I recently read that the majority of married American women control the purse strings in their families. That’s huge. Women have in their power to impact not just their local economy but the national as well. Whether women stay at home or work outside the home they have influence. So with this knowledge women need to shop smart.

I was at the grocery store and was delighted to see fresh shrimp on sale for $2.99 a pound. I thought there must be some catch but never the less bought it hook, line and sinker. That night at the dinner table over a platter full of garlic and lemon shrimp my husband informed me that Asia had flooded the market with cheap shrimp, and it was having detrimental effects on American shrimpers. Suddenly the meal that I had prepared seemed less appetizing.

American fishermen have to adhere to strict rules and regulations and are prevented from over-shrimping. They have to charge a certain price to make a profit. How can they possibly compete with such low prices? I realize that most of my time in the car is spent listening to Bloom and the Philadelphia Chickens rather than NPR. But that is no excuse for my ignorance. I should have been more informed. It is like choosing not to recycle. It is just purely gross negligence.

My little girls love tuna salad, yet I have begun limiting my purchase of tuna fish. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children have been discouraged from eating tuna due to moderate traces of mercury contamination. Yet the media does not find the pollution of our oceans newsworthy. What they do find newsworthy is that Jessica Simpson did not know that Chicken of the Sea was actually tuna.

I also recently refused to give in and buy a Bratz Doll for my four-year-old who pointed one out to me in the toy department. Barbie has finally evolved beyond a fashion plate and now dons a space suit, scrubs, corporate wear and a diaper bag. Yet when Barbie finally succeeds in becoming a well-rounded role model, she is usurped by a lurking brat. A Bratz doll sports platform shoes, heavy iridescent makeup, collagen lips, belly-baring costumes, anorexic figure and streaked hair. The name certainly fits. Her gear includes a limo, a runway and a mall. I have no idea how this particular doll would ever inspire our daughters beyond the makeup counter at the local drug store.

Of course then there are the Hummers and gigantic pickup trucks being bought by people who have absolutely no one to fight and nothing to haul. But I am fairly positive that the majority of these are purchased by men. So maybe women need to control more than just the purse strings. Conveniently the Hummers and V8 powered gas-guzzling trucks come equipped with air conditioning so that the effects of global warming will be less noticeable.

So here I stand in the middle of my kitchen. My older daughter wants tuna fish for lunch. I explain to her that it might not be the safest choice. We haven’t cut it out of our diet all together we just eat it less often. I explain that until we work globally that there will always be pollution impacting us in some way. She seems genuinely sorry that the world is a tad dirty and responds brightly with, “well let’s clean it up.” I tell her, “Let’s begin with the living room.” Her enthusiasm seems to waiver.

But as we pick up the storybooks she asks me to read her “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss. A story I often find heavy handed, idealistic and just a little too long. But in the end, it’s a story with a simple message: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”