Philly

What's more interesting than the amazing comments of support we've seen about the plastic bag ban is the opposition. I LOVE dogs. I have my parent's daschund (whom I trained as a mini hot dog) as my iPhone background. I adopt pit bulls (and other breeds) for an hour (per session) through the Monster Milers program at PAWs. And I stop strangers on the street to ask and pet their cute canines. Dog owners, I hear you. Your dogs shit. A lot. And you prefer (free) plastic bags to clean up their poo. I get it: Love: Dogs! Hate: Poop. So what would you do if plastic bags were banned or if there was a fee?

Eco-minded Philadelphians were graced with a picture-perfect day yesterday for GreenFest. The historic Headhouse Square was lined with rows of green businesses and non-profit organizations. It was refreshing to look around and see hundreds of like-minded people gathered in one place. Though we're constantly interacting with so many of Philadelphia's eco- activists and green companies, it's always revitalizing to chat in person. For us, much of the day was focused on discussing the Plastic Bag Ban.

Zipcar is one of Philly's prime car sharing solutions for urban dwellers who want to live a mostly car-less life but need wheels every once in awhile. Now the world's leading car sharing network is expanding to include Zipvan™ cargo van service across North America. Zipcar is launching the Zipvan service in Philadelphia, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon and will expand to other markets over the next year. I had a chance to ask Zipcar Philly's General Manager, Peter Bruvik, some questions about the new van sharing initiative . Read on for the Q&A.

It's been a month since our "Ban the Philly Bag" - Plastic Bag Ban Awareness campaign on July 26th. Our petition has remained open and we're still gathering signatures. Bringing attention to the plastic bag issue was step one of this campaign. We've been doing a lot behind the scenes over the past month. But after discussing the previous plastic ban vote's failure with those who were campaigning in 2009, we need your support - first and foremost. Mark your calendars: We're happy to announce we'll be at the Clean Air Council's Greenfest Philly on Sunday, September 9th to say hi to you all, and discuss why this ban is crucial for Philadelphia. BONUS: We'll even have a sweet raffle prize for those who sign the petition. How can you help? (Check out how AND the sweet “Empire State of Mind” parody, after the jump!)

Dirty, homeless, beggers, unclear bus schedules apparently is the summary of how hometown heroes describe the Best Large Transit System in the Country! SEPTA beat out 64 agencies that

We're so excited to about yesterday's success! We had the Plastic Bag Ban petition shared by fellow Philadelphian bloggers all over yesterday. So many people were discussing #BanPhillyBags on Twitter (even though Twitter melted down midday!)  It was picked up by Sandy Bauers on Philly.com and Philly Mag! (We also had a few other mentions, both lovers and haters.)  There were thousands of people that saw our message and picked up an issue that had been dismissed since 2009. But, we Just Started. Yesterday begun our movement with such a big bang that we wanted to leave the petition open to encourage more signatures before sending to Mayor Michael Nutter, Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski, the Office of Sustainability & Philadelphia City Council. We'll send the letter next week, but the petition will remain open until the plastic bag ban has passed. How can you help? Please keep sharing the petition and your personal stories!  If a 12-year-old in Chicago can do it, we can do it! The most inspiring part of yesterday was reading the enthusiastic comments on our Change.org petition. Here are some highlights:

Today, we're dishing the dirty truth about plastic bags. Each year... Americans use approximately 100 BILLION plastic bags ...creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste The average US family takes home 1500 plastic shopping bags An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide ... Which equals over 1 million plastic bags used per minute. (Find out what we're doing to ban plastic bag, and how you can help NOW, after the jump!)

Hey Green Philly Fans, We're eating a piece of (vegetarian, local) cake today to celebrate our 4th birthday! Starting as an online publication to help you be green as you can be,  our number one goal remains to help our readers, old and new. (Find out more, after the jump!)

Save the date! The Hemp Heals Music Festival takes place in Philly at Penn's Landing Festival Pier on August 25th from 4pm-11pm. As the name suggests this music event is unique in that it's founded with a specific mission in mind. Former Philadelphia Flyers player Riley Cote is hosting the event with Live Nation in an effort to educate the public on the powers of holistic healing. He founded the non-profit org, The Hemp Heals Foundation after his younger sister, Jaime was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and found a way to treat and alleviate her symptoms through her diet - specifically through the use of hemp. Click through for details!