Philadelphia

Hey guys- The last 2 1/2 weeks sans car have been quite exciting! I've got the train schedule down and have been taking the shorter Express morning train, finished 3 books (2 of which have been Chelsea Handler & Tucker Max) and have read the Metro every morning. Some other highlights include:

Happy October! Plans to celebrate? Join PhillyCAM First Friday October Viewing Party. The Painted Bride Arts Center (232 Vine Street) & PhillyCAM are hosting a special 2-hour, Community produced programming on the theme of sustainability tonight (October 1st) from 5:30 pm–7:30pm. Hosted by social commentator Desire Grover, producer of GhettoPrint and Community Organizer for the Energy Justice Network, you can meet producers and local environmental organizations. Here's a sneak peak of Ed Golden's Re-CYCLE, for you recycling & bicycling enthusiasts! (luckily, I am both!) Here's the list of featured programs:

Hey guys! Exciting news... After I applied on a whim, I was picked to be 1 of 20 lucky participants in Zipcar's Low Car Diet! Starting tomorrow for 30-days, I'll be virtually car-free! As co-author of Green Philly Blog, I know we all have skeletons in our trying-to-be-green closet... and haven't been able to kick my dreaded driving habit while working in the suburbs (which lacks a solid transit system). So I'm giving this a go, refraining from lunch outings and staying late on the weekdays. Every day, I'll be updating Julie's Low Car Diet blog to

This past Sunday marked Philly’s 2nd Annual Naked Bike Race. The #1 reason was to promote “fuel-conscious consumption” – with bikes lessening our city’s carbon footprint.  This city-wide trek draws attention to environmental awareness & cyclist safety. While not every...

Philadelphia's on the fast track to becoming one of the greenest cities. You've carpooled, recycled all those shiny plastics and even made your dog eco-friendly. Before you can get to plan your green wedding, you gotta conquer another hurdle to lessen your carbon impact: dating. Dating can be done quite well with an eco-friendly touch. Here are some ways to lessen your impact on the earth while getting to know someone a little bit better (after the jump - see excerpts from my recent guest post - readers, still time to vote on the Philly Hot List)

One of the most popular questions we are asked is "Can I recycle this?" Now that we've gone over what you can recycle for curbside efforts in Philadelphia - plastics and beyond - here's a list of what you can't recycle:

Good news for Philadelphia! You no longer have to worry about asking me what you can & can't recycle checking those pesky numbers on your plastics containers - they're ALL recyclable (which just started August 1st). Here's what you can recycle:

Philadelphia Streets Department has installed 20 BigBelly solar-powered eco stations on Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane, funded by the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.) Philly's well on their way to its goal of nearly 1,000 (949 in total; 394 have recycling capabilities) BigBellies that will be installed by the end of 2010. Last year's 474 BigBellies (210 with recyclers) have saved $850K with an estimate of ten years at $13 million. Other benefits of Big Belly include:

Back in the day, I remember a Saved by the Bell Episode where Bayside started drilling for oil to get rich... and instead, Zack & co's hearts were broken as Zack's favorite duck Becky dies and the football field is ruined. Lucky for Bayside, Zack makes a 2 minute presentation to the oil tycoons and they end the drilling because of his speech. Unfortunately, the Gulf of Mexico doesn't have a Zack Morris. 1 month ago today, BP had (arguably) the largest environmental disaster with its massive oil spill. Recap of what's currently going on in the Gulf: