Let The Green Guide Steer You in the Right Direction

Are you interested in making sound environmental choices, but perhaps overwhelmed by the amount or complexity of information and advice available on "doing the right thing" by the planet? Let the thorough yet down-to-earth information available in The Green Guide steer you in the right direction for environmentally conscious living.

Published bimonthly by the Green Guide Institute, this publication is more like a newsletter than a magazine in terms of length. Each issue is only about a dozen or so pages, and is printed on recycled paper. While it may not weigh down your mailbox, The Green Guide will definitely give you plenty of hands-on, "everyday life" ideas to help you take some simple steps to reduce your negative impact on the environment and to improve your family’s health and safety.

The Green Guide Institute’s mission is "to bring you the most objective, responsible and accurate environmental and health information you will find in print or on the web. Our goal is to ensure that The Green Guide and www.thegreenguide.com serve as your most practical, reliable, and trustworthy content source for product choices and daily practices that are better for health and the environment." They seem to be doing an excellent job of researching their material thoroughly. Most articles include a list of resources consulted, and the authors are experienced environmental and health writers.

This publication is effectively a Consumer Reports for the environmentally conscious. Some articles warn of health hazards that consumers might face in their homes or everyday lives and how to avoid exposure. Other articles provide advice on "greener" product choices, and often provide contact information, including web addresses, for the manufacturers or vendors of environmentally friendly products and services. "Product Reports" outline the problem associated with a given product and solutions to that problem, as well as information on "what to look for," "what to look out for," and "shopping suggestions." The Green Guide often offers "Smart Shoppers Cards" that can be cut out and folded to easily fit in a pocket, wallet or purse for quick reference while you’re shopping. These cards may include brand names for a product in question, and a chart showing how those particular brands are certified (e.g. "organic," "fair trade," etc.). The web addresses for companies or brands are often provided for more information. In the case of a food item that might be contaminated with a particular toxin (such as fish, in which mercury can be an issue), safer choices are outlined on the Smart Shopper Card (e.g. choose tilapia instead of tuna). Recent cards have dealt with how to interpret food labels and non-toxic toys.

Whenever an environmental problem is presented in an article, a section on "What You Can Do" is included and clearly delineated to provide easy-to-follow advice. Often, several such sections might be included in one article, if multiple issues are dealt with. This attention to "user-friendliness" is part of why I really enjoy this publication. The editors and authors are great at providing straightforward, easy to digest advice without talking down to their audience.

For those who like to cook, chef Amy Topel writes a column with ideas and recipes for using healthier, more sustainable ingredients. She often includes items that are in season, so those who like to garden or shop at farmers markets will find this feature really helpful. Profiles of green organizations or interviews with the operators of successful green businesses are sometimes included, and on occasion, The Green Guide produces "Special Reports" on hot topics. For example, a recent Special Report highlighted the editors’ choices for the top 10 green schools in America.

In addition to the print edition, The Green Guide offers an electronic subscription, which includes access to premium content on the publication’s extensive web site with a username and password. This includes access to archived articles and product guides, online coupons, and a consumer query service called "Just Ask The Green Guide." The e-subscription is probably the best value, being $15 per year versus $20 per year for the print version. And let’s face it—if you’re interested in environmental protection, an e-subscription saves paper. Plus, you don’t have to worry about filing those past editions; any time you want to look up information that has been presented previously, you just need to get online, sign in, and look it up.

The only con that I can think of to associate with this publication is that I wish it were produced every month instead of bimonthly.

If you are considering a subscription, I encourage you to check out the publication’s web site at www.thegreenguide.com. (Make sure you include "the"—www.greenguide.com takes you to the Green Building Resource Guide, which is nice, but not what we’re concerned about here.) Some of the articles in the current issue will have a red "FREE" beside their titles, indicating that you can read the entire article without a subscription. Also, if you follow the link in the box entitled "About The Green Guide" on the homepage, you can get a free sample issue. And, if you check out the online lists of "Product Reports" or "Smart Shopper’s Cards," you’ll find that some of these may also be downloaded without a subscription.

Overall, this is a really useful periodical that provides a lot of solid information for a relatively low price. If you want to make more effective environmental choices as a consumer, The Green Guide is definitely worth the investment.