotics and hormones that we don't realize we are eating. We don't know the full effects of the things that are foisted on us by modern production methods, but we do know one important thing. No one has ever died from living green.