Connecticut Green Living

Yesterday I began this list from the bottom up. Today I'll roundout my top 10 eco-friendly staples. #5 #1 Cafe Bustelo This supertasty espresso coffee in bold yellow and red foil bags is addictive. And at a modest price (as cheap as $4 at Walmart) it won't break the bank. Do not buy the Kpods (the opposite of eco-friendly) but brew it yourself in either a single Melita #4 filter over a Fino Coffee-Brewing filter cone or in your coffeemaker of choice. You are supporting an original concept, a homespun business from Harlem with its tentacles and heart in Latin America, South America and Cuba. #4 Kiss my Face Triple Action toothpaste with tea tree oil & aloe A recent discovery, I am in love with the fresh, naturally minty sensation after brushing. Cursed with teeth like an eighteenth-century British Low Life, I will take all the enticement I can get to BRUSH. Its tube touts "100% vegan, triclosan and SLS free, BPA free, no artificial colors or flavors. Buy it at Elm ...

Connecticut recently ranked fifth in the country for greenness — so why aren't we always acting green? We're particularly lax when it comes to giving up our one-person-per-auto mindset. This reporter wholly believes that the greatest impediment to getting more folks to share a ride, or get on the bus or train is reversing a stigma. Being a bus rider is even fodder for comic effect in movies. Women walking to the bus in the 'burbs sometimes get propositioned as ladies of the evening! It's the bus, people, not a meth deal. The reason to reverse the stigma is clear and urgent: we are on a collision course with climate change and the planet isn't winning. From coral bleaching to cites choking on air pollution, climate change -- a laughed-off topic by Donald Trump -- is the plague that keeps on giving. Thought last summer was too warm? Just wait till the next hurricane hits us and everyone's remarking how severe the weather "suddenly" is. So here are ...