Yanks Plan Green Parade but Phils’ Win would have been Greener

According to a piece in NY1 news, the Yankees are going green with their victory parade:

Atlas Materials in Red Hook, Brooklyn is donating recycled confetti strips for the Yankees parade down the “Canyon of Heroes” in NY’s financial district.  They say parades these days are much more environmentally friendly than ticker-tapes of the past.

“What we’re doing here today is taking 1,200 pounds of shredded, recycled paper to be delivered to the buildings of Lower Manhattan to start the process of what kind of paper should be thrown from the windows tomorrow. It will all be cleaned up by the sanitation department and recycled yet again. So this is going to be a green parade,” said John Cioffi of Atlas Materials.

From the looks of this pic, lots of New Yorkers will be emptying their waste baskets as well.  Wonder if that stuff will be recycled too.  All in all, good news, but small consolation for Phils fans.   Next year, if the Phillies win, there would be no ticker tape parade in NY at all, just a good ol’ fashioned Philadelphia parade.  Now that would be the most environmentally friendly thing of all.  So, wait ’till next year!

Terracycle opens Retail store downtown Princeton.

PhillyEcoCity has covered the activities of West Trenton based Terracycle Inc.  several times, most recently in this post: Terracycle or How to Turn your Trash into Gold

Until now, Terracycle has been selling its products from kites made of Oreo cookie wrapping material to school bags made out of drink pouches and wall clocks made out of vinyl records  through major national retail chains such as Target and Wall Mart and more recently through its website.

350, Independence Mall and my 6-y.o. daughter

As we previewed earlier this week, today was International Climate Day of Action, including a synchronized global rally featuring photogenic human chains forming the number 350.   I was there. My daughter was there.  I brought my roommate too.  And it was rainy and miserable and inconvenient.

Introducing North Philadelphia urban kids to being in Nature

One of the most important thing we can do as a society is to support children in developing a wonderous, reverent, informed relationship with Nature.
Here is what a few dedicated educators are doing to introduce second graders from North Philadelphia to Nature.

San Francisco has implemented a compulsory Composting Law – What about Philadelphia??

Philadelphia has 2 composting firms – PhillyCompost and Bennett Compost and city wide composting efforts are still distant plans.

It’s now illegal to throw your food waste into the trash in San Francisco…what about Philadelphia??

October 24 2009, is the International day for Climate Action

Climate change is the biggest challenge facing our world. On Oct. 24 stand up with thousand of people around the world and speak out to limit carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million. If you’re in Philly, meet me at Independence Hall: http://www.350philly.org.

Curious about why 350 parts of carbon dioxide per million?
See http://www.350.org/about/science

The easiest way to help people change behavior

… Is to make it FUN

For a while now I have written about my struggles with what is it that I can do to move people to dispose of their trash properly and recycle.

One thing I do know – getting angry at someone who throws their bier can or sandwich wrapper out of the window of their car… will more likely get me into a fight than teach the benefits of recycling.

See the Playback Theater Performance on the subject right here >> Making Sustainability FUN

This latest initiative from Volkswagen brings us the factual proof that making it fun works.  I suggest you take a minute to watch this short video clip on the worlds’ deepest Trash bin:

Notice: In one day, the world deepest trash bin collected 72 Kg of trash when a usual trash bin just a few meters away collect 41 Kg less.

Katherine Gajewski Ain’t No Bully — But She is Coming to Meet You

Katherine Gajewski, Philadelphia’s New Director of Sustainability speaks in West Mt. Airy in Northwest Philly.  She reveals five tactics as to how she will implement Mayor Nutter’s Greenworks Plan to turn Philadelphia into America’s Greenest City –  including the appointment of a community Outreach Coordinator.

“Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim. [S]He’s the neighborhood bully.  (Bob Dylan, Neighborhood Bully)

Though certainly not a “neighborhood bully” in the conventional sense of the term, Katherine Gajewski is one focused agent of change.  In speaking to West Mt Airy Neighbors’ (WMAN) monthly gathering of just a few committed folks in Northwest Philly, Gajewski demonstrated a key strategy towards realizing Philly’s dream of becoming America’s “greenest city”: going from community to community and from ‘hood to ‘hood to coordinate the city’s ambitious (overly ambitious?) 15-point plan.  I don’t think Philadelphia can become green without this kind of synchronous, systemic action.  To that end, she told us that she intends to appoint a dedicated Outreach Coordinator to connect with each locality’s sustainability efforts.

West Mt. Airy Looks in Your Backyard and Sees a Forest

On a hot night in late August, West Mt. Airy Neighbors (WMAN) held its Quality of Life meeting on the greening of Mt Airy. The NorthWest Philadelphia neighborhood of Mount Airy is one of the neighborhoods at the edge of the Wissahickon which is part of the Fairmont Park System. The future of Fairmount Park is of concern to the residents of the neighborhood. The meeting opened with a presentation that represents the kind of broad thinking about sustainability I hope that other sustainability councils and local greening committees will take to heart.

Fall in The Wissahickon Forest

What is new at the 2009 GreenFest Philly?

In no particular order here is a short list of some of the new green offerings I noticed at the 2009 GreenFest Philly: