My current string bag never carried my shoes, only produce. It is by far my favorite reusable bag. I love walking through Whole Foods and filling it with organic pears, apples, mangoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, and it’s even strong enough for a melon. At the register, the cashier weighs and rings up my fruit and veggies with ease. Then, they put it all back in the bag, and I carry it out.

As I continue to shop with my reusable bags, I am noticing all of the packaging and other unnecessary plastic bags. DwellSmart carries an array of string bags, if I remember correctly, they were six dollars. You can also buy them through EcoBags, though we all know it’s important to support our local businesses. Go ahead and buy two, it is always good share green ideas with a friend!

Over the last few years, I’ve spoken with many Prius owners about the car, and a pattern emerged. There was very little talk about saving money on fuel, despite the seemingly unstoppable surge in gas prices we are seeing. Instead, people bought them because it was simply the right thing to do. Skeptics often say that the savings in gas will never pay for the car, but this isn’t an exercise in ROI; it’s a chance to make a good choice for the planet…and I’ll pay for that.

Yes, I’m happy about the lower emissions, but that’s certainly not the whole story. One of the most effective ways to create social change is to vote with your wallet, and buying a Prius does that in a big way. The hybrid system is so amazing, and I really don’t understand why Detroit can’t seem to figure this out. Sure, they are “trying”, but a $50,000 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that only gets 14/20 mpg is both laughable and embarrassing. Clearly they aren’t trying hard enough.

Along with doing the right thing comes setting an example, and that was certainly part of my motivation. I agree with Mary Gatch, who was quoted in this Treehugger.com post (you go girl!) describing the satisfaction of having people ask her about Prius. I like this as well, but not as much as I like having my two boys ask me about it. Influencing them means a lot to me, and I’m already imagining them telling their college friends about all the kooky green stuff we made them do growing up. But you know what, that stuff will stick, and their generation will see things differently…and that should be reason enough for all of us all to get hybrids.

So, if you have a chance to get a Prius, jump! And if enough of us jump, mother nature will certainly notice (and maybe Detroit will too).

Graham and I sat on the bench and caught the CARTA bus at 9 a.m. The bus was on time, so our wait was minimal. We boarded, paid $1.25, and rode route 40 downtown. Graham was comfortable and quiet on my lap, until we drove over the Ravenel. Then for the first time, I had fun with my little guy pointing and observing all the action in our beautiful harbor.

Graham and I got off the bus at Meeting and Mary Streets. We visited the Children’s Museum, had a snack, and waited for the bus home. It was on time again.

The Good News: I created less carbon emissions that day. I did not have to park my car or pay for parking. The bus driver was friendly and capable, and she performed some amazing maneuvers. Even Graham was impressed. We sat back and enjoyed the ride, and will do this again.

The Bad News: There are many problems that could keep future passengers away. There is only one CARTA bus route in Mt. Pleasant, so fitting the times into busy schedules can be tricky. The lack of signs and benches is disgraceful. I certainly do not want to stand with my children by the side of Hwy 17 waiting for the bus. Also, there is no drop-off by the library, which is a key public resource for both the young and old.

Perhaps the best way to fix the lack of accessibility is to continue raising awareness, which is a major goal of Go Green. We will continue to ride and spread the word. I wonder what the mommies will think of this one? I wonder which will ride with us first?

Please email Jason to express interest in forming a Daniel Island chapter of Green Drinks.

Overall, Montréal certainly felt more progressive than most American cities (including Charleston), but not even close to what I saw in Vancouver last year. Nevertheless, there does seem to be an effort underway to green up the city, something I soon hope to see in our neck of the woods. Check out my notes after the jump.

• I stayed at the Hilton Bonaventure, and noticed they had done several things to go green. First off, there were CFL bulbs in almost all fixtures, something I still don’t see a lot of in the States. There were recycling bins in most rooms, including the meeting facilities. They also have a program in place which encourages guests to leave there towels on the rack to avoid excessive washing - something that wastes a ton of resources each year.
• There is a well developed underground tunnel system to keep people from having to walk outside in lousy weather. The side benefit of this is that fewer people passing through open doors, which allows energy-intensive hot and cold air to stay IN the buildings.
• There is a decent amount of recycling bins located throughout the city and airport. I still can’t figure out why this is still so rare stateside - why can’t we make this happen?
• Decent public transportation was running throughout the sprawling city. I saw plenty of the typical big city buses running around the grid, but I was more jealous of the train system. Commuters flowing in and out of the tubes makes the planet happy.

