green is universal

"Oh look, she's wasting plastic!"

Posted at 10:00 AM on December 10, 2007 comments (3)

I've been trying to use those cloth bags every time I go to the grocery store. I feel like if I didn't, people would start staring at me in Whole Foods saying, "Isn't that that Going Green lady from Channel 5... oh look, she's wasting plastic!"

Fear of being accused of being a hypocrite aside, "Going Green" is something I'd be doing anyway. Conservation and sustainability have always been part of my life; I've always turned water off when I brush my teeth, turned off all the lights, and found value in eating organic foods.

To me, these things aren't "Going Green" - we should have already gone there. So, since taking on the "Green" reports last April, I've made it a goal to get even greener... both personally and in the stories we cover.

While telling stories about donating shoes and recycling ash trees forced to be cut down into little league baseball bats is entertaining and informative, there are bigger issues to tackle.

As a meteorologist, people are always asking me what I think about "Global Warming." I often turn the subject to conservation and sustainability, because no one can argue that we need to do that.

So being the "Green" reporter in more than one sense (this is my 14th month at NBC 5) has been a trip. We honestly get hundreds of emails each month regarding "Green" ideas and "Green" tips from viewers and companies in the Chicago-land area. The reaction locally has been astounding. Chicago is a city that is incredibly proud - of everything - and now they can add being a little greener to that pride.

Ginger Zee
NBC 5 Chicago, Green Reporter & Meteorologist
http://www.nbc5.com/goinggreen/