Gardeners spend hundreds of dollars every spring on flowers, shrubs and trees in an effort to beautify their tract of the great outdoors, but many environmentalists say that they're unknowingly doing more harm than good.

Invasive plants and other plants with little or no wildlife quality can be found in just about any garden superstore, making it difficult for the everyday person to make informed decisions about planting the most environmentally friendly garden.

Luckily, native plant gardening is becoming increasingly popular as the going green theme becomes more and more of a household name.

What Is A Native Plant?
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Recreation, a native plant is one that occurred within the state before settlement by Europeans. They include ferns and clubmosses; grasses, sedges, rushes, and their kin; flowering perennials; annuals that only live one year; biennials, which have a two year life cycle; and, of course, the woody trees, shrubs, and vines which covered "Penns's Woods" when the first settlers arrived. There are over 2,100 native plant species known in Pennsylvania.

An introduced or non-native plant is one that has been brought into the state and become established. An invasive plant is a species that has become a weed pest, one DCNR describes as growing aggressively, spreading, and displacing other plants. Although some native plants are aggressive on disturbed areas, most invasive plants are introduced from other continents, leaving behind pests, diseases, predators, and other natural controls.

Native plants are aggressively being lost to habitat destruction, invasive plants and introduced pests and diseases. By 2000, 5 percent of Pennsylvania native plant species had been eliminated and another 25 percent were in danger of becoming so.

Environmental department urge gardeners to buy nursery-propagated native plants and remind people to never remove them from the wild. Environmentalists also urge gardeners to practice responsible landscaping techniques, which means avoiding fertilizer, chemicals and products like Miracle Grow as much as possible.

Delaware Riverkeeper's Top 10 Reasons To Go Native

Natives Are Tough: Native plants evolved in harmony with their ecosystems and as a result they require less care, need less water and have a higher survival rate than non-native plants. After establishment, just sit back and watch your garden grow.

Give Critters A Break: Native plants provide a refuge for wildlife, attracting and providing food for a variety of birds, small mammals, amphibians and pollinators throughout the year. As a result, native plants ensure that our local ecosystems are more stable and productive.

The Kids Will Love It: Have a high quality educational experience in your own yard and add hours of exploration for little ones and their neighborhood friends.

Pay Less For Your Apples: A 2006 study showed that pollinators (like honey bees) are declining in drastic numbers and scientists are not sure why. As a result, this season it is already projected that apples may be three to four times as expensive, since farmers have had to import honey bees for the first time since 1912.

A number of factors have cut pollinators' numbers in recent decades, but providing a chemical-free native plant garden of diverse plants that these pollinators can use can only help them. Animal pollinators fertilize more than 187,500 flowering plants worldwide.

Be Less Toxic: Because native plants evolved natural defenses against predators, you won't need to buy or use nasty chemicals to keep your garden beautiful.

Diversity Is Good For The Eye: Tired of seeing the same plants in your neighborhood and a boring landscape? Native plants are unique and usually rare in typical garden habitats. Your neighbors will be asking you all about your new garden plants. So when its time to divide those perennials, they'll be plenty of takers.

Help Decrease Flooding: By replacing part of your lawn with a native plant garden, you help rainwater soak into the ground and decrease the amount of stormwater runoff that flows quickly into our local streams and causes flooding.

Stop The Spread Of Invasive Exotic Species: Many of the garden plants that we can buy are exotic, and some of these exotics escape from our gardens and threaten natural areas. By planting only natives, you avoid the spread of exotic invasive plants.

Preserve Our Natural Heritage: A 2000 study showed that 5 percent of Pennsylvania native plant species have been eliminated and another 25 percent were in danger of becoming so.

An Argument Against A Manicured Lawn: People spend lots of time and money obsessing over perfectly manicured lawns, when if fact, they're often doing more harm than good.

Many environmentalists will suggest planting native shrubs, trees and plants instead of keeping a manicured lawn because its benefits to nature far outweigh that of planting grass.

