When GreenFactor interviewed consumers in September and October about whether they would pay more for a green product, 57% said no. That still means 43% were willing to pay more and when you drill down to age groups, 54% of all 25-34 year-olds said the would pay more.

With the cost of gas prices sky high and random contaminated food scares making the rounds regularly, it just might pay to buy local now more than it ever has. When you buy from local farmers and merchants your dollar stretches farther, you reduce your carbon footprint, and you keep your neighbors (relatively speaking) in business. Now, to me, that is ROI. And, the fact that it is summer for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it is the easiest time of the year to do so.

In 2002, we traded my husband's Ford Escort for a Ford Explorer. Then we had a Ford Explorer and a Geo Prizm. In 2006, the 1994 Geo Prizm got t-boned on a busy street, and we "replaced" the 100,000-mile Ford Explorer with a 2005 Ford Explorer.The 1998 Ford Explorer is still kicking at 140,000 miles three years later. Oops.