Articles Written by Julie Hancher

Looking for a green wedding cake in Philadelphia? The Night Kitchen Bakery has been a Philadelphia landmark for over 25 years with infamous cakes, "Best of Philly" brownies, sticky buns. To top it off, they recently became a Certified Green Restaurant (like Pita Pit) from the Green Restaurant Association. The GRA is a non-profit organization that helps restaurants become environmentally sustainable. Night Kitchen Bakery has implemented these green steps in the process:

Huge confession ... I'm getting trashy.

While I'm a huge fan of long distance running, I was more than willing to take a mini-vacay from the sport since my Philadelphia Marathon debut in November. Anyone who's run a marathon can vouch the time commitment and excruciating pain hours after completion. That's why I was fascinated by this video of two Canadians who ran 11,000 miles (aka 1 marathon per DAY) for a year to inspire eco-action: (Video courtesy from their Run for One Planet site) Matt Hill & Stephanie Tait ran across North America (Forrest Gump style) and completed their journey in May, crossing through 25 states and 10 provinces. Congrats Matt & Stephanie!

Come check out the Popped! Music Festival on Saturday, June 20th from 11 AM-8PM on the 600-1100 block of 2nd Street in Northern Liberties! Tons of free live music and over 60 vendors are participating. Of course, Popped! has an emphasis on sustainability with all recycled paper products, recycling bins for plastic bottles (and encouragement to limit use, encouraging public transit and interactive exhibits to educate attendees to get green.

City Council voted against the plastic bag ban the Committee on the Environment passed last week. According to Philly.com, Councilman Frank DiCicco's bill was rejected by Council this morning in a 6-10 vote. Word is that

Have a burning desire to write about the environment or a local Philly issue? We're excited to hear from you and will be considering submissions for future guest entry posts! Interested?

Good news - Philly is thisclose to banning an environmental catastrophe - in the form of plastic bags. Yesterday, Philly's City Council's Committee on the Environment voted unanimously to approve legislation banning plastic bags used in supermarkets, pharmacies and stores. The typical plastic bags must be replaced after July 1, 2011 with recyclable paper bags, compostable plastic bags or reusable bags. Part of the ban will also include

What a great way to show your Phillies support & eco-love at the same time! Buy it here:

Exciting green advancements have been happening in Philadelphia. Greenworks Philadelphia has been unveiled! Many neighborhoods have started to increase sustainable initiatives from tree-planting efforts in Northern Liberties to increasing bike paths. Mayor Michael Nutter announced recently that he's going to make Philadelphia the Greenest city in America by 2015 - a very admirable goal. Greenworks Philadelphia is that plan formulated into a detailed document. "E" Goals in 5 areas - Energy, Environment, Equity, Economy and Engagement compile into over 100 initiatives for Philadelphia's well being. A sampling of the initiatives include: