Blog

Happy Earth Day everyone! On this celebratory day I thought I’d recap some of the simplest things you can do year-round to help the earth. Longevity and health are key – and there are choices we can make each day to do our part. Here’s four easy areas to greenify:

Philly's 3rd Annual Spring Cleanup had its biggest cleanup ever thanks to greenies like you with its UnLitter Us Campaign! Over 11,000 volunteers worked at 231 official project sites to collect over 1.3 million lbs of trash, 140K lbs of recycling, 50 parks & recreation centers cleaned and 763 neighborhood blocks cleaned! Incredible numbers, Philly! But how can you keep it up for this Earth week (and always...) Here's some suggestions:

As the public becomes more aware of ways to cut down on our carbon footprint – one area to keep in mind is our food intake. Just where does most of our consumption come from? Beyond the produce sticker on loose fruit at...

Recently, Chevrolet visited West Philadelphia High School's Academy of Automotive & Mechanical Engineering to show students their new electronic vehicle, the Chevy Volt. We were able to catch up with Mel Fox, an Engineer for General Motors and Carolyn Markey from GM Communications to hear about the visit and Chevy's cleaner auto-alternatives (for those of us who HAVE to drive). Enjoy! Green Philly Blog: How did you get involved with this project? (I see you're a fellow Penn State Grad - any inspiration or experienced gained from our alma mater?) Mel Fox, Engineer for General Motors: I was a part of Penn State’s “ChallengeX” team in grad school. ChallengeX was a hybrid vehicle 4-year competition funded by General Motors & the US DOE. I was recruited to work on the Volt when I was at the GM Proving Grounds During the Year 3 competition in June 2007. I obviously gained a ton of experience while on the ChallengeX team, not to mention that it was invaluable and much more “real world” than I could have comprehended. Half of my graduate research focused on alternative fuel combustion in spark-ignited engines, so that certainly helped me to learn about the fuel/engine/emissions side of the world. Now that I am working on diesel combustion development at GM, I am learning how to apply my fundamental research-type knowledge here to future products. I have a Penn State flag in my cube, proudly displayed for all to see! (Julie/Editors note: Me too!) As it turns out, several of the combustion gurus here at GM are also from Penn State. GPB: Would the Volt be more ideal for city-dwellers or suburbanites?

Happy Earth month! Philly's packed with eco-friendly events for Earth Week! (For a complete listing, feel free to check out our new Philly Events Calendar page! Here are some highlights of upcoming events to visit:

The NBA (National Basketball Association) dubbed April 1-9 the league’s official 2010 Green Week. This week marks the second annual green week for the NBA. I can be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to determining if a major association is simply using the green movement as a marketing tool. However, the NBA is putting some a-c-t-i-o-n behind their Green Week. Here’s some examples of what NBA teams are doing to support the environment:

Calculate your neighborhood's "Walk Score" here and see how walk-able your area is. This website will pull up a nifty list of

Looks like karma does come around – Thank you random.org for choosing our EcoSmart Bug Killer Giveaway: Congrats to EcoBro2000 & his friend – good luck in Africa! Best, Julie & Beth

Good news for sports fans and environmentalists alike - the NFL's first ever LEED certified stadium will open as early as 2011. LEED (Leadership in Environmental Initiative and Design) gives certificates to buildings that adhere to stringent environmentally sustainable building practices. The Los Angeles stadium has not been named home to a team yet. But, the stadium is already making history...