Green Options

Take a moment to step out of the fast paced modern world and visit a village where time stopped over a hundred years ago.

Listen for the train whistle to signal that you can take a ride on the Huckleberry railroad, or feel the breeze off the lake while riding the Genesee Belle, enjoy old fashioned carnival rides on an old carousel or swing, watch a blacksmith at work or check out the way printers once had to set up their printing presses.

At Crossroads Village you can see what the good old days were really all about.

Editor’s Note: This is a 4-part series covering my trip to Michigan to test-drive the Chevy Volt. See also: 1. LiveBlogging from the opening of GM’s New Battery Lab and 3. Tour of GM’s New Battery Lab, 4. Video: Driving GM’s Electric Car. Disclaimer: GM flew me out for this event.

June 8, 2009- It was pouring rain when I arrived at GM’s Testing facility in Warren, Michigan. A crowd had already gathered inside the Alternative Energy Center which, among other things, is home to GM’s first electric car—the original model EV1 (#1).

The ghost of the EV1—a car designed and built 13 years ago—still haunts GM, though it’s both a symbol of lost opportunity and tangible proof that the company could pull off the same kind of engineering feat again. The billion-dollar Volt project is a major component of the company’s reinvention strategy, and it’s clear they aren’t pulling any punches this time.

While grocery shopping during a recent trip to Tennessee I realized how much I missed my “local” products. I also realized that shopping local is a very green choice. When you hear shop local you may just think about locally grown and seasonal produce (which is mainly what I associated with buying local) but it’s also about supporting local businesses, companies, and brands which all support the local economy.

There are several brands that mean home to me: Koegel, Vernors, and Faygo. Koegel is a meat company that’s been in Flint since the early 1900’s , and if you’ve never had a Koegel hot dog you don’t know what your missing. My husband wouldn’t touch a hot dog until he moved to Michigan and I convinced him to try a Koegel. Now he’ll gladly eat hot dogs, as long as they are Koegels and only Koegels.