By the Philadelphia Climate Justice Collective (Mantua Civic Association, SEAMAAC, Overbrook Environmental Education Center, Esperanza, and The Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel University) Philadelphia is heating up — and too many of our neighbors can’t escape it. In parts of North, West and South Philadelphia, summer temperatures can soar 20 degrees higher than in greener, wealthier
More
Farmers are worried, but they don’t want to talk about it. Evidence is mounting that the nutrient-rich sewage sludge many have applied to their farmland for decades as a low-cost fertilizer often contains perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a class of “forever chemicals” that resist degradation in nature and are hazardous to human health. Typically vocal
More
Roughly half of the Swarthmore College field hockey team’s away games last season were played on “field hockey turf,” a water-based artificial turf standard for the sport. But because the college’s Clothier Field Stadium is “field turf” — which head coach Hannah Harris says varies widely from location to location and can affect player performance
More
Every human produces a little more than 4.5 ounces of excrement per day. Multiplied by the 2.2 million customers of the Philadelphia Water Department’s wastewater system, the cumulative daily dump equals about 620,811 pounds, or about 310 tons. The story of biosolids (treated sewage sludge) starts with clean water in the toilet bowls of the
More
In 2022, a pipe failed at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Freeport, Texas, causing an explosion and fire. The conflagration took place entirely within the facility, built on a barrier island along the Gulf of Mexico. The nearest residential area sits more than a mile away from the plant, adding a buffer
More
When faulty equipment at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) oil refinery caused an explosion on June 21, 2019, Carol White jolted awake and raced downstairs in her Grays Ferry home to investigate. She opened her front door and ash swept into her mouth and eyes, nearly blinding her and blocking her airways. As plumes of
More
It was going to be transformational. A place for neighbors to shelter during extreme heat or cold. To receive relief and support after natural disasters. To learn about large forces like climate change and environmental justice and understand how they intersect in this corner of South Philly called Grays Ferry. The building would host teach-ins
More
In June, the School District of Philadelphia’s long-running struggle to protect staff and students from asbestos in its aging buildings came to a head with federal criminal charges and an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to take care of the problem once and for all. The Justice Department alleges that the Philadelphia School District
More
This article was originally published by the Conversation and has been updated to reflect recent legislative developments. As Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s $2 billion housing plan moves forward, heated debates continue about another set of municipal housing proposals that could transform Philadelphia tenants’ rights. In June 2025, Philadelphia’s City Council considered three housing bills, collectively
More
On an unseasonably cool Saturday during one of this spring’s stretches of wet weather, Yazmine Acosta, a 14-year-old from South Philadelphia, greeted visitors at a lakeside dock at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, just across Broad Street from the Wells Fargo Center. Her slender arms outstretched, she demonstrated how to swoop a paddle’s ends in and
More