Bad food. Toxic fumes. Not a blade of grass in sight. Welcome to the hospital, the place where you're supposed to get well. It's an odd truth that while grocery chains sell organic products and businesses boast energy-efficient skyscrapers, the places where Americans go to heal have traditionally been among the worst offenders when it comes to disposing chemicals, using resources efficiently, and providing a healthy environment and diet.

But recent years have seen a quiet yet radical change. A movement to turn hospitals "green" -- healthier, more efficient, less toxic -- is gathering force, and can already boast a host of successes. From the use of nontoxic cleaners to the shuttering of many medical incinerators that once polluted the planet with dangerous chemicals, "we have achieved the tipping point," says Barbara Sattler, director of the Environmental Healthy Education Center at the University of Maryland. As community centers open 24/7, hospitals aren't the easiest places to turn into ecoutopias. Air and surfaces must be kept clean to prevent infections, patients and staff need food around the clock, and tons of waste must be disposed of. But as Sattler and other passionate advocates explain it, the greening of our medical system, both within hospital walls and outside them, holds promise for human health and the health of the planet -- while illuminating the ways they're inextricably linked.