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 [...]

I like to keep things positive around here, but sometimes it helps to point out mistakes rather than successes – we learn from our mistakes too, right? One of our first columns was Weekly Trashed, which was a photographic look at poor trash disposal activity. On a recent trip to a Mount Pleasant recycling drop [...]

Check out this inspiring video featuring Chris Fisher of Fisher Recycling. He is a great example of someone turning their love for sustainable living into a thriving business that is helping us all.

Foam packing peanuts have protected our shipped items since the seventies, but scientists are only now realizing their impact on the environment. That’s because these protectors of all things fragile are often made from polystyrene (plastic #6), a resin that does not biodegrade, is resistant to photolysis, and has become a chief component in the [...]

This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Charleston County Recycling will host an electronic recycling day at the Citadel Mall. Disposing of eWaste is an ever growing problem, and this is a great opportunity to act responsibly. They will accept almost anything: TVs, computers, camcorders, clocks, radios, microwaves, telephones…if it’s got a plug, bring [...]

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, [...]

Last weekend I stopped and met the man who I’ve seen picking up litter around our neighborhood. Most Saturdays, Steve Carron walks and jogs outside for exercise. He couldn’t help but notice the forgotten items thrown carelessly by his feet. Steve simply began picking the litter up and carrying it home for proper disposal. He [...]

My goal to go emissions-free in my yard was put on hold this summer when I decided not to purchase that reel mower I had my eye on. I did, however, go through with my plans to seek an alternative to my loud, gas-fueled weed eater. It’s now August, so I’m calling it – my [...]

Trying to reduce trash is a major goal in our house, and probably many of yours as well. So when I find a biodegradable item that is normally trash (think packaging), I feel better about throwing it away when I know it is returning to the earth by decomposing in a landfill.  But when trash [...]

When it comes to going green, our family’s mantra has always been “Do What We Can, When We Can.” To that end, a couple weeks ago the stars aligned and guided a 2008 Toyata Prius into our lives. We couldn’t be happier. Over the last few years, I’ve spoken with many Prius owners about the [...]

I just got back from the Fossil Fools Day demonstration downtown, and I have to say that I was stoked at the amount of attention the Alliance for Planet Earth (C of C’s student-run environmental group) was able to bring to this issue. The TV stations and newspapers were all there, and heard about how [...]

You probably already know that drinking bottled water is one of the least green things you can do. I’ve blogged about this before, and I haven’t had even a sip of bottled water since June 2007. At any rate, one of the big stories this week is how pharmaceutical drugs are showing up in our [...]

If only I didn’t have a day job, I wouldn’t get scooped by The Post and Courier all the time! But good thing they’re around, or we’d miss out on some important green stories. Here are some local environmental stories I thought you might be interested in: Solar Interest Shines; Incentives a Bit Dull Shifts [...]

If you’re like me, chances are that deep in your closet, you too have a box of things that is labeled, “stuff.” And in it, most likely, is that old cell phone that you just didn’t know what to do with, so you stashed it in stuff purgatory. Well fear no more, there is a [...]

Ever since a Hummer began showing up in the parking lot where I work, I’ve been dying to get a shot of it next to one of the many Priuses. Well today was the day, and to make it even sweeter, a Chevy Suburban was parked on the other side forming a veritable eco-sandwich. A [...]

Wanna get your feet wet with a little environmental cleanup? Check out the 2007 Sea Grant Beach Sweep/River Sweep on September 15, where volunteers from around the lowcountry remove aquatic debris from local beaches, rivers, lakes, and marshes. Since launching in 1988, it has become South Carolina’s largest one-day volunteer cleanup event. And on top [...]

Before you jump in for a swim or embark on a fun day of kayaking in rivers across South Carolina, you may want to check the water quality. According to a study released by the South Carolina Sierra Club Water Committee, 31 percent of the waterways in South Carolina are unsafe for recreation due to [...]

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 [...]

Just the other day, I blogged about how the Mount Pleasant town council is grumpy about raising our stormwater fees in order to monitor pollutants. The increase is in response to a federally mandated program geared at protecting our environment and educating the public on how runoff from rainwater can contaminate our waterways. The town [...]

Ahh, serendipity. I was about to blog about how the Mt. Pleasant Stormwater Utility Program just sent around a newsletter with their annual bill (Check out the previous years). It’s a fine little doc, and has important info about keeping pollutants out of the storm drains, yadda yadda yadda. Then today I read in the [...]