Articles Written by Julie Hancher

So you’re all psyched to be caught up in the green movement… you’re shopping at Whole Foods with your reusable bags… But what about your best friend?!? Don’t leave Fido, Max or Fluffy out of your green changes!  Good news...

Last night, I enjoyed a lovely evening out for the Philadelphia Orchestra's Planet Earth Live show at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Images of wildlife, seasons, Mt Everest, and the tundra were beautifully accompanied by the Orchestra's music. Some of the most beautiful scenes were of caves (who knew you could skydive into some of them?!?) and the polar bears playing were definitely drawing 'oohs & ahhs from the crowd. Composer George Fenton set up each piece by previewing why each location was significant and what we'd be seeing next. What was more fitting was that this show took place in the open air Mann Center on a beautiful summer night... and the Mann recently launched a new green initiative to celebrate 75 years of music in the park! Green changes the Mann has implemented include:

Philadelphia Streets Department has installed 20 BigBelly solar-powered eco stations on Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane, funded by the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.) Philly's well on their way to its goal of nearly 1,000 (949 in total; 394 have recycling capabilities) BigBellies that will be installed by the end of 2010. Last year's 474 BigBellies (210 with recyclers) have saved $850K with an estimate of ten years at $13 million. Other benefits of Big Belly include:

Crazy Brits - How England Entices to Recycle: Could it work for Philly?

Can't get enough of Planet Earth? The Mann Center is featuring Planet Earth Live on Thursday, July 29th at 8:30 PM with a background of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Beautiful, hi-def images from the hit BBC documentary series, Planet Earth, along with the sweeping majestic original Emmy award winning score will be the finale to The Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual summer season. You'll see & explore everything from the

Let's break it down by the numbers...The average American: Generates an average of 4.6 pounds of trash per day 2.5 lbs of that trash goes to landfills Only 2.1 lbs of trash is recycled or incinerated How much are you recycling, Philly? What can you recycle that you aren't currently? What are you having problems recycling? After the jump, let us know in the comments.

Did you know the #1 mistake of plants is actually OVER-watering them? Over-watering causes soil to get so soggy that oxygen cannot reach the roots, encourages certain bacteria growth and can lead to root rot. I've recently started my back-porch city garden with a deceased pepper plant limited snafu's & have reaped 6 tomatoes already! Unfortunately, my baby desk plant has recently caught the downfall of my 'learning' green thumb and was slightly overwatered: How can you prevent your plants from overwatering? Here's some tips:

Philly, it's hot. And it's going to get hotter. As many of Philly-ites head to the shore this weekend to cool off (myself included!), we should be thankful we're testing the oil-free waters of NJ & DE. After 80 days of Gulf oil spilling, apprx 86 - 169 million gallons oil, a pathetic lack of clean up effort from BP, a new BP backup plan regardless of fate being left in the hands of Kevin Costner, and wildlife tragedy, it's hard to even read the news. For those of you who have been upset for 3 f'ing months too long, here's a little comic relief courtesy of the BP Spills Coffee video:

Vote for a local chef AND benefit local Camphill Village Kimberton Hills! Stephanie McKeon Krzywanski, Phoenixville resident, personal chef and owner of The Comfort Gourmet is 1 of 24 chefs nationwide to participate in the Sears Chef Challenge. Readers, vote once a day until July 10th via www.searschefchallenge.com and enter to win an entire suite of Kenmore appliances. We caught up with Chef Stephanie to see how her green passion translates to the kitchen: Green Philly Blog: What sustainable practices do you use while cooking?