When Tandi Book started making soap as a hobby about eight years ago, she was using common vegetable ingredients, like coconut and olive oils. But after meeting her husband, who worked on an organic farm that raised beef, she began experimenting with tallow, or beef oil.
Morestory by Samantha Wittchen
When Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual conference and expo, comes to Philadelphia in 2013, it will attract more than 30,000 sustainably-minded folks to the region, all of whom will need a place to stay. But for Greenbuild attendees, a clean room and comfy bed won’t be
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story by Leah R. TroianoAs a kid, my Saturday-morning chores included cleaning the bathroom. Like most kids, I wasn’t a huge fan of any chores, but the bathroom was particularly difficult for me. Much to my parents’ displeasure, I cleaned as quickly as possible while holding my breath, dashing in and
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Story and Photos by Char Vandermeer
Summer’s tapped. It’s over. Done. With any luck, crisp, cool autumn nights are working wonders on the radishes, kale, Swiss chard and brassicas that have taken over your garden. (If you haven’t planted your greens and radishes yet, put this magazine down and run to the
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story by Bernard Brown | photo by Mike WatsonWorms are our friends, right? We uncover these wriggly little annelids in the garden and we apologize—sorry to disturb you! Please, get back to work aerating our soil, cycling nutrients and depositing rich castings (poop) to fertilize our tomatoes.
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story by Liz Pacheco | photos by Emily WrenThere are 128 acres of undeveloped land bordering the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Philadelphia. Should the land remain green space, or be developed to accommodate apartment buildings and expansion for the airport?
The view from Terrence Johnson’s
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Photo via saveourgardens.org If you’re a honey bee enthusiast, we have some bad news. Backyard beekeeping in Plymouth Township is under serious threat. The Plymouth Township Council recently proposed a bill to ban backyard beekpeeing on lots of 30,000 square feet or more. This ban would restrict beekeeping on 92 percent of residential properties in
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Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you want to get hands-on experience working for a small publication? Grid is looking for eco-minded individuals in the Philadelphia area interested in contributing to our monthly magazine and online content. This is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience reporting, researching and fact checking in a small team. Preferred candidates
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story byLiz Pacheco | photo by Albert LeeLast March, Roger Lewis was laid off from his job at Hostess Brands. An electrician by trade, Lewis had worked in food industry manufacturing facilities for the past eight years. His recent job was as an industrial mechanic. “That’s basically making sure the building is running properly,
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story by Shaun Brady | photo by Albert LeeUndoubtedly, the biggest barrier to improving home energy efficiency is cost, but a secondary hindrance is a lack of knowledge. The EnergyWorks Select Partnership Program is working to address both these obstacles by allowing community, civic and faith-based groups to pool together and benefit from
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