News from around town. City’s Clean Energy Vision Open for Public CommentOn Nov. 14, the city’s Office of Sustainability released a long-term vision for reducing carbon emissions 80 percent from 2006 levels by 2050. The plan, “Powering Our Future: A Clean Energy Vision for Philadelphia” is open for public comment through Jan. 31. Residents can
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Fairmount Park Conservancy Hires New Director, Financial Officer Jamie Gauthier was hired as executive director of Fairmount Park Conservancy on Sept. 13. Gauthier began working at the conservancy as senior director of public partnerships in January, and she has served as acting executive director since July, upon the departure of Rick Magder. Gauthier has a
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Report: Almost 70,000 Clean Energy Jobs in Pa.Nearly 70,000 people work in Pennsylvania’s clean energy sector, according to a report by the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and local partner Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance. The report, released Aug. 31, shows nearly 6-percent growth in clean energy jobs over the previous year’s report, which
MoreFracking Lawsuit Rules in Families’ FavorCabot Oil & Gas will have to pay more than $4.2 million to two Dimock Township couples after six jurors in federal court deemed that fracking operations contaminated the groundwater of their central Pennsylvania homes. According to an NPR StateImpact report, the company has already acquired more than 130 drilling
MoreReport Shows Oil Trains are an Environmental Justice Issue Marginalized communities bear a disproportionate risk in the operations of oil train rails in Philadelphia, according to the report “Environmental Justice and Oil Trains in Pennsylvania.” Released in February by ForestEthics, ACTION United and PennEnvironment, the reportstates that people of color and historically poor communities in
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Matt Rader is the New President of the Philadelphia Horticultural Society Matt Rader, an accomplished nonprofit leader and management consultant, is now the 37th president of the Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS). Rader brings with him experience in urban parks, neighborhood revitalization, historic preservation and strategic management. A graduate of the Wharton School of the University
MoreMayor Kenney Appoints Christine Knapp New Leader of Mayor’s Office of Sustainability Christine Knapp will head the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability during the Jim F. Kenney mayoral administration. Knapp has been a leader in Philadelphia’s sustainability community for over a decade; she led PennFuture’s Next Great City Campaign, headed Philadelphia’s Urban Sustainability Forum, and most
MoreIllustration by Kathleen White Philadelphia Becomes the First U.S. World Heritage CityWe’ve always known Philadelphia is a world-class city, but now it’s official. On Nov. 6, the World Heritage Committee, part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), named Philadelphia the first World Heritage City in the U.S. The program honors and
MoreStartUp PHL Grants $104kStartUp PHL, a city initiative to endorse and fund entrepreneurship in Philadelphia, has awarded $104,000 in grant money to six diverse organizations. Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, who was granted $20,000, will convert land at 6th and Susquehanna streets into a pop-up marketplace. Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at the University of
MoreAndy Toy Joins Southeast Asian NonprofitAndy Toy, formerly of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, is now the development and communications manager for Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, Inc. (SEAMAAC), a nonprofit organization serving immigrants and refugees in the Philadelphia region since 1984. “I’ve personally seen SEAMAAC grow and evolve over the last couple decades,”
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