By Zem Joaquin, ecofabulous.com

Pandas cannot seem to get enough of this prolific grass. While I wouldn't recommend any of us start chomping on the stalks, bamboo has become a popular (and beautiful) sustainable (depending upon the adhesives and finishes) building resource. As one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, bamboo is a critical element in creating oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some species can grow up to 4 feet in 24 hours! It seems hard to believe, but bamboo is also one of the world's strongest building materials with a tensile strength of 28,000 lbs. per square inch (vs. 23,000 for steel.) It can also withstand an incredible amount of compression, for example, a straight column of bamboo, with a top surface area of 10 sq. centimeters, can hold the weight of an 11,000 pound elephant! Cali-Bamboo has a vast range of fabulous products from roofs to fences to flooring. A balance of refined finish with a touch of 'rustic' around the edges, their products are not only organic, beautiful and versatile, but they're incredibly durable. The founders of Cali-Bamboo love outdoors and have committed themselves to doing whatever they can to protect it. They only sell sustainable products that do not negatively impact the environment and they give 1% of all annual revenues to environmental organizations world wide (kudos for that!) For once the grass really is greener.

Zem Joaquin
ecofabulous.com

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

When I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book last summer, I yearned for the opportunity to be a locavore like her family was for a year in Virginia. The allure of the locavore, one who only eats locally grown and produced food, has become so popular that there are scores of books, websites and even diets like the "100-Mile Diet" professing that eating local can significantly protect against potentially disastrous climate change. Intuitively it makes sense - if your meat and produce doesn't travel great distances by land, sea or air, then your carbon footprint is smaller. It also makes sense if you care about the origin of the food that fuels your body. Eating local by shopping at farmer's markets, CSAs and raw dairy clubs enables you to get to know your local farmer, and you can look him in the eye and see that he treats his grass-fed life-stock humanely and would never use hormones on his cattle or pesticides on his land.

So when I saw that ICE, my favorite local NYC cooking school, was offering a Cooking Book Club class on Kingsolver's book, I immediately signed up and started re-reading my already dog-eared book. Here is an excerpt from the class description: The ever-growing return of interest for home cooking has created a market for an incredible amount of food writing that is both entertaining and informative. Here, join Melanie Underwood for this fun night inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Kingsolver's family lived a solid year cooking only food that they or their immediate neighbors grew themselves. The book chronicles the eye opening year of abandoning industrial food with humor and honesty. And here is the class menu: Using local ingredients, you'll prepare a meal of Herb Flan; Goat Cheese and Asparagus Tart; Warm Spinach Dip; Seared Duck Breasts with a Red Wine Sauce; Whole Roasted Chicken; Potato and Caramelized Onion Gratin; Wilted Beet Greens with Pancetta and Parmesan; Individual Rhubarb Cakes with Lemon Thyme Ice Cream; and Roasted Apples. (These wonderful recipes can be downloaded here.)

Our chef instructor, Melanie Underwood, surely didn't disappoint... she grew up on a farm in Virginia with chickens, turkeys, geese, guineas, pigs, cows, peacocks and a HUGE vegetable garden, and she now lives as locavore a lifestyle as possible here in NYC. She explained how eating food from local farms is even healthier for us and the planet than simply buying organic. Some organic food is shipped from all over the world and therefore is harvested before it is ripe so it doesn't spoil en route. Melanie spoke about how as a result locally grown food tastes different and better, as food was meant to be. She talked about how she knows the small local farmers from whom she buys her food and many cannot afford to get organic accreditation so while their food isn't labeled organic, she knows that it is and that they would never use pesticides. I've heard farmers explain this to inquiring consumers at farmer's markets and watched folks walk away shaking their head saying "I'm sorry, I can only buy organic..." The farmers just smile like they have heard this before and persevere. Perhaps now that the masses are going green, we need to further educate them on the importance of digging a little deeper and going beyond the labels to understand the heart behind the local farming movement.

Melanie's cooking style and philosophy echoed my own: she understands that cooking with good fats (as Weston Price proved) increases both health and flavor; she encourages you to taste often and feel your way through the recipe rather than be a slave to the ingredients and measurements (unless you are baking). She taught us how to improvise with the ingredients at hand - an important lesson for those in a CSA as you need to get creative when that weekly box of ever multiplying mustard greens and swiss chard arrives on your doorstep!

In fact, the only disappointment was that I was the only one in the 10 person class who had actually finished the book. Many hadn't read it at all; several hadn't finished it. So Melanie and I spoke about our favorite parts of the book (the Turkey mating saga!), and I think everyone enjoyed the class so much that they will now give it a read. For those curious about the book, check out their fun website for book excerpts, recipes and local food news.

I'm lucky to live in New York, where schools like ICE and experts like Melanie make locally grown come alive. But wherever you live, think locally, support your regional farms, get to know the farmers who care about their land and the food they sell, encourage them, set up your own discussion clubs or book groups or cooking soirees, to bring like minded folk together. It's for our health and the health of the planet - plus, it all tastes mighty good.

Mary Beth Gonzalez
iVillage.com
Please join my Going Green group and read my Green Blog

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

Over the centuries, vinegar has been used for countless purposes: making pickles, cleaning and polishing household equipment, dressing salads, and cleaning the dinner stains off your shirt. It's also an ancient folk remedy, understood to relieve just about any ailment you can think of, such as weight loss to lowering your cholesterol.

Recently, a client emailed inquiring about which Apple Cider Vinegar to purchase. My favorite brand is Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. Paul Bragg, said to be the pioneer of the entire health food industry, is the genius behind the raw vinegar. His daughter, Patricia, who is an inspirational health guru, travels the world continuing her father's legacy.

