Philly

Mayor Nutter wants Philly to be #1 at something besides cheesesteaks... his Greenworks plan goal is for Philly to be the Greenest in the USA. The Grist just put out a 10 most climate-ready cities ranking and called Philly #8... tied with #7's New York. (sidenote... how is it 8th if it's tied?) How do you feel about that, Philly? Think our green actions deserve #7/8? Or are you hesitant? Sound off the comments.

How are you celebrating Philly Beer Week? I started my celebration of hops last evening at the Extreme Homebrew Challenge - where none other than my awesome brother's Factotum, (aged over American Oak chips infused with Maker's Mark) won the People's Choice award! Whether you drink beer, wine or liquor, you can green your imbibing impact. Lucky for us Philadelphians, there's tons of opportunities to drink green, local, delicious beer in Philly this week. Here's a few sustainable beer movers & shakers:

After I recently returned on a 2+ week journey to Australia (more on that later...), I was walking over the Whole Foods... and couldn't help but notice how beautiful our trashcans were in Philly. Say whattt? I'm not crazy. As a part of the Street Department's UnLitter Us movement, Litter Critter BigBelly trash compactors were designed and painted by artists & students as a part of Mural Arts’ Big Picture Program in part to celebrate Earth Month. The decorated BigBellies were painted to (Click through for the story and more pretty pictures!)

I must admit, I do love the lilac rain boots I purchased while sick of wet jeans and shoes being drenched in the rain. However, what if a street soaked up water like a sponge instead? The 800 block of Percy St between Catherine & Christian became Philadelphia’s first porous Street to do just that! Made of permeable materials including porous asphalt and a layer of stones underneath, the street allows water to soak through the surface and eliminates storm-water runoff. This wasn’t just constructed to decrease rain boot sales - Philadelphia has a combined sewer system that includes

I’m so proud of Moore College of Art & Design’s continued sustainability initiatives! One of their most recent endeavors was to plant a herb garden to produce fresh ingredients that will be built into their SAGE Dining Services menu. SAGE Food Service Director Anthony Condo and Executive Chef John Starett recycled an old salad bar cart to use as an incubator to plant cilantro, dill, basil, lavender, parsley, oregano and chives during spring break in March. Once the weather became warm, the cart was moved outside – and they’re hoping to

Hey Philadelphians, happy Earth Week! What are you doing to celebrate? Why not check out some of the Earth Day events sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Festival. Here’s the lowdown: What: Earth Day at the Academy When: April 22, 10am at Academy of Natural Sciences Details: Get your science on and explore the world of water pollution, climate change and more. The Academy of Natural Sciences hosts Earth Day at the Academy. This is an ideal event for the whole family. Chemists, engineers and other scientists and experts will be there with their equipment including fish tanks and watershed models to provide a hands on demonstration. Free with museum admission. Go here for more information. Location: 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103 Read on - there's more!

Obama swung by a wind-turbine Plant to talk about Energy, reducing US oil imports and getting clean Energy on Wednesday afternoon. This coincides with Obama's announcement for re-election. Luckily, Philadelphia is producing a whole-lot of green-energy jobs as part of Obama's energy initiatives. But as we saw from his State of the Union Address, he needs to step up his actions and talk less about the changes. "These are not your father's windmills," Obama told (find out more, after the jump!)

This past Saturday, Philly Spring Cleanup Day united 10,000+ volunteers in 248 cleanup efforts around the city. Our 34 volunteers in the 300-600 block of Washington Ave gathered more than 30 bags of trash and 8+ bags of recycling in the 5 hour event. Among the items collected were hundreds of cigarette butts, broken bottles, a shoe, silly bands, and paraphernalia that should not lie anywhere close to where children play. I was quite proud to see everyone eager to help out as they got down and dirty (with gloves, shovels and brooms, of course!) Despite our success, (find out more, after the jump!)

OK, I'll admit it. I'm slowly turning into the 'green', earth-loving stereotype. While I try to keep my lecturing & whines to a minimum, I keep getting greener and greener since the start of Green Philly Blog. I'm 99% pescatarian. Finally, I bought a bike. So, readers. Please bear with me for a second, while I celebrate. There's a big announcement for people like me: Philly's going to add more bike lanes. WOOO-Hooo! :-) 2 North-south bike lanes a block apart are going