The idea of a perfect lawn may have emerged during the post-WWII era, when more and more people were able to take pride in owning their own homes, complete with white picket fences. But keeping a lawn looking good often involves harmful chemicals.

Also, trimmed grass lawns with few shrubs or taller plants attract Canada geese because to them, it resembles the birds' native tundra terrain.

People plagued with geese loitering in their yards and littering it with waste can easily solve it by turning their yard into a native plant garden and cutting out larger tracts of plain, low-cut grass.

Leah Zerbe
WCAU NBC 10 Philadelphia
http://www.nbc10.com/goinggreen/

Quoting Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, "Waste equals food," so shouldn't we stop treating it as garbage? Worm poop - may not sound so fabulous, but worms and plants have fed off one another in beautiful symbiotic harmony for billions of years - helping to create the majesty that surrounds us. When worms consume dead plant matter, they excrete castings, a natural fertilizer that helps new plants flourish. Terracycle has taken this biological process and set a precedent with the first and only product that is entirely waste - from the contents to the packaging. Terracycle's main product is an organic fertilizer that is made from feeding university dining hall table scraps to earthworms, who in turn create a potent fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It's then packaged in soda bottles collected through their Bottle Brigade Program where Terracycle pays 6 cents per salvaged bottle. It's even sent in recycled misprinted boxes from other companies. For all you gardeners out there, nourishing your green thumb has never been more natural. Now that is pretty eco-flippin-fabulous if you ask me.

Zem Joaquin
ecofabulous.com

A few weeks ago, I shared my general concepts of "Green Medicine" involving three components: the use of dietary, nutritional and natural substances (what I call our "personal green"), living in a clean home and office (our "local green") and working to keep the greater world in which we all must live clean for the health of us all (our "global green"). As Earth Day approaches, I thought I would take a look at asthma - a specific, epidemic and potentially dangerous problem, particularly as the disease occurs in children, the most vulnerable of us all, and walk though my "Green Medicine" approach to this disease.

Asthma 101
First, some basics. Asthma is a major health problem in the US, its incidence increasing yearly and with cases up a whooping 75% since 1980. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology reports the disease afflicts 20 million Americans, and is responsible for nearly one fourth of all emergency room visits. Some nine million children under age 18 suffer from asthma, with some four million of these victims of serious attacks last year. The costs, in terms of missed time from school, are staggering; in 2002 for example, the disease accounted for over 14 million lost school days.

To understand asthma, we need at least a basic primer in lung physiology. To live, we need to breathe, and with each inspiration, fresh air, and with it life sustaining oxygen, travels into the lungs within the bronchi and bronchioles, tube-like structures that reach into the furthest recesses of the lungs, the small alveoli. Here, our red blood cells absorb much needed oxygen and release carbon dioxide, good old CO2, a byproduct of normal metabolism, which we then breathe out of our lungs with expiration.

Now smooth muscle cells line all these air passages along what anatomists call the bronchial tree. These cells, when contracting, can actually reduce the diameter of the bronchi and bronchioles. Such activity can be of benefit, for example when we are exposed to severe pollution, or say smoke from a fire; with reduced air intake, we actually lessen our exposure to potentially dangerous materials.

We also lose considerable water through breathing; just think of a cold day, and the white vapor that follows each expiration. That white smoke is water vapor, exhaled with each breath day and night. If we're dehydrated - during a hike on a hot summer day, for example - we can lose a fair amount of water this way. So it makes sense that our lungs might slow down a bit to reduce the losses, and help keep our fluids in balance until we re-hydrate as needed.

Asthma occurs when our bronchi and bronchioles overreact to irritating exposures in the air, or dehydration, shutting down air flow to the point we find ourselves struggling and fighting for each breath, sometimes, ironically, fighting even for our lives. Scientists recognize a variety of substances that commonly provoke asthma in susceptible people, including pollens in spring and animal dander, as well as a myriad of pollutants. These irritants can lead to an inflammatory reaction in the immune cells lining the bronchi, which in response release histamine and leukotrienes. It's these molecules that then set off the smooth muscle contractions that can, if excessive, lead to asthma.

