Lifestyle

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

The recent heat waves have me humming Will Smith's "Summertime" and The Lovin Spoonful's "Hot Summer in the City" embarrassingly often... Now that I've gotten that off my chest it's time to share some summer appropriate bbqing advice... Grill wisely : Choose a electric or clean-burning propane grill over the charcoal variety. Charcoal is a major cause of poor air quality. If you must use charcoal go for brands harvested from sustainable forests. Feast on earth-friendly eats...

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:

Alright, so being green must run in the family. Look who's speaking in Orlando at the Environmental Partnership Summit this week: (Click through to learn more!)

School's out for summer... which means a new batch of students are coming in the fall! Besides factors such as location, campus size and party school ranking, students often take a university's sustainability into account for deciding on a college. The Princeton Review & Green Building Council published a “Guide to 286 Green Colleges” to help students find the top green schools - It's the 1st college guidebook to list schools with the most environmentally-responsible campuses and school-wide commitment to sustainability. The Princeton Review’s “Guide to 286 Green Colleges” looks at an institution’s

Guest Blogger J. Lundee ("Everything Left") follower of all things green and progressive, gives his perspective of land conservation and green space: Hot topics of 2010 include green infrastructure and clean water - But in particular, the addition and/or substitution of green spaces has been quite controversial. Senior resident of Urban Land Institute Ed T. McMahon states "Green space adds value to property." Not only would these areas of conservation drive economic trends upward, but also improve the overall health of the community surrounding. For example, substituting things like golf courses for conservation areas would essentially increase surrounding property value while diminishing overpriced maintenance fees - Same as airports and other large acre-eating developments. Some of these areas are already

With access to some outdoor space, spring's the perfect time to start a (mini) city garden. Here are some plants you can easily start growing in the city:

Books from childhood (some read by teachers) have the power to stay etched in our memories forever. For me it's books like Where the Wild Things Are, the Amelia Bedelia series and Little Women to name a few that I can still quote lines from to this day. The Greenzys by the reputable children's author Danielle Mentzer just hit shelves on Earth day 2010 and is a story with a message worth remembering. Greenzys is an "eco-friendly, literary-based brand" that parents and teachers alike should be happy to promote. When GreenPhillyBlog was given an advanced copy of Greenzys to review I was pretty stoked. I love reading - kids book included! My take on the Greenzys book?

I loved school. I can still distinctly remember a song from elementary with the mantra "Reduce, Reuse & Recycle... (which may explain a few things.)Teachers are dedicated individuals who mold our future through their lessons. In honor of our teacher friends & Teacher Appreciation Week (May2-8), we're sharing ways & resources to help our school's teachers educate students about being green: