Envy Alert: The Gorgeous Green School

thegreenmarket.blogspot.comSnow and frigid temperatures aside, travel with me now to a school in the tropical climates, Bali to be exact. Wall-less classrooms are structured from bamboo poles, topped with elegant, thatched roofs and filled with bamboo furniture. 200 children from around the world attend this school, where they study english, math, science, the creative arts,

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From Grease to Gold: Creating Biodiesel

blackgoldbiofuels.blogspot.com
A post on yesterday's Flying Kite led us to BlackGold Biofuels, an impressive company that specializes in converting sewer Fat, Oil, and Greases (FOG) into biodiesel.
This past summer, the company earned itself some buzz (see this New York Times article) by converting an 800-lb sculpture of Benjamin Franklin and the

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Volunteer Vehicles: PhillyPatientRide Needs Help

As we shared in our January issue, PhillyCarShare has partnered with the American Cancer Society to launch PhillyPatientRide, a program providing cancer patients with free rides to treatment. This program relies on the participation of volunteers willing to dedicate just a few hours per month. To qualify as a volunteer driver you must: Possess a valid driver’s license. Apply

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Recycling Rhymes: “Trash is Cash”

We like to share the benefits of recycling any way we can, but our rap skills are mediocre at best. Instead, we’ll leave the rhymes to Wafalme, a hip-hop group made up of eight kids from Nairobi, Kenya. The music video, “Trash is Cash” recently won a $5,000 prize in ViewChange.org’s online film contest under

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Smart-Meter Reading: A Local Energy Update

In honor of the highly-anticipated January expiration of the PECO rate caps (hopefully, you’ve switched to CFLs by now), we're offering up the 411 on energy-related news.
(-) Turns out rate caps weren’t saving us much. The price of electricity in November was nearly a third more in the Philadelphia area than in the average American

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No Limits: Green Building’s Reach

Another reminder (thanks to philly.com) that green building is not tied to one neighborhood or organization in Philadelphia. Over the past couple years, a number of sleek, energy-efficient buildings have been constructed in unexpected spots outside of Center City. Here’s another: the Mercy Neighborhood Ministries of Philadelphia Inc.’s state of the art building in the

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Party Down: Celebrate the February Issue

Come celebrate Grid‘s February issue with our first release party foray into Fishtown. Johnny Brenda’s will host, and drinks will be $1 off (with a special firkin of Yards as one of the offerings). The raw bar will also be 1/2 price. It’s our first party of 2011; be there or be square. Thursday, January 13,

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Pharm Facts: The Case for “Greener” Drugs

treehugger.comAt this point, we’re all familiar with efforts to live a “greener” life by recycling, composting, biking and shopping locally. But, what about the pharmaceutical drugs we ingest to quell a nagging headache, or worse, treat an aggressive disease?
A Slate article posted yesterday asked the question, “How can we make pharmaceutical drugs less toxic to

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Wet and Wild: Marcellus Shale Wastewater

Thanks to Philebrity for a heads up on this AP-compiled map of Marcellus Shale wastewater—just one of the environmentally-damaging by-products of fracking (no, not the fun Battlestar Galactica kind). Scary stuff.  Speaking of the shale: “Environmental Mummery.”

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Fowl Proposition: No More Cheap Chicken

Resolution time, right? Well, one Salon writer, Francis Lam, has vowed “no more cheap chicken.” It seems like a simple proposition, but quickly gets complicated when Lam thinks about giving up some storied food traditions, like Charles Gabriel’s fried chicken. So this, then, is my omnivore’s dilemma: Which is more important to me? To stop having

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