When Kristian Holbrook named his mixed-milk robiola “Hummingbird,” he couldn’t have chosen a more perfect image. Like its namesake bird, this soft cheese is bright and delicate, with a nectar-like flavor profile that calls to mind vanilla and citrus. At one week, Hummingbird has the consistency of airy cheesecake; at three, the center liquefies and
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Dry, aromatic and alcoholic, cyser (pronounced sizer) is a type of mead made by fermenting honey in apple cider. According to Hank Frecon, humans have been keen on the stuff since ancient Babylon. His family’s orchards in Boyertown provide the raw material for Frecon’s Hard Cider, an all-local line of fruity ferments made for Kutztown’s
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Over the past several years, smart grid technology has been held up as a way to achieve energy independence, combat global warming and improve grid reliability. Who could be against that? But for most consumers, the smart grid is a nebulous, monolithic technological advancement that has little relevance to their everyday lives. It’s hard for
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FACT: Globally, 51,000 to 82,000 tons of cell phone charger waste is generated per year.
PROBLEM: One hundred million cell phones become obsolete each year and, in most cases, so do their chargers. The European Commission has recently solved this problem for residents of the European Union by persuading 10 major cell phone manufacturers to sign
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It can be tempting to reduce the issue of hunger to a statistics game. For example, the 1st Congressional District (which includes Kensington, as well as parts of North and South Philadelphia and Chester) is the fourth hungriest in the nation, and in 2010, some 31.2 percent of residents reported difficulty feeding themselves or their
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In September 2010 the city launched SERVE Philadelphia, an online database that allows users to enter their age, interests and skill sets to find volunteer opportunities that are personally fulfilling and beneficial to the community. The site is part of Mayor Michael Nutter’s SERVE Philadelphia Act and his role with the Cities of Service Coalition,
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The brainchild of Drexel grads Aksel Gungor and Andy Guy, Ridaroo is an online application that solves one simple problem: carpool coordination. After spotting an on-campus “ride board” where students and faculty would tack Post-it notes offering and requesting transportation, Gungor had the idea to streamline the process—eliminating the time needed for the board’s one-woman
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Think of Growing Greener as the massive invisible partner to Pennsylvania’s environmental movement. Hardly anyone has heard of it, and yet the state granting program supports countless local organizations—including the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Penn Future and The Pennsylvania Environmental Council—with thousands of conservation, recreation and educational projects. Now, as the natural gas industry takes hold,
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The farming collaboration between Marathon Grill and Emerald Street Urban Farm’s Patrick Dunn [Dec. 2010 Grid, Agriculture p.18] has come to fruition in Brewerytown. In March, Marathon Farm hosted five workdays that attracted more than 60 volunteers, who transformed a vacant lot into a promising agricultural haven. On March 21, Mayor Michael Nutter himself hosted
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image via rocklandstreet.com Germantown’s West Rockland Street wants you to help grow their block, literally. This Saturday, the street will play host to its first planting day and challenge each house on the street to participate. Residents and interested volunteers are invited to join in and get their hands dirty planting annuals, perennials, shrubs, herbs,
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