Philly

Let’s face it: our city has a notorious reputation for being dirty. Don’t believe me? Walk the streets of London for a few hours or ride the metro in DC. Return to Philly and compare. But when people talk about Philly being dirty, they’re often referring to our litter problem. Yet litter is such a large, debated topic. How do we combat litter? Do we concentrate efforts on educating people or cleanup efforts after the fact? Neighborhoods with litter tend to have higher crime rates, lower property values and less pride in the neighborhood. In order to get a more insight on Philly’s litter, I asked the City of Philadelphia, a few friends and associates about their experiences with trash in the city. Find out more about our city's litter epidemic, after the jump.

The Philly Farm & Food Fest returned to the Philadelphia Convention Center on Sunday, April 13th. The collaboration between PASA & Fair Food expanded from the expo hall into the Atrium to showcase more vendors that ever before. Since this was my third time I've attended this annual affair, I decided to peruse the newest, local vendors. Find out about some of the newest vendors, after the jump!

The 7th annual Philly Spring Cleanup Day was on Saturday, April 5th. Over 14,000 volunteers helped pick up 970,900 lbs of trash and 29,940 lbs of recycled materials. Pretty awesome, right Philly? GPB has been hosting a park cleanup at the 8th & Poplar fields for the past 3 years, when anywhere from 7-25 volunteers arrive to pick up trash, dispose of empty 40's, and ultimately better our community. While the volunteers that show up are great, I've noticed the majority of faces helping out are community groups, sustainability professionals and personal friends. Read on for my observations, after the jump!

Is the Hawk going green? As Julia Knable mentioned in our previous green degrees post, sustainability options in Philadelphia are becoming extremely popular and useful. Temple, Villanova, UPenn, and Drexel all have programs to encourage students to green their degree. Read on to find out about St. Joseph's University Sustainability Minor.

Philadelphia can brag about another top 10 list - this time, with energy efficient buildings. Philly is #9 of ENERGY STAR buildings! Philly has entered the top 10 list for the first time.

Carnivores will defend their Big Mac to the end: two, 100% beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, sesame seed bun and the infamous ‘special’ sauce. But what about those who don’t eat meat? What do we for that same satisfaction that comes with taking a big bite into a nice, juicy burger? How does HipCityVeg’s burger version compare to those McDonald’s Big Macs? Find out in the first ever Green Philly Faceoff, after the jump!

Humane League intern Lou Ryan is a full-time student and activist. She currently studies professional writing at Kutztown University, where she has written a number of health-related articles for the student-run newspaper The Keystone. This Thursday, March 20th at 10 a.m., City Council will officially present its recently passed Meatless Monday resolution to the Humane League, the nonprofit organization instrumental to the measure. Find out more updates, after the jump!

What is Greenworks Philadelphia? Greenworks Philadelphia is Mayor Michael Nutter's comprehensive plan to reach Philadelphia's goal of becoming the greenest city in America by 2015. Released in Spring 2009, Greenworks Philadelphia is a 100 page document outlining sustainability goals  including buildings, businesses, products, streets and more. Greenworks Philadelphia includes 15 sustainability targets, with 166 initiatives in 5 different areas:

Still dragging on Tuesday? Many locavores are stuffed and slightly hungover. The Brewer's Plate 10th Anniversary was this past Sunday, March 9th at the Kimmel Center. Check out the recap, after the jump!