The Sunday following Philadelphia’s apocalyptic microburst storm, the Garden Court gardeners gathered late in the day to honor our fallen fruit trees. They sat around the apple stump and shared stories of the shade the tree had offered on hot July days and the roost the branches had made for birds and squirrels. Of the
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In June at the Hunting Park Recreation Center, Ilianny Rodriguez, a senior at Esperanza Academy Charter School, was playing volleyball in the gym with her friends. She says that when it’s very hot, they cope by lying in front of the fan because the gym is not air-conditioned. Rodriguez has noticed that people try to
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It’s easy to feel hopeless. A global disaster-in-progress can do that to you. There are 8.2 billion of us humans on this planet, and we are each so tiny, and, on our own, we each have so little we can do to fight climate change and adapt, when adaptation so clearly requires large-scale action. In
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A version of this story originally appeared in Hidden City in 2024 and is shared courtesy of that publication. For nearly two centuries, humans and Mother Nature have tangoed on League Island, the most southeasterly expanse of land in Philadelphia, known today as the Navy Yard. For the most part, humans have gotten the better
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When Grid was planning a home electrification guide for the January 2025 issue, the universe threw us a curveball. Donald Trump’s reelection cast doubt on the longevity of federal financial incentives for homeowners across the country to purchase solar panels, electric stoves, heat pump HVAC units and other climate-friendly technologies. So our guide, which walks
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My daughter and I wended our way through the streets of our West Philly neighborhood, shunted block after block by fire department barricades. We were heading from a playground, where we had started the morning, to the supermarket, but there was a burning vacant apartment building in the way. As we followed the downwind side
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A new climate resiliency plan is in development for Philadelphia, with a new focus: community vulnerability. The work is being funded by $600,000 the Office of Sustainability (OOS) received in March from the William Penn Foundation. The City’s resiliency plan outlines climate change’s impacts on Philadelphia and how the City will meet the challenges they
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When Grid was planning a home electrification guide for the January 2025 issue, the universe threw us a curveball. Donald Trump’s reelection as president of the United States cast doubt on the longevity of federal financial incentives for homeowners across the country to purchase solar panels, electric stoves, heat pump HVAC units and other climate-friendly
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In February, The Philadelphia Inquirer published — in print and online — an op-ed by former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Titled “We should support an affordable, inclusive energy transition,” the article made the case that “we must act fast on the seriousness of climate change and do so responsibly, without losing sight of the affordability
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Back in February, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an op-ed by former Mayor Michael Nutter that left me feeling confused. The piece argues for the role of fossil gas in the home energy mix for Philadelphians, because, Nutter claims, renewables are simply too expensive for low-income households. Yes, this is the same Michael Nutter who, in
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Amid a federal disinvestment in technical support for environmental justice communities, four community-based organizations (CBOs) in Philadelphia are advancing their work to address the local impacts of climate change. Partnered with Drexel University’s Environmental Collaboratory, Esperanza, Mantua Civic Association, Overbrook Environmental and Education Center (OEEC) and SEAMAAC have released the findings of thorough community outreach
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