Connecticut Green Living

The coveted USA Today report of the best and worst states to live in has been published, and Connecticut can be proud - and a little worried. There's work to do. Our neighbor to the north, Massachusetts, ranked first overall including first in education, second in healthcare, and fifth for the economy. New Hampshire was #2, Rhode Island #21, New York #17, and New Jersey #2. Impressively, the Garden State came in second for education. We ranked #12 overall on the list, coming up highest for education at #4, #8 for crime and corrections, and #12 in healthcare. However, we won't write home about our economy - we're only #38, with a dismal #44 for GDP growth. Yin and yang: while we're #2 for gender equality -- yah! -- we're only #48 for our disability employment rate. Another downer? Our roads are ranked at the end of the pack, 50th in the Union. We can do better. With education and healthcare so highly ranked, though, there is obviously room for improvement. The...

This article originally ran on June 12, 2016 on Examiner.com. Today was a sad day following the news from Orlando. But I did try to maintain a sugarfree diet, eating an orange, low fat Swiss cheese, air popped popcorn, and a peach. However, after watching the news, the urge to eat some of those hidden shortbread cookies became overpowering. I ate three. The connection between emotions and sugar addiction cannot be underestimated. As children, we're given a lollipop at the doctor for good behavior; chocolate bunnies at Easter; advent calendars with chocolate behind each window at Christmas. Parents who packed their children a healthful lunch were often ridiculed, as I remember. My own mother strived to keep my brother and I on track, but single, working moms can only do so much. Who doesn't remember emptying a pillow case of Halloween candy and chomping on it all night? We have a real obesity problem in this country. I'm not obese, but I understand the impulse to eat...

The following article by the author originally appeared on Examiner.com June 11, 2016 I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't glad I'm more than halfway through this self-inflicted sugary deprivation week . I'd also be a liar if I said I had given up all  sugar this week - but it's really not my fault. I have realized more than ever that in America, land of the processed food obsession, it's really tough to find enough to eat sometimes if one wants to go sugar-free. For example, I'm on a tight budget. I was craving a breakfast sandwich. I looked at the labels and it just appeared nothing was sugar-free. I had no choice but to break my own ban in the guise of a sausage/egg/cheese/English muffin sandwich. (You don't want me passing out, do you?) I also decided I could buy some bread, after all, if it touts "no high fructose corn syrup" and 21 whole grains per serving, and is low in fat (also no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.) I see it...

The following article by the author originally appeared on Examiner.com June 10, 2016 I want to cry right now - probably for no reason. I am aware, though, that this has as much to do with the sugar making its way from my bloodstream as it does a link to anything in particular (missing my family, my mentee's upcoming high school graduation, how much I miss Ho Hos...) So here's where I stand. I'd give myself a solid A- for how well I'm doing off sugar. I've switched from adding cream and Splenda or dried creamer and sugar to my coffee to going with some vanilla extract and/or cinnamon as needed. Sometimes I'll just drink it black. I've bought a new kind of meusli-ish cereal that doesn't have sugar; snacked on cashews; and rediscovered how much I love grapes. But there are slips: feeling the need to finish the cans of Pringles I'd bought prior to starting "Seven Days" , and then wondering if the balsamic vinegar-olive oil combo I was soak...

The U.S. fitness boom has grown even as the obesity epidemic has also surged over the past decade or so. The popularity of adding high-tech twists to the American workout - i.e. with attachable exercise monitors (" wearables ") or stationary bikes with apps - seems to run counter to an exploding yoga craze. The high-tech versus low-tech yogis or Pilates practitioners would, nevertheless, appear to show that exercise is more important than showy and techy ways of doing it. Here in Connecticut, the state is not only peppered with yoga facilities but one is more apt to run into someone with a yoga mat than a set of weights these days. According to a joint 2016 Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance study , 34 percent of Americans say they are "somewhat or very likely" to practice yoga in the coming year, equal to more than 80 million Americans; and 37 percent of practitioners have kids under age 18 who also practice yoga. - The study also shows that yoga students spend $1...

The following lightly edited article was originally published by the author on Examiner.com, June 9, 2016 Today is day two of my " Seven Days Without Sugar Challenge " and so far, it's about as hard as I thought it would be. First, full disclosure - because I was unable to get to the store yesterday, I had to eat what I had on hand. I put cookies and candy far away, but unfortunately, that still left some sugary-filled items such as processed rice and chips. However, I did avoid cereal, didn't add powdered cream or sugar to my coffee, no sweets, and no bread. My consumption yesterday included two packets of Justin's almond butter and an apple; air-popped popcorn in sea salt and oil, adding balsamic vinegar and olive oil to some of it; a banana; an orange; coffee with vanilla (the extract) and cinnamon as needed; plain Earl Grey tea; and then...a packet of red beans and rice, sugar in the package! My favorite can of Petit Pois peas - sugar included!! I want t...

