Ideas We Should Steal

Make Restaurant Reuse Easy

A Seattle program has encouraged both mom-and-pop eateries and behemoths like Starbucks to pare down their customer-facing waste. Could litter-burdened Philly do the same?

By Courtney DuChene

How Federal Cuts Are Transforming PA’s Solar Industry

Renewable energy provider Solar States hit its stride just as the Trump administration cut subsidies — can a loophole keep them afloat?

By Courtney DuChene
Guest Commentary

We Can Stop Trashing the Region’s Health

A clean air advocate urges support for Councilperson Jamie Gauthier’s efforts to stop Philly from burning trash

By Russell Zerbo
Guest Commentary

PA Cities Can’t Get Smarter Without Natural Gas

Technology solutions to Philly’s problems increasingly rely on AI, with its high energy demands. A former mayor urges local leaders to ensure we have what we need to make it work

By Michael A. Nutter
Guest Commentary

Brace Yourself for Hotter Summers, Bigger Allergies, Worsening Air Quality …

The head of the Clean Air Council warns: If you think climate change is bad now, just wait until Trump’s EPA really gets going

By Alex Bomstein

Philly Pays Millions to Pollute. Local Innovators Have a Better Way

A Texas-based corporation charges us $50 million a year to process trash and recycling. Could the City give a slice of that pie to local sustainable waste companies instead?

By Nicolas Esposito

AI Data Centers Haven’t Got a Friend in PA

Why do so many Pennsylvanians oppose Amazon (and other tech giants) building “innovation campuses” in their counties?

By Ethan Dodd

Four Ways Philly can Grow our Tree Canopy

The City’s ambitious Tree Plan will need an all-out effort to accomplish. Here, some ideas we could steal from elsewhere

By Courtney DuChene

Where Are the Trees We Were Promised?

Two years into the City’s first-ever Tree Plan, our leafy coverage has remained static. What happens now?

By Courtney DuChene

How To Celebrate Earth Day in Philadelphia

More than 50 years after the holiday began, there are more reasons — and more ways — than ever to combat climate change, right here in Philly

By Rosamelia Lara Sanchez, Christina Griffith and Lauren McCutcheon