I recently saw that Charleston Style & Design Magazine will be coordinating the building of a Green Idea Home at Battery Island Row. This event will bring together sustainability experts from the Charleston-area to show off their game and demonstrate the latest green offerings. Cool! This should be an interesting venue for our local green [...]

This post originally ran last holiday season, but I think it’s an important reminder to everyone… Driving all around town shopping for holiday gifts is a resource hog – too much time, too much gas, too much hassle. That’s why I’ve turned to Amazon.com year after year to help reduce my trips into the seasonal [...]

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 [...]

*** 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 [...]

For the past five years, Mount Pleasant has opened their maintenance facility to residents for used motor oil and oyster shell recycling. I know a lot of DIY oil changers, and there’s an oyster roast around every corner, so it’s nice to know there is a recycling option for both activities. The site is located [...]

If you’d like to see how a local business is transforming itself into a sustainability icon, look no further than the Charleston Battery Stadium. They recently won a Sustainable Community Award, and are teaming up with The Sustanability Institute to offer a free tour of the facility. The Battery organization has done a great job [...]

If you’re already composting, then you know this is the most bountiful time of year for your pile – the greens and browns are everywhere, especially if you carved pumpkins. If you don’t have a compost pile, then think about starting one – this is the best time! Composting is all about managing the balance [...]

As most of you know, buying local food is one of the best things you can do to lead a more sustainable life. Fresh food travels an average of 2000 miles to reach our plates, which means eating locally grown food can really make an impact. To bring awareness to local businesses and growers, Lowcountry [...]

Halloween! I love it. The costumes, the candy, the cooler weather, the parties, the decorations and of course, carving pumpkins – a plethora of fun for all ages. Hmmm…all that spooky fun can cause a lot of consumption and waste. Chad and I found some ways to manage our haunting excesses, and I’m certain we [...]

The College of Charleston is a not only a huge asset to the city, but a big influence on local trends and culture. That’s why I’m excited to see this video roundup of steps they’ve taken to provide a more sustainable dining experience to students. They eliminated trays that needed washing, switched to biodegradable food [...]

Have you been keeping up with the Charleston Alternative Energy movement? What started as a monthly meetup has since turned into a full blown community. Ian Sanchez and partners have setup an online community for local alternative energy enthusiasts, and it’s open to all comers.  There’s a lot to do there, including blogs, forums, custom [...]

While we’re trying to use fewer nasty chemicals around the house, we still end up with leftover paint, gas, cleaners, antifreeze, and other sludge that needs to be disposed of properly…which can sometimes be challenging. 92% of all poison exposure cases occur in our homes, 87% of which are accidental (makes you wonder about that [...]

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, [...]

Have you noticed the new captions in the produce department of Harris Teeter? Cute handwritten bubble signs announcing, “locally grown.” No kidding. Cabbages, collards, mustard greens, peaches, grape tomatoes, and others display their hometown pride. It is reassuring that a regional, but large, grocery store is utilizing the farms here in the Carolinas. The shipping [...]

Yes, pop the organic champagne and fire up the fair trade jug band — the compost pile we began last fall is fruitful — literally. Our table scraps haven’t gone to Bee’s Ferry for months now, and instead their worm-riddled nutrient-rich remains are ready to be mixed back into our gardens and flowerbeds. I’ve known [...]

Well, Summer is over, and I’ve made it through without drinking bottled water yet again. Fifteen months ago, I began reading articles about the environmental impact of bottled water, so I decided to give it up. Similar to my decision to stop using disposable bags when shopping, giving up bottled water had been incredibly easy [...]

Speaking of parking, Monday is World Carfree Day 2008 – a day to ditch our cars and seek alternative transportation. We often ride our bikes to the park, pool, and store when possible, Jen rides the bus, and we often shoot for one weekend day to be car free.  It would be tough to give [...]

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 [...]

Every day, I look for new ways to reduce my impact on this planet.  I loved Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff the first time I watched it, and I believe this is going to be one of our culture’s toughest challenges as we move towards a sustainable future. One of the biggest uses of [...]

As cheesy as it sounds, Whitney Houston was right on the money when she sang, “I believe the children are our future; Teach them well, and let them lead the way,” in The Greatest Love of All. I mean, that makes as much sense today as it did in 1985, especially when talking about the [...]