While many of the folk medicine uses of vinegar are unproven, a few do have a medical research backing them up. Below are a few researched effects. Take note: this is not a substitute for the care that you are receiving for your health. Please speak with a health care practitioner.

For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. A study in 2005 found that individuals who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than individuals who just ate the bread.

Scientists in a 2007 study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits.

A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol. However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.

Another study found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. However, it's far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.

How can Raw Apple Cider Vinegar benefit your everyday life?

Internal Benefits Include:
- Rich in enzymes and potassium
- Helps control and normalize weight
- Improves digestion
- Fights E Coli & other bacteria
- Natural antibiotic and germ fighter
- Relieves dry sore throats
- Relieves arthritis stiffness
- Aids in cholesterol reduction
- Detoxes the body

External Benefits Include:
- Helps maintain healthy skin
- Helps promote youthful, healthy bodies
- Soothes sunburn
- Promotes healthy hair and scalp
- Soothes aching muscles and joints

Now your thinking how to take this stuff... right?

Since apple cider vinegar is an unproven treatment, there are no official recommendations on how to use it. Some people take two teaspoons a day (mixed in a cup of water or juice.) A tablet of 285 milligrams is another common dosage.

It is recommended that you take the Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with water or juice. Because Apple Cider Vinegar acts like a sponge, drawing toxins from the body tissues, it may cause you discomfort if you choose to digest the vinegar using spoonfuls only.

Nicole Ohebshalom, RN,CHHC, AADP
Radiant Living Wellness

By Nicole Walters, GreenIsUniversal.com

On March 31 2007, the worlds first Earth Hour took place in the city of Sydney, Australia. Over 2.2 million residents and over 2,100 businesses turned off their lights for one hour in an effort to generate awareness about the greatest contributor to global warming - coal-fired electricity. This resulted in reduced energy consumption by 10.2% that day. The equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road.

Here at Green Is Universal, we believe that little things add up to make big change. And last year's Earth Hour is just the proof we like to see. What began as one city's symbolic event started a movement and this year, Earth Hour is going global! 24 cities around the world will "turn off" at 8pm on March 29.

Chicago will be the U.S. flagship city, with Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco acting as leading partner cities. Everyone throughout the U.S. and around the world is invited and encouraged to participate - whether at home or at work, with friends or family, in a big city or a small town. Find out how your city is participating at EarthHourUS.org.

What you do when the lights are off is your own business, but Earth Hour US has got lots of suggestions for you, including changing out your old energy-wasting light bulbs to new, inexpensive and efficient compact fluorescents. Let us know what you are planning to do for Earth Hour.

Nicole Walters
GreenIsUniversal.com

By Nicholas Gonzalez, MD

What exactly is Green Medicine? I like to think of it in terms of stimulating the body's own resources and extraordinary abilities to repair and rebuild itself, and help reverse even serious illness, using diet, nutrients, detoxification procedures and not usually drugs, to move our bodies in a healing direction. It also means living a clean life at home, avoiding exposures, as much as possible, to toxic synthetic chemicals, it also means working to keep the larger world around us cleaner, greener, as it was originally meant to be.

This approach differs considerably from the more conventional medicine we know so well, the slash and burn treatment of illness that uses drugs, invariably with long lists of toxic side effects, to blast away at the illness - be it bacterial or cancer. Of course no one denies the benefits of technological, pharmaceutical-based modern medicine but it has serious limitations, and often doesn't work very well - witness the recent reports revealing that antidepressants, long considered one of the great victories of modern medicine, may overall work no better than placebo.

But, nice as it may sound, gentle as it might seem in theory, can green medicine really work, say against a terrible disease like cancer? Well, my colleague Dr. Isaacs and I, certainly believe so, and our experience over the past 20 years in the trenches with at times the sickest of the sick has helped confirm that done properly and intensively, our brand of medicine can work.

We've received some significant recognition over the years, in the form of funding by major corporations such as Nestle and Procter & Gamble, even the US National Cancer Institute. We've published results confirming the benefit of the treatment against the worst of cancers, and continue working hard toward its wider acceptance.

Though those who know of our work see it as a medical treatment, in fact, it really is, at its core, "Green Medicine," an entire green lifestyle, that uses food and nutrients and enzymes to change our vital chemistry for the better, but that also requires patients lead a clean and green lifestyle. We think of our therapy at three levels, personal green, the basics of good, wholesome nutrition, local green, the environment in our homes and offices, and global green - protecting the soils, the forests, the air and the earth.

Personal Green

In terms of personal green, our therapy, in its essence, consists of three basic components, individualized diets, individualized supplement protocols, and detoxification routines, such as juice fasts and colon cleanses, but it most certainly is not "one size fits all." We don't prescribe just one magical diet, suitable for all sizes and shapes of humans, but a variety ranging from near pure near raw nuts and seeds to fatty red meat three times a day, akin to an Atkins' approach. Our supplement programs are equally as varied, involving precisely designed combinations of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, again depending on the patient's specific needs, and for our cancer patients, large doses of enzymes we believe fight the disease effectively. The detoxification routines we believe help patients mobilize and excrete the myriad of toxic chemicals we take in daily from our food, water and air, and that we synthesize daily during normal minute to minute life.

In addition to whatever specific diet, supplements or detox procedures I might prescribe, since I started in practice, we have insisted our patients eat primarily, if not exclusively, organically. We've long believed that organic food, whether of plant or animal in origin, not only lacks the many the toxic chemicals found in conventional selections, but provides more nutritional benefit. For example, organically raised carrots yield higher quantities of essential antioxidants such as beta carotene, and grass fed beef can contain ten times the amount of the essential omega-3 fatty acids than cattle raised on grain in the feedlot.

