When Weavers Way Co-op started building their new store in Germantown, they realized its roof was the perfect site for a solar array. Members had long hoped to power their operations with clean energy. There was only one problem: There was little chance the co-op would be able to pay upfront for installation. “We’re consuming
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If you’re looking for another reason to electrify your house and quit PGW, fresh research describes how scientists with PSE Healthy Energy examining samples of fossil gas from homes across the state of California found volatile organic compounds, including the carcinogen benzene. A study from this summer found similar mixes of pollutants in gas provided
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Yes, this is our food and farming issue, but it’s so much more. When we launched the 2030 Series in April, our goal was to focus each month on a single topic through the lens of sustainability. The themed issue is a tried and true convention for editorial, but when it comes to sustainability, the
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As the inhabitants of Philadelphia roast under the unrelenting sun of July and August, it is easy to dream of shading the entire city with solar panels in an effort to do something useful with the radiation that otherwise renders the daylight hours insufferable. Philadelphia Solar Week, August 15–19 is a start, with Solarize Philly,
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I realized also that besides protesting I had to clean up my own act. If I was buying natural gas, I was complicit.” — Judy Wicks, climate activist and former owner of the White Dog Cafe When Judy Wicks, the former owner of the White Dog Cafe, got back from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation
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As we feel the effects of extreme heat and extreme weather, we can no longer delay action. But Philadelphians may not realize that major emissions reductions are happening below our feet everyday. For over 100 years, an innovative and sustainable district energy system has operated throughout much of Center City and parts of University City
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Aquick glance at today’s headlines reveals many issues that stress or divide us: inflation, gas prices, gun violence, climate change, the pandemic and reproductive rights, to name a few. But before you give in to despair, here’s something positive we can rally around: solar power. A recent statewide poll shows that 81% of Pennsylvanians indicated
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The “big story of solar,”according to Micah Gold-Markel, is not about slashing carbon footprints or lowering energy bills. “Yes, people can save money,” concedes the founder of Solar States LLC. “Yes, they can save the planet, but really they can do the most good because they’re saving their communities with good-paying jobs.” Inspired by the
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Transitioning our economy to one that supports well-paying jobs and a healthy planet certainly seems like a concept that most people can get behind. So why has the term “just transition” been so controversial and rejected by many? The principle of just transition is that a healthy economy and clean environment can and should coexist.”
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In 2019, after similar bans had been enacted in other cities, a draft of a bill to end gas hookups in new construction in Philadelphia was put on the desk of Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the head of City Council’s Committee on the Environment. Designed to speed the transition from fossil fuels, it seemed like
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