Green Daily

I'm on the fence about Women's Health magazine. While I like that it takes a more direct, hard-edged approach to women's fitness (ie: photos of sweaty, stringy-haired women working out as opposed to daintier, obviously sweat-free princesses with full faces of makeup), it's still marred with Glamour-esque columns like "Male Brain Explained" and "Sex and Relationships." Seriously, how does knowing Derek Jeter's favorite movie help me shape my delts?

Okay, rant over: but this month, a small piece of info caught my eye: within an article about the benefits of eating local, there's a simple chart that effectively illustrates what effect the fruits you choose have on the environment.

The object of study: a shiny red apple from New Zealand. In order to get into your shopping cart, that baby had to travel 6,446 miles and emit about 70 grams of greenhouse gases during cultivation and transport. But, if you opt for the locally-grown, slightly less shiny red apple, it only traveled about 142 miles and emitted a total of 31 grams of greenhouse gases (WH got its stats from a University of Washington study).

It's hard to argue with the cold, hard, shiny facts. If at all possible, buy in season, and buy local. It's really that simple.