Green Friend of the Week: Prasanna from Carderock, MD

This week’s green friend of the week is Prasanna, a lifelong vegetarian and environmentalist. Prasanna is perhaps one of the most enthusiastic recyclers I have ever met. Her love and respect for Mother Earth are laudable. Here’s the short list of what Prasanna and her family are doing to help protect our planet:

1. Switch from a gas guzzler to a hybrid. Prasanna traded in her family’s gas guzzling SUV for a Prius hybrid. Just think of it: a gallon of gasoline produces 20 lbs. of carbon dioxide. Driving a hybrid helps Prasanna and her family save the earth several tons of greenhouse gases. Prasanna loves driving an earth friendly car and says, “It is so much fun to drive!” Click here to learn more about hybrid vehicles.

2. Make recycling your passion. Prasanna explains her enthusiasm, “[Recycling] is s a passion and a hobby for me. I often find myself sorting through the trashcan at work to recycle items, and I bring home trash from fast food restaurants where they don’t have recycling! I also recycle batteries and plastic bags at special recycling centers.” Prasanna’s friends and family are highly amused by Prasanna’s recycling urges. When our families walked together for the first time and I observed her picking up trash and pulling out recyclable containers, I felt that I was with a kindred spirit.

3. Avoid styrofoam dishware like the plague! According to National Geographic’s The Green Guide:

“Not only are Styrofoam products hazardous to the environment, they can also be hazardous to your health! When stored or heated, plastic packaging like Styrofoam may leach the possible human carcinogen styrene into foods. Styrene is also suspected of disrupting hormones harming developing bodies.”

Alternative storage containers include plastics #1, #2, #4, and #5, as well as biodegradable products made by Green Earth Office Supplies.

4. Buy organic. Prasanna’s favorite organic market is Whole Foods Market. “We are big fans [of Whole Foods] who sell organic products at a more reasonable price.” Buying organic dairy products is also one way that Prasanna safeguards her children’s development and longterm health. She explains, “My kids are not exposed to unnecessary growth hormones and the environment is not exposed to unnecessary antibiotics, which could encourage the growth of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.” Did I mention that Prasanna is a biologist for an important health institution?

6. Become a vegetarian. Click here to read GoVeg.com’s article about how we can benefit the environment by not eating animals and animal products.

7. Live with minimum impact. Prasanna and her family recently moved to Carderock, MD which is famous for rock climbing (a potential new hobby for them) and is nearby Prasanna’s job. By reducing her commute, Prasanna saves the earth extra emissions and allows herself more time for thinking of ways to green her life. In addition, her husband occasionally telecommutes.

8. Be a true conservative. That is, live to conserve the environment by being aware of energy and water usage. Prasanna is teaching her 3 year old to shut off the water while brushing his teeth, as well as to keep the lights off in empty rooms.

9. Flush!  Your diapers, that is! I introduced Prasanna to g Diapers, which involves using a washable cloth outer shell, a reusable liner, and a paper insert that can be flushed or composted. Prasanna uses g Diapers for her 16 month old “to reduce the eternal source of landfill waste.” g Diapers are “g”reen diapers!

10. Reuse and donate. Prasanna’s family avoids adding to landfill waste by donating reusable items and re-purposing them.

11. Chat ‘em up. Prasanna enjoys discussing the environment and ways to take action on its behalf. She says, “I love to discuss being green with friends. Not only do I learn more about being green, but it strengthens both my and my friends’ resolve to make a difference!” As early as high school, Prasanna was a founding member of her school’s Environmental club, a group of students who discussed how to be more environmentally friendly and to find meaningful ways to take action.

Phewy! Prasanna is one green mamma! Thank goodness for friends like her, though. She is an environmentalist through and through and is committed to finding ways to live in a mindful and respectful way of Mother Earth. When she and I last talked, she shared good news: she and her family won a free compost container at her neighborhood’s Earth day recycling party. It must be her good green karma . . .