//

A coalition of activists and advocates nudges PECO toward purchasing more renewable energy

In 2020, members of POWER Interfaith, a grassroots social justice organization with a mission to “shine a light on broken systems,” organized to push PECO, Pennsylvania’s largest electric and gas utility, to incorporate long-term contracts for renewable energy into its Default Service Program (DSP). The DSP is essentially the company’s “house special,” and about 75%

More
4 mins read
/

Electrification advocates answer some frequently asked questions

Founded in 2020, Rewiring America is the nation’s leading nonprofit for helping Americans electrify their homes. Their task is a challenging one. Electrification can be a confusing endeavor, with homeowners often left on their own to figure out what to electrify first, when to do it, how to get started and what financial incentives they’re

More
5 mins read
/////

Looking for a surefire way to cut down on your household’s greenhouse gas emissions? Electric cars and e-bikes are a plug-and-play option

Several times a week, John Boyle, research director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, rides the power of electricity to work. A resident of Edgewater Park, New Jersey, Boyle rides a foldable e-bike to the Beverly Rail Station, which he takes aboard NJ Transit’s River Line to Camden. If the weather is nice, he’ll

More
4 mins read
/

Former solar installer is committed to retrofitting homes for the working class

A search for real estate under $200,000 in Philadelphia yields mostly fixer-uppers and condominiums. Marc Rowell’s mission with Deep Green Retrofit, launched in 2021, is to develop energy efficient, move-in ready housing for working-class families, putting affordability and sustainability ahead of personal profit. Growing up in public housing in North Philadelphia, Rowell came to believe

More
2 mins read
//

Large corporations and nonprofits are setting their own goals to cut carbon emissions. Are voluntary pledges enough?

Since former Mayor Jim Kenney set a goal three years ago of making Philadelphia carbon neutral by 2050, City government has been busy. It has replaced street lights with efficient LEDs, electrified its vehicle fleet and improved the energy efficiency of City buildings. All those initiatives can only go so far to help Philadelphia become

More
8 mins read
////

Companies burning fossil fuels and tires to mine cryptocurrency are setting up shop in PA

What’s the size of a toaster and uses three times the energy of an average Pennsylvania household? That would be a cryptocurrency mining machine — a computer that runs 24/7 and spits out numbers in an attempt to solve complex problems, creating proof-of-work cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, as a result. “We have companies that have 80,000

More
4 mins read
///

Grid talks with journalist and author Jeff Goodell about the invisible natural disaster: extreme temperatures

The title of Austin, Texas-based journalist Jeff Goodell’s 2023 book, “The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet,” should leave no doubt as to the topic and its urgency. Grid spoke with Goodell at the end of May about the most lethal and least visible natural disaster on the planet.

More
5 mins read
//

An effective way to fund municipal sustainability projects is taking hold

It’s clearer than ever that cities must finance more green projects as the impacts of climate change intensify, but many are struggling to make progress towards their climate goals. Unsurprisingly, funding is among the biggest obstacles. Urban sustainability overhauls — like transitioning to renewable energy sources — can be expensive up front, though they present

More
3 mins read
///////

Sponsored Content: Community volunteers, with the help of nonprofit and private sector, create urban pollinator habitat in Point Breeze park

There’s a buzz around the new native plant habitats at Wharton Square Park in Point Breeze, and it’s spread all the way to Harrisburg. On April 30, the Friends of Wharton Square Park, in partnership with the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards of Philadelphia County, received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for the

More
2 mins read
1 2 3 4 9