Tag: environment

Celebrate Earth Day With Village Green Apothecary on April 22nd!

April 20th, 2011 by Paula Gallagher

Friday is Earth Day and Village Green Apothecary is proud to support Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®. As an active member of our business community, we continuously strive to support sustainability and environmentally responsible efforts.

Simple acts of green that you and your family can do include:

  • Turn off the lights when you leave a room
  • Turn off the water faucet while your brush your teeth
  • Eat locally grown food and support local farmers
  • Start a veggie garden of your own
  • Bring reusable bags grocery shopping (and for other shopping)
  • Compost and recycle
  • Walk and ride your bike instead of driving short distances
  • Cut down or eliminate(!) your use of bottled water, and invest in a filter system

These are all simple ideas that anyone and everyone can do. To encourage you on your path to “greening” your lifestyle, Village Green is giving away adorable itty-bitty herb plants, FREE to take home and nurture, to the first 200 in-store customers who make a purchase on Earth Day, April 22.  Come early to choose between rosemary, lemon thyme, and pineapple sage. (One plant per customer while supplies last.)

We are also starting Village Green’s Bag Refund Program. To kick off this initiative, we will take $1 off your purchase on Friday, April 22 if you bring in your own bag. Starting on April 23,  we’ll  give you a 10-cent credit when you bring your own bag.

Wishing everyone a happy Earth Day!

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Going Green: Actions (and Cash) Speak Louder Than Words

April 14th, 2011 by Steve Stillwater

When it comes to going green, do you follow through on good intentions?

People talk a lot about living a greener lifestyle, but when the time comes to actually go green, most people seem to be commitment-phobic. The problem is that most normal folks are not yet willing to pay a bit more to lower their carbon footprints.

Recent car-buying behavior is telling. A USA Today/Gallup Poll surveyed car buyers and found that 35% said they would “strongly consider” buying a hybrid car. But how many actually bought one? Only 4.3%. What is the reason? Almost certainly it is the other kind of green: money.

A Ford Escape hybrid that gets 32 miles per gallon is priced at $30,825, but the non-hybrid version netting only an average of 23 miles per gallon is available for as little as $23,225 (that ‘s stripped, not equipped). Saving $1000 per year on gas still requires about 7 years to earn back the cost premium for the hybrid. Most consumers won’t fork over that much extra for a hybrid, preferring to pay more for gas but quite a bit less for the car.

This is just a guess on my part, but I think gasoline prices would need to be about $6 per gallon or more to push a significant number of car buyers toward the hybrid. What do you think?

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Green Living Can Also Be Good For Your Health: Three Tips for Being Green and Healthy

March 30th, 2011 by Steve Stillwater

Green living is being embraced by increasing numbers of people. Saving energy at home, using less gasoline, conserving fresh water and recycling paper, plastic and glass products all contribute to a greener lifestyle and a lower carbon footprint.

But there is another reason for going green: green living is also healthy.

Here are three tips for living a green and healthy lifestyle.

1. Start an organic garden at home. In addition to some exercise, gardening offers health benefits by allowing you to make sure that your homegrown fruit and vegetables are chemical and toxin free. And by growing some of your food at home, you reduce pollution and save fuel by not having that food shipped to you from across the country, or even from half way around the world. You also avoid the expense and pollution resulting from driving your car to a local store to buy it. Continue reading “Green Living Can Also Be Good For Your Health: Three Tips for Being Green and Healthy”

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Living Green and Healthy: 5 Health Benefits from Going Green

February 9th, 2011 by Steve Stillwater

I spend a fair amount of time on Living Green and Saving Energy describing how to go green and save money as a result. But as important as saving money is for most people, perhaps it is not the most important benefit of a greener lifestyle. Green living can improve your health as well.

Here are five health benefits you can realize from creating a greener lifestyle.

1. A healthier heart: Regular exercise has obvious health benefits. By walking or riding a bike to replace your car for short trips, you get some cardio exercise and save gas and reduce carbon emissions all at once. Even taking the bus or train will help, since you can walk or bike to and from the bus stop or train station.

2. A healthier diet: Buying locally-produced food saves on fuel for transporting that food to the market, and smaller local growers are more likely to offer organically-grown produce that is fresher as well. Shopping at farmer’s markets is a good way to find these items, making sure your food is pesticide-free. In addition, reducing consumption of meat lowers your carbon footprint due to the greater amounts of energy, water, and resources used to produce meat compared to vegetables. And eating less red meat is good for almost everyone’s health. Continue reading “Living Green and Healthy: 5 Health Benefits from Going Green”

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Why I Don’t Buy Carbon Offsets and Why You Shouldn’t Either

February 3rd, 2011 by Steve Stillwater

How to go green in the best way is a question many serious-minded people ask themselves. Green living habits and environmentally friendly practices are worthwhile and should be encouraged.

Finding ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle are the cornerstones of a greener lifestyle, as is attempting to repair any damage done to the environment by our lifestyles. It is the latter goal that has given rise to the proliferation of carbon offsets.

Carbon offsets have become part of the current green lingo. In broadest terms, a carbon offset is a payment made to compensate for carbon emissions. In principle, this payment is directed toward an action or technology that precisely reverses the carbon emissions caused by something done by an individual. For example, a 500-mile flight on a Boeing 737 airplane produces a relatively well-defined  amount of emissions. Divide that amount by the number of passengers, and you can calculate the greenhouse gas contribution by each individual on that plane. Continue reading “Why I Don’t Buy Carbon Offsets and Why You Shouldn’t Either”

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Our Bloggers

  • Paula Gallagher
    Paula Gallagher
    Paula is a highly qualified and experienced nutrition counselor on the staff at Village Green.
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  • Margo Gladding
    Margo Gladding
    Margo's impressive knowledge base is the result of a unique blend of educational and professional experience.
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  • Dr. Neal Barnard
    Dr. Neal Barnard
    Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research.
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  • Joseph Pizzorno
    Dr. Joseph Pizzorno
    Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, ND is a pioneer of integrative medicine and a leading authority on science-based natural medicine.
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  • Debi Silber
    Debi Silber
    Debi is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition, a personal trainer, and whole health coach.
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  • Teri Cochrane
    Teri Cochrane
    Teri is a is a Certified Coach Practitioner with extensive certifications and experience in holistic medicinal practices.
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  • Dr. Rav Ivker
    Dr. Rav Ivker
    Dr. Rav Ivker is a holistic family physician, health educator, and best-selling author.
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  • Susan Levin
    Susan Levin
    Susan writes about the connection between plant-based diets and a reduced risk of chronic diseases.
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  • Rob Brown
    Dr. Rob Brown
    Dr. Brown's blended perspective of healthcare includes a deeply rooted passion for wellness and spiritual exploration.
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Other Contributors

Caroline Blazovsky
Heather Gunn
Jared Rice
Ellen Kittredge
Naz Amini
Carmen Ugas
Steve Stillwater
Farzin Farid
Joe Ailts
Scott O’Dell
James Brodsky, MD
Christine M. Gonzales
Beth Ritchie
Jim Fox

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