GreenPlan Philadelphia -- A planning project to help provide a long-term, sustainable road map for using, acquiring, developing, funding, and managing open space in the city’s neighborhoods.
Philadelphia Sustainability Awards -- The awards celebrate Greater Philadelphia's environmental innovation, economic development and vibrant communities.
Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local-- Organization creates food guides, coordinate tasting events, organize farmers' markets and sponsor farm tours, among other activities.
PhillyCarShare --A non-profit organization that provides members with access to a fleet of vehicles on an hourly basis.
Philadelphia Green: The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society -- A not-for-profit membership organization that provides events, activities and publications for novice gardeners, experienced horticulturists, and flower lovers of all ages.
It’s not just environmental lobbyists who are gearing their words toward strong action at the upcoming Copenhagen climate change negotiations.
At a recent appearance in New Orleans, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, dubbed the “Green Patriarch” by Al Gore, minced no words about the urgency of addressing climate change:
“We have reached a defining moment in our history…the point where absolute limits to our survival are being reached,” and we “instead of living on income, or the available surplus of the earth, we are consuming environmental capital and destroying its resources as if there is no tomorrow.”
The Department of Energy announced $10 million has been awarded to 16 cities for 40 new Solar America Cities Special Projects. The funds, made through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will enable the cities to increase solar energy use in their communities through innovative programs and policies that the government believes can be replicated across the nation.
The cities chosen for these awards came from the group of 25 large U.S. cities that are part of the DOE’s Solar America Cities program, which recognizes the participating cities as partners highly committed to solar technology adoption at the local level. Those cities already have been given millions of dollars in funds and technical assistance to accelerate solar adoption.
The US Green Building Council has pronounced New Orleans home to the biggest green neighborhood in the world, thanks to the efforts of Brad Pitt and the group Make It Right who have built 13 LEED Platinum certified, storm-resistant homes and are planning another 150 more in the Lower 9th Ward .
The neighborhood, already impoverished, was among those hardest hit by post-Katrina flooding when New Orleans levees failed after the 2005 hurricane.
Pitt and Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden accepted an award for their accomplishments at the Clinton Global Iniative meeting in New York on Thursday.
Somewhere in between the sleep-away camps, beach excursions and baseball games of summer, kids and parents alike generally see the appeal of the sand-free floors and refrigerated air of a good museum. Institutions across the country know this is a great time to squeeze some education into kid-friendly, entertaining exhibitions; here’s a list of some of the best nature-oriented attractions for vacationers who’ve felt a bit too much heat this month.
We hear every day about dangerous chemicals in household products that are linked to cancer, infertility, autism and other diseases – yet many Americans may not realize just how many of these harmful substances they’ve actually ingested in the course of everyday living.
The answer? About 48. That’s according a study by the Environmental Working Group and Rachel’s Network, in which five leading minority women environmentalists from different parts of the country volunteered to have their blood tested for toxins. The results, say EWG experts, show that regulation of chemicals in the U.S. is weak and “antiquated” and needs a major overhaul.
Photo: Global Green USA Global Green upgrades will save the International School of Louisiana an estimated $21,781 in utility costs and reduce the carbon emissions by 177,109 pounds annually.
In late summer 2005, the city of New Orleans suffered a horrific blow when Hurricane Katrina howled in from the Gulf of Mexico, inundating the 300-year-old city and severely crippling its infrastructure and its collective psyche. But if anything positive surfaced after Katrina, it’s that the storm gave New Orleans an opportunity to go green.
Crescent City transplant Brad Pitt has taken a high-profile role in rebuilding the poorest parts of the city, with a focus on energy efficient, eco-friendly affordable housing. And Global Green USA, an offshoot of Mikhail Gorbachev’s non-profit Green Cross International, also has made headlines with green reconstruction of devastated districts such as the Ninth Ward’s Holy Cross neighborhood.
Move over Seattle, Portland, and Austin and other green heavyweights — make room for some like-minded, newcomers.
Columbus, Ohio; New Orleans, La., Syracuse, N.Y., and Louisville, Kty., residents might not be wearing Birkenstocks and basking under solar tubes. But they are living in some of the growing number of mid-sized, Middle American cities that are making impressive green strides, changing their attitudes and getting smarter about eco-choices.
