On July 11 Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf vetoed Senate Bill 275, which would have prevented local governments from enacting natural gas hookup bans. Senate Bill 275 is part of a national lobbying effort by the fossil gas industry to head off increasingly popular local initiatives to shift buildings away from fossil fuel use. Washington, D.C.,
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Pennsylvania’s recent entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) made it the first major fossil fuel-producing state to join, but the move had its share of detractors. After much legal and public debate, the agreement has been put into effect. Here’s everything you need to know. What is RGGI? The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
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The sun shone bright on a landscape cross-hatched with felled trees on a walking tour of the Cobbs Creek Golf Course on April 4. The Cobbs Creek Restoration and Community Foundation, the organization overseeing the revamping of the golf course, had the trees cut down, said Dana Henry, the tour guide and a spokesperson with
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I have long been a reader and admirer of Grid Magazine, and I consider Alex Mulcahy a good friend. But I write today compelled to respond to an editorial calling for Parks Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell’s dismissal—to say that I unequivocally disagree with this sentiment and think that it is unfair to the Commissioner’s body
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By Bernard Brown This story was updated after publication with a quote from the Mayor’s Office. It looks like the already sweet deal that the Cobbs Creek Foundation made with the city could be getting even sweeter. On March 30 Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney released his capital budget proposal for fiscal year 2023, which, on page
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In 2020, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to include a farm bill in its state budget. The bill invested in, among other priorities, urban agriculture, farmland conservation, workforce development and new market opportunities, including an unanticipated investment in organic agriculture. Given Pennsylvania vies regularly with Washington state for second in organic farming
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We at Soil Generation have been organizing for land justice for growers of color in Philadelphia since 2014. Community control of land is the foundation of our collective struggle toward liberation. Whether the issue is food, education or housing, community control of resources requires community control of the land. As rapid development displaces community gardens
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“When you have children, it’s important that they listen to you, but it’s equally important that you listen to them.” These words of wisdom from former-Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown are what inspired her to listen a bit more closely one afternoon in 2008, when her middle school-aged daughter came home and told her what she
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The History 2008 was an exciting time to launch a sustainability magazine. From out of nowhere (or so it seemed), a community of bold thinkers and innovators coalesced around issues like local food, stormwater management, renewable energy, green building and recycling. Christine Knapp, who was working for the environmental advocacy group PennFuture, was central to
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The Cobbs Creek Foundation, the group clearing trees on the city-owned land where Cobbs Creek and Karakung golf courses are situated, has apparently suspended its attempt to get a zoning variance to clear some of the trees on the courses. Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve of last year, the foundation signed a lease with
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