Green Stores

As I have been traveling around I have been visiting "Green Stores" which range from personal/lifestyle items (clothing, water bottles, utensils, books, videos, bags, latest selection of organic cotton and hemp apparel, bedding, rugs, home furnishings, gifts, housewares, books, art from recycled materials, locally produced artisanal soaps, candles, stationary from recycled paper and more in addition to recycling bins, composting supplies, rain barrels) to green building supply stores (paint, stains, sealers, cleaners, countertops, tile, insulation, toilets, sheet goods, tubular skylights, flooring, landscaping) but none of them really focus' on energy or lifestyle changes.

My personal opinion on green: there is a craze going through the mainstream right now which is spreading awareness of Sustainability. While I believe that the growing consciousness of ecological and social sustainability is completely necessary in today's world, I also think that some of this craze is missing the point- we are still buying junk, only now they are organic or sustainable; we are still far too dependent on automobiles, only now we are buying fuel-efficient SUV's; we are still buying products shipped from countries far across the globe, only now we check to see if they are fair-trade, ...in short, I believe we need to focus on buying less, consuming less, and producing what we can with local materials. This is the green I support.

A list of some of the green stores I have visited in the last 2 weeks are in St Louis, Cincinnati, Lexington & Louisville Ky, and Champaign IL.

I hope to open up a sustainable energy general store soon.