When I was as old as my son is now, back in 1986, the warnings of climate change first hit the news. In the following years, climate science became conclusive. We know the impacts will be severe and widespread. Yet, even for me—an environmentalist to the core—our climate crisis did not feel truly personal
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While we don’t subscribe to mainstream notions of “retail therapy,” we do have some holiday advice: give freely. The gifts of your time, your energy and your funds to causes you believe in all count. To give is, unmistakably, to open yourself up, to allow for an exchange with others, and to take a chance
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Want to go mountain biking? You could travel a few hours to the Poconos or Catskills. You could go to the Delaware Water Gap, maybe, and do some adventure touring. Or, you could stick around Philadelphia, because we have some of the most sought-after mountain-biking trails in the region. Yes, here in Philadelphia proper.
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Russell Craig stands in his Fairmount art studio, a few floors up in a brownstone church. It’s a little messy—there are buckets of paint stacked against the walls and acrylic paint tubes scattered between plastic tubs and paintbrushes on the floor—but he isn’t embarrassed by the chaos.“This is the process,” he says.Craig is a self-taught
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In the days before Philadelphia elections, 250 subscribers receive “The Devor Report,” a detailed list of recommendations for Democratic voters intended to ease confusion about the voting process and ballot questions.The report’s author, Jen Devor, works as director of partnerships for Campus Philly, an economic development organization focused on retaining college students to the city.
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For ten years Grid magazine has invited us to repair the planet and help one another. Most media scream that everything is getting worse because people are dangerous or stupid. Yet thousands of Philadelphians are building hundreds of businesses and organizations that shift power toward ecology and justice.Meanwhile, modern society demands we compromise with the
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Equality on Wheels By Alexandra W. Jones Whether you are riding a bike or navigating life, balance is essential. That’s what Taylor Kuyk-White, professional cyclist and the manager of the Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling program (BCYC), teaches her students. The Philadelphia program, which serves students ages 12 to 18, aims to help build healthy habits
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Five years ago when I graduated from college, everyone assumed that I would be leaving my hometown of Norristown for greener pastures. I was making it out! To their surprise, I came back home for law school and found myself questioning the path often associated with “success.” When I moved back home, I received a call
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In the last five years, the cycling community has seen 93 major injuries and 22 fatalities in Philadelphia County alone—bikers hit while turning corners or riding on the shoulders of cramped roads, even by inattentive drivers backing out of parking spaces. [Editor’s note: These numbers, gathered by PennDOT, report only the crashes in which a
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Several years ago, Katrina Shafer of Bala Cynwyd was afraid to date. ¶ Suffering from fever, hot flashes, painful cramping, fatigue, extreme mood swings, joint pain and depression, she was nervous about embarking on intimate relationships. ¶ She had been diagnosed with a vaginal bacterial infection and treated with three different antibiotics, but her symptoms did
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