Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone: 843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number: 2961

Date: January 15, 2009

See photo of EPA grant check presentation: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/NewsImages/epa.htm

Charleston County’s “Living Green” TV Show Airs Fourth Episode

          U.S. EPA grant funds Charleston County’s pollution-reducing education programs

Viewers can watch the fourth episode of “Living Green,” Charleston County Government’s 30-minute green lifestyle TV show, in February. The show is on channels WTAT Fox 24 and My TV Charleston each month.

This month’s topic is “Green Home Landscaping,” and it was filmed at Clemson Extension’s Carolina Yard at the Ladson Exchange Fairground in Ladson, S.C.

Featured guests in the fourth episode of “Living Green” are:

• Colette DeGarady, Native Plant Society/The Nature Conservancy

      Topic: Native plants
 

• Joel Thompson, Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission

      Topic:  Composting
 

• David Joyner, Clemson Extension

      Topic:  Water management
 

• Randy Cook, S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control

      Topic:  Lawn mowing and air pollution

“Living Green’s” fourth episode is scheduled to air on the following dates and times:

DATE                          TIME/STATION

Sunday, Jan. 25       10:30 a.m. on My TV Charleston, WMMP (Comcast channel 13)

Tuesday, Jan. 27     8:30 a.m. on WTAT FOX 24 (Comcast channel 6)

The County’s show is funded through a $236,498 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) grant given for Charleston County’s continuing participation in its Project Impact Partnership Program, which aims to reduce local air and water pollution through public education programs.

“The TV show is part of an extensive educational campaign that we are taking on in order to provide information and assistance to our citizens on ways to reduce pollution and improve our air and water quality in order to protect the environment for future generations,” said Carl Simmons, Charleston County’s Building Services Director who oversees the County’s Project Impact program.

The show’s host, Matthew Horton, is a journalism major at the College of Charleston who is doing an internship at Fox 24 and MYTV. Guests and panelists will appear on the show, including experts and scientists on the local, state and national level.

In addition to the “Living Green” TV show, other educational campaigns to be developed through the CARE project will also focus on:
 

• Reducing on-road diesel emissions through reduced idling, retrofits and the use of alternative fuel vehicles

• Controlling open burning

• Promoting mass transit and encouraging the use of public transportation

• Working with boaters to address marine pollution

• Other air and water pollution reduction strategies aimed at the both the general public and specific audiences

SIDEBAR: Background information on EPA’s CARE Grant and Charleston County’s Project Impact

• EPA’s award is part of EPA’s Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program, a community-based, community-driven program that builds partnerships to help the public understand and reduce toxic risks from numerous sources.
   

• Since the program was established three years ago, CARE has provided a total of $7.75 million to more than 49 communities nationwide. The Charleston County CARE project is one of just five awarded in the southeast region.
   

• The Charleston County’s Project Impact Partnership program was formed in 1999 with the help of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. There are now 172 local partnership members who focus on making the Charleston County communities more disaster resistant, including undertaking environmental improvement endeavors.
   

• Project partners previously conducted the Charleston Region Toxics Risk Assessment and identified particulate air pollution and ground level ozone as priority air toxics risks, and fecal coliform bacteria, petroleum product releases and trace metals as priority water pollutants in the Charleston County area. Through the CARE project, project partners aim to heighten local residents’ awareness of these air and water pollution sources and encourage actions that individuals can take to reduce pollution.
   

• Established in 2005, CARE is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for communities to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in their air, land and water. By joining forces, for-profit and non-profit organizations can work together to improve the environmental health of a community and its residents.

Visit the EPA CARE Web site at www.epa.gov/care or Charleston County’s web site http://www.charlestoncounty.org/Departments/BuildingServices/care.htm to learn more about the CARE program.

To schedule a presentation on environmental quality and pollution issues, local groups can contact Charleston County Government’s Building Services Department at (843) 202-6940.