Asthma's Connection to the Environment
Scientists aren't sure why in so many people the bronchi over-react, but some suspect our constant exposure to increasing amounts of toxic materials in our air must be at least partially to blame. After all, our poor lungs must deal with a constant barrage of noxious materials in the air, literally thousands of different compounds, many of which are irritating to the lungs.

Infection, which creates inflammation, cold air, even exercise can provoke attacks in asthma prone children and adults. Since we tend to lose considerable water vapor via breathing both when it's cold outside, and when we're breathing heavily during exercise, I suspect these situations result when we're just not adequately hydrated, and our lungs desperately try to conserve water - perhaps too desperately.

Standard treatments for asthma include steroids, which reduce inflammation along the bronchi, and bronchodilators, which relax the smooth muscle. In our office, we have some simple approaches to the problem that often help enormously, though I must advise any patient with asthma to follow strictly their doctor's advice, and never change or stop medications without their doctor's approval.

Green Medicine Asthma Solutions
First, as a simple intervention, I always make sure any patient with asthma understands the need to drink plenty of fluids. Considerable debate rages about the amount of water humans need, and a recent study just last week said we should only drink when we feel thirsty. But with asthma, often our thirst centers in the brain seem a little slow to react, so patients end up chronically dehydrated, even though they don't feel thirsty. In my office, we advice anyone with asthma to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water daily.

I have also had a number of patients who improved substantially with the addition of simple apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons in a glass of water 2-3 times daily. Apple cider vinegar contains ample quantities of acetic acid, which we quickly absorb and which quickly acidifies the blood stream. We find that with the blood slightly on the acid side, the inflammatory responses tend to subside, and bronchoconstriction lessens. And though much nutrition advice these days promotes low fat diets, we find many of our asthma patients do better with a fairly regular intake of, yes, red meat. There's a reason, biochemically speaking, why red meat might help. Red meat contains nutrients called phosphates and sulfates that our bodies quickly convert to acid in the blood. Once again, a slightly more acidic blood seems to blunt the exaggerated inflammatory response so typical of asthma.

But, whatever diet an asthmatic chooses to follow, the cleaner the food the better, and that means organic. Fortunately, we live in a time when few doubt that organic food, be it plant or animal, not only provides more nutrients than conventional, but is cleaner. For an asthmatic, I believe organic is the only way to go.

In terms of our local environment, we always encourage our patients to think green. The fewer toxins in the environment, at home, in the office, and at school, the better an asthmatic patient will do. Use non-toxic cleaning agents, and if your house needs painting, use the gentler, greener low VOC paint readily available today. Patients often ask me to recommend air filters, but frankly, we find the best air filter to be plants - but of course, only those that won't lead to an allergic asthmatic response! Scientists now know that plants very efficiently remove pollutants, even the nastiest, from the air around us. One article on healthgoods.com reported that spider plants remove 96% of carbon monoxide, and 99% of nitric oxide, both noxious gases, after only 24 hours. Spider plants, philodendron, and aloe plants are among the most powerful pollution fights around. Plants also give off oxygen, as an added benefit for all of us. In my home and office, we have plants everywhere, and for good reason - not only do they bring a bit of nature to my city life, but they keep the air around me, my wife, and my patients clean.

The cleaner the world, the less pollution and the better it is for all of us, but particularly, the better for asthmatics. Get involved with friends and community groups; help organize a tree planting initiative in your neighborhood. Join national organizations that fight to keep the earth clean. Small efforts can add up, bit by bit, and ultimately have a powerful global effect.

