How You Can Go Green!
5 Easy Ways to Green-Up Your Home
Local Farmers' Markets and Grocers
5 Easy Ways to Green-Up Your Home
1. Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs) Replacing frequently used incandescent bulbs with CFLs can save around $30 per bulb on your energy bill!
2. Digital Programmable Thermostat
Programming your thermostat can save around 10% on your energy bill each year.
3. Shower and Faucet Heads
Replacing shower and faucet heads with low-flow heads and aerators can reduce your water use by 40%.
4. Toilet Water
Filling a jug or bottle with water and placing a few pebbles or some sand in it to weigh it down and placing it in your toilet water tank is an easy way to save around 10 gallons of water each day.
5. Unplug
Unplugging unused appliances and cell phone chargers can save a bundle on your electrical bill. Even though you may not be using them, they still suck up electricity.
5 Ways to Green Your Food
1. The Big O - Organic
When you eat organic, picture the healthy ecosystems which produced that food, the workers who are safer from chemicals, the land, water, and air that is being protected, and the wildlife that is being allowed to thrive. Organic vegetables, fruits, grains, juice, dairy, eggs, and meat are grown and processed in ways that support healthy people and a healthy planet. For details on the meaning of organic, see the USDA Organics homepage at www.usda.gov
2. Fair fare Fair trade certified food ensures a proper wage and working conditions for those who harvest and handle it. But fair trade is green for the environment as well. TransFair, the only fair trade certifier in the US, has strong environmental standards built into its certification process that protect watersheds and virgin forests, help prevent erosion, promote natural soil fertility and water conservation, and prohibit GMOs and many synthetic chemicals.
3. Go local Buying seasonal, local food benefits the environment for a lot of reasons. Since most food travels an average of 1,500 miles to reach your table, locally sourced food cuts back on the climate change impacts of transportation. Generally speaking, local food also uses less packaging, is fresher, and comes in more varieties. It also supports small local growers and lets them get more for their produce by not having to spend so much on packing, processing, refrigeration, marketing, and shipping.
4. Compost the leftovers
Greening your meals isn't just about the food that winds up on the plate, it's the entire process. Composting leftovers will ease the burden on the landfill, give you great soil, and keep your kitchen waste basket from smelling. Apartment dwellers and yard lesswonders can do it too!
5. Ease up on the meat
Meat is the most resource-intensive food on the table and eating less of it can be the single most "green" move a person can make. Producing meat requires huge amounts of water, grain, land, and other inputs including hormones and antibiotics, and leads to pollution of soil, air, and water. A pound of beef requires around 12,000 gallons of water to produce, compared to 60 gallons for a pound of potatoes. Going vegetarian or vegan is a profoundly meaningful environmental choice so if you're a meat eater, try cutting out just one serving of meat each week.
Buying Local
Buying local foods is beneficial for many different reasons. Since there is less time between when your food was harvested and when it gets to your table it's fresher. It supports the local economy in your community while also requiring less packaging, travel distances, and waste. 
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR HEALTH: Farming with pesticides and fertilizers can cause water pollution, and leave unwanted pesticide residues on the food we feed our families. You can protect your health and improve the environment by choosing local, organic foods. Furthermore buying local cuts out the middle man and thus reduces transportation which helps prevent waste and pollution.
NUTRITION: Typically, food on the average Michigan plate has traveled 1,500 miles! Food loses vitamins and minerals as it ages. So, because buying local shortens the time it takes produce to get to a market, eating locally is also healthier, of higher quality and organic.
TRUST: Concerns about the health and safety of food are becoming more and more pronounced, buying locally adds to consumer confidence. Consumers get face-to-face contact with growers and producers which help them gain trust as well as a stronger sense of community.
Local Farmers' Markets
In the past five years, the number of farmers markets in Michigan has grown from around 90 in 2001 to over 150 today. Visit the Michigan Farmers Market Association's website to find a comprehensive list of markets throughout the State of Michigan. Or go to http://www.localharvest.org/ and view an exhaustive directory of local markets throughout the Country.
• Allen Street Farmers Market
(Corner of Allen Street and Kalamazoo Ave) May 23, 2012 - October 26, 2012. Open every Wednesday from 2:30pm - 7pm EBT and Project FRESH accepted. Contact: Kate Nault: (517) 367-2468.
• East Lansing Farmer's Market
Downtown East Lansing at Valley Court Park. July 8 - Oct. 28, 2012. Sundays, 10am-2pm.
• East Lansing Food Coop (ELFCO)
4960 Northwind Dr, East Lansing, 337-1266, info@elfco.coop. Wide range of organic groceries and some local products
• Foods for Living
2655 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823 (517) 324-9010. Carry the finest quality fresh, natural, organic and whole foods, nutritional products, and body care products.
• Grand Ledge Farmer's Market
213 S. Bridge St. in Downtown Grand Ledge at Maypole Park. Contact Terrance at 517-643-1849 for more info.
• Holt Farmer's Market
2150 Cedar Street, Holt, in the old fire station building in Holt, Michigan. Thursdays, July 8 - Aug. 26, 4-7pm. Saturdays, May - Nov. 26, 4-7pm
• Horrocks Farm Market
7420 W Saginaw Hwy, Lansing, MI48917. Open 7 days a week from 630am-10pm (517) 323-3782
• Lansing City Market
333 North Cedar Street, Lansing, MI U.S.A. 48912
Open Tuesday through Friday from 11am - 7pm and Saturdays from 9am - 5pm.
• Old Town Commercial Association's Farmers Market
203 E Grand River Ave, at Turner St in Lansing's Old Town District, Lansing; 517-485-4293, Ralph D. VanLoton; May 6, Jun 3, Jul 1, Aug 5, Sep 9, 1p-5p; Project FRESH accepted; Held during "First Sunday Gallery Walk" for Old Town, Lansing, and East Lansing.
• St. Johns Farmers Market
(100 Maple, west side of Clinton County Courthouse, downtown St. Johns) Saturdays, June 7th-November 19th, 8:00 am – noon; Project FRESH and Food Stamps accepted. Contact: Tyler Barlage, 989-227-1717.
• Student Organic Farm (MSU) Stand
(On the MSU campus on Farm Lane in front of the Auditorium). Thursdays, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. Offers tours and workshops to help the public understand the process their food goes through.
• Williamston Farmers Market
(Corner of Putnam and High Streets) May 22 - October 16. Every Thursday 2pm - 7pm, 161 E. Grand River Next to City Hall. Contact: 517-655-1953.
Get Involved With Go Green!
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer opportunities are also available for individuals and/or groups interested. If you or your organization would like to assist with special projects and events, please contact Taylor Heins at 517-483-4597 or email us at gogreen@lansingmi.gov.
Internships
To apply for an internship, please submit a cover letter highlighting your areas of interest within Go Green! and a resume to Taylor Heins at gogreen@lansingmi.gov.
City of Lansing, Internal Greening Program
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Assist with city-wide energy audit and assessments of waste diversions with a focus on energy conservation practices
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Develop a "greening" plan for City of Lansing departments and monitor participation levels
Go Green! Initiative Support
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Assist with event planning and marketing activities
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Manage constituent relations
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Represent the Go Green! Initiative at community meetings and events
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Website management