There you have it.

I consulted the website for CARTA, and was dismayed by the lack of working information concerning bus stops. I studied the map, then departed on Saturday morning to find the bus stop at Towne Centre. I missed the bus, but I saw it pass the stop: An unmarked bench baking in the sun by Hungryneck Boulevard. Good thing I had book, sunscreen, and tunes.

I boarded the next bus, paid $1.25, and rode the bus to Meeting and Mary Streets, near The Charleston Visitor Center. There were many stops along the way, even in front of Whole Foods. Some stops were clearly marked with the green CARTA sign, while some had benches and a litter bin. Other stops had little indication, like the one by the Goodwill on Highway 17 where there was just a man standing there signaling bus.

The bus itself was clean. The temperature was pleasant, the seats were comfortable, and the company was quiet. It was nice to sit back and watch the scenery. It had been too long since I had ridden a bus.

My son Graham loves to venture downtown. There are so many wonderful places for a child, and adult, to explore. Round trip mileage cut would be 12 miles. We generally drive downtown twice a week. Mass transit is an answer to lessening my impact. I’ll let you know how my littlest guy likes his first bus ride downtown.

Most of the recommendations are great - some are big, and some are small. I really like that all buildings designed after 2008 will require LEED certification. I am a little surprised that the first two recommendations involve “requiring” city staff to recycle various items - are there actually people that still don’t recycle? Read all 12 recommendations after the jump…

1. Require that all City staff recycle paper, plastic (plastics #1 and #2), aluminum and tin
   via Charleston County Curb Side Pick-up or the City Parks Department;
2. Require that all City staff recycle printer cartridges;
3. Require that all City staff use recycled copier paper for routine use;
4. Request that the Department of Public Service study the ability to pick up recyclable
   materials such as aluminum, tin, plastics, cardboard, and newspaper from the downtown business
   merchants as a pilot program that may be used to design an effective City-wide program
   including mandatory recycling where the program is offered;
5. Create a partnership with local stores to develop a plan to responsibly decrease the
   amount of plastic bag waste;
6. Identify and clearly advertise the CARTA route on which all City events are located;
7. Promote the City’s policy of providing CARTA passes to employees who choose a
   CARTA pass in lieu of a parking garage pass to new and current employees;
8. In partnership with individual businesses and institutions and groups such as the
   Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce initiate a “lights out in buildings at night” campaign;
9. Ensure that all City owned construction, beginning with those buildings whose planning
   begins in 2009, meets LEED certification;
10. Work with City Council to develop and pass a resolution supporting the Federal Energy
    Block Grant Program;
11. Enforce the City’s current idling ordinance, which prohibits idling for more than 5
    minutes;
12. Create an eco hospitality program that welcomes visitors to help Charleston be a
    sustainable city by helping with some small acts such as indicating when new towels are needed or turning lights out when leaving a hotel room.

One year ago today, we launched Go Green with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm towards helping each of us make the Charleston-area a greener place. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for choosing to be a part of this experiment - the site is nothing without you!

Over 16,000 unique individuals have read one or more of our 245 posts, and you’ve left over 400 comments. We’ve received, parsed, and answered hundreds of emails, most of which have been helpful tips, links, stories, and ideas that we have woven into the site - keep ‘em coming! All this participation is what makes this project special - all of us working together to reach a common goal. So again, thank you.

As we move into our second year, we are setting our sights even higher. We will be making more public appearances as we did for the 2008 Earth Day Festival. We will be kicking off a couple of very important community-facing initiatives. We also hope to officially become a nonprofit, allowing us to reach out for grants, volunteers, and donors - we want this project to soar! Thanks for spending a small part of your year with us, and we hope you continue to do so. Please let us know what you think, and we’ll keep trying to provide Charleston with the best online resource for local greenery.

Let’s go green Charleston!

Disposable plastic bags are an absolute menace to our planet. Whole Foods offers the only paper bags made from 100% recycled paper. They also offer a Better Bag, for 99 cents, made from recycled bottles. I look forward to seeing even more reusable bags at the checkouts. Happy Earth Day!