Easy Being Green

Twenty years ago, organic wasn't as easy to come by as it is today, now with every supermarket in the country providing naturally grown food. In the good old days, even into the 1990's, my patients often had to rely on limited selections of produce from small mom and pop health food stores, or turn to mail order suppliers that shipped overnight. Today, fortunately, organic is everywhere - when over Christmas my wife and I stayed on Sanibel Island in Florida, I was pleased to see even there, the local Island supermarket had an extensive section of organic produce, as well as grass fed meat. Organic is always best, but locally grown organic is the very best, since food, even if grown cleanly, loses some value in transport.

We believe that the cleaner the food, the better our patients do, but we believe everyone - or at least, everyone interested in optimal health - should eat organically, or at least as much as feasible, given the cost issue. I have eaten this way myself for the better part of 25 years, and my wife and I run an "organic kitchen." I've been eating cleanly for so long, that when I travel and must rely on non-organic restaurant food, I can feel the difference. I don't sleep as well. I'm just not as sharp mentally. Those chemicals do indeed make a difference.

Green Water

Of course, water is as important as food, lots of it, since, we're mostly made of H2O. But only clean water, the cleaner the better. Don't believe that tap water is ok, chlorine has been shown to be mutagenic, that is, it disrupts our very DNA, and the debate about the safety of fluoride continues unabated. As my wife Mary Beth wrote in her "Green" blog about water recently, evidence now shows millions of Americans ingest all manner of drugs that have contaminated our water supply. Who needs such stuff, even if the amounts are small. Clean water is key, always, and for our supply, we rely on reverse osmosis filtration. Put ten water experts in a room together and you will get 20 opinions about the best filtration system, and admittedly, no system is perfect, but until someone comes up with a better way, I believe reverse osmosis still the best.

Green Home and Office

We run an organic kitchen, but we also run a non toxic home. All our cleaning products are "green," from companies such as Seventh Generation and Shaklee, both with extensive selections of home products. When we had our apartment painted several years ago, we purchased non-toxic non-fuming paint that left no irritating, noxious odor. All our rugs consist of natural fibers, untainted by any number of chemical treatments commercial carpet manufacturers traditionally use, such as formaldehyde, even pesticides - that's right, some commercial carpets have traces of pesticides, so when your kids are crawling over them playfully, the stuff will rub onto their skin.

I also run a green office. When we had the place constructed 16 years ago, we insisted everything in the office - the wooden floors, walls, even the furniture, be constructed of non-toxic materials only, no toxic dyes, no formaldehyde, only natural woods, natural oils, and natural paints. A company with a factory in Vermont and a New York showroom, Pompanoosuc Mills, made all our office furniture out of natural, untainted woods and finishes, and 16 years later, all of it has held up to wear and tear beautifully, without exposing us to one milligram of synthetic toxic junk.

Global Green

Of course, when you live green personally, at home, and if possible, at the office, you are living green globally. When you choose organic, you support farms that don't apply the load of toxic chemicals that degrade soil, penetrate into water supplies, and eventually leech in our rivers and oceans, then into the fish who swim in these waters. When you choose local organic, you reduce the carbon footprint, the costs of transport, and reduce, as well nutrient loss. When each of us lives green in our home, we're keeping a host of toxic chemicals out of the greater environment at large.

I'm encouraged by the growing acceptance of adopting a green lifestyle, and the change in attitude toward concepts such as organic I've witness over the past 20 years. With the growing interest in all things green, I believe more and more of us will turn to greener medicine, the gentler, less toxic interventions that can work, again, if done properly.

Nicholas Gonzalez, MD
www.dr-gonzalez.com

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

Six years ago I began a lifestyle transition to living and eating from a "non-diet" diet. Counting calories and using a scale were not cutting it for me. I was looking to cultivate a balance in my body and in the way I live. I began to change my health through the enjoyment of life's pleasures.

The first task I took on was creating awareness around my food, from the environment that the food was grown to the atmosphere I create when eating my meal. It was revolutionary to me because I had the chance to see first hand the effect of the how these important roles have a nourishing effect on my body. By paying attention to a few simple principles, you can help your system absorb high levels of nourishment from everything you eat. I was and still am completely sold in that the secret of eating is in your awareness, pleasure and quality of the food.

I realize that eating a pleasurable well balanced diet isn't simple, easy or a quick fix. If we all had an iron will to live in this ideal manner then there will be no need for nutrition programs or books. Together, we will begin to take steps toward mastering the mental part of living and eating well.

Prioritizing your Priority
Your first high priority goal is actually not to lose weight or to drop a jean size. You're probably shocked! But wait... this is so good. It's first important to change the way you think about food and your lifestyle. Losing weight and fitting into smaller jeans are simply the perks. It may have taken you months, or in some cases years to be where you are, so don't expect to reverse unhealthy habits within a few weeks. Begin with your awareness and lifestyle.

Flavoring Your Life Through Your Palette
A healthy diet consists of experiencing all six tastes at every meal. Your taste buds don't enjoy being bored. By eating the same food in the same way, you'll need more food just to achieve the same pleasure. When my clients first come to me they usually have no variety so they eat in volume to seek satisfaction instead of the interaction of flavor, texture and nutrition that comes from a well thought out meal.

Turn a bit of food comfort into excitement! This is the perfect opportunity to try foods and flavors you have never tried before. Choose quality over quantity and pick things in season! Choosing high-quality organic foods are great for you and the environment!

When The Meal Experience Becomes A Sanctuary of Your Own
Get to know your neighborhood market, not the corner supermarket. The farmers markets have bright in-season vegetables and fruits packed with everything your body needs. As a bonus, you are giving the environment the same nutrition it needs! When you shop for food, buy only what you need for the next few days so the food in your fridge becomes a need-to-eat-basis. Begin to cook at home so you can see and learn what you are putting into your body. Reduce the unknowns of prepared foods, especially the processed kinds. It is equally important to transform your evening meal into a grand event for yourself.

