Go Local

Charleston County Public Library's Websites of the Week offers some great links for info on local and organic food. CLICK HERE to check it out!

There is also a movement here in Charleston to encourage locals to buy goods and services from locally owned businesses called the Lowcountry Local First (CLICK for Charleston City Paper Article) (CLICK for Post and Courier Article). Lowcountry Local First is starting a grassroots movement called the 10 Percent Shift to get consumers in the Charleston area to buy at least 10 percent of their purchases from local businesses. Doing business locally has positive environmental impact because it reduces transportation costs and helps the local economy by creating more jobs here in the Lowcountry.*

CLICK here to visit Lowcountry Local First's website at http://www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org/.

*For help with job seeking, career building tips, money management tools, and information about local economic resources like social service agencies, CLICK HERE to check out CCPL's new Recession Resources page.

Close to Home: Charleston Battery Soccer = Environmentally Conscious Fun!

The Charleston Battery soccer team's efforts to make their organization and facilities at Blackbaud Stadium more environmentally friendly made their website the "Website of the Week" for June 17th, 2009, on South Carolina Educational Radio's Business Review.
Click the link below to read about the changes the team made in this interview with Tony Bakker, the Battery's CEO and majority owner, on the Go Green Charleston website or click here to read about solar power usage in Blackbaud stadium from the Post and Courier.

http://www.gogreencharleston.org/2008/01/22/tony-bakker-from-the-charleston-battery/

Checkout their website at www.charlestonbattery.com! The Charleston Battery is one of the many generous sponsors of Charleston County Public Library's 2009 Summer Reading Program. CLICK HERE for more info on ALL-AGES Summer Reading fun and prizes at CCPL!

Learn more at CCPL! CLICK HERE for books on the subject, "environmentalism", from the CCPL catalog! CLICK HERE for books on the subject, "soccer", from the CCPL catalog!

Great Earth Day Links From CCPL's Website of the Week!

CLICK HERE to check out CCPL's Websites of the Week for April 12th through 18th; they're all about Earth Day!

Click here to see all of CCPL's Websites of the Week!

April 18th, 2009 - Check Out CCPL at the Charleston County Recycling's Earth Day Celebration at Park Circle

Charleston County Recycling is hosting another Earth Day celebration at Park Circle in North Charleston on Saturday, April 18th, from 11 AM to 3 PM. Stop by the Charleston County Public Library for crafty fun or just to say, "Hi!".

Earth Hour Is Tonight: 8:30 to 9:30 PM

Earth Hour is a worldwide event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to highlight the impact of energy consumption on global warming. To participate turn off your lights from 8:30 to 9:30 PM tonight.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON Earth Hour 2009!

Earth Hour on Flickr

Carrotmob Charleston on April 11th: Social Networking Consumers with a Green Twist

Green Drinks Charleston, a local social organization that brings like-minded, environmentally-oriented folks together, is bringing Carrotmob to Charleston. Carrotmob, which has chapters across the US and internationally, tries to identify green businesses and then reward the one selected as the most environmentally conscious by encouraging its membership to go to that business on a chosen day and shop or dine.

Carrotmob is planning an event locally on April 11th. Visit the Carrotmob Charleston site at http://carrotmobcharleston.blogspot.com

Sustainable Eating: Something Old, Something New

One of the issues that crops up frequently in environmentally-conscious media is the subject of sustainable eating. This means factoring in environmental impact when making dietary choices along with the usual determinents of price, quality, convenience, etc. The seminal 1970's classic on this subject is Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe'. Current environmental issues have revived the topics of sustainable eating and socially conscious consumption.

Check out these websites to explore sustainablity options or get ideas for making this part of your "green routine"!

***Cooking Up A Story -

This is a cooking blog that is accompanied by a cooking show, which is broadcast on Youtube and Hulu. Cooking Up a Story was featured on NPR.

The Blog - http://cookingupastory.com/

***Cooking With Clara

Go "old school" Slow Food and watch Cooking With Clara: Depression Era Cooking on Youtube! Ms. Clara, a 91 year-old cook's, show was featured on NPR.

***The Sierra Club's True Cost of Food - http://www.truecostoffood.org/truecostoffood/

***Selections from the Librarians Internet Index - http://lii.org/pub/subtopic/6050

Confessions of an Eco Sinner by Fred Pearce

CCPL Selections on Sustainable Living

179.1 Lappe' - Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe' and Anna Lappe'

Subject - Sustainable Living

The SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT - CLICK HERE FOR CCPL SELECTIONS ON the Slow Food Movement.

