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From the Editor: Handlebars and Hops

When GRID grand poobah Alex Mulcahy and I sat down to plot out this magazine’s editorial calendar back in the icy deep freeze that is Philadelphia February, we suspected that when the mercury climbed into the 90s, we’d be ready for a double dose of two of our favorite things: beer and bicycles.

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2 mins read

A Farewell to Pork… and Beef… and Chicken…

 
The last time was a pork sandwich, with greens, from the local pizza shop. The sandwich arrived soggy with grease; the pork, a glum gray; the broccoli rabe limp and lifeless. It was, for all intents, a waste of my 10 bucks. That was a Friday. April 8. I’d come home from work feeling tired,

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From The Editor: Water Works

It’s thrilling to see the Philadelphia Water Department taking aggressive, progressive action to solve the city’s stormwater woes. Faced with a system in crisis, they came up with “Green City, Clean Waters,” a solution that favors rain barrels, grassy sidewalks and tree pits over the construction of yet another massive tunnel. “The hardest thing to

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1 min read

From the Editor: The Pleasures of Slow Food

The birth of slow food is an inspiring story. In March 1986, McDonald’s opened its first location in Italy, near the Spanish Steps in Rome. The Steps were built in 1725, the neighborhood was home to John Keats in the 19th century and, not too long ago, Bob Dylan wrote a song about them.

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2 mins read

Local Ties

 
"Everybody eats!” is a rallying cry of food and environmental activists eager to grow a broad-based movement. With the exception of the Philly Naked Bike Ride, everybody wears clothes, too. Can our daily routine of tucking in and buttoning up lead us to a sustainable future?

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Slice of Heaven

This month’s cover story on Greensgrow Farm hits on a number of our favorite issues—cultivating community, repurposing vacant land, food and self-reliance—but, at its core, it’s about the joys of hard work. As my dad used to say, “Hard work ain’t easy.” He would know. With the help of my mom and their four children,

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2 mins read

Electric Avenues

I can’t wait to get my next electricity bill. By following low-tech energy guru Nick Pine’s simple advice—monitoring the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures—I’m certain that I’ve already reduced my A/C usage significantly. (Another tool in the battle to conserve: a rock-solid American-made fan from the 1950s that shows no signs of slowing down,

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From the Editor: A Hybrid Movement

I’m very jealous of the west philly hybrid x team. In middle school, I took a home ec class for one quarter. My crowning achievement? A loaf of banana bread. In wood shop, I sawed and sanded a less-than-perfect corner shelf—it was promptly lost somewhere in my parents’ attic. Then in high school, nothing. Not

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From the Editor: Home Made

Alex passed his Publisher’s Notes duties along to me this month because I am, simply put, obsessed with food. I’ve been looking forward to this issue for months. Last June, I moved back to Philadelphia—my hometown—after a few years in the wilderness (read: Nashville, TN).

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3 mins read
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From the Editor: The Year of Logical Thinking

You have to admire postgreen’s 100K House—and the folks who conceived, designed and executed it—but if you’re looking for a “green epiphany” story, you won’t find it here. Nic Darling and Chad Ludeman weren’t looking to save the world. They decided to build affordable and efficient infill housing for urban areas because it makes good

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1 min read
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