At her inauguration on January 2, 2024, Cherelle Parker said, “We will make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest and greenest big city in the nation.” Philadelphia has long been plagued by litter, poorly-contained household trash and illegal dumping (“short dumping”) of waste that should be taken directly to a commercial dump: old tires, debris from construction,
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Philadelphia is often ranked among the best cities in the country for cycling. And yet, leading up to the 2023 mayoral election, cyclists had reason to fear for their safety on city streets. That year, 10 cyclists were killed in vehicular crashes, one third the number of cyclist deaths reported in New York City —
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Nearly two years after the launch of the Philly Tree Plan, the City’s ambitious effort to reverse decades of urban canopy loss is still in its infancy. A $12 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant represents a significant step forward, but community advocates and public health leaders worry that progress isn’t moving quickly enough.
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What’s a fossil fuel utility to do in a rapidly warming world? That was the question posed by a study the City released jointly with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the country’s largest municipally-owned gas utility, in 2021. The answer? Diversify and decarbonize. The study recommended that PGW pilot three strategies: expanding its weatherization services, converting
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Home solar isn’t essential to home electrification, but for those with the financial means, it offers environmental and budgetary benefits, says Cora Wyent, senior director of research at the electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. “We’re trying to switch our whole grid to renewable electricity, and anywhere we can convert to solar is good,” Wyent says. “You’re
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While the federal inflation reduction act currently provides homeowners thousands of dollars of electrification incentives through tax credits, that is only one piece of a larger savings puzzle. The next biggest piece are federal rebates established under the IRA. Unlike the tax credits, which require homeowners to have enough taxable income in order to benefit,
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Sam Calisch has electrification bona fides. There’s the MIT engineering degree, the years spent in a lab tinkering with electromagnetic devices and his time on Capitol Hill as a scientist-turned-advocate, successfully campaigning for the inclusion of historic climate measures in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. So why is his new gig all about the humble
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Before you begin your journey toward electrification, you need to find out where your home is losing energy. A skilled energy auditor doesn’t just inspect — they diagnose, prioritize and recommend solutions tailored to your home’s unique needs. Selecting the right person can make all the difference. Ask these questions to help determine whether a
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The dream is to electrify everything, and to do it now. The reality is that Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) serves 500,000 households, and shifting from one energy source to another is going to take time. So for those of us who can’t yet leave gas behind, PGW has EnergySense, a program designed to help customers
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It’s a Friday morning in October, and there’s a steady stream of cars driving down 43rd Street in West Philly’s Spruce Hill neighborhood. Then, through the traffic, a cavalcade emerges of about 20 parents and children on bicycles — a mix of kids on electric cargo bikes, kids on the front of folding bikes, kids
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