Philadelphia joins other cities in fighting climate change through the 2030 Districts project. By Danielle Corcione & Grid Staff President Trump may have withdrawn the country from the Paris Climate Accord this past May, but major cities across the country are sticking to their climate adaptation and resilience plans, including Philadelphia. Mayor Kenney doubled down
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Energy efficiency remains a giant opportunity for building resilient cities Illustration: James Heimer By Alex Dews Over the past 15 years, the Philadelphia region has been deeply involved in a national movement to change everything about the building industry: how buildings are designed, built, operated, demolished, disposed of and rebuilt. “Green building” is now in
MoreI’m With Her by Heather Shayne Blakeslee A breezy summer it is not. The mood of our politically bifurcated country continues to be tense and dark. We’re watching the wartime bonds we forged with our European allies fray, and our democracy feels fragile. And now the U.S. has made a cynical show of abandoning the
MoreAre the Golden Arches a Golden Ticket? interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Journalist David H. Freedman, a skeptic of the first order, has a lot to say about those he calls “the Pollanites,” by which he means devotees of food writer Michael Pollan. Freedman thinks that an unfounded belief that farm stands and unprocessed food
MoreThe Coming Storm by Justin Klugh Nestled between 42nd and 43rd streets in Sea Isle, within earshot of the Atlantic, there was a house built in an odd place. “We were in someone else’s backyard, basically,” explains Dan Gallagher, whose father owns the property. “We always said, ‘If there’s ever going to be anything bad,
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Illustration by Carter Mulcahy The Body Politic interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In her book “The Wrath of Capital: Neoliberalism and Climate Change Politics,” scholar Adrian Parr explores the interconnected nature of capitalism, political power and the systemic abuses foisted upon people and planet when the accumulation of money, power and possessions is our primary
MoreIllustration by Mike L. Perry Hell on Earth interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In “Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World” abolitionist Kevin Bales uncovers the fact that, absent the rule of law, the environment is devastated and slavery flourishes. Many slaves are tricked into thinking they are getting
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Illustration by Laura Weiszer First, Do No Harm by Jerry Silberman Question: How can our health care system develop the technology to cure illness? The Right Question: How can we build a system that maintains health for people and planet? When we think about making changes to limit the poisoning of our environment and the
MoreIllustration by Kathleen White Serious Business by Hannah Waters Every moment of every day, even as you read this magazine, a dizzying array of scientific gadgets collect data on our planet’s environment. More than 3,000 ocean floats measure the temperature and saltiness of seawater to depths of 6,500 feet. Instruments at the top of the
MoreIllustration by James Heimer Stars, Stripes and Sea Level Rise by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Your book is titled The United States of Excess: Gluttony and the Dark Side of American Exceptionalism. What is “American Exceptionalism”? RP: It’s the assertion that America is very different from other advanced industrial countries because of our unique history as
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