greenguru.org

More and more people in Wimberley are choosing to spend their dollars thoughtfully as if they are casting a vote in the direction they want our future to go. People are voting every day in Wimberley to keep the mega stores out by supporting local hardware stores and grocers. *

Why is shopping locally so important?
Keeping our dollars in Wimberley helps our neighbors. Buying supplies, services, gifts and food is something we all do. If we buy locally made products we support each other. Think about the costs involved in going to Austin to buy something that was made in China. Not including the energy used to create the product, think of how much fuel is needed to ship a product from China to the US. Then think of the fuel used to deliver the product to a mega store, and the fuel used getting you to Austin and back. All this fuel burned to save a few bucks on a product, is it worth it? The Green Guru says, “No”. These products will end up in our landfills and will only support jobs outside our area or outside the country. Shopping locally helps secure a job and a trade for each person in Wimberley.

What does it mean to be green?
Living green is walking lightly on the earth, respecting and honoring every day that we are given the resources to keep existing on our planet. You do this by conserving these resources, by saving them from pollution, corruption and greed. Did you know that the US has 4% of the world’s population, but consumes over 25% of the world’s oil supply? The US uses 21 million barrels of oil a day! This is more than FOUR times what China, the second leading consumer of world oil, is using per day. Most of the oil we use goes into transportation and the rest is used to provide electricity. This way of life is not sustainable. People all over the US are realizing this fact and are going green. They are shopping green, commuting green and they are living green.

What can you do now?

• Take your own bags to the store, even if you use the same bags only once more, you are cutting your pollution by half.

• Share Rides: meet your neighbor, take him to town with you.

• Support the Farmer’s Market: it is so important that Wimberley sustain the ability to produce it’s own food.

• Choose energy efficient appliances; change out your light bulbs with compact fluorescents.

• Take your own mug to the coffee shop.

• Buy Organic: Organic Farmers use methods that protect soil and conserve water supplies and dairy and meat products are not treated with hormones or antibiotics and are given organic feed.

• Look for Made in USA labels.

• Get involved and ask the businesses that you support what they are doing to be earth conscious.

• Buy Smart, think about how long the product will last, how much energy if any the it will consume and where it will go when you are finished with it.

• Recycle, and even more importantly, Re-use.

Quote of the month:
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” M.K. Ghandi