A Special Moment Designed and Enjoyed For You
We have reviewed tips for food shopping and cooking. Now it's time for our grand meal! Create a ritual around your eating through making new habits. In a settled atmosphere, practice eating only at the table and when sitting down. Take a moment to turn off the television and put down the newspaper. This is a time for you, your loved ones, and the pleasure of your meal. Dust off and bring out your favorite plates and decent napkins to emphasize the seriousness and pleasure of this activity. You're worth the best! Eating slowly and chewing properly not only brings awareness for you but also helps you digest food. Think only about what you are eating, smelling and savoring in every bite. Practice putting down your utensils between every few bites, describing to yourself the flavors and textures in your mouth.

We All Practice A Little Form Of Yoga With Our Senses
This exercise has completely changed my life and it's so simple. Before any meal, I sit comfortably and take 5 deep breaths into my midsection. Then I continue breathing during and after a meal as well. Experiment with this exercise. I would love to hear your responses. Please email me.

Do you want to take this exercise a step higher? Ask yourself the following questions: What foods would best nourish me at this time? What do I truly want for myself right now? Is this a good food choice?

Nicole Ohebshalom, RN,CHHC, AADP
Radiant Living Wellness

By John Boitnott, NBC11.com

NBC11 is happy to report the station has made a major commitment to going green.

As of Friday, March 7, 2008, NBC11 has become the first television in the U.S. to be powered by wind.

The station has offset its electricity with 100 percent certified energy certificates, according to station officials.

That means every bit of power used at the studios on the 2400 block of North First Street in San Jose is replaced on the grid by clean energy created by wind farms.

The wind effort is part of a new campaign started by the station called "EcoLogic."

The campaign is designed to educate NBC11 employees, viewers and local businesses about ways they can reduce their carbon footprint at work and at home.

The campaign will take an honest, public appraisal of the NBC11 studios, and follow as the station weighs various options for improving energy efficiency.

NBC11 kicked off the campaign internally in January with an appeal to employees to reduce electricity consumption by simply turning off unnecessary lighting and shutting down computers and equipment when not in use.

After two consecutive months of reduced electricity usage, NBC11 invested in Renewable Energy Certificates to offset the electricity used by the station’s San Jose studios and to help fund wind energy providers.

EcoLogic stories appearing in NBC11 newscasts in the coming months will show analyses of the station’s use of energy and water, its recycling programs, employee commute patterns, landscaping practices and more.

Viewers will be able to see the costs, benefits and trade-offs as the station embarks on a more ecologically sensitive future.

“This is not a hollow marketing tactic. We are taking a very frank appraisal of our carbon footprint, and will take our viewers through the process as we make changes and improvements to our building and our lives,” said NBC11 President and General Manager Richard Cerussi.

NBC11, in partnership with 3Degrees, committed to renewable energy through purchasing Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) equivalent to the station’s of electricity consumption at the main studios in San Jose.

This purchase has an equivalent environmental impact of preventing over 2,000 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, or of 473 acres of forest storing carbon annually.

Details of the station’s decisions and progress will be covered on NBC11 News and NBC11.com throughout 2008.

In the coming months, the station will announce several ways in which other businesses and viewers can join with the station in reducing the region’s impact on the environment.

NBC11 is owned by NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

NBC11 gives viewers control, choice and convenience by providing the latest news and programming online and on-air.

Dedicated to serving the communities in our viewing area, NBC11 supports more than 100 community events throughout the Bay area each year.

John Boitnott
Web Producer, NBC11.com

By Ryan Hanrahan, NBC Hartford

Global warming, pollution, rising energy costs have all played a part in raising our environmental awareness. NBC30 was the first (and only) station in Connecticut to produce a weekly segment on environmental issues that affect you and your family. The goal is to not only raise awareness, but help our viewers become more environmentally friendly.

"Going Green" started back in March when we looked at a man in Bristol who made it his mission to clean up downtown, one piece of trash at a time. From there we've taken tours of the shoreline on Segways and shown you how to recycle your kid's.

We spoke with a travel agent in Enfield about how you can take a "green" vacation and how the Regional Water Authority in New Haven went green with a funky looking building.

Some of the most memorable stories haven't exactly been the most pleasant. The Freund dairy farm in Canaan has found a way to go green with cow poop by using solid manure to make flower pots. My photojournalist and I climbed up a ladder on that Canaan dairy farm into a room that housed the "manure separator". Surprisingly, the smell wasn't any worse up there than it was on the rest of the farm. That changed, however, when Matt Freund turned on the machine. The apparatus that separates liquid manure from solid manure gave off the most foul smell imaginable, in fact nauseating. I quickly jumped down to the ground for fresh air while my brave photographer held in there for a few moments to get good video.

The one story I've had the most questions about involved a building company from New Milford. Steve Schappert constructs low energy (or zero) energy homes using solar panels, clever design, and ground heat pumps. Since the state of Connecticut subsidizes 50 percent of the solar panel purchase it's actually possible to SAVE MONEY on your monthly mortgage payment thanks to the state pumping equity into your house. I know it's cliche, but it's a great way to save green by going green.

Going Green has been a huge success. Most of that success, however, falls on you, our viewers. You have sent in your Going Green story ideas, and you've told us how YOU are going green. As always we want your suggestions, you can post it here on this blog or you can email me us directly at goinggreen@nbc30.com. Doing your part, however small, to reduce your impact on the environment can go a long way in helping to curb the ongoing global warming crisis.

Thanks again for your help.

