Thanks to everyone for participating in the Go Green canvas bag poll. 40% of respondents are using their own canvas bags unless they forget them…I know I’m certainly in this group. And I appreciate the honesty of the 23% who are still using store bags. I was like that less than a year ago, but [...]

Here are a few interesting and newsworthy links from the outer reaches of the green Web… Newsweek’s Project Green takes a look at the growth of green jobs and availability for recent college grads. Grist runs down the 15 greenest cities in the world. Plug-in hybrid school buses? Yep… in Tampa, Florida. EcoGeek takes a [...]

One week after I discovered that Limited Brands management was asking store employees to leave the doors open, nothing has changed. I walked by the stores on an 85° evening, and the doors were wide open again (see new photos), allowing energy-intensive cold air to spill out onto the sidewalk. When I spoke to the [...]

Hey all! I’m Jennifer Norman, a.k.a the woman behind the man, and of course his better half. So, I am not a blogger. I don’t own a PC. I’m not even sure how to access my voicemail. In fact, I’m writing this in ink, standing. And yes! Chad is totally forcing me to write. He [...]

Bottled water is a huge environmental issue, both in the amount of plastic waste created and the needless carbon produced during the processing and transport stages. This is a topic we’ve covered pretty extensively at Go Green with Chad’s ongoing initiative to avoid bottled water altogether, an effort I think we’ve all adopted. If you [...]

I’m a Disney geek. To me, one of the many benefits of living in the Charleston area is the relatively close proximity to Walt Disney World. Only a six hour drive (in the Prius!) and we’re practically in the Magic Kingdom. We try to make it down annually, if the budget allows, and we avoid [...]

This week, I was surrounded by cardboard on my drive to work. It was everywhere. The four shots below were all taken within 10 houses of each other. It amazes me how reluctant people are to recycle their cardboard. Charleston County, if you’re listening, we NEED CURBSIDE PICKUP!!! Check out the Weekly Trashed archives for [...]

Hey, just a quick note that Go Green has two new blog contributors. Gregory Heath is a long time friend and environmental advocate – you may have caught his post yesterday. Gregory knows a lot more about politics that I do, and quite frankly is a lot smarter, so I look forward to his posts. [...]

The Charleston County Council is meeting tonight to review spending proposals from the Green Belt Program. Meetings are held on the second floor of the Lonnie Hamilton, III Public Services Building, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston. You can read more at: Green Belt Program Proposals

When I wrote about road trip recycling and other things last week, I forgot to mention that I finally purchased some carbon offsets for my vehicle. We’ve made major efforts to green up our summer traveling (recycling, cruise control, slower speeds, tire pressure, filling up at night, etc.), so offsetting our vehicle’s carbon emissions was [...]

I’m in some sort of green-shock after walking by a couple of Mount Pleasant Town Center stores this weekend whose doors were wide open. It was hot, and Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works were the only stores brazen enough to coax foot traffic off the sidewalk with energy-guzzling cold air. This marketing tactic [...]

This week’s Trashed goes back to the basics – corrugated cardboard…and lots of it. There are some other gems in this photo too. Lots of unbroken down boxes (bad for the garbage men) made of cardboard (recyclable), a bag of yard waste (compostable), bubble wrap (reusable), plastic grocery bags (recyclable), and plastic food containers (recyclable). [...]

On my recent road trip, I spent some time in Northern Indiana. Amish communities dot every county, so examples of sustainability where everywhere. This time I really noticed all the recumbent bikes…they seemed to be everywhere. I also liked the road side pool/pond we drove by, complete with concrete deck, diving boards, and slides. Good [...]

I just got back from a week-long roadtrip to the Midwest, and I had my entire family on recycling watch. I blogged about recycling on the road last month when I drove to the Catskills, but this time I was traveling for an entire week with a family of four – yikes! I’m happy to [...]

Actually, both of these cups are recyclable – sort of.  I took this photo because these cups appeared to be made of the same material, yet only The Moe’s cup had the three-arrowed recycling symbol on the bottom.  After emailing Berry Plastics, they ensured me that both cups were indeed polypropylene, A.K.A. plastic #5. Since [...]

It’s been 2.5 months now since I pledged to have a bottled water-free summer, and I have to tell you it’s been pretty easy so far. If I travel with my canteen-style water bottle, I never have a need to buy one. I just fill it up at a sink or drinking fountain, and I’m [...]

Just a quick note to let all you Facebook junkies know we have a Go Green Charleston Facebook Group setup. Take a second to join and spread the word to other locals in your network. We’ll be using this channel more in the future, but for now just spread the word!

We’re trying to come up with a comprehensive list of disposable items that are designed to be used only once. Often these items can be reused, but most often they go straight to the landfill after their brief blossom of convenience. Around our house, we’ve really been trying to fine tune our greenness and reduce [...]

Hey, just a quick note that I stumbled upon a plant pot made of plastic #2 (the black one in the photo). This means it’s recyclable! Even though it’s nearly identical to the red one (a #5), it has one big difference – I can throw it in my blue bin! Unfortunately, I don’t know [...]

Maybe it was the holiday? Maybe people just blew up their trash? Maybe this column is working? Whatever the reason, I’m happy to report that there were no bad examples of trash disposal on my way in to work yesterday (though my wife said had I gone one street over, I would have seen something [...]