Nicholas Gonzalez, MD
www.dr-gonzalez.com

Since April is "Earth Month" I find myself with lots of Green events on my calendar - so many in fact that it is hard to attend them all but as with my philosophy about living green, I simply do the best that I can. So yesterday morning I woke up with a little green dilemma... I wanted to attend the Bedford Spring Antiques Show sponsored by St. Matthew's Church in Westchester County. This year's theme: "Renew, Recycle, Redecorate" is part of their "Bedford twenty by 2020" pledge to help Bedford reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by the year 2020. Furthermore, I've been attending the annual event for years and was excited to see their collection of antiques and some old friends. But I had suffered a neck injury earlier in the week and was under doctor's orders to rest. My original plan to lug myself (and whatever I might purchase at the show) from NYC to Bedford and back via trains and taxis didn't seem very restful. And given my stiff neck and lingering pain, I couldn't rent a car and drive myself.

Then I thought... Ozocar to the rescue! I contacted this hybrid car service (Prius and Lexus hybrids) and felt relieved about being as green as can be. When a large black Lincoln town car arrived to take me to Bedford, I was surprised and disappointed. Seems that Ozocar had run out of hybrids, and they didn't think to tell me when they called to confirm. I guess to some folks, a car is still a car. So I reluctantly got in and reassured myself that I had at least tried to go green.

Every year for over 15 years now, I visit Josephine Thrasher's antique jewelry booth at the show. She is nearly 80 years old now and running her small business alone since her husband died suddenly over 2 years ago. The first year after he died, I helped her work her booth at the Bedford show. In the car, I sorted through my Envirosax bag full of goodies I was bringing to her to recycle. Over the years, I had unconsciously collected a very wide assortment of small jewelry store boxes and earring storage envelopes. Josephine likes to give her customers their antique jewelry purchases in pretty boxes so I knew these would go to good use.

When I got to the Bedford Spring Antiques Show, I immediately saw all the thoughtful ways they were going green. In the entrance lobby stood a recycled cardboard box calling for your recycled cell phones. Signs encouraging you to "Dare to Recycle" led you to the ticket table with a raffle for his-and-her premium bicycles and an electric children's dirt bike. Their show program was a simple and effective 8 pages on recycled paper with listings of the sponsors rather then the typical 50 page, glossy ad filled, printed book. Then a close friend of my parent's, greeted me warmly and handed me a list of the 20 steps for the "Bedford twenty by 2020" pledge and a brown eco-friendly, re-usable grocery bag.

With my own eco-bag of boxes to recycle in hand, I made a beeline for Josephine's booth. She greeted me as only old friends can, with a big hug and wet smiling eyes. She saw my 40+ jewelry boxes and announced that "it must be Christmas!" as it seems she had been running low on her own supply. Conscious of the car service waiting outside, I tried to take in the show as quickly as possible. And I did make one special purchase - an antique 18 carat floral-engraved 200 year old, gold wedding band. A unique, yet more everyday choice compared to my diamond wedding band. Since it was antique and by definition, recycled, it was a green solution too. "A true find" remarked Josephine. Another old Bedford friend arrived at the booth while I was trying it on and called it "my-running-to-the-A&P" wedding ring. I smiled and said "rather, my running-to-the-farmer's market!" ring and paid cash.

On the way home in the car, I thought back to how nice it was that an event I've always enjoyed was now made even more special by going green. I thought about how "green" seeing old friends was because you didn't have to exert as much energy as when meeting new people. And as I twirled my new ring in the sunlight, I saw the inside engraving for the first time. "To Mel love Sylvia 2-12-74". Gosh. While I enjoy going green as much as I can, it sure can be full of surprises.

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

The average American consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar and sweeteners per year. A bit scary? The USDA recommends we get no more than 10 teaspoons per day, yet most of us eat about 30 teaspoons per day. That's three times the recommended daily value. This got me thinking about how much we, as humans, love sweet things. It makes perfect sense; our fist experience of taste comes from the sweetness of our mother's milk.

So, why do you hear from health experts that sugar is harmful for you?

When we play around with Mother Nature to create refined table sugar then it becomes a very different story. Refined sugar lacks vitamins, minerals, and fiber as well as requires extra effort from the body to digest. The body must deplete its own store of minerals and enzymes to absorb the sugar properly. That is when the body creates deficiency instead of providing nutrition to support optimal functioning to your organs.