Ryan Hanrahan
NBC Hartford
http://nbc30.com/goinggreenblog/

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

Looking out the window this morning I took a breath of fresh air and felt the transformation. Spring is in the air. A time of celebration, reinvention and lightness!

Spring is a time of new growth. In many ways a fresh start; a time to shed what you no longer need and an opportunity to identify what needs a little nurturing and tending to. As I find myself coming out of the snugly winter hibernation, I have been having fun shedding and reinventing different parts of my life. The first steps I took in my reinvention is reorganizing my space at home as well as my office and begun a cleanse program to balance my body, nourish my spirit and to spring ahead.

Here are some enjoyable eco-tips to enhance your personal spring transformation.

Grabbing a Handful of Energy
When the sun comes out I find every reason to go out and play! I add more high energy foods so my body has the fuel to stay up and energized for all my activities. As I stock my fridge with a rainbow of vegetables I begin to add more raw dark leafy greens like kale and swiss chard. I also enjoy more cold-water fish, like salmon, mackerel and herring, which are premiere sources of omega-3 fatty acids. My favorite snack is keeping frozen berries and handful of almonds on my desk during the day.

Speed Your Way in Fitness
Do you have a sudden urge to start working out? Reinvent your fitness routine with the high energy Speedball Fitness. These dynamic classes involve the medicine ball combined with boxing, basketball, martial-arts movement and rhythmic cardiostrength activity. Challenge your muscle and strengthen your core for a healthy body. Once you discover this full body workout you will change your entire routine.

Cleansing Your "Extra"
During the winter you may have accumulated a lot of "extra" - extra weight, extra exhaustion, extra clutter, and extra moodiness. A guided cleanse is a way you can jump-start your body for a more active life, a healthier life. Spring is the perfect time to get rid of these extras and a chance to give your mind, body and lifestyle a transition into balance. The New Yorker Cleanse is a seven-day nutritional program that will cleanse your body with juices and whole cleansing foods along with an educational e-book, nutritional counseling, yoga/meditation, and more.

Gorgeous Hair from the Inside Out
While your spirit may be singing the praises of spring, it's also likely your hair is still crying out with the winter blues - dry and rough as well as stressed-out, overheated, and undernourished. Good and bad hair days have become the barometer determining the kind of life we live. You can tell what someone eats by the state of their hair. When life in our internal environment is balanced, we can keep our hair's natural radiance and health. To build volume, begin having a daily dose of sea vegetables such as kelp or dulse in your diet. My clients have been known to pack their purses with pumpkin seeds, which add shine to your hair while boosting your immune system! The ultimate food for fuller hair is the high protein and omega-3 fatty acids from cold-water fish like tuna and salmon. The protein is essential for new hair growth and the omega-3 fatty acid works as an internal deep conditioner for dry, brittle hair.

Fresh and Local from Your Local Farm
As you plan to get your body ready for the beach remember that having your full dose of nutrients are vital to weight loss and a healthy strong body. By eating a variety of fresh organic foods your body will get all the nutrients it needs for optimal and balanced function. To buy my food I love to visit Farmers Markets over the weekends (my favorite is Union Square!) and also adventuring out to farmer markets in different states to explore their fresh colorful fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses as well as to meet the people who planted and cared for the food I will be eating.

Nicole Ohebshalom, RN,CHHC, AADP
Radiant Living Wellness

By Zem Joaquin, ecofabulous.com

You might spend a lot of time in an office or cubicle, but that doesn't mean it can't become your own little eco-oasis! So roll up your sleeves, put yourself on deadline, and take some simple steps that will not only reduce your carbon footprint significantly but will create a healthier and more productive work environment.

For starters, did you know that according to the EPA more than $3 Billion dollars is wasted annually in electricity for office machines left running when not in use? A great way to immediately assist in reducing your impact is to plug all of your computer and electronic devices into a Power Strip that you can turn off every night with the flick of a switch. Plug in your PC speakers, iPod charger, cell phone charger, scanner etc. Investigate which devices are the biggest energy hogs with Kill-a-Watt. It's true that sometimes your monitor and computer need to stay running, but there is no longer an excuse to be like-minded with your appliances and waste time being 'idle.' I am very excited about the new CO2 Saver which you can download for free, just click here! CO2 Saver is a lightweight application that adjusts your power settings on your computer, hard drive and monitor to consume less electricity when not actively in use. The tool bar displays how many pounds of CO2 you are responsible for keeping out of the environment and will display your individual as well as collective impact.

Small steps can truly add up to impressive results! Take for example the move to using a staple-less stapler - we would save 120 tons of steel if every office worker used one less staple a day for a year (that's about the equivalent of 25 SUV's!) My office started using this gadget and it works well when we have to use paper, which we try to avoid unless absolutely necessary. In the words of Rob Schneider from Saturday Night Live, "Making Copies" is now becoming somewhat out of favor as we can now PDF our doc's and distribute them electronically. The average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year which translates to a lot of trees! If you MUST print, use 100% post consumer recycled paper, available at most office supply stores or "tree-free paper". For your binders, folders and other supply needs, check out the Office Depot Green Book or online catalog and refuse the monster book that they typically distribute.

Another office instrument that I find particularly thrilling is the biodegradable pen where you can exercise that "green" thumb of yours and actually plant it! But you definitely don't have to be a gardener to pick up a few small plants to keep in your office.

Plants have been referred to as "nature's clean air machines" and studies have shown that plants notably improve the quality of the air by effectively removing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide among other pollutants from the atmosphere. The common English Ivy, Heartleafed Philodendron or Green Spider plants are three that been named as some of the most efficient air cleaners that prosper indoors with low light and don't require too much water.