The following lightly edited article was originally published by the author on Examiner.com, June 8, 2016 Quitting smoking is a terribly difficult challenge. This writer tried in the eighties, only to resume the nasty habit in the mid-nineties. But eventually, it was mind over matter, and I quit in three days (smoking fewer and fewer cigs each day) in 2008. If only giving up sugar were that easy! Here in the US, refined sugar is in everything from spaghetti sauce to "healthy" breakfast cereals and bars. Fruit juice is one of the biggest culprits, with more per average serving than in many candy bars. The only way to really avoid juice sugar is to juice the fruit (or vegetables) yourself. Nevertheless, I'm taking on what I've coined the "No Sugar for Seven Days Challenge" and implore my readers to follow suit. Whether our motivation is losing weight, setting a good example for our kids or, in my case, stopping constant cavities and other dental woes, ...

Today, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) released its lists of most energy-efficient states in the country, drawing a link to heightened appliance standards. ASAP was founded in 1999 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Alliance to Save Energy, the Energy Foundation, and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The founders had been involved in appliance standards work for years, but recognized that a more encompassing, more organized advocacy effort would better effect change and improve standards. The average American family saved almost $500 on utility bills in 2015 as a result of existing efficiency standards for appliances and lighting, according to a white paper published today by ASAP with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report details average household savings for all 50 states and DC in four categories: household utility bill savings; electricity savings; natural gas and oil savings; and wate...

Drive around your neighborhood this afternoon. It doesn't matter whether you're hitting the shore in areas of Connecticut or the 'burbs of Texas, where your great aunt lives. In Alice, Texas, for example, the "rich" part of town boasts ginormous homes with unfathomable amounts of square feet. As this blogger's mother put it, "Yes, but where are the trees?" That could be a metaphor for why big houses require a second look. Energy consumption for homes over even 3,000 square feet could fuel a small school, library, or train station. And massive home building oftentimes occurs in areas that can least afford the carbon footprint. For example, in 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compiled data that shows in Massachusetts, energy consumption is 22 percent greater on average than in the rest of the country. The EPA wrote: "Since the weather in Massachusetts and New England is cooler than other areas of the United States, space h...

The following article was published on Examiner.com May 9, 2013. It has been lightly edited. The pummeling Long Island Sound suffered from Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy showed us here in Connecticut that climate change is not some far-off intangible. And more recently, the flip from 60 degree day in New York to a biting snowstorm the next just last week should be a climate denier's wakeup call. Of course, not everyone has rallied around the climate change camp (Fox News). Yale Climate Project released in 2013 an extensive study in accessible PDF form that shows how climate change advocates are far more firmly entrenched in their beliefs than are doubters. The study,  "Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans' Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes in April 2013"  is a good read for anyone who doubts the science (or anyone who doesn't). Yale scientists and students have nicely illustrated their points, which include: • A majority of Americans ...

Whether you are single, married, or something in between, Connecticut has something to offer you this Valentine's Day. And let's be honest, it's not just a day. Some of us have been collecting our little conversation hearts since January 18th. While some may say, "Oh, it's just a day and Valentine's should be every day," we know those are the cheapskates who'd rather snore their way through any holiday (remember their lame excuses for not putting up a Christmas tree?) So here you go. Enjoy the holiday and the Valentine's weekend: 1. Putnam - Fire and Ice fest : February 11. Downtown Putnam will boast ice sculptures, horse and carriage rides, live music, ice luminarias, fire torches, fire dancing performances, fantastic food, live entertainment and as they say, much more. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 2. Willimantic - Romantic Willimantic 13th Annual Chocolate Festival : February 11. Organizer say, "The day begins with the Cupid Made Me Run road rac...

The following article originally appeared on Examiner.com, Feb. 13, 2016 Mold. The word conjures up images of two-week old bread in the fridge, that hunk of cheese we accidentally bit into or something we suspect in the crevices of the bathroom tiles. It's that last image this article aims to address. Robert Weitz, owner of RTK Environmental in Fairfield County, says that there are different signs to look for in winter versus summer. In summer, the worry and the danger stem from the humidity and condensation, but sometimes winter brings more insidious challenges. "Ice damming is a big issue," says Weitz. "On Facebook and Twitter we get a lot of traffic [concerning this problem]. [Ice damming means that] when we get a significant amount of snow on the roof, and then the sun on the next day, it causes snow to melt; and that water will end up, naturally, on the roof itself and flow down towards the gutter into the roof ... Now you have water [leaking] into the gu...