Connecticut Green Living

When I stayed with my late mother in South Texas in 2016, there was a Zika Virus * scare, and so even sweeping the back porch was a fraught exercise in mosquito dodgeball. I remember scurrying about so fast that I likely made more of a mess than I helped. Spending summers in South Texas at my grandmother's, I was always mosquito-bite ridden. It was annoying, I itched, but I was young. Remember youth? We were never going to get really sick, much less die. But these days I take, and you should take, the threats posed by mosquitoes and ticks very seriously. ............................ SciLine, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently hosted a panel of scientists to discuss said threats ("Ticks, Mosquitoes and Rising Disease Risk"). Some of the takeaways were that climate change can, but does not necessarily portend, the deletirious effects of mosquito and tick season on a population. Interestingly, changes in land use also play huge facto...

As I write, I'm in a cool room in Windsor Locks, Connecticut , enjoying the way my skin feels after walking to the hotel from the restaurant next door. Just a few minutes in this weather made me dizzy, and tomorrow and Wednesday will be worse. For those of us who take public transportation, extreme heat and humidity is dangerous. I spoke to Dr. Kenneth Gillingham , Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Yale School of the Environment, about why this "heat spell" is threatening. We also spoke last April about our state's "green" rating (#9). "My primary concern about the heat is for low-income people who don't have access to adequate cooling. This will be exacerbated in the upcoming years," he wrote in an e-mail. I had asked him if our current presidential administration is having an adverse bearing on climate change. He said, "A presidential administration can affect your carbon footprint by influencing the carbon intensity of ele...

For years, I was a fan of Elm City Market, conveniently located for the train commuter (i.e. me) on State and Elm in New Haven across from the Metro station. When I found out it was closing but moving after Christmas (January originally, but now finally set on the day after tomorrow) I was thrilled but worried. For when one has their favorite places, they include not only products but sense memories - the first coffee on a cold morning, the taste tests before holidays, learning to pronounce 'quinoa' correctly (this really happened, but I cannot remember whether I taught myself or just heard a fellow shopper pronounce it.) Elm City Market reopens 7-11 at 275 S. Orange in New Haven, with a PR blitz - giveaways, 'meet the vendors', New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and might I add air conditioning. I spoke to the CEO, Kurt Luttecke yesterday about the new digs. "So it's been really hot, I'm not embarrassed to say I'll be coming for the AC." (chuckles) ...

We could do better but we could also do a lot worse. A couple weeks ago, personal finance website WalletHub released its report on the year's Greenest States. "In order to showcase the states doing right by Mother Earth , WalletHub compared the 50 states in terms of 28 key metrics that speak to the current health of the environment and residents’ environmental-friendliness," their press release says. "The data set ranges from green buildings per capita to the share of energy consumption from renewable resources." Our 10th place ranking mirrors a similar ranking from SmileHub , 11th in sustainable development. Unfortunately, we are slipping: in 2023 we ranked sixth , in 2024 ninth . Asked to explain why we've been slipping, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told me, "While Connecticut continues to do well in addressing climate change , ranking second in that category, its overall environmental quality has slipped noticeably, from eighth in 2023 to 11th i...

I loved the recent Blue Origin all-female trip to space and even consider Katy Perry an astronaut now. But then, I was that kid who raced to watch Man land on the moon in July 1969, nerdily pushing my way from the confines of friend Stephanie's house up the street. Today on Earth Day , no doubt the Blue Origin ladies are thinking of Earth much differently than you and I are. I can only imagine the thrill of seeing our planet even from 62 miles above sea level (still well above the Kármán line ). I ask that you close your eyes and imagine Earth in a similarly special vein. Buying green products won't necessarily change the world but if you only buy sustainably, your carbon footprint at the time of your death will be a source of pride. Not to you, who is dead , but to your family. Imagine knowing your mom or grandmother had composted their entire adult lives? So here is a smattering of products I have enjoyed and do enjoy: #1: Oceanfoam rollers . These eco-conscious foam rolle...

If you have ever taken a stroll around New Haven, you may have been treated to one of our dozens of green spaces. I was so struck over Christmas when I wandered blocks from the Yale campus to find the Farmington Canal Greenway. It is part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile bike and pedestrian route that aims to connect Maine to Florida. Visit Milford, for example, and you can bike along part of it as it skirts by Gulf Beach. Elsewhere, find Edgewood Park , for example, with its bocce court ensconced by buttonbushes and dogwoods, which help guard against erosion. The park also showcases shagbark hickory, black birch, kousa dogwood, and weeping blue spruce. These are but two examples of our embarassment of riches in the Constitution State, where green spaces in a city are not a one-off but a way of life, lifting spirits while promoting a healthier lifestyle: from running and rollerblading to simply walking alone or with a loved one. It turns out, Connecticut has a special place...