Out for a herping expedition along Cobbs Creek with a group of children from West Philadelphia’s Lea School, I was hoping for snakes. After all, snakes are the most glamorous, gross-out find from a grade-school perspective, and I wanted to look like the expert “snake man” Dr. Vivienne—co-guide and community volunteer—had promised the kids.
MoreEver since its first iteration in the 1960s, bike sharing has been a bit of an idealistic campaign. It sounds great, sure. But in reality, bike sharing systems often lead to underutilized, vandalized and stolen bikes—keeping overhead high and program initiation low. Now, one local company is using innovative software to change the economics of
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If Philadelphia hopes to become one of the greenest cities in America, now is the time. Thanks to two multi-million dollar grants from the federal government (distributed as part of President Obama’s Recovery Act), Philly is embarking on initiatives that will create green jobs, address energy concerns and offer sustainable solutions to some of the
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Step one: Place local food activists, cycling enthusiasts and the rolling hills of Chester County into a pot. Two: Add a cup of glorious weather. Three: Sprinkle spandex to taste. Four: Bike 50 miles; immediately scarf lunch, turn in drink ticket for a Victory brew and voila! Bike Fresh Bike Local leaves you wondering if
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According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating and cooling costs account for 50 to 70 percent of the energy used in a typical American home. In most homes—especially in the older housing stock so prevalent in Philadelphia—inadequate insulation is a leading cause of wasted energy. EnergyStar estimates that you can save up to 20
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photos and story by Lee StabertI’ve watched enough Survivor to know that building a fire is hard. Or at least it should be. But then I witnessed Casey Spacht start one in less than a minute—a couple quick strokes with a string bow and some delicate blowing was all it took for the carefully prepared
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My mother is a true believer in soup. Her biggest pot comes out at the first hint of fall and remains on the stove until the last wisp of chill leaves the air the following spring. Her specialty is chicken soup (she is a Jewish mother, after all), but she is also fluent in lentils,
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When I stopped by Andrew Mellinger’s stand at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market, he was sold out of his goat Tomme. Fortunately he still had toothpick samples, and it was so good that I convinced him to sell me his display wheel.
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Tonight, Sarah Van Aken and Sa Va Fashion host yet another public fashion show. This time, they’re shutting down the street in front of their storefront (17th and Sansom). Click here for details. And for more on Sa Va’s sustainable credentials, check out the cover story from last November’s Grid. SA VA NATIVE GYPSY Fall
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Taproot Farm has only been in business for one year, but farmer George Brittenburg has been growing much longer than that. While attending college in Pittsburgh, he was an impassioned advocate for urban agriculture and community garden projects. “For me, the local food movement became very important,” he says. “This farm was a dream we’d
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