Grid Magazine

#010 December 2009/Circular Economy/Guides/Recycling

Recycling Challenge: Your Holiday

What to do with your trees, lights and wrapping paperWhen I was young, my family had a semi-official competition for the prize-winning bow each year at Christmas. The contenders would tirelessly toil away on their masterpieces, and the winner would be appropriately admired, photographed and stored away until the next year, when it would be

December 1, 2009

4 mins read

#010 December 2009/Design/Energy/Green Building

Energy: Season of Lights

Boathouse Row’s signature style goes green…red and goldby Lee Stabert
The lights of boathouse row are iconic Philadelphia—they get top postcard billing alongside the Liberty Bell and the Art Museum steps. So, you can imagine the fuss a few years ago when they decided to change them, replacing every bulb with an energy-efficient, long-lasting LED.

December 1, 2009

2 mins read

#010 December 2009/Food

New Business: Honest Tom’s Taco Shop

A young restaurateur provides a moveable feast
The latest trend in Philadelphia’s food scene doesn’t involve fancy menus, ambience or flashy table service. It’s all about inventive, concise options, convenience and parking—though not for the customers. Food trucks are taking the city by storm, and we’re not talking about your average hot dog cart.

December 1, 2009

1 min read

#010 December 2009/Farming/Food/gardening

News: Harvest Time

With help from a USDA grant, PHS Launches the Community Grower’s Allianceby Lee Stabert
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Over the three-year lifespan of the grant, PHS will use the money to expand City Harvest, its expansive urban food growing program, through

December 1, 2009

1 min read

#010 December 2009/Circular Economy

From the Editor: A Hands-On Holiday

When I was a kid, the holiday season was all about the gifts. I remember them well: baseball gloves, bikes, electronic games. As the publisher of Grid, I wish I could tell you that all of that stuff didn’t make me happy—but that would be a big fat lie. Each year, my favorite gift and

December 1, 2009

1 min read

#009 November 2009/Cooking/Food

Back Page: The Joy of a Local Living Economy

by Judy WicksI had just turned six when my family moved to the small town where I grew up in western Pennsylvania. On the first day in my new community, I collected all the extension cords I could find and connected them down the driveway, where I set up my child-size dining table with two

November 2, 2009

2 mins read

#009 November 2009/Circular Economy/Culture

Book Review: Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money

Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Moneyby Woody TaschChelsea Green Publishing; $21.95
Our world economy revolves around capitalism and is in a state of constant expansion. Having doubled two times since 1960, it is expected to quadruple again by the middle of this century. Many fear a collision between profit and growth and the welfare of

November 2, 2009

1 min read

#009 November 2009/Climate-Change/Energy

Book Review: Power Trip

Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells--Our Ride to the Renewable Futureby Amanda LittleHarper, $25.99
Cycling into work on the Brooklyn Bridge on September 11, 2001, Amanda Little witnessed the horrific attack on the World Trade Center. Two years later, on August 14, 2003, Little was in her Manhattan office when the Northeast Blackout left

November 2, 2009

1 min read

#009 November 2009/Cooking/Food

Recipes: Squash Your Hunger

Barley Pilaf Stuffed Squash recipe by Tara Mataraza Desmond(serves four) Barley is a common ingredient in hearty dishes like soup, stew and stuffing. Here, the grain is the base of a pilaf-like filling for soft roasted butternut squash.

November 2, 2009

2 mins read

#009 November 2009/Cooking/Food/Guides

In Season: Brussels Sprouts

On reality tv cooking competitions, producers often can’t resist the urge to structure a challenge around making traditionally maligned foods palatable for kids. Bring on the brussels sprouts! Every time they hand a bushel of these little green balls of goodness to a reticent cheftestant, I get a touch worked up. What did these verdant

November 1, 2009

2 mins read

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