What we can take from those who make doby Dee Dee Risher I leave my friend by the library copy machine while I track down a book. I come back to find her carefully stuffing an inch-thick wad of white bond paper into her tiny bag. She turns to me incredulously. “Someone threw this away.”
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How to eat well when your cupboard is bareby Sarah GrayIn these recession times, as jobs grow scarce and the city slashes its budget, food prices are also on the rise: In 2007 and 2008, the US saw its worst rise in food prices in 17 years.
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Sewing Green: 25 Projects made with Repurposed & Organic Materialsby Betz WhiteSTC Craft, A Melanie Falick Book, 2009, $24.95The stitch ‘n bitch scene has been making your grandma’s favorite hobby hipper over the years. But in this latest DIY guide to needle and threading, author Betz White showcases how crafty designers can rethink wardrobes and
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The Scavenger's Manifestoby Anneli Rufus and Kristan LawsonPenguin, 2009 $14.95Freeganism gets a stylish upgrade in this latest guide to reusing, salvaging and swapping materials at a time when saving money, and the earth, go hand in hand.
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The Omnivore's Dilemmaby Michael PollanPenguin, 2006 $26.95When The Omnivore’s Dilemma came out in ’06, it was not the first book to take a look at our industrial food system with a critical eye, but it quickly became one of the most well-known. Part of that is due to the interesting structure of the book, where
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A Lancaster County Farmers group show how local, organic food makes strong farms and healthy foodby Will DeanLancaster County is full of rolling hills, plowed fields and the occasional tall, silver silo; to the average observer, it can all seem the same. With a closer look, though, one plot of turned soil can be radically
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North Philly still lacks fresh food accessby Tenaya DarlingtonKensington, one of Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods, has undergone significant revitalization over the last few years, especially along the southern corridor that borders Northern Liberties. You’ll now find a coffee shop, a Spanish imports store and even a sustainable fish merchant amid the tattoo parlors and check cashing
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In a city as old and strange as Philly, there’s some history in every 100-plus-year-old brick rowhome and tiny colonial alley. While it’s fun to make up stories about what happened where (I like to think that my block was where Ben Franklin invented freedom soda), it’s also great to know the actual history and
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Permanent housing for the homeless uses green designby Will DeanWhen the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Center City approached Angelo Sgro, executive director of the Bethesda Project, with an empty building to use for their homelessness efforts, he didn’t have to think before answering.
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Philadelphia's Director of Sustainability, Mark Alan Hughes, answers our readersQ: I’ve heard rumors that all new construction in the city will be required to be LEED certified or Energy Star rated. I’m sure these are just rumors, but what measures are being taken towards making new construction, including residential, more sustainable? The sustainable strategies include,
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