Like a lot of you, the ample supply of local water has become threaded into my family life. We play in the marsh behind our house, swim at the beach, fish in the creeks, and surf in the ocean. We love it all, and I bet you do too. That’s why we all need to [...]

Recycling only takes a little knowledge, a little time, and a little motivation. If you see a neighbor throwing away materials that can be recycled, don’t be afraid to help them out. They may be missing the recyclable materials list, confused about their recycling pickup day, or unaware how important this basic civic activity really [...]

The Sustainability Institute has been hosting Charleston Water Week to help encourage local residents to conserve this precious resource. And since we want to help the cause, we’re featuring different water-related nonprofits that serve our local community. The Coastal Conservation League, who is celebrating their 20 year anniversary, is working hard every day to preserve [...]

The great peeps over at The Sustainability Institute are sponsoring Charleston Water Week – a week-long celebration and educational series about water-related issues facing our community and planet. Water conservation and protection is becoming more and more important as potable water supplies diminish, so I think it’s great that the extra attention is being given [...]

A few times a year I travel to far off cities and speak with nonprofits about how social media can help their cause. While on the road, I always keep my green eyes peeled for interesting, innovative, and clever sustainability ideas. When I visit places like San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal, I always notice [...]

Last October, College Park Middle School students began an environmental program focusing on conservation and sustainability. The Race to End Waste, launched by Complete Building Corporation, is part of an employee effort to give back to our community. Homerooms in the Ladson school have been collecting recyclable materials all year — over 60,000 pounds so far — in an effort [...]

*** EDIT: Down to Earth has closed *** Most artificial Christmas trees are full of bad things like PVC, so getting a real tree might be the greener option. But if you want to take it up a notch this year, Down to Earth is offering a Living Christmas Tree Program that will let your [...]

Our foray into cleaning with vinegar has been great, so I thought I’d share some of the cool things I’ve learned: Vinegar is as old as dirt. Not really, but vinegar has been a part of human life for 10,000 years. Hippocrates used apple cider vinegar for its many healing properties. 1 cup of vinegar, [...]

It’s that time of year again – new phone books are arriving on porches and driveways throughout the Lowcountry. This means updated information, but also tons of excess waste. Please remember that Charleston County Recycling accepts old phone books for reclamation, and you can throw them right into your blue curbside bin with other paper [...]

Sorry for the late notice, but I just received word about a Regional Forum this Saturday that will help shape the future of the Charleston-area (thanks Josh!). Our Vision, Our Plan will feature discussions covering community growth, natural resources, quality of life, and more. From the website: Launched in 2008 by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of [...]

OK, It seams like these high gas prices are here to stay. Earlier this month, they finally crossed the $4 mark here in Charleston. While this is bad news for our wallets, it’s good news for the environment. People are driving less, using public transportation more, and buying cars with more efficient engines. Overall, our [...]

Last week, Darla Moore announced the creation of the Charleston Parks Conservancy. Their main goal will be to improve the 120 city parks and green spaces, as well as encourage community stewardship in the effort. Green spaces are good spaces, and  important for urban residents who seek to enjoy what we are all trying so [...]

I wouldn’t say that I’m counting on my kids to save the planet, but teaching them early and often is surely going to help. The “kids” in Gen Y and younger are truly engaged in the environmental movement, and Lowcountry Earthforce is proudly showing off their efforts this Friday. The 10th Annual Youth Environmental Summit [...]

Guess what? Chad is turning 40 this week! OK, he’s not, if he wants his age known, he’ll tell. Chad’s birthday is an opportunity to consume wisely. I began with gifts from the boys. We visited The Sea Turtle Rescue Hospital at the Aquarium. We have proudly adopted for Daddy. We can’t wait to visit [...]

There’s been activity over at the LEEP blog! It looks like they are in the middle of a new project called Web of Water. It’s always nice to see other lowcountry green bloggers kicking it. So Give ‘em a look, leave a comment, add them to your reader – all encouragement to share, share, share.

I gotta give a shout out to the good folks over at the Lowcountry Open Land Trust. They recently purchased a 63-acre tract of land on the Ashley River that was destined for development. As a result, LOLT is making sure that a public park is being built instead. This is a great example of [...]

So you have accepted the realities of how global warming is changing our planet and you want to make some changes – great! Where do you start? Years ago I would search the web for current info, particularly when I was building a house. Yet the information and product knowledge wasn’t always easy to discern. [...]

Despite the dreary weather last night, about 25 of us made it to the Charleston Alternative Energy Meetup at Huger’s Restaurant. These monthly meetings are hosted by local greenlebrity Ian Sanchez, and bring together a wide range of people interested in biodiesel, solar, wind, wave, and nuclear energy. The meeting kicked off with a 30-minute [...]

Chad was suffering from a drippy cold, and came home with two boxes of Kleenex. I’m pretty sure I made an audible gasp when I saw those cute designer boxes, but I said nothing to Chad. He had a bad cold after all. I mean, have you ever seen his nose? I used a few [...]

Lately, we’ve been noticing how little garbage we have around our house. So much so, that I only have to take my big brown trash bin down to the curb every three weeks (still too much IMHO). I used to fill it up to the top every week, but now it takes 3 weeks! For [...]