But sugar isn't the problem. The problem is the vicious, addictive cycle we have created by eating processed sugar, feeling the rush, crashing, and then having to take more sugar to begin the vicious cycle again. If we are on a healthy, balanced diet, nourishing ourselves with milder forms of sweet vegetables, we don't need a big sugar hit from a candy bar or soda to boost our energy level.

As I work with clients that have underlining sugar and caffeine addicted diets, they gain tools that are individualized for their lifestyle to easily find ways to use alternatives to sugar. We begin adding foods such as grains, vegetables, beans and fruits. When unprocessed, sugar contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and proteins. When these foods are chewed and then enter the bloodstream, then they are burned smoothly and evenly, allowing your body to absorb all the good stuff.

Which sweetener should you choose? All common natural sweeteners are available on the shelves of most health-food stores and many supermarkets.

Agave Nectar is a natural liquid sweetener made from the juice of the agave cactus. It is sweeter than refined sugar, but does not create a sugar roller coaster, and has an easier effect on the body's blood sugar level.

Stevia is used in cooking, backing and beverages and does not affect blood sugar levels. Make sugar you get the green or brown form because the white and clear versions are highly refined.

Raw Honey is one of the oldest natural sweeteners. Raw honey contains small amounts of enzymes, minerals, and vitamins. Everyone seems to love honey. It is sweeter than sugar, with different flavors depending on the plant source.

100% Pure Maple Syrup adds a nice flavor to foods and is great for baking.

Brown Rice Syrup tastes like butterscotch and is delicious in recipes. It consists of brown rice that has been ground and cooked, converting the starches to maltose.

Organic Molasses is probably the most nutritious sweetener derived from sugar cane. Different types of molasses have different flavors, but most of them impart a very distinctive taste. Use less molasses than you would sugar.

Keep it simple: Enjoy sweeteners given to you from Mother Earth!

Nicole Ohebshalom, RN,CHHC, AADP
Radiant Living Wellness

In San Diego Going Green is not a new idea. For decades San Diegans have realized the importance to protect the earth and her resources. The communities of Southern California experience first hand how their daily actions affect the environment immediately and in the long term. Here in San Diego we know that dirty streets equal polluted water and closed beaches; thick smog can drown out a picture perfect sunset.

NBC 7/39 produces Going Green segments to educate the San Diego community about what they can do to go green. We talk to experts that tell us what we can do about climate change. We talk to businesses that are working hard on new technology and products that we can benefit from, and we also catch up with individuals that are doing their part in the community. At NBC 7/39 we understand that as a member of the San Diego Community we have a responsibility to report on the stories that impact our lives. That is why we produce Going Green to share the progress being made in the community to fight Climate Change and reduce our negative impact on the earth.

Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility. Through the NBC 7-39 Going Green experience you will learn tips to help you go green everyday. You will also hear and see the work being done by schools, neighborhoods, offices, and about your neighbors that are Going Green.

Ruston Grau
NBC San Diego, Assignment Editor
http://nbcsandiego.com/goinggreen/

Recently, I was lucky enough to catch a screening of Gimme Green, a documentary about Americans' obsession with their lawns. The film takes a look at the impact excessive watering and toxic pesticides have on our environment -- and our wallets -- as people strive to grow the greenest lawn in the neighborhood.

Did you know that this country spends over 40 BILLION dollars on lawn care? Yup, and as directors Isaac Brown and Eric Flagg point out, that makes our nation's largest irrigated crop...the lawn. Yikes!

The film is funny and a little alarming - watch the trailer to see for yourself. I bet it gets you thinking about your own green spaces.

You can maintain a lush lawn without any of the guilt by going organic in your gardening, controlling weeds without pesticides and uncovering common misconceptions about lawn care.

After all, shouldn't we be as concerned with keeping ourselves and our planet as healthy as we're keeping our lawns?

Rachel Gray, Associate Producer
iVillage.com
http://housecalls.ivillage.com/home/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/