City is driving more EVs, new PFAS regulations, car-free MLK is back!

Read the latest local sustainability news.

Can you believe the solar eclipse was this past Monday? Whether you traveled for the solar eclipse or caught it (behind the clouds during the peak) in Philadelphia, the celestial phenomenon took over social media almost as much as New Jersey’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake felt strongly in Philadelphia last Friday.

The City is driving 248 battery electric vehicles (BEV) as of the end of 2023 and expects to own over 300 by the end of this year, according to the 2024 Municipal Clean Fleet Plan Update. There are over 100 EV charging ports across the city since the infrastructure needs to be built as well. The city drives over 6,300 vehicles (cars and trucks), responsible for over 15.7% of the government’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.

Car-free recreation is back! MLK Drive will be closed to vehicles on Saturdays at 7 AM until Mondays at 7 AM through the Fall. Although there is a detour due to the MLK Drive Bridge rehabilitation project, trail users can access the trail between the East Falls Bridge and the construction zone south of Sweetbriar Drive.

The EPA announced the first-ever regulations for six PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”), mandating that public water systems must lower FPAS by 2029. The EPA found that the chemicals can cause harm in “much lower levels” than previously understood, although they can be found in the blood of almost every person in the US and nearly half of the country’s tap water.

Cover photo: A crowd gathers at the Schuylkill Center for a hike and enjoys the view of the solar eclipse with moon pies and sun chips. Photo courtesy of Mae Axelrod, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.