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Today July 11 has been named World Population Day 2013 by the United Nations. Each year the United Nations focuses on what they consider an important global issue. In 2012 the UN spotlighted the need for universal access to reproductive health services. And, in 2011 the focus was on their 7 billion campaign and reflected on the growth of 2 billion the world experienced between 1987 and 2011. This year the UN's focal point is the issue of adolescent pregnancy. The UN is calling on government officials to take action to help young girls make "responsible life choices and realize their potential." According to the UN Population Fund roughly 16 million (!) girls under the age of 18 give birth each year and another 3.2 million have what are deemed as unsafe abortions.

But in the late 1950s, the National Weather Service began measuring the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, with the worry that rising levels might someday disrupt the fragile balance that makes our planet so hospitable.  And what they’ve found, year after year, is that the levels of carbon pollution in our atmosphere have increased dramatically. That science, accumulated and reviewed over decades, tells us that our planet is changing in ways that will have profound impacts on all of humankind. - President Barack Obama, 6/25/13 President Obama gave a speech on Climate Change yesterday at Georgetown University. Here's the full transcript on the Wall Street Journal. Guest blogger Russell Zerbo of the Clean Air Council shares his remarks on the speech and the impact on our nation.

This week New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new mission to require food composting made headlines. The plan to begin collecting food scraps across the city has been called ambitious by some, though other cities like Seattle and San Francisco have had success with food compost programs. The intention of the proposed program is to decrease residential food waste.  Initially the program will be voluntary but Bloomberg's administration is hopeful that within a few years it'll become mandatory. Sanitation officials said more than 5 percent of households in the city would be on board voluntarily by next year, and more than 600 schools will take part as well.

Looking to get some volunteer hours in this summer? Want to meet locavore lovers and those who love to eat?  Farm to City has a volunteer opportunity we are sharing below: Farm to City is looking for energetic and passionate volunteers to staff an information table at our biggest market, the Saturday Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market. Volunteers will provide information and resources on vendors, community activities, and Farm to City programs including:

One of my favorite Philly sustainable boutique, Arcadia, announced that it is closing its Rittenhouse location later this month. According to (Find out more, after the jump!)

The Philly Farm & Food Fest returned to the Philadelphia Convention Center this past Sunday. Over 4,000 attendees chatted with local farmers,  artisans & businesses. The second shot at Philly Farm & Food Fest had a great mix of tastes, education & variety. The cheeses were mouthwatering, the sauerkraut was freshly fermented, and there was even crisp local apple cider. I kicked off my locavore dream tour with a (Find out about how the Philly Farm & Food fest went, complete with awesome pics - after the jump.)

Happy Friday, Green Philly Friends! Hope you got a dose of spring with this warmer weather & the Philadelphia Flower Show last week! It's been a while since a good ol' sustainable link roundup, but there's so damn much going on in Philly & in green-land. Here's some of our favorite links & must-know tips.

Attention local food & brew lovers: we hope you made it to the one-of-a-kind the Brewer's Plate this year! The Brewer's Plate had a perfect balance of local noms, brewskies, liquors and dessert. Each exhibitor was enthusiastic about their tasty creation, and the pours were generous. As Ann Karlen, Executive Director, Fair Food stated, "The event benefitting Fair Food was a huge success in bringing together brewers, restaurants and consumers as a way to celebrate local foods and artisans – a very big part of our mission. We tried something new this year, as we featured Aimee Olexy in our VIP area where she led a guided tasting of cheese paired with beer. Everyone really found it interesting and enjoyed it". Let's take our tastebuds and revisit the Brewer's Plate 2013:

Last Friday the New York Times announced that it's eradicating their green blog. My first reaction? Boo! Hogwash! That's a bunch of crap! In all seriousness though my worry is that this cut is sending a message that environmental issues just aren't that important. While times are certainly tough for print publications these days, and cuts may be necessary this is a big blow to the Times eco-minded readers. Though in hindsight the demise of the green blog isn't all that shocking given that in January the Times announced that it was dismantling their Environment Desk team. The New York Times managing editor for news operations, Dean Baquet said, "Today, environmental stories are partly business, economic, national or local, among other subjects," Baquet said. "They are more complex. We need to have people working on the different desks that can cover different parts of the story." Not an unfair point but let's be real here...