I'm already a huge Fixer fan, so when the Fixer does something vaguely green, I feel all special.

As readers of our paper know, the Fixer is a columnist who helps consumers who are having problems with companies, whether it be over service, rebates or what.

The Fixer, Stephanie Zimmermann, takes letters from throughout our newspaper group. So sometimes the letters are from Joliet, sometimes they aren't.

Well, this is a chance to make our area shine. Check out what the Fixer is doing now:

Dear Readers: One of The Fixer's favorite lines from President Obama's inauguration speech was where he said, describing Americans' ability to rise up and meet challenges: "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly." This is an important point. No matter if you're a Democrat, a Republican or none of the above, we can all agree that being more responsible is a good thing. Which got us thinking, what can we do? Well, being less wasteful is a start. Here's one small vow that we're making right now: The Fixer household is finally ditching those wasteful plastic grocery bags and using cloth instead. The hardest part has been remembering to bring them to the store, but now we've got five cloth bags hanging on a hook by the back door and a spare stashed in the car. With something like 500 billion plastic bags consumed worldwide each year - and billions of those discarded as litter - we're hoping to do at least a little bit to bring that number down. What are your plans to be less wasteful this year? Let us know in an e-mail to szimmermann@suntimes.com. We'll run some of your suggestions in a future Fixer column.

Being less wasteful is a huge part of being green. That whole reduce, reuse, recycle? They're all less wasteful. So drop The Fixer a note with how you waste less and be sure to include your town. Then, when the 'responsibility' column runs, we'll be well-represented, proving the southland can do green chic every bit as well as the city.

Michael R. Schmidt/Herald News staff photographer

If you've been to Springbrook Prairie Pavilion in Naperville, you've noticed the signs in front of the often-empty parking spots.
"Preferred Parking - Fuel Efficient Vehicles"
It's not someone trying to save a space for their hybrid. The developer is pursuing a LEED status for the strip mall, requiring such spots.
Every time my husband and I eat at Noodles & Co. there, we notice the spots are empty.
We think we know why.
How fuel efficient must you be to park there? If you have a hybrid and park there, will someone with a solar-paneled hybrid get ticked you took the spot when you're not really fuel efficient? If you have a domestic hybrid, you probably get fewer miles to the gallon than I do in my domestic compact. But you'd probably get less flak for parking there.
Or if you fill up with E-85, does that count?
This very discussion has even fueled an angry debate on a car forum.
One company in another state provides a long spreadsheet of cars that can park in their preferred parking. Don't expect anyone at Noodle or Whole Foods to come out to evict you from that spot, though.
Springbrook isn't towing inefficient vehicles or making you download a spreadsheet.
Deb Kwiatt of Whole Foods in the strip mall says, "If it's a small car and you feel like it has pretty good mileage," you're pretty justified in parking there.
But, if you just can't find a good spot and you're hauling around 4,000 kids, hurt your leg or are 9 months pregnant, you're probably OK there too. Just, when you park, whisper a wish for a Prius.
This is a lot like the pregnant-lady parking at Westfield Louis Joliet mall. I went to meet a friend for lunch. She was pretty pregnant but still schlepped herself from the outer circle of the mall to come to lunch, walking past the empty pregnancy spots.
I asked her why she didn't just use one, rather than waddling across the whole mall. (I didn't say "waddling." I'm not stupid.) She said people get mad if they think you don't look pregnant enough. She was wearing the pregnancy pretty well at that point and didn't want people to say something mean, accusing her of fraudulently taking the spot.
Well, that's just cruel.
How about this: Park in the fuel-efficient spot if you think your car is fuel efficient or if you NEED to (not just because you want to run in for a few things)? And if someone yells at you, be ready to shout out your highway miles per gallon or to yell why you're not able to walk across the lot like the rest of us. Acceptable answers include, "I just had triplets and can barely walk" or "The chemotherapy is making me so sensitive to cold that I have to be close to the door." If they still hassle you after that, they're the problem, not you.
But if you park your Armada there and stroll on in to "grab a few things," we reserve the right to chuck organic rolls at you.
Wait, that's just cruel.

Whole Foods in Naperville hosted a Love Your Whole Body day last week with samples, presentations and a whole lotta customers.
My husband and I were knocked out.
First, I stocked up on body product samples. It's all of the great stuff I want to try, but am scared I'll spend $12 on only to find out I'm allergic to something in it. (Whole Foods will refund your money for stuff like this, I'm told, but I hate being the person returning stuff.)
Then, we did the rounds for food samples. We ended up picking up some great Bissinger's chocolate as a early Valentine's treat.
By the time we needed to head into the community room for our class, we were feeling pretty good.
Then, it got better.
My husband and I had signed up for a Burt's Bees session with Gayle Grindley. It was free, but we got bells and whistles.
There were a ton of nice, interested people to talk with; and a table was laid out with tea, chocolate and almonds.
Now, I already loved Burt's Bees in concept. It's natural, but not the kind of natural that a company claims but refuse to confirm with ingredient lists.
Gayle Grindley, a Burt's Bees employee, actually explained what products are for (turns out I'd been wrong about what toner does) and let us try a dozen or so products.
The best part in my book: Gayle actually ate some of the orange essence facial cleanser. Oh, yes. You want natural? How about a cleanser you can safely chow down on? (She reported it tasted a bit like marmalade.) Me, I was about to dive into the marshmallow vanishing creme, which actually contains marshmallow extract.
We ended up leaving with great little sample kits with tons of products. They were in little woven bags that can be used as loofahs or composted. I don't think my old cosmetic company can say that about their plastic-laden freebies.
My "old" company, you ask? Yeah, I'm pretty happy with Burt's Bees now. I'm using their cleanser and toner and am MUCH less red and blotchy. (This is my standard look when stressed.)
And that's enough to make you love your whole body, Burt's Bees' whole line and Whole Foods.

On my desk are a pot of little daffodils my husband got me last week. Since they're bulbs, I'm thinking I can plant them and keep getting joy out of them. This week's entry, for Valentine's Day, is a dozen sustainably grown roses from Organic Bouquet. They're in a gorgeous vase made out of 100 percent recycled glass. Sweet sniffing.

If you prefer chocolate to roses, have we got a petition for you.
Monsanto has launched sugar beets that are Roundup ready, meaning farmers can spray a lot of weed killer on them, and still bring them to market. Some manufacturers are saying they won't use the genetically modified beets; others aren't.
"Companies have rejected GM sugar beets not only because they have not been proven safe but also because the EPA had increased allowable levels of herbicide residues on GM sugar beet roots by up to 5,000 percent when USDA approved the crop for planting," the Center for Food Safety says. Find out the companies that have pledged not to use the frankenbeets. To sign a petition asking big choclateers to add their names to the no-GM-beets list, go here.
I thought genetically modified food was a genius move to feed everyone. Then I saw "The Future of Food." (available for instant viewing to Netflix subscribers.) Now, I'm not so excited. Make your own decision, but get informed because a lot of the food you get at the grocery store contains GM food.

Exhibit one:
Two years ago, I decided to join a local fitness center since my second-floor apartment in Plainfield wasn't conducive to aerobic exercise in the winter. During the intake interview, the staffer asked why I was joining. I explained the second-floor dilemma.
"But why are you choosing to exercise?" she asked. "Because you want to look better and fit into smaller clothes?"
Nope. I just wanted to feel good, that kind of good that comes from moving.
She kept insisting it was related to me wanting to be thinner and look better.
I finally told her, "Look, I'm not into self-loathing, if that's what you're looking for here."
Exhibit two:
Last year, I started going to a Joliet dental office a friend recommended. The dentist was indeed great. My only complaint: All of the staff seemed hung up on the fact that I wasn't interested in cosmetic procedures, to the point that they kept reiterating for the dentist and other involved staff members that I "wasn't opting for whitening," etc.
I love iced tea, but I don't have yellow, witchy teeth. And my teeth are straight enough that most dentists think I've had braces.
Exhibit three:
"The Body Project," by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, looks at New Year's resolutions in the diaries of teenage girls throughout the years. There's a definite shift. Years ago, girls resolved to be better people. Now, they resolve to be better by losing weight, getting braces, dying their hair, etc. "Girls today grow up believing that 'good looks' - rather than 'good works' - are the highest form of female perfection," Brumberg's Web site says.
The conclusion:
We're obsessed with keeping up appearances. It's infiltrated most facets of life, and environmentalism is one of them.
You might agree that pesticides and fertilizers are wreaking havoc on our waters and wildlife, but will you let your lawn look different than your neighbors' perfect velvety yards?
You might agree that antiperspirants have some questionable ingredients. But will you try natural alternatives or are you too scared that someone might find out that you, gasp, sometimes perspire?
Did that shirt that got a drop of bleach or a rip in it end up in the trash, because you didn't want to wear it even around the house in case someone stopped by and thought you were unfashionable?
Are you worried about how things will look or are you worried about what things will do?
If you want to be worried about appearances, look here, or here, or here.
Everything from natural wonders, waterways and mankind will be affected if we mess up this good thing we've got going with the earth.
So next time you make a decision, choose green ... even if it isn't pretty.

Ever wonder what might be in the gentle breeze you're sniffing?
Now, you can find out.
Scorecard, "the pollution information site," has searchable information about releases from companies across the nation.
For instance, you can find out about all the possibly objectionable releases from Will County businesses.
If one of those businesses is a little too close to home, you can click on its name to find out what it's releasing, what kind of possible threat it is, etc.
The companies are reporting this information, so this isn't an attempt to smear them. And if they're reporting it, it likely means they're dealing with these releases in a way that's compliant with governmental standards.
Bottom line: Don't freak out, but do learn.