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Community Corner

Who's Living Green?

Artineh Havan is doing her part as Earth Day rapidly approaches.

Artineh Havan is a community planner at Sustainable Long Island. She currently works on brownfield redevelopment and community revitalization projects. Once you get to know Artineh you quickly realize that not only does she work for a sustainable organization, she lives a sustainable life as well.

“I think it is very important for everyone to be conscious of global climate change and the use of our limited natural resources,” Artineh says. “Living green is not just a saying; it’s a way of life.”

There are varying ideologies on what to do when one chooses to live green and different opinions on how to do it. Most people tend to focus on the larger ideas, but to make a difference in your everyday routine–it is important to make the small changes as well.

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Artineh had been interested in living green ever since she was a young girl. She would collect cans and bottles to recycle when she was still in middle school and would convince her friends to walk to the movie theaters and local hangouts rather than drive as a teenager.

A couple of years ago, she wanted to truly take action. She did some research online leading her to a website that offered a personal carbon footprint assessment. She filled out the questionnaire and found out one of the biggest contributors to her footprint was her eating of meat.

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“Everything from the raising of the animals to the food miles my meals traveled was contributing to the use of a lot of different resources," she recalls.

Soon after, Artineh became a vegetarian and hasn’t looked back. Healthy fruit and vegetables are her top preference with a strong love for fresh peaches. She tries to buy all her produce locally; visiting farmers’ markets whenever she can.

“It’s sustainable and affordable,” she says as she got some “on-the-job shopping” done at Sustainable Long Island’s first year farmers’ markets in North Bellport and Roosevelt last summer. Along with the Long Island Farm Bureau and local community partners, Sustainable Long Island will be implementing this project in additional communities in 2011 offering Long Islander’s the chance to “eat green.”

What does Artineh use to carry all those delicious peaches–paper or plastic?

“Neither–bring your own bag,” she says. One of the unique elements of Artineh’s green lifestyle is her cautiousness of recycling. Of course she is all for it, but her belief is that in the waste hierarchy of the 3 “R’s,” recycle comes after reduce and reuse for a reason.

“If we reduce a lot of the bad habits we have and reuse items as much as possible, we won’t have to recycle all the time," she says. 

Basic everyday tasks show her commitment to living green: not using plastic utensils or paper plates; washing them and reusing if she must; unplugging all of the appliances in her house when they are not in use; and conserving water by taking showers in shorter time intervals.

Artineh adamantly stresses the connection between living green and being healthy.

“It’s not only good for the environment to live green, but it also keeps us healthy,” she explains. “Thousands of studies show contaminants in many household items can cause a multitude of diseases, such as numerous forms of cancer.”

For this reason, Artineh is an advocate for thoroughly reading labels on everything she buys. She has cut down on a variety of products that contain hidden poisons from shampoo to perfume. She gets creative too; using vinegar and baking soda to clean her wooden floors and counter surfaces. This helps cut down on cleaning goods that contain a range of toxins.

“I just moved into a new apartment and bought a new natural latex rubber mattress–which isn’t manufactured using tons of chemicals," she says. 

She even started composting as often as possible; taking scraps of food to composting facilities so the remains don’t end up in landfills, mixing with other garbage and creating additional pollutants.

“Whenever we purchase and use items we always have to consider where it comes from and just as importantly, where it will end up,” she advises.

Her enthusiasm for the earth’s natural well being is what drew her to Sustainable Long Island; an organization known for promoting environmental health across Long Island. With Earth Day on the horizon, more and more people will look to make sustainable choices. The first step they can take is researching what green policies are being implemented in their neighborhood.

“Knowing what’s happening in your community will help equip you with the tools to start living green," Artineh says.

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