Apply this official Philadelphia Circular Free Decal to your property.

You come home from work (if you’re lucky in this economy) only to find your rail, steps, and sidewalk covered with fliers, circulars, and advertisements. You spend 10 minutes picking it up and putting it int your recycle bin, fuming the whole time because of the trees and energy wasted printing, distributing, and recycling unwanted matter. It will happen again at least once this week.

Put a stop to your circular woes by filing for a Circular Free Property Designation. The city maintains a list of properties that don’t want to receive grocery store circulars, fliers, etc. Of course, this doesn’t stop junk mail but it does reduce the litter blowing off doors and rails into the street.

Simply fill out the request, receive a decal to place on your door, and go circular free. Don’t worry about violators. They can be fined, if you agree to have your address on the complaint.

Fill Up Your Recycling Bucket!

A project of Keep America Beautiful, America Recycles Day is the nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the U.S. Since 1997, Americans have celebrated America Recycles Day on Novovember 15. Learn more about the program and how to participate.

The Green Revolution has been submitted to the GE Ecoimgaination Challenge. If the Challenge generates enough interest, GE may invest in some of these companies. Winning the Ecoimagination Challenge could secure more funding for the Green Revolution and help them continue retrofitting Spin bikes to make the world a cooler place.
It takes two minutes to vote. Please register and cast your vote.

Want to see more videos of The Green Revolution?  Here’s a starter and there are more on Youtube!  

Unsure if you have anything to contribute? You do. Common household items like batteries, paint, antifreeze, pesticides, household cleaners, & moth balls do not belong in the trash. Bring them to Household Hazardous Waste and save a planet!

Can’t make it this time? The next collection date is July 22 so mark your calendars.

Typical Household Hazardous Waste

Our blue cellar ceiling

Foam between joists

We’ve just had our crawl space and basement (cellar, if you’re not fancy) treated with foam spray. The foam spray should retain heat and cut our energy usage while reducing our energy bills and delivering a tax credit.

The process did not take long. The contractors showed at about 8 AM as expected. At 11 AM, I asked if they minded if I took the dog for a walk around the block. They replied that they were already done.

Our old house is drafty and rather cold in the winter. Even when wearing slippers and socks, our feet feel cold. We know we suffer immense heat loss. The foam treatment should reduce our heat loss and make us more comfortable.

The best factor is that we get a tax credit for our act of weatherization. We not only hope to see a longterm reduction in our heating costs but we will see additional savings on our tax bill. The money comes later but winter is soon. Hurry to stay warm and save!

This Tree Erases Carbon Dioxide

Whatever your usage is, Erase Your Trace aims to nullify it while increasing tree coverage. The project uses the CarbonPlus Calculator, developed by the U.S. Forest Service, to estimate carbon production. Using a carbon price at 20 dollars per ton, the price currently used by the Obama Administration, Erase Your Trace assigns a dollar value to your own carbon emissions. Users then donate part of that cost to The Fairmount Park Conservancy, which in turn will donate the combine money to neighborhoods for tree planting.

Trees help reduce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to global warming, and they reduce other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. Philadelphia currently has approximately 2.1 million trees that sequester 16,100 tons of carbon per year. Philadelphia’s trees also reduce urban heat island effect, decrease stormwater runoff, and increase property values.

While Ms. Philly Organic knows we can’t live without an impact and we can’t simply erase our carbon emissions, we can plant trees, benefit the city and parks, and minimize the effect of our carbon output with a few clicks of the mouse. Why not learn more and reduce the effect of your personal carbon production?

Carrotmobs are not like this.

The organizers work to identify businesses that are open to the message and that may have existing plans to become more environmentally sound. The Carrotmob organizers and the business arrange a time and date, then ask supporters to come and shop. It’s been so successful in some cities that Carrotmobbers form long queues just to make a purchase!

Carrotmobs started in San Francisco and are spreading around the country. Philadelphia is one of the earlier growth sights! There are also offshoots in Europe. To participate, you just have to shop at the right time and place. To learn the right place and time, you have to visit their blog or follow them on Twitter.

Fill Up Your Recycling Bucket!

Single stream recycling has increased Philadelphia’s recycling rates by 46%. Our beautiful recycling trucks have collected 75,060 tons of household waste between June 2008 and June 2009. Philadelphians now recycle approximately 12.4% of their household garbage.

While this is exciting news, it’s still too low. It’s below the national average and is significantly lower than the 25% target rate established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1980s. In other words, although we’ve improved, we’re still behind.

How can we continue to boost our recycling rates? Recycle bank pays citizens to recycle in the form of coupons and cash. Philadelphia has not joined this popular program. Fines, unpopular sources of revenue in this tight economy, are proven ways to increase participation. There is anecdotal evidence of stepped-up enforcement but the truth is that Licenses and Inspections inexplicably laid off enforcement agents to meet Mayor Nutter’s budget.

While Philadelphia’s recycling participation has improved, we still have miles to go. Recycle Bank and enforcement can help increase participation city-wide and should be used to expand participation. Keep up the great work and keep moving forward, Philly!

Potatoes Freshly Dug and Washed

The idea is that the potatoes will begin to develop a healthy root system in the fall, which will be warmed and protected in the winter by the decomposing leaf litter. No green shoots will appear until spring but they will appear much earlier than they would if you waited for the ground to warm up before planting. The root system will begin to grow potatoes right away, instead of needing time in the spring to develop and grow.

We saw our potato flowers early and Mr. Philly Organic tasted a couple, pronouncing them unbelievably delicious. This week, Ms. Philly Organic noted that the tops of the plant were dieing and so it was time to harvest! The above picture shows our yield from our lightly amended, compacted, clay soil.

The beauty of growing potatoes in the winter is that it allows for a dual harvest each year. After digging the potatoes, Ms. Philly Organic planted some beans and onions. A row of corn is growing in nicely behind the location for the row of potatoes. Potatoes are economic and easy to grow, even for beginners. Simply plant whole, partial, or even peels (tested years ago by Ms. Philly Organic and her mom). This fall, give up a flower bed to grow a few potatoes!