In the late 18th century, the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier radically changed how we understand the physical world. He was perplexed by the fact that when metal rusted, despite becoming more brittle, it actually gained weight rather than losing it. Why would metal weigh more when it was decomposing? It weighed more, Lavoisier came to
More
You know the story about George Washington and his confession to his father about chopping down a cherry tree? Historians agree that it’s a myth, or if you are feeling less charitable, a lie. The story was not introduced until 1806 in the fifth edition of a Washington biography by Mason Locke Weems, a minister
More
Welcome to issue #200! I spent a lot of time over the past few weeks flipping through the pages of our debut issue. It may sound somewhat self-aggrandizing, but the first Grid was released as a prototype — not an actual issue — because the concept for a sustainable city magazine had no precedent. (Come
More
Bina Bilenky, the Philadelphia Bike Expo event director, believes deep down everyone is a cyclist. Since it launched in 2010, the expo has always taken an expansive view on who belongs in the cycling community. Are you a commuter who cycles a couple miles to work every day? A weekend fitness warrior training for your
More
Grid is a monthly magazine, so we are not equipped to report news. Sure, we occasionally cover some stories as they happen, but mostly we stay away from breaking stories — especially national news. However, the dramatic changes at the federal level deserve at least some commentary. I think just about every Trump-related story can
More
Before you begin your journey toward electrification, you need to find out where your home is losing energy. A skilled energy auditor doesn’t just inspect — they diagnose, prioritize and recommend solutions tailored to your home’s unique needs. Selecting the right person can make all the difference. Ask these questions to help determine whether a
More
The dream is to electrify everything, and to do it now. The reality is that Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) serves 500,000 households, and shifting from one energy source to another is going to take time. So for those of us who can’t yet leave gas behind, PGW has EnergySense, a program designed to help customers
More
On a treeless sidewalk on a day in May that feels much hotter than its 75 degrees, there’s an ice cream truck serving a long line of people, while several plastic machines are cranking out a flurry of bubbles. Some of the bubbles hurtle toward 440 North Broad Street, the headquarters of the School District
More
For two decades, author Jeff Goodell has been working the climate beat for Rolling Stone magazine. He says it was while writing his first book about the coal industry and witnessing mountaintop removal mining that he understood the peril the planet is in. He’s given countless more readers that same dreadful understanding in his back-to-back
More
It seems that, regardless of age, economic status or political beliefs, everyone is apprehensive about the future. Renowned author, filmmaker and organizer Astra Taylor captures the zeitgeist of our times in “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart,” published last year. Taylor explores the pervasive sense of dread that defines modern life,
More