Happy December readers – It’s our favorite month! There’s so much GREEN (and red) decorations, people are drinking local booze & mulled wine, and there’s a ton of live trees INSIDE people’s homes.

Philly’s trucking full speed to close out 2012 – Here’s some of the latest green happenings you missed:

• Looks like the Sustainable Business Network is looking for new blood! Executive Director Leanne Krueger-Braneky is stepping down on January 31, 2013. The position will be posted on Monday on the SBN’s job board. Best of luck, Leanne (She’s heading to BALLE as Director of Fellowship & alumni.)
• Congrats is due to the Bicycle Coalition & Councilman Mark Squilla: The Complete Streets Bill has officially passed! Find out what this means for bikers & drivers alike!
• Mayor Nutter was in China to promote how green Philly is. and stuff. Seriously. He (or some marketing person) even created a tumblr for it!
• SEPTA is becoming even greener (if that’s possible) and adding 245 hybrid buses to its fleet! That will hopefully shut up the talk that driving could be greener than public commuting. (Misconception, obviously.)
• Australia officially axed Factory Farming because of the horrific conditions for animals. USA will probably follow suite in 30 years.
• We talked to Alex Prud’homme about US water problems in this Q&A.
• Bill McKibben’s 350 “Do the Math” tour I attended was featured on the front page of the New York Times!
• Is there really a crisis in our meat supply?
• This sweet bike has space for 2 racks, so you can transport a case of wine AND beer.
• Here’s 18 ways SEPTA can make your commute greener.

array(5) {
  [0]=>
  object(WP_Term)#10438 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(2350)
    ["name"]=>
    string(21) "Complete Streets Bill"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(21) "complete-streets-bill"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(2361)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(2)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [1]=>
  object(WP_Term)#12733 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(2372)
    ["name"]=>
    string(27) "Green Philly Weekly Roundup"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(27) "green-philly-weekly-roundup"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(2383)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(153)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [2]=>
  object(WP_Term)#10433 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(1873)
    ["name"]=>
    string(12) "Link Roundup"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(12) "link-roundup"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(1883)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(22)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [3]=>
  object(WP_Term)#12754 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(500)
    ["name"]=>
    string(12) "Mayor Nutter"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(12) "mayor-nutter"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(503)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(30)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [4]=>
  object(WP_Term)#10380 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(1532)
    ["name"]=>
    string(28) "Sustainable Business Network"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(28) "sustainable-business-network"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(1542)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(41)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
}

Julie Hancher is the co-founder and Executive Director of Green Philly, an independent media organization making sustainability accessible, affordable and actionable. Since launching Green Philly in 2008, she has grown it from a passion project into a leading voice for local climate storytelling, pairing impactful journalism with community events and experiences. Julie is a frequent speaker on climate, media innovation and the future of local journalism, and is the creator of SustainPHL and EcoFair. Outside of Green Philly, you can find her hiking, biking, traveling, or exploring Philadelphia. View all posts by Julie Hancher