Grist, the webzine focused on environmental and sustainability issues, recently ran a six-part series on middle school lunches in Washington, D.C. The writer, Ed Bruske, spent a week in the cafeteria at his daughter's school. To say his findings were disturbing would be an understatement. I found myself talking about this series to friends and
MoreJonathan Safran Foer has flirted with vegetarianism his entire life. Despite questioning the morality and cultural history of eating meat since childhood, the 32-year-old author of the popular novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close wavered between omnivore and vegetarian for years until he became a father.
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The strongest prosthelytizing tool in a food sustainability advocate’s bag-o’-tricks might just be a farm fresh egg. Crack that thing open into a hot skillet and watch onlookers gasp in awe at a yolk the color of a perfect Florida orange.
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A perfect tipple for the dead of winter, Dock Street’s Barley Wine is the local brewer’s first foray into bottled beer. Produced and packaged on-site, this limited release is a complex burst of malty goodness.
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It’s not only the beginning of a new year, but the dawn of a decade. Time for fresh starts, kept promises and discarding all the stuff from the aughties that Americans would do better without (Hummers, commercially-made sausages wrapped in chocolate chip pancakes, Nickelback, Ed Hardy t-shirts, bottled water, to name a few.) Grid asked
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In December, the City Council voted 17-0 to pass Bill No. 080025, introduced by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. The bill requires LEED-silver standards for all government construction projects over 10,000 square feet that are primarily funded by city capital dollars and controlled by the city. The measure is an important step towards reaching the Target
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The Philadelphia Water Department has partnered with Fairmount Park, PennFuture, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and local civic organizations on a new green initiative that manages stormwater while beautifying our city.
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It’s all about runoff. When precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground, impervious surfaces like streets and sidewalks keep the water from naturally soaking in, creating stormwater runoff. This can be problematic on several levels. Runoff erodes rivers and streams, and causes flooding.
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Did you know that most blast cleaning in the United States—used on public spaces like bridges, buildings and sidewalks—is done with industrial coal waste? Yup, industrial coal waste (or coal slag): the very same substance causing an environmental and public health disaster after a spill in Tennessee, and the same black muck that Lesley Stahl
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Umbrellas—designed as a convenient solution to getting caught in the rain—can be surprisingly unwieldy. On a stormy day, Philly sidewalks are filled with all shapes, sizes and varieties. But, when the wind is strong, the flimsy shields often can’t withstand the pressure, acquiring that all-too-familiar inside-out look. At that point, the city becomes an umbrella
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