***New Year, New, Greener You

Big Green Purse by Diane McEachern

The New Year is a good time to start practicing the 3 "R's"; recycle, reduce, and reuse.

Already in the "green" swing? Check out these random tips and resources to up your game!

For even more ideas, check out this blogger's 52 Green Resolutions for 2009!

**GREEN YOUR COMMUTE: Thinking Outside of Your Ride

Carpooling. Is carpooling an option for you? Check out Carolina Commuter, a website devoted to greening South Carolina workers' commutes by promoting carpooling. Carolina Commuter, which was featured on the SC Educational Radio program, SC Business Review (12/17/08), offers an online social-networking venue for Charleston area workers to connect with potential carpool buddies. The site is free for individuals to use and is also available to individual businesses and organizations wanting to promote carpooling within their company workforces for a fee.

Biking to work. Can you live without a car? One local woman is not afraid to try. Check out http://livingcar-free.blogspot.com/ to follow the car-free adventures of "Nikki", a Charleston resident, who uses her bike to get around town.

Bus-riding. CARTA (Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority) offers great savings and options for Charleston area bus riders. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON CARTA!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE OF CHARLESTON MOVES, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION PROMOTING WALKING, RUNNING, BIKING, AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE LOWCOUNTRY!

The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers

**WORKPLACE/SCHOOL

B(ring) Y(our) O(wn) _____ : fill in the blanks with anything that replaces a typically disposable item that you would use at work like eating utensils, dishes, coffee cups, water bottles, or drinking glasses, cloth napkins, etc.

BYO lunch in reusable containers and avoid driving off-site ot eat out.

Turn off equipment, lights, computers, etc, whenever possible.

Reduce waste and printing cost by maximizing the use of electronic communications and paperwork.

Reduce waste and pollutants by using nontoxic cleaners around the office like vinegar, non-clorine cleansers, etc.

Recycle office waste - paper, printer cartridges, etc.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GREEN WORKPLACE TIPS FROM PLANET GREEN.

**EATING OUT

Reduce paper, plastic, and styrofoam waste by eating on-site at restaurants that use reusable dishes and utensils.

Don't be shy about bringing your own stuff to reduce waste.

BYO eating utensils and decline plastic cutlery.

BYO drink or bottle water and avoid ordering drinks in styrofoam or plastic cups. If you purchase a drink, order a smaller size in a paper cup if available.

BYO bag to put your carry-out food in.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GREEN DINING TIPS FROM THE GREEN PARENT!

The Green Home by Philip Schmidt

**HEARTH AND HOME

Put on a cozy sweater and turn down the thermostat.

Reduce waste and energy by making your own "convenience meals" by dividing casseroles into reusable containers and microwaving individual servings at mealtime. This saves packaging waste and microwaves are more energy efficient (and quicker) for reheating food than stoves.

Recycle. CLICK HERE FOR RECYCLING INFO FROM CHARLESTON COUNTY WASTE AND RECYCLING!

Compost vegetable waste. READ ABOUT ADVENTURES IN COMPOSTING FROM GO GREEN CHARLESTON!

MUSC USES WORMS! CLICK FOR MORE INFO ON MUSC'S RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING AND MUSC'S "VERMICOMPOSTING" TIPS.

Create your own mulch by raking leaves around the bushes and trees in your yard rather than bagging them up or burning them.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE TIPS ON GREENING YOUR YARD FROM EARTH911.


**GREEN LEISURE

Get out and visit a Charleston County Parks and Recreation or other Lowcountry area park for outdoor fun and exercise! CLICK HERE FOR CHARLESTON COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION!

Let Charleston County Public Library be your home entertainment provider! Libraries are naturally a green, shared resource. Why buy when you can borrow from CCPL? Click here to see posts on ways to make using the library part of your greener lifestyle!

Happy New Year!

KS/STA

Radio, Radio: Living On Earth and More

Environmental news is a hot topic with new discoveries being published all the time. If you are hungry for some audio, tune in to quality programs on your radio or listen to an online broadcast or download a podcast and take your news on the go.

• The Environmental News Network (ENN) is a long-running online news source and a great way to find fresh stories.
• The Society of Environmental Journalists includes radio, online, and print journalists who cover environmental issues. Learn more about environmenal journalism or find a journalist that covers the kind of stories that you want to hear.
• Public radio has some great environmental programming. One of the best shows is Public Radio International (PRI)'s program, Living on Earth, which offers podcasts of its show.
• National Public Radio (NPR) has a page with links to all its environmental news.
  

