Buying local

The first step to buying local -- and getting rid of old products responsibly -- is finding Green merchants in your neighborhood. MSN Green's Local Directory can help you start your search, particularly for local food purveyors, farmers markets, recycling locations and retail take-back locations.

The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

This means that buying local could save 366,400/447 kwh of energy, 687/1,250 tons of, 80 gallons of oil, a 2,400,000 cubic meter lake, and 320 acres of soil from being polluted, 458/2,235 pounds of a year, a 1,832/745 cubic meter lake, 3,664/11,175 tons of coal, 30 tons of greenhouse gases, 1,374/25 gallons of gasoline, 73,280/3,129 metric tons of , 114,500/1,341 tons of waste, 18,320/447 metric tons of limestone, 6,183/9,250 tons of air pollution per year, 7,328/279,375 tons of fly ash, 687/2,500 tons of biomass, 916/3 pounds of , 9,389/1,788 tons of methane, enough energy to power a CFL for 7,099/163,155 years, over $70.00

buying a week’s produce from a local farmer's market once a month could save 60 pounds of, 20,000/447 kwh of energy, 1,000/229 gallons of oil, 4,000/229 acres of soil from being polluted, 5/447 pounds of mercury a year, a 20/149 cubic meter lake, 8/447 tons of coal, 375/229 tons of greenhouse gases, 3 gallons of gasoline, 4,000/3,129 metric tons of lead, 6,250/1,341 tons of waste, 1,000/447 metric tons of limestone, 27/740 tons of air pollution per year, 30 pounds of biomass, 50/3 pounds of carbon, 1,280/447 pounds of fly ash, 20/17,433 metric tons of , 12,000/23 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,025/3,576 tons of methane, over 75/229 pounds of smog, 12,500/2,977 metric tons of global warming, 10/3,129 tons of ,