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A highlight of my week is picking up produce from my CSA share. I consider it a culinary challenge to base my meals around what's in the box each week. Furthermore, I love that the produce doesn't have to travel far to make its way to my table. But, when Fall rolls around I recognize that there is perhaps a more eco-friendly way to get my fruit - pick it.

Move over New York! Philadelphia Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow with an Local & Eco-themed night. This year's show features 29 designers from 9 countries and other theme nights include Student night (Thurs), Streetwear (Fri), and Contemporary Couture (Sat). In addition to seeing awesome fashions, you can also expect live music, DJs & dance performances. Philadelphia Fashion Week is making another eco-first: CMK Entertainment created the 1st mobile application (PhlFshnWk) for a major, national fashion event. Stay tuned about designer times down the runway, designer bios, artists’ performances & sponsoring boutiques with your iPhone, iPad or iTouch! This environmentally-conscious & user-friendly app for Philadelphia Fashion Week App can be found here on iTunes. Creating this app has cut about 75% of the printed material for the event - PFW is expecting 1000 people per night and only created 1000 programs total for the week. (Nice work!) Wednesday's Local & Eco theme is looking promising already! Local tastes include:

Hey guys- The last 2 1/2 weeks sans car have been quite exciting! I've got the train schedule down and have been taking the shorter Express morning train, finished 3 books (2 of which have been Chelsea Handler & Tucker Max) and have read the Metro every morning. Some other highlights include:

Happy October! Plans to celebrate? Join PhillyCAM First Friday October Viewing Party. The Painted Bride Arts Center (232 Vine Street) & PhillyCAM are hosting a special 2-hour, Community produced programming on the theme of sustainability tonight (October 1st) from 5:30 pm–7:30pm. Hosted by social commentator Desire Grover, producer of GhettoPrint and Community Organizer for the Energy Justice Network, you can meet producers and local environmental organizations. Here's a sneak peak of Ed Golden's Re-CYCLE, for you recycling & bicycling enthusiasts! (luckily, I am both!) Here's the list of featured programs:

Philly's gearing up for the big game this weekend. It'll be a particularly interesting battle as Sunday marks Donovan McNabb's return to the Linc. I could go on about what the outcome of the game means for perception and morale. But, this is an environmental blog after all. So let's talk green. Where do the Eagles stand with their eco-efforts in 2010?

It's fall! What a better time to re-check your junk mail and minimize where you can. With iPhones, Blackberries, Facebook & the internet everywhere, it's too easy to find people or businesses, and shop online. Do you really need phone books, credit card offers and glossy printed catalogs dropped off at your front door? Save the 1000's of pages used for each dinosaur-era book:

It's certainly honorable for a fashion and apparel company to use sustainable and organic materials. But a company that is highly active in the pursuit of a healthier environment is by far cooler... Take United by Blue... United by Blue is a Philly based brand and apparel company specializing in organic t-shirts, jewelry and bags. UBB decided to go beyond selling green and take action to reduce ocean pollution. Why?

Festivities for Manayunks's Eco Arts Festival go as follows: Thursday, September 23rd, 6-9 PM:Launch party at Mango Moon (4161 Main Street). The "Green Carpet" will feature Nicole Miller runway looks, an award ceremony in honor of Mayor Michael Nutter and Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. as they are presented with the EcoChampion Award. In addition, VIPs will be treated to the Vodka Mar"tea"ni & Green Lantern created by Mango Moon and Mugshots Coffeehouse & Cafe while enjoying live jazz, free appetizers and green networking. Please RSVP to // mvidauri@manayunk.org // Saturday, September 25 11-7, & Sunday, September 26, 11-6: Come join eco-minded artists, green businesses and ecologically-concerned community groups on Main Street Manayunk at this free event to share resources and education about green & healthy living! Some of the Participating EcoArtists, EcoBusinesses, Main Street Businesses & Non-Profits Include:

Clayton Bedwell is our expert on Wind, Solar & Alternate Energy. Check out his latest post: With domestic wind energy development down 71% percent this year, it seems like an odd time for the oil industry to kick the anti-wind spin machine into high gear, but that's exactly what's happening. Recently, The Wall Street Journal ran "Wind Power Won't Cool the Planet" where Robert Bryce argues that the technical accommodations necessary to integrate the variable generation of wind energy into the grid ultimately result in little to no carbon reductions versus the traditional power plants they are replacing. Considering the complexities of electricity generation and distribution in addition to the the havoc that variable generation technologies (wind and solar) can have on America's aging grid system (designed for the constant generation of traditional power sources) Bryce introduces an interesting and unintuitive thesis only to sink the article with the choice of some of his source and how he interpreted others. Greentech Media countered "Wind Power Won't Cool the Planet" with