• Good Dirt Radio "reports inspiring stories about people helping to solve environmental challenges affecting life on Earth."
• Local/regional radio shows are another source of environmental news. The Allegany Front covers Western Pennsylvannia.

Paperless News

Newspapers are going electronic. This requires reformatting and rethinking the medium in order to compete in the online environment. Increasing use of social networking/web 2.0 technologies, staff downsizing, and evaluating ways of generating online revenue streams in the face of fierce competition are among the strategies used by newspaper publishers as they struggle to survive.

Social networking/web 2.0 technologies used include podcasting, blog-like formats, and social-networking in the form of commenting. Suscribers become users and newspapers become interactive in this brave new world of journalism.

The internet provides users with incredibly easy access to up-to-the-minute national and world news because of the proliferation of news media content providers like Google, Yahoo, and CNN. Becoming a provider of more detailed local news appears to be one of the most promising niches for newspapers to fill.

Click here for Charleston newspapers online.

Click for SC Newspapers online.

• Click here for links to newspapers online.

Magazines are also going digital. Some magazines, like Salon and Slate, exist only on the internet. Ezines (online magazines) range from slick counterparts to print publications to solo blog journals.

• Click here for ezine (online magazine and newspapers) links.
  
  

Reading news and magazines online is environmentally-friendly and economically sound because it saves money and creates less waste. Still want to read print copies? Visit the Periodicals section of any branch of the Charleston County Public Library and enjoy free access to some of the most popular magazines and most respected newspapers in print. Using library materials instead of purchasing individual items is always a greener choice!

CCPL's electronic resources also offer access to periodicals from around the world including Grolier's World Newspapers, Newsbank, Sirs Knowledge Source, and General Onefile periodical databases.

• Click here for periodicals from CCPL's Electronic Resources.


• (Click here for access instructions.)

KS/STA

Current Information + Environmental Friendliness = CCPL Electronic Databases!

Scientific knowledge about environmental issues is rapidly growing and changing. One of the hottest, most controversial topics in this field is the theory of "global warming". This theory is constantly being debated and scientificly tested with new issues, changes, and challenges emerging all the time.

Stay on top of the "global warming" debate and other environmental issues from the comfort of your home by using the CCPL electronic databases! Electronic databases are green because they are paperless and because most of the databases are enabled for home-access with a CCPL library card, which saves library patrons time and the transportation cost of traveling to the library. They are also extremely current because they are updated so frequently and are very user-friendly. (Click here for database access instructions)

(Click here to go to CCPL's Ask-A-Question Services link
for help with CCPL electronic resources and all your other reference needs!)

Some databases to check out for current info on global warming and other issues are the Science databases and the Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals databases.

KS/STA

Giving a Hoot: Anti-Pollution Campaigns

Anti-pollution campaigns have been bringing environmental issues, like the dangers caused by pollution to living creatures and ecosystems, to the forefront of the American conscious through popular media for over half a century.

Famous Anti-Pollution Campaigns Slogans (click links for more info)

Don't be a litter bug. - Created in 1952 by the Pennsylvania Resource Council, the PRC allowed this slogan (and the litterbug character) to be used in an anti-litter campaign by the National Council of State Garden Clubs.

Keep America Beautiful - Anti-pollution organization formed in 1953 whose name is also a slogan. - History

Give A Hoot: Don't Pollute - 1970 US Forest Service slogan spoken by the character, "Woodsy Owl". Woodsy's current message is, "Lend a hand. Care for the land." Woodsy is Smokey the Bear's anti-litter counterpart.

People start pollution. People can stop it. (1971 Earth Day ad from KAB)

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1970 Woodsy Owl public service announcement from YouTube


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1971 "Crying Indian" People Cause Pollution PSA from YouTube

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Image of Native American actor, Iron Eyes Cody, in the famous, 1971 "crying Indian" Earth Day Ad from Keep America Beautiful from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:People_Start_Pollution_-_1971_Ad.jpg. Accessed 3/24/08.

KS/STA

Random Online Lowcountry Greenness

Here are few interesting local "green" websites to consider if you are looking for ways to go green or if you are already green and want to kick it up a notch!

Charleston County Solid Waste and Recycling Home Page- Get the facts on recycling in Charleston County.RECYCLING INFO FOR CHARLESTON COUNTY

Coastal Conservation League - http://coastalconservationleague.org/

Go Green Charleston - a blog/directory of Green resources in the Charleston, SC, area - http://www.gogreencharleston.org/

The Little Green Bag Project - local inititive to promote using reusable grocery bags - http://www.littlegreenbagproject.com/

For more "greenness" from our del.icio.us links,

CLICK HERE for "environmentalism" websites!

KS/STA