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Turning a business “green” can seem like a huge undertaking. For a non-profit this evolution might seem even more daunting. But if a soup kitchen can afford to create a green facility, who can’t? The Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, N.J has partnered with Philadelphia green design firm, DAS Architects, to create one of the first environmentally friendly soup kitchens. Each month Cathedral Kitchen provides 8,000 meals to the poor and hungry. Operating since 1976, Cathedral Kitchen’s contribution to the community is significant. Now, they’re going beyond the call of duty to give back to the environment. Five green things about Cathedral Kitchen’s new facility:

It's that time of year again... the time I'm envious of college students everywhere trekking back to campus, ready to engage in the best time of their lives. Thinking about going to school (whether graduate or undergrad) with an eco-friendly mindset? Want to know if your alma mater is a green-friendly campus? The top 15 Greenest Colleges came out from the Princeton Review as follows:

We are... Going Green! Last week, my alma mater Penn State announced an Energy Conservation Policy to go green and save money this fall by limiting energy use. Penn State's energy consumption is 83% of greenhouse gas emissions at the university - which isn't cheap. PSU's cumulative electric bill has doubled to apprx. $2 million per month since rate caps were lifted earlier this year. To combat a $25 increase per semester for students, Penn State is campaigning to cut energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Guidelines for this plan include staff and students actions including:

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!

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

Another win for the Phillies boys and girls: Citizens Bank Park is #1 on PETA's Top 10 vegetarian friendly ball parks. Our home stadium was the first ballpark to offer veggie fare (and recently added more choices) on TOP of being one of the most green stadiums with their Red Goes Green Campaign. The Phillies stadium serves tasty veggie options like:

I love mascots. The Phillies Phanatic is the best entertainment for baseball, the Nittany Lion did the complete Napoleon Dynamite dance in between quarters at Penn State... and even Swoop is entertaining to watch. My least favorite mascot? Polar bears. Cute, white Coca Cola symbols may have been what came to mind when you thought about polar bears ten years ago. Now, most people associate polar bears as the "mascot" of global warming. Even Coke is promoting a fund to save these animals instead of using them as "marketing material." Environmental action groups constantly send out emails requesting funds to 'save the polar bears' featuring pictures of these beautiful animals dying from ice melting around them.

This past Friday, the first meeting of the White House task force for Middle-Class Families was held at Philadelphia’s University of Pennsylvania. Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the audience about how green jobs can help our economy and what...