Grid Magazine May 2017 [#97]

FOOD JUSTICE

VietLead looks at how neighborhood gardens help immigrant communities PLUS

FOOD SKEPTIC DAVID H. FREEDMAN SAYS MICHAEL POLLAN HAS NO CLOTHES TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE PHILADELPHIA MAY 2017 / ISSUE 97 GRIDPHILLY.COM

A look behind the farms, boats and crews that bring our food to Philly

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$30 members/$35 non-members Join us for an afternoon making melt and pour soaps! In this workshop led by Nichole Gerding of Thankful Sage Farm School, you will learn the ins and outs of making cold process soap with lye. Make and personalize your own scented bar of soap in our galleries while learning some recipes to try later at home.

Ticket price includes all the materials you will need to make your own soap bar during the event, as well as an already cured bar in a handmade soap dish by ceramic artist Sasha Barrett.

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Funding for the Hand Crafted series is provided by the Barra Foundation.

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FOOD CO-OPS do a lot MORE than sell GREAT FOOD. With a focus on supporting local producers, food co-ops reinvest your money in the local community, making the Philadelphia area a better place to live. Support one of your local co-ops listed below by shopping or becoming a member-owner.

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Weavers Way Co-op www.weaversway.coop Mt Airy

WEST PHILADELPHIA

Mariposa Co-op www.mariposa.coop 4824 Baltimore Ave.

559 Carpenter Lane

Chestnut Hill

8424 Germantown Ave. COMING SOON!

Ambler

217 E. Butler Ave.

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA COMING SOON!

KENSINGTON, PHILADELPHIA COMING SOON!

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Kensington Community Food Co-op www.kcfc.coop

2031 S. Juniper St.

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NEWARK, DE

Newark Natural Foods www.newarknaturalfoods.com 230 E. Main St.

ELKINS PARK

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DOYLESTOWN

Doylestown Food Market www.doylestown.coop 29 W. State St.

Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance www.philadelphia.coop

EDITOR’S NOTES

by

HEