Philly’s New Director of Sustainability
After announcing that both Andy Altman and Mark Allan Hughes were stepping down from their respective positions as Director of City Planning and Commerce and Director of Sustainability for Philadelphia, I have to admit that I was feeling a bit deserted. I had high hopes that both of these men would be leading this city into greener pastures. I realize, though, that it is not the individuals who will get us to the next phase, but the city working together as a team, led by our great Mayor and his team.
Mayor Nutter has appointed the next Director of Sustainability to replace Hughes. Click on the link to read more. My high hopes will be transferred to her!
http://greenworksphila.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/nutter-names-new-sustainability-director/
State Incentives for Greening your Property
It’s taken a while, but now there is a great source for finding state incentives, rebates, and grants for projects aimed at lowering the carbon footprint of a building. These are not just for individual residential renovation, but also for industrial, commercial, and educational institutions. The improvements that need to be made to qualify can be as small as buying a low energy consumption washer and dryer to building a factory that uses zero energy to maintain itself.
Check out the website http://www.dsireusa.org/ and click on your state to learn more about statewide and local programs!
The IceHouse Warms Up Fishtown
Introducing The IceHouse – Philadelphia’s premiere sustainable condominium complex. This cutting edge development has 10 New Construction and 3 rehab Condos all Registered for LEED Certification. Located in the heart of Fishtown, directly adjacent to a large park, these condos boast wide plank hardwood flooring throughout, bamboo cabinets, Caesarstone quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, secure [...]
10Year Tax Abatement Debate- Could Going Green be the Common Ground?
If you have been following Philadelphia’s budget crisis and/or the local real estate market, I am sure you are aware of the tax abatement argument. Those in favor argue that the abatement (which is applies to both majorly rehabbed properties and new construction and the purchasers of those properties are either taxed on the unimproved land or previous unimproved structure- paying those lower taxes for 10 years and can transfer this abatement once to another buyer) spurs development and improvement in this city where there would otherwise be none. Those against argue that it’s unfair to the rest of the homeowners in the city who have to pay their existing taxes and those benefiting all fall in the higher economic brackets of wealth.
Neither side has shown any evidence of a desire to meet somewhere in the middle, but recently a few bills have been proposed by Councilman Darrell Clarke to keep the abatement, but increase the purchasers taxes annually by 10%, and some variations on that idea. I have read the bills. I guess there is common ground in there, but still just more of the same. Councilman Curtis Jones Jr, though, has stolen my hear with his answer to the tax debate! In order to stay on track, in these tough economic times, to be the greenest city (Michael Nutter), Jones says, why not keep the full 10 year tax abatement but apply it only to structures that meet strict sustainable guidelines such as those set forth by the US Green Building Council for LEED Certification. This way, the onus is on the developers to step up their game and start building more eco-friendly buildings. In the end we all benefit. Attention to our city. Cheaper bills for the residents of these homes. More “green” homes on the market will most likely result in lower price tags. The list goes on!
Anyway, I would like to applaud this proposal and urge you all to write letters is support of such legislation to your local councilman. Frank Decicco can expect a letter from me!
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about green building, LEED certification, or anything else that exists in the real where real estate meets environmentalism!
Philadelphia Sustainability Awards at the Flower Show
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Yesterday was the type of day that you wanted to stay inside, under a blanket, sipping hot chocolate and venturing out only to, perhaps, shovel your sidewalk and deice your car to make the following day bearable. And, although schools and offices closed as well, it didn’t stop people from filling the seats at the convention center to attend the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Sustainability Award ceremony.
Hosted by an charismatic Patrick Starr from our local branch of PEC, the audience also welcomed local celebrities in the green community like Mark Alan Hughes, Philadelphia’s director of sustainability, and Jane Pepper, President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Starr wanted to stress that though we are in the midst of major budget cuts and job losses, our city has lots to be proud of and is already in the top 10 in the nation of “green” cities. ( www.SustainLane.com )
From 70+ nominations of sustainable projects throughout Philadelphia and surrounding areas, we were presented with 12 finalists, and awards were given last night to the 5 winners. We are so proud to announce that Onion Flats won for their residential multi unit LEED Platinum Thin Flats, which we are currently in the process of listing. If you would like more information on Thin Flats, Onion Flats, or LEED Certified projects, email me at rlipton@phillycityspace.com!
The other winners are:
Philadelphia Eagles Go Green Project- Both Lincoln Financial field and the NovaCare Complex are running on 100% clean energy, the employees of which get reimbursed from purchasing clean energy from Peco. They also have replaced 1,000,000 plastic cups and 16 tons of plastic and foam flatware with corn based alternatives that easily biodegrade. Finally, they are actively recycling both in the field and supplying tailgaters with recycling bags for before and after the events.
ECA Environmental Coordinating Agency- offers to both commercial and residential consumers energy audits, installation of cool/green roofs and solar panels, insulation, and can help coordinate projects that strive for LEED certification.
Bob Pierson of Farm to City- Operates 15 farmers markets throughout Philadelphia and offers CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) projects that connect Philadelphia residents with our local farms all year long.
Schuylkill Banks Greenway- Almost an extension of the Kelly Drive/West River Drive walking/jogging/biking loop, this stretch of path along the Schuylkill River from MLK Boulevard to Locust Street also offers movie nights and water sports in the summer months. They are plans to extend this even further south in coming years.
If you attend the awards, and I recommend you do just to stay on top of the amazing projects that will take our great city into the next generation of sustainability, an added perk is free entry into the annual PHS Flower Show. The theme is Italy this year, and it’s a warm, aromatic, and beautiful treat I urge you all to take advantage of in this icy tundra we are living in this week!
Weekly Recycling PLUS Fun Recycling Facts and Tips!
Happy New Year, everyone! Good news for everyone- Mayor Michael Nutter announced this week that recycling will now be picked up every week! I know that this won’t tickle everyone’s fancy as much as it does mine, but you can all admit it will simplify the process! And for those of you that do little or no recycling, weekly pick-up combined with a change earlier in 2008 that allows single stream (we can put glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper all in one container), there is no longer an excuse. Get to it!
I know that the bi-weekly recycling was tough in my household. There are three adults in my home that, let’s say, appreciate your occasional glass of wine or bottle of beer. That’s not going to change, but the recycling buckets were overflowing and I have had to purchase additional containers. I can only imagine what my trash men think of us! I have made some positive changes, though. First of all, when purchasing products such as detergents, cheap wine, and cat litter, buy the largest container available. It saves money and reduces waste. If you buy sodas or beer, buy in cans when available as cans are easier to recycle than glass or plastic, and can be recycled and infinite amount of times. Remember you can recycle most bottles for shampoo, dish washer and laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, junk mail, and more.
Here are some fun recycling facts:
- A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That’s closed loop recycling at its finest!
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours — or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.
- Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
- More aluminum goes into beverage cans than any other product.
- There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.
- We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year.
- To produce each week’s Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down
- If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year!
- The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years.
- Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!
- The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide.
- Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!
- Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year!
- American throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam coffee cups every year.
- Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!
- The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
- A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose, and even longer if it’s in the landfill.
Instead of the Winter Blues, Try the Winter Greens and Save Money!
The weather has been crazy lately with temperatures in 60’s one day to blustery winds and highs in the 20’s the next! Either way, we know that even though gas prices are finally dropping our energy bills are going to be rising over the next few months. I thought that I would share some tips on saving some $$ this season as well as making your home more comfortable.
1. Invest in a Programmable thermostat- this way you can set your heater to lower the temperature in the house while you are at work or sleeping. Also, you never want to set the temperature too low (50 degrees for example) in the winter because your heater then has to work harder to get the house to a comfy temperature (say 68 degrees) when you are there and actually uses more energy (aka $) than if you had just turned it down a bit (65 degrees).
2. Use your ceiling fans! People think of fans only as a means to cool things off, but many modern fans have low reverse settings that actually keep the heat circulating throughout the house (instead of collecting on the top floor and escaping through the roof). This helps your heater use less energy (aka $)!
3. Insulate- this is probably the cheapest way to save big bucks, but requires some more time and energy. You can buy weather stripping and caulk for a few dollars at your local hardware store. Weather stripping is great for exterior doorways and caulk is great around windows to keep out the cold air that’s been seeping into your home!
4. If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, buy a fan or blower for it. If you think about it, most of the heat from your fireplace goes right up the flue. If you buy a fan or blower specifically designed for this, it will help circulate this inexpensive heat throughout your home, making your fireplace or wood burning stove more than just something nice to look at. And most importantly, don’t forget to close your flue after your fire goes out- it’s like leaving a window open if you don’t!
5. Change the filter in your heating system. Most people rarely change their filters, which greatly effects the efficiency of your heater/ac units.
6. Buy an energy efficient home! Although not everyone is in a position to buy a new home, it’s not only a great time to buy, but the options on the market not are incredible. There are homes that use 60% less energy than traditionally constructed homes with the use of solar energy, radiant heat, incredible insulation, and more! Call me for more info, and have a cozy winter.
The Problem with Trees
By Rachel Lipton
I started writing about trees, and I felt my blog was getting a little long, so below is the first in a series of blogs I will be writing about the issue of street trees in Philadelphia. Thanks for reading!
The bad news is, Philadelphia has the smallest percentage of tree canopy coverage of [...]
Don’t Hug a Tree, Hug a Tree Tender!
By Rachel Lipton.
October was a great month for me. Not only did the Phillies secure the title of World Series Champions and I was there to see it, but on the same evening, I completed the Tree Tenders course given at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). With in the classroom and on [...]
Greening your Closet and Your Life
Now some of the hottest items on the hangers are organic clothes, but for the real greenies out there, there is a better way to do your part for the environment when it’s time to go shopping- hit the consignment shops! The benefits are endless.
Buying at the consignment shop:
I know the first thought to some people is, “Gross! I don’t want to wear something that was worn by someone else!” Well, you people who are easily skeeved out, do you think those jeans you bought at Nordstrom’s were not tried on by a dozen people before you bought them, or that shirt from the gap couldn’t have been sneezed on by the sales clerk who spends all day folding them inhaling the microfiber particles? Just wash the darn garment before you wear it, and it’ll be as clean as or cleaner than something new. Just make sure you use a detergent that is not harmful to the environment!
First benefit, you can get some incredible deals at these stores, and sometimes find new items with tags on them for pennies on the dollar of what they originally sold for. In addition.
When you buy consigned clothes, you are also reducing the demand on new clothing which lessens the production of those new clothes. This saves energy & materials, and reduces toxins in bleaches and dies put into the air and water. This also reduces the emissions from vehicles that have to deliver clothing from the factories to the stores. Think about all the energy used to make the clothes that you are wearing today. If you buy used clothing you are not responsible for that energy!
Selling in the consignment shop:
Consignment shops will typically give you between 30%-50% of what they will resell your old clothes for, which puts more money back into your wallet, and no one can argue with that!
This also frees up lots of space in your home, reducing clutter, dust mites, and increasing storage space and open air space- all of which is good for you. Also, if you are student of Feng Shui, you will note that once you reduce clutter in your home (i.e. the clothes taking up closet space that you haven’t worn in over a year, you will start experiencing higher energy levels, more clarity, and a heightened sense of well-being.
So, fellow Philadelphians, I urge you to give it a try. Go to my favorite shop Green Street Consignment Shop on the corner of 7th and South Streets. They also have locations in Lambertville and Bryn Mawr. Their website is http://www.greenestreetconsignment.com