Greg Horn - Living Green

Advance Praise

The world is ready for this book.

Robert Edson Swain, Green Architect

Living Green provides a brilliant and user-friendly guide to healthy and conscious living.

Marci Zaroff, Founder/PresidentUnder the Canopy

Living Green is perhaps the most meaningful how to guide for creating wellness I have ever read. The industry of wellness is so full of rhetoric that the consumer is understandably left bewildered. In this book, one is not introduced to a fad, but rather an artistically communicated view of intelligent existence. The brilliance of Living Green is its integration. It addresses what to put in your body and on your body. How to change your home and your world. Greg Horns obvious genius will change your life. Read and act on this book.

Patrick Gentempo, Jr., D.C., CEO, Creating Wellness Alliance

I read this book and was possessed. As someone both personally and professionally dedicated to the outdoor lifestyle, I see the compelling need to do things differently. Nature depends on it, and the situation is critical. Gregs book convinced me that I could make a difference, which I didnt believe before I read it. At last I knew exactly what I could do to participate in this whole new way of life.

Michelle Barnes, Outdoor Products Association

Living Green is a must-read for anyone seeking practical ways to start changing the world now. Real life experiences and practical tips make this a road map for personal action. This book helps you get past the worry and do something green.

Anthony Zolezzi, Chairman of The Organic Center, Co-Author of Chemical Free Kids (Kensington, 2003) and CEO of Natural Pet Nutrition

A Message from Paul Zane Pilzer, Author of The Wellness Revolution

We were riding the ski lift when Greg first told me about this book. Right away, I knew it was going to be great. For years, Greg has been my personal nutrition coach, giving me insight into what works and what doesnt work as we have pedaled, hiked and skied the mountain trails and slopes around Park City.

Over the years Ive introduced Greg to dozens of my friends, and they all say the same thing: His advice works, and its easy to see why.

I first met Greg when he was CEO of GNC, where he sat in the catbird seat over the emerging wellness revolution. His work at Garden of Life gave him a broad view of the organic movement and its health and environmental implications from soil to shelf. His new work with Eco Shoppe is creating a point of focus for products that enable the green lifestyle. The passion and energy he brings to his own active outdoor lifestyle spills over into his personal commitment to health and sustaining our environment.

Gregs unique access to leading thinkers, nutrition expertise, and scientific approachesplus his CEOs bias towards actionlets him bring it all together so we can take action too.

And there is compelling reason to take action. Greg knows that people want to do something about their wellness, but dont know where to start. This book inspires action without being heavy-handed or depressing. It offers practical tips you can act on to make a difference.

Finally, someone has made it easy to be green.

Living Green:

A Practical Guide for

Simple Sustainability

by Greg Horn

Copyright 2006 Gregory T. Horn

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted electronically without authorized consent of the author.

Cover design by Foerstel Design

Book design by Bonnie Lambert

ISBN 978-1-893910-47-8

Fourth printing 2007

Printed in the United States

Published by Freedom Press

1861 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard

Topanga, CA 90290

To our children, and theirs

FOREWORD

IM PROBABLY A LOT LIKE YOU. I dont have a degree in biology or environmental studies. Nor am I seeking any accolades from colleagues and friends who may see my name in print. I didnt get interested in trying to live a greener life two years ago because of any allergies or medical conditions. I cant say that Im doing this for my children to ensure they can swim and fish at Camp Konokwee in Pennsylvania like I did every summer. I dont have children. I cant even say that I have been prone to take up civic causes like this throughout my life, because I havent done much of that either.

What I did was wake up.

About two years ago, Greg asked me to help him edit the first manuscript of this book. During the several months of the editorial process I purchased Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth, and I became incensed. At myself. My husband. My family. My friends. The world. How had we, all of us, let this happen? How could I, during all of these years traveling abroad, ignore the planets endless screams for my help? I felt embarrassedand ashamed.

It was at that moment that I made a commitment to myself that I would change my daily habits for the better. Small things at first. I had to stop buying bottled water by the cases because I was contributing to the enormous vortex of plastics polluting our landfills and leaching toxic chemicals. My appliances were outdated and wasting electricity and precious water, so I invested in Energy Star appliances for my home. I took a second look at the inserts in my electric bill and signed up for Florida Power and Lights Sunshine Energy, which helps prevent CO2 from polluting our air and helps fund alternative sources of energy.

It felt good to be making a difference. And I realized this universal crisis we are facing can be abated and even reversed by all of us doing our part. What started as an editorial project has become a permanent change in lifestyle. Now, two years later, my home, my office and even my clothes and pet food have changed for the better. My purchase decisions now include considerations for the environment and my health, and Ive discovered a new passion for doing my part to make the world a better place in my own small way.

Being part of the solution is up to usme and you. You decide what that is for you and allow this informative book to help you get started. Living Green does an amazing job of giving us small, practical solutions that have monumental impact on how we can choose to live more lightly on the planet. I applaud Greg for sharing his knowledge, his enthusiasm, and his hope for a healthier and more sustainable future.

Roberta Modena

Co-Founder

Eco Shoppe

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THIS BOOK IS THE RESULT of a lifetime of exposurein person and in printto great thinkers and inspiring role models for sustainable living.

Leaders of the early environmental movement, whose foresight at a time when natural resources seemed unlimited, left us with a world worth preserving. The current sustainability revolution from organic farming to energy conservation is simply a natural extension of their visionary thinking and decisive actions.

I have learned much from my friends Randy Repass and Mitchell May, both of whom live completely off the grid with their wonderful families and still run great companies, and from Irina Lorenzi and Roberta Modena, whose commitment to healthy living is extraordinary.

As an avid health food store shopper, I want to acknowledge the thousands of retailers who make distributing products that can make a difference and sharing their benefits with interested consumers the mission of their working lives.

The scores of companies who are striving to make a difference with the products they sell and by the way they do business continually humble and inspire me as a business person and as an advocate for sustainability. All companies mentioned in this book are there because they are, in my opinion, the best at what they do and for the inspiration they provide. Besides Eco Shoppe, I have no economic ties to any of them, except paying full retail for their excellent products as an impassioned customer.