Katie Couric's Notebook: Going Green

We all want to do the right thing for the environment. 

But standing in the supermarket aisle, it's hard to know which products are green and which ones are not. The labels can be vague and even misleading.

So, the government's come up with a new bio-based seal. Starting this spring, it will appear on everything from kitchen cleaners to lip balm made from soy, corn or other crops instead of fossil fuels.

While you and I will have a choice, federal agencies will be required to pick bio-based products whenever possible - as long as they're effective and reasonably priced.

To qualify, at least 25 percent of a product's materials must be from renewable sources. That's not as good as the 51 percent the government proposed, but that percentage will be right on the label. So, choosing among shades of green may finally be getting easier.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.