Water, however, is a something that humans should all remember to drink plenty of! Being a good hydra-tor is a wonderful feeling but an even better feeling is practicing this without contributing to the incredible amount of plastic used to bottle it. Approximately 2.7 billion tons of plastic is used each year for bottling water and 86% of it ends up in landfill and will never fully biodegrade (I won't even go into the harmful effects of plastic on your health and the environment today!) but, a great way to quench your thirst and your style is tote a Sigg bottle. They're made with 100% recyclable aluminum and are coated with a highly elastic safe finish. They have a beautiful vast collection of colors and styles to suit your personality, (or personalities as the case may be!) Of course this is just a start and there many things that you can continue to do on your quest to green your work space.

Don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave your eco-office and pick a copy of the September issue of House and Garden Magazine - the eco-chic column has some excellent additional tips and product recommendations.

Zem Joaquin
ecofabulous.com

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

Remember that Dunkin Donuts commercial where the guy would stumble into the bakery in the wee hours to start making the donuts so they would be fresh for the morning rush? It was time to make the donuts... Now picture me in my bathrobe, hair askew, teeth unbrushed, moving zombie like on weekend mornings because it was time to make the water...

I know folks claim that NYC's water is the "best tasting" water in the nation. Maybe by some standards it is but that does not mean that it is healthy for you. I'm not a water expert, but 7 years ago we had our NYC water tested in a lab and found that our water sample, collected directly from our kitchen tap, contained fecal contamination. Yes, we were drinking, cooking and brushing our teeth with poop. Plus, our NYC city water contains chlorine which, sorry, has been shown to be carcinogenic, and fluoride which still generates serious controversy over its safety. Furthermore, today, an AP investigation announced that a small amount but a "vast array of pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans".

So, we set up a powerful water filter in our back kitchen and every weekend we would hook up the filter hose to an empty glass gallon jug and make water. Making water this way is a slow process that reminds me of old movies about Chinese Water Torture. The filtered water drips drop by drop into the gallon jug. On a good day, we could make a gallon in 2-3 hours. On a day with low water pressure and when the water needs more filtering, it could take 6 hours to make a gallon. Since we would use this water for all our personal and cooking needs, we needed 12 gallons of water to get through the week so our weekends revolved around watching the water and being ready to switch in the next gallon jug just before the first one overflows.

Sure, we could have just purchased gallons of spring water every week but even when you recycle, all that packaging is still wasteful and plastic bottles leech chemicals into the water. I tried ordering glass gallon bottled water from Mountain Valley Water service who would deliver weekly, but then I couldn't handle the carbon offset guilt of personally trucking in my water. So making my own water was the greenest and best solution.

When you work that hard at something day in and day out, you can grow attached to it and so there was born my little water obsession. By Sunday night, I would have 6 gallons ready to drink above the refrigerator, 2 gallons in glass water pitchers keeping cold in the fridge, 6 gallons stored in a special portable kitchen cabinet I bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond just for this purpose, and in case of an emergency, I had 12 half gallons in 2 crates in the hall closet left over from our Mountain Valley Water days.

Is this all worth it? I asked that question a lot as my water adventures started to flood my brain. The no-brainer was that I only wanted to cook and drink with clean water in the greenest way possible. But surely there was a better way. So last summer we invested in a reverse osmosis water filter that is built into the kitchen sink and has its own separate faucet. It lives under the sink, constantly makes water and can theoretically produce up to 35 gallons in a single day. Voila! Somebody took my weekend job!

Now 6 months later, I still marvel at how I can simply walk up to the kitchen sink with a glass in hand and pour myself a fresh glass of water. It takes me back in time to the days of yesteryear before we knew that virtually everything around us is toxic and damaging the environment. It brings me hope for the future that we can find more ways to live green without having to change our lifestyle radically. Yet old habits die hard... this weekend, I was cleaning out the guest room closet and found another 24 gallons of crated water that I must have been saving, just in case...

Mary Beth Gonzalez
iVillage.com
Please join my Going Green group and read my Green Blog

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

We are well into the year 2008 and I have created the steps to make more of my own "processed food." My new years resolution is to rely less on industrial energy, packaging and transportation even when I want to nourish my cravings or desire a quick hunger fix. So, now you will find me wearing my apron and creating mixtures in my private kitchen laboratory. It does take more time and energy which is difficult to find for a busy New Yorker but I feel a great amount of pleasure in the creative process of cooking, knowing that love is an ingredient in my food (also knowing what is in my food!) and eating a meal that I created myself. I can make exactly what I want and don't have to worry about hydrogenated corn syrup, preservatives, or food coloring.

The last two weeks I made my own jam, bread, yogurt, almond milk and pickles. The almond milk was surprisingly easy to make. It took me 15 minutes. When placed in a nice jar (yes... it was re-usable) it made a nice gift for my friends and family.

Here's the recipe:
1. Place 1 cup of freshly roasted almonds in a glass jar
2. Cover with 4 cups of water
3. Tightly close the jar
4. Refrigerate for 1 day or no more than 2 days
5. Pour into blender and blend until smooth

We would love to hear from you. Share with us. What are your favorite recipes? What have you created this week?

Nicole Ohebshalom, RN,CHHC, AADP
Radiant Living Wellness

By Nicole Walters, GreenIsUniversal.com

The other day I stumbled upon a video of Gary Hirshberg giving a talk at Authors@Google. An employee program which brings authors to Google headquarters to talk about their recently published books. (OK, how cool is that.)

Gary Hirshberg, if you've never heard of him, is the Chairman, President and CE-Yo (I didn't make that up, they did) of Stonyfield Farm. His recently published book, Stirring It Up, demonstrates how everyone has the power to effect change in the marketplace. It's apparent after a few minutes of this talk that Hirschberg is an environmentalist first, business man second but his passion for the former inspired him to build the latter in a way that is both sustainable and profitable.

