Illustrations by Kathleen White
Is a proposed petrochemical hub a devil’s bargain? The CEO Council for Growth says it is an opportunity for economic revitalization, while organized opposition throughout the city says it will drag us into our past. Must we choose between prosperity and pollution?
Philadelphia’s role as a vibrant manufacturing center
Protesters from the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) demonstrate in Sarasota, Florida—one of 31 U.S. locations—during Flood PNC Day of Action on Dec. 6. | Photo courtesy EQAT
Five ways to make your activism more strategic
Thirteen years ago, at an anti-war rally where a small group of protestors gave speeches to each other in a park,
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When he’s not working with the Fairmount Civic Association, Sam Holloschutz picks up trash at the wooded area near his apartment. | Photo by Stephen Dyer
A popular TV show awakens an environmentalist in Fairmount
Sam Holloschutz credits an unlikely source of inspiration for his devotion to sustainability: the TV show Lost. “Just seeing how beautiful Hawaii
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Illustration by Kirsten Harper
When I got serious about growing our own food four years ago, I had no idea how much it would affect how my wife and I lived and managed our lives and our home. We had already made a conscious decision to shop, cook, and eat as locally and seasonally as possible.
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Warm up the kitchen without cranking the thermostat by making roasted sablefish, escarole and avocado salad and roasted pineapple and coconut sundae | Photo by Emily Teel
Although you can’t will spring to arrive sooner, you can turn on the oven. Not only does it warm up the kitchen without cranking the thermostat, it’s also the
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Rachel Rosenfeld, a citizen scientist, measures phosphate levels for Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association’s Creek Watch program near Valley Green Inn in Fairmount Park. | Photo by Christian Hunold
Volunteers wade in to monitor the Wissahickon
Rachel Rosenfeld crunched her way through the ice near the shore to get to where she could drop her thermometer
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Community members work on what will be Philadelphia’s first Earthship.
In West Philadelphia, organizers use tires and earth to create an ambitious and energy-passive home
At a glance, the open-air lot at the corner of 41st and Lancaster appears to be littered with garbage—tires piled up in the northwest corner, mounds of dirt and cement mixed
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Kathleen Harple says volunteering at Greensgrow gives her a break from the “craziness of life.” | Photo by Stephen Dyer
North Philadelphia nurse heals herself in the nursery
Three years ago, Kathleen Harple and her dog, Fenway, went for a walk around Kensington and discovered the bustling Greensgrow Farms. At first, she was just a customer,
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Dove Song Dairy farmer Lena Schaeffer says she encountered some resistance to being in charge of the farm, but that’s changed: “Now no one thinks twice about talking to the boss, which is me.” | Photos by Daryl Peveto
At Dove Song Dairy, raising goats is a multi-generational calling
When Lena Schaeffer turned 15 years old, her
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Homesweet Homegrown owner Robyn Jasko grows all of the peppers in her sauces. | Photos by Daryl Peveto
Robyn Jasko’s “hyper-organic” peppers ensure a farm-fresh hot sauce
When Robyn Jasko launched her Kickstarter campaign in March 2013, her husband implored her not to be upset if her attempt to crowdfund a new hot sauce business was unsuccessful.
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