Blog

Do you feel a shopping hangover between Black Friday and Small Business Saturday? Did you protest all the consumerism of the Holiday season, forfeiting Cyber Monday? There's another day on the horizon aimed to do better for the world. Giving Tuesday, or #GivingTuesday (in 2013 talk) is a day to "give" to nonprofits, designated as the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. According to the official website, it asks for partners to create and commit to a project on #GivingTuesday and spread the word. Here's 6 Ways to Give Back On Giving Tuesday:

Ah, vegetarians (or pescetarians, or flexitarians...) often have that awkward moment at Thanksgiving Dinner when we're passed the turkey and have to pass ON it. Although I previously spent $50 on a 'humane' turkey,  I'll likely go meat-free this Thursday. And the worst part? The comments from family around the table, about my seemingly-from-afar-prestigious decision. Don't fret, meatless readers. I brainstormed a few comebacks to avoid awkward silences around the table.

Small Business Saturday > Black Friday . No contest in my book. Black Friday typically means lines, traffic, lines, cranky, tired people weeding through sale racks and more lines!  Small Business Saturday, on the other hand, is all about supporting the little, local guys.  I usually peacefully meander to my local coffee shop, then head to some independent boutiques and hit up some fav local restaurants for fuel in between. Here's a few more reasons I think Small Business Saturday kicks Black Friday's a**. Boost your local economy by spending within the community. Money spent at a local business generates 3.5x more wealth for the local economy compared to money spent at a chain-owned business. You'll likely lower your carbon output. Walk, ride your bike or drive a short distance to local, small business instead of the big, scary mall and you'll save gasoline. Plus, if you go out on Black Friday you can almost guarantee sitting in major traffic.  An idle car burns a whole lotta gasoline.

Greenworks Philadelphia. Tree planting. Farmers Markets. Energy Works. Bike shares. We're all so used to the awesome things that the Mayor's Office of Sustainability does that we don't realize it's a temporary office. With a mayor election on the horizon, we don't want anything to disappear on us. Lucky for us, City Council introduced Charter Change legislation, Resolution No. 130884, to make the Office of Sustainability permanent in the Philadelphia government. As Katherine Gajewski said in an email announcement,

Let's step back for a moment: There's 30,000 brilliant individuals who are creating green buildings, nontoxic classrooms and sustainable architecture. And they're in Philly this week, taking in our city skyline, Federal Donuts & local fare. The keynote by Hillary Clinton peaked the week at Greenbuild 2013 last evening at the Liacouras Center in Temple University. Find out about the highlights, after the jump!

This is our final installment in the guest posts from Dave Greene of Clean Currents. It’s not easy being green. Especially in a society that keeps begging you to buy stuff you don’t need, eat food that isn’t really food, and use up fossil fuels like there’s no tomorrow. Well guess what, if we keep on burning fossil fuels there may actually be no tomorrow! I know, I know, it’s scary, but we have to face the fact that we’re seriously messing up this planet we’re so lucky to call home. Lucky for you, even though it’s not easy being green in general, there’s one incredibly easy thing you can do to slash your carbon footprint and help pave the way for a better world: switch to wind power.

We sure do love browsing Instagram for inspiration, cuteness and overall as the alternative to whiny Facebook feeds. And when we start to get a little gloomy about the shorter, colder days of fall - a picture can say 1000 words. Like "there's still hope outside!" Or "Look at the cool things people are doing in Philly." We searched the web to share our favorite Instagram accounts that capture the best of sustainable and healthy living in our city! (And make sure to follow us on Instagram while you're thinking about it.) Find out which are Philly's 10 Best Healthy Living Instagram Accounts, after the jump!

This guest post comes from Jesce Walz, a Living Building Challenge Ambassador. With Greenbuild in Philadelphia this week, the Living Building Challenge and Net Zero Water Forum discuss stormwater management in our buildings. The Living Building Challenge is “the most most rigorous design and construction standard in the world today. It is also a philosophy, advocacy platform and certification tool.” Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19th is a Net Zero Water Forum. The Net Zero Water Forum is a 4-hour in-depth review of the Living Building Challenge’s “Water Petal,” which is intended to redefine our relationship to water and 'waste' in the built environment. What does this have to do with Philly?

America Recycles Day is today. Woo, recycling. Recycling is something that was emphasized to me since I was a wee little lady. Let me state for the record: I recycle every product I can and keep waste out of the landfills. But is recognizing America Recycles Day really a celebration and motivator to Americans? Does it further the green 'exhaust' problem? Or is there a dark, greenwashing secret lurking behind that recycle symbol?