The entire video is 60 minutes but the meat of it is about 40 minutes. If you have the time, I definitely recommend the watch!

Nicole Walters
GreenIsUniversal.com

By Liza Meak, NBC KNTV

The San Francisco Bay Area is known for being at the forefront of improving the environment. However, I've seen some people from all walks of life living green in life and in work.

I met a 15-year old student, who was personally trained by Al Gore to deliver his Inconvenient Truth presentation. His passion for this issue was remarkable for a teenager.

The auto mechanic was just as passionate about keeping his garage as clean and environmentally friendly as possible. He lives it in his daily life as well, even driving a veggie fueled Hummer.

In the case of the small business owner, he's willing to make a big investment in creating what is likely the first z-squared building. That means his office building is using all of its own energy and not emitting any CO2 emissions.

Looking forward, we are continuing the trend of finding unique Going Green stories. We will profile a guy who is surfing along the California coast, to raise awareness about the threats facing the beautiful coastline. We'll also show you what it takes for a winery to go green. Solar panels are not unique, but the next generation is very different from the original. See why they're better, and why people are willing to spend the extra money on them. On the topic of money, we'll go on an energy audit to see how a small family owned business saves money going green. Finally, we'll look at how common household ingredients that go down the drain can harm the San Francisco Bay.

Liza Meak
NBC KNTV/San Jose
http://nbc11.com/goinggreen/

By Danielle L. Spires, iVillage Your Total Health

On a recent camping trip to the Adirondacks, I encountered a situation that asks the question... Should you put yourself in personal peril to protect the environment? Ok, well that sounds a bit extreme so let me explain.

We were staying at an established campsite that had a few cabins and tent sites. While we were eating dinner around our campfire our cabin neighbors to the north began to chop down a small tree (in camping terms, fowl a tree) for campfire (which you can buy at the store). There were many rules being broken here. Other than the obvious safety issues, they were destroying private property and the environment. What troubled me the most was that I didn't know what to do. Should I have directly confronted them and risked being harassed or worse? Keep in mind I am only sleeping in a tent which is a thin piece of fabric protecting me from a family with an axe! Should I have ignored the situation entirely and just sent mean thoughts their way? What would you have done?

I ended up taking the middle of road option and informed the manager at the campsite, who then dealt with the situation.

This is obviously a rare occasion that I encountered, but there are so many similar instances that I find myself lost at what to do. For example, I feel very passionate about recycling. When I put out my nicely separated recyclables each week, I have noticed that my neighbor doesn't recycle at all. I want to say something, but am not sure if it is my place.

I guess the question is, when does it become our job to educate others about living a more eco-friendly lifestyle? And if it's not our job, than whose job is it?

What do you think?

Danielle L. Spires
iVillage Your Total Health

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

We all take it for granted... how could we not? We've been using it every day since we were teenagers and it becomes so routine, we don't even think about it. But despite our blase attitude, we need to take a closer look because these products we think are so helpful have a more insidious side and pose potentially serious health risks.

As a start, nearly all commercial deodorants contain aluminum salts, usually aluminum chlorohydrate. Manufacturers like aluminum because it effectively suppresses perspiration but the metal has a dark side once it makes its way into our body. Aluminum toxicity is a serious issue, but fortunately, for most of us one that can be easily avoided, I turned to my doctor husband, a cancer researcher, for the facts.

Dr. Nick Gonzalez:
Thirty years ago researchers first detected significantly elevated aluminum levels in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, and subsequently proposed a link between the heavy metal and the disease. Though scientists still debate the connection, certainly aluminum is a toxic heavy metal that has no useful biological function, and which we don't want building up in our bodies, ever.

Manufacturers long discounted any such effect from aluminum salts in deodorants, which they claimed would not be absorbed through the skin. This assumption has proven wrong, and over time users of commercial deodorant do accumulate the stuff, sometimes in significant levels. A recent medical report described a woman who ended up with severe aluminum toxicity directly as a result of her deodorant use.

Most commercial deodorants also contain parabens, which act as preservatives and stabilizers, but which like aluminum can be absorbed with systemic effects. Parabens mimic estrogen, and though the amounts we absorb on a daily basis might be small, over time, the accumulation can be significant. A report from England in 2004 documented a relationship between parabens and breast cancer.

Fortunately, natural, organic alternatives abound, containing neither dangerous aluminum nor the dreaded parabens. I spent a long time trying to find the perfect natural deodorant and the trial and error testing was at time embarrassing. Some natural deodorants work just fine for an ordinary, low stress, low humidity day. But I'll still turn to my basic alcohol prep swab when I think I'm facing a particularly tough day. Yes, alcohol swabs, applied directly to the underarms (but not right after shaving, ouch!). Alcohol doesn't inhibit perspiration, but it kills the bacteria. Bacteria lives on sweat, and creates the odor that can be embarrassing. So kill the bacteria, kill the smell! Alcohol may not be an elegant answer, but it's cheap, it's natural and it works.

Natural, Paraben and Aluminum free deodorants:
Kiss My Face Active Enzyme: $4.99; Fragrance Free, Patchouli, Lavender, Skin Deep score: 1
Dr. Hauschka: $19.95; Fresh (sporty) and Floral; Skin Deep score: not rated
Avalon Organics: $5.95; Peppermint, Wild Yam, Lemon and Lavender, Skin Deep score: 0-1
Nature's Gate Organics: $5.99; Chamomile and Lemon Verbena, Skin Deep score: 1

Hope this helps you keep fresh and cool in the safest and most natural way possible.

