///

Book Review: Unquenchable

Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to Do About Itby Robert GlennonIsland Press, $27.95Unquenchable begins with the story of one of the most obvious and ostentatious wastes of water in America: Las Vegas. A gleaming, neon-bedecked homage to decadence in the middle of the desert, Vegas is a testament to our ability to build what

More
1 min read
///

Book Review: Wild Fermentation

Wild Fermentationby Sandor Elix KatzChelsea Green, 2003; $25I’ve lost count of the number of times this book has been recommended or mentioned to me, and it deserves every one. Katz explores the world of fermentable foods, which includes some of the earliest prepared foods humans ate, not only to give you something great to eat,

More
1 min read
/

Ask Mark

Philadelphia's Director of Sustainability, Mark Alan Hughes, answers our readersThis month's column is my last as Director of Sustainability and my question comes from the editors of GridQ: What is the most important or surprising lesson you’ve learned during your time as Director of Sustainability?

More
2 mins read
//

News: Lean and Green by 2015

Mayor Nutter announced his plans for making Philadelphia the “greenest” city in America last month, highlighting five areas of interest and 150 initiatives he hopes to achieve by 2015. He has defined the ambitious plan as a restructuring of Philadelphia towards a “green economy,” which, if it lives up to its alternate meanings, could definitely

More
1 min read
/

Feature: Small Is Beautiful

Braving the heat for an intimate seat at Talula's Tableby Jamie LearyFor the staff at talula’s table, a gourmet market and caterer in Kennett Square, hospitality is not perfunctory—it’s heartfelt and natural. Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora, the hands-on husband and wife owners (she manages the market, he runs the kitchen), seem to truly enjoy

More
4 mins read
//

Ask Mark

Philadelphia's Director of Sustainability, Mark Alan Hughes, answers our readersQ: The tax abatement costs the city millions in revenue, and discourages the renewal of existing buildings, thus causing the waste of huge amounts of energy and new construction material, while not requiring any more labor (that is, it doesn’t create jobs compared to restoring existing

More
2 mins read