Articles Written by Julie Hancher

I was pretty psyched to see the Philadelphia Auto Show… not because I wanted to see the rich, expensive cars I could never dream of affording… but because I've received many updates from corporate car brands to test-drive the latest and greatest green models. So how did everything pan out?  With the Grammys on Sunday and Oscars fast approaching, I wanted to share my winners for green themes at the 2012 Philadelphia Auto Show: (What are you waiting for? Click here! I know you're dying to know...)

Happy Tu B'Shevat to our Jewish friends, friends who believe in the Jewish son of god (Jesus) or any religion! Luckily my good friend Steph enlightened me: Tu B'Shevat is the New Year for Trees to the Jewish faith, or the cut-off date to calculate the tree's bday. (Find out more and how you can celebrate, after the jump!)

Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (LFFC) is looking for volunteers to host weekly Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) deliveries of fresh, organic produce to neighborhoods in the Philadelphia area. Members purchase a subscription to receive a box of fresh, high quality produce from a local farm on a weekly basis. Hosts can help support local, sustainable family farmers and widening access to local products directly to the Philadelphia community. (Find out more, after the jump!)

1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally each year... Or more than 200 LBS per PERSON! (yes, you!). How many times do you overestimate how much food you can eat and end up throwing it in the compost (or jawdrop: trash!) Although it’s something we hear again and again, taking less portions is better for your waistline… AND less food for the landfill. Eating out? Split a meal with your dining partner or set aside half the meal to take home for later. Assessing your pantry & fridge inventory BEFORE a trip to the grocery store will also save you from buying too much food and help you stick to the bare minimums. Readers, any other tricks to eat & waste less?

To many readers excitement or dismay, my half-assed recipes are back. Though I have fake-a-tarian status, I was craving beef stroganoff for dinner. Luckily I had some of the leftover egg noodles and Boca beef crumbles (a prop for my Sh*t Green People Say satire) and took a trip to Whole Foods. I played off the Vegetarian Casserole Queen's recipe and made my own half-assed twist. Here's what I did:

Can Philly benefit from an urban farming movement? A screening and discussion of the documentary Urban Roots is being hosted by the Westphal College (Drexel University) to explore this possibility.  Urban Roots follows urban farming in Detroit, Michigan, where local farmers healed their communities by growing local food.  The film's discussion (including panelist and director Mark MacInnis - full panel list below), following the film will focus on how Philadelphia' urban farming can assist our local community - and how you can get involved. Find out when, where and how to get involved after the jump!

Call me a tainted woman, but I wasn’t too optimistic anticipating the State of the Union address. After reviewing my 2011 environmental summary of the State of the Union, I realized Obama made promises to put pressure back on big oil, get 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years (remember that one?), 80% of electricity sourced by clean energy in 2035, and break foreign dependence on oil. Hmm…. Where are we today?  (Luckily Treehugger had some Cliff Notes for me…)

In response to the youtube sensation Shit Girls Say, we've created our own meme take on those eco-friendly freaks. Shit Green People Say. Go ahead... point fingers at the greenies in your life... (or in our case, yourself!) Readers, what shit are you sick of eco-friendly people saying?

Hey Green Philly Blog Readers, Fans & Friends, Thanks for reading, commenting, and inspiring us to help Philly become a shade greener. We still have a long way to go, but we're very thankful for our readers - veteran and new! We started this blog over 3 years ago... as two women who wanted to make a difference.  Carpooling & complaining about our former company's lack of recycling bins, we realized our passion could develop into something bigger.  Something that can educate others.  Something that could help make our city a little bit greener. Since Green Philly Blog's infancy, we've... (click through to read the rest of our 500 post reflections!)