Mary Beth Gonzalez
iVillage.com
Please join my Going Green group and read my Green Blog

By Zem Joaquin, ecofabulous.com

Compai, a crafty green design studio in Brooklyn, is the collaboration of a sister-team that has been making waves since 2002, in Florence, Italy. “99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Tie And Rock Your Scarf” is a DIY treat. Those interested in recycling their scarves by turning tired treasures into ascot masterpieces will love "99 Ways." Their first two books in the DIY trilogy convey the same philosophy using t-shirts (their first publication) and denim (their second publication). Each page is decorated with clever drawings matched with a photo of the project, and detailed instructions with sketches and a glossary of terms, to make following along simple. Each project also gives you a heads up on the approximate amount of time it will take (and level of difficulty), so if you don’t have 45 minutes to dedicate, find a design that fits your schedule! "99 Ways" may sound like a lot of twists on a simple subject, but you might be as pleasantly surprised as we were. Amazon has copies for only $13.57, so click here to get your hands on your own book.

Zem Joaquin
ecofabulous.com

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

Humans have tended sheep, goats, and cows for their milk for over thousands of years. Historically, milk has always been a luxury and important part of a diet. Milk has been shown as an essential and honored food in many cultures such as the Sumerians, Sanskrit writing, the Bible, and nomadic armies of Khan from Iran. The cow was the center of all these domestic economies through the creation, usage and transaction of milk and cream as well as being an important part of keeping the doctor away.

Today, all milk we see and drink is not created equally. Some milk is better than others; for the cow, the environment, and human health. Modern industrial milk is not the same as the traditional milk we used to drink ten thousand years ago or even fifty years ago. Industrial milk comes from cows raised indoors and fed mostly on a corn, grain, and soybean diet. These cows are given a dose of synthetic hormones to boost milk production and antibiotics to keep them well. Then the milk is pasteurized and homogenized. The pasteurization removes all the valuable enzymes. Without the essential enzymes, milk is very difficult to digest. Pasteurization is a destructive process that distorts the physical structure of proteins in the milk that could be harmful to your body. Additionally, this process eliminates any good bacteria normally present in the milk.

Through the research, I have to believe that the butterfat of milk is there for an important reason. In the process of industrialized milk the butterfat is homogenized. Without the butterfat your body cannot absorb and utilize vitamins and minerals that is contained in the water fraction of milk. Along with valuable trace minerals and short chain fatty acids, butterfat is important because it also contains acids that hold strong anti-carcinogenic properties.

Industrialized pasteurized milk is the number one allergic food in this country. You or someone close has more than likely experienced one form of reaction to dairy. Why is this important for your health? A reaction can occur and come to surface in a form that you do not have the education to clearly recognize and identify in the manner that a skilled health professional has the ability to do. Perhaps your condition of diabetes, acne, gastrointestinal bleeding, skin rashes, diarrhea, infertility, cramps, ear infection, bloating, gas, iron-deficiency anemia, and atherosclerosis has occurred and has become prominent in your health due to build up of industrialized dairy food.

Industrial milk also contains a protein enzyme called Xanthine Oxidase. Normally, proteins are broken down once you digest them. When milk is homogenized, small fat globules absorb intact Xanthine Oxidase into your blood stream. There is strong research stating that this enzyme leads to an increase risk of heart disease.

The 1% and 2% industrialized milk is contained with non-fat dried milk. The cholesterol in this non-fat milk is oxidized and contains cholesterol that is rancid, which promotes heart disease. On the other side, the cholesterol from traditional raw milk plays a variety of health promoting roles in the human body.

As you can see there are many benefits and dangers of milk, which is beginning to be recognized by society. Have you noticed that since the spring of 2007 you have not seen the Dairy Council ads that promote weight loss? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ended the ads because the research did not support the claim. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) brought the complaint to FTC because the ads were based largely on small studies conducted by a University of Tennessee nutrition professor whose funding came from the dairy industry. The PCRM further states on industrial milk that "Independent research has found that dairy product consumption either has little or no effect on weight loss or actually increases body weight." Physicians, researchers and the government are beginning to support and see the difference in health when one eats clean raw milk from a healthy cow versus a crowded, poorly fed, and weak cow that is more susceptible to disease. As we've seen, the cow's ideal habitat is outdoors and her best diet is grass.

All food should be clean to support your healthy body, but modern mass production methods make this impossible. Traditional raw milk enhances health and flavor since it comes from cows mostly fed on fresh grass and hay. This raw and unhomogenized milk is free of synthetic growth hormones. A well-cared-for cow that is grazing on pasture and fed quality hay produces milk that contains an array of important enzymes and antibodies. These make raw milk completely digestible and directly support the immune system, which are claims that cannot be made for commercial milk. When food is locally produced on a more human scale, clean practices can reliably be maintained.

Traditional raw milk is free of synthetic growth hormones but there is a different story for industrial cows. To boost milk production, industrial milked cows are injected with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone called rBGH, which increases the risk of mastitis and shortens her life dramatically. When you drink a glass of milk from a cow treated with rBGH you are having a dose of a powerful insulin-like hormone that prompt cells to grow and proliferate. This is linked to cancers of the reproductive system.

Dairy food from grass-fed cows contain more omega-3 fats, more vitamin A, and more beta-carotene and other antioxidants. CLA is a good fatty acid from Omega-6 in the milk of grass-fed cows. In general, we get too much Omega-6 fatty acids, making us gain weight and develop other "too much fat" related health issues. However, the CLA in cow's milk is only found in whole milk, and mostly so from grass fed cow. CLA prevents heart disease, fights cancer, builds lean muscle and aids in weight loss by decreasing the amount of fat stored after eating and reducing the number of fat cells.

Why Your Mom Sai