Stories

But in the late 1950s, the National Weather Service began measuring the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, with the worry that rising levels might someday disrupt the fragile balance that makes our planet so hospitable.  And what they’ve found, year after year, is that the levels of carbon pollution in our atmosphere have increased dramatically. That science, accumulated and reviewed over decades, tells us that our planet is changing in ways that will have profound impacts on all of humankind. - President Barack Obama, 6/25/13 President Obama gave a speech on Climate Change yesterday at Georgetown University. Here's the full transcript on the Wall Street Journal. Guest blogger Russell Zerbo of the Clean Air Council shares his remarks on the speech and the impact on our nation.

Greenworks Philadelphia 2013 progress report, which marks our progress against the ambitious Greenworks plan, has been officially released to the public. The 4th annual Greenworks progress report boasts that work on 95% of the original 166 initiatives is underway or complete. Greenwork's goal is to complete the initiatives by 2015, in order to infamously become America's Greenest City. 43 initiatives were completed as of 2013. Find out more about the Greenworks 2013 progress report, after the jump:

This week New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new mission to require food composting made headlines. The plan to begin collecting food scraps across the city has been called ambitious by some, though other cities like Seattle and San Francisco have had success with food compost programs. The intention of the proposed program is to decrease residential food waste.  Initially the program will be voluntary but Bloomberg's administration is hopeful that within a few years it'll become mandatory. Sanitation officials said more than 5 percent of households in the city would be on board voluntarily by next year, and more than 600 schools will take part as well.

Happy First Day of Summer!! What’s a better excuse to fire up the ol grill than the official start of summer? You don’t have to only cook burgers & dogs… Create healthy meals with seafood, veggie kebobs, homemade veggie patties...

I haven't been able to post much this week due to unforeseen circumstances on the homefront, but Paige Wolf graciously allowed me to guest post for her. Here's how placing a fee on plastic bags will help (and check out the rest of Paige's blog too!): From Philthadelphia to America's Greenest City.

The Streets Department once again held the Philly Spring Cleanup Day this past April. I must admit, I wasn't as enthused as I was last year. The sixth annual city-wide collaboration returned to our previous hosting site at 8th & Poplar, and we had a few hiccups along the way: a few less participants as last year, a technical glitch that missed our site at the pickup center, and a forgotten printed form. Our cleanup team worked from 9 to 2, picking up everything from used water bottles to sweeping cigarette butts in the masses. One of our volunteers, the lovely Jessica, even joked that the Hurricanes 40s must have been pretty good since there were so many bottles laying around the field... Find out the benefits of cleaning Up Philly (year-round), after the jump...

In honor of the US Open in Merion this week, here's a few quick tips to green your golf game:

Okay, okay so the "best ever" probably falls into the hyperbole category. But I'm telling you guys even if you loathe vegetables and would rather spend June enjoying warm weather favorites like tacos, italian ice and margaritas (I'm getting my fair share of those too!) this asparagus really is tasty enough to almost forget you're eating healthy. Need a few more reasons to try it? 1. It's asparagus season in Pennsylvania and the tri-state region. 2. This recipe is so simple! It's almost embarrassing that I'm calling it a recipe. 3. It contains cheese (sort of ). Read on for the recipe!

As the owner of Chewy’s, one of our top seven green food trucks, Charlie Sokowski's love for food fuels his ambitions. This past weekend, Chewy’s competed with other finalists at the 2013 Vendy Awards in Penn Treaty Park for a chance to be crowned the best food truck in Philly. Sokowski and his staff handed out samples of delicious Carolina pulled-pork sandwiches and maple syrup-covered fried chicken to lucky patrons. Find out more about Chewy's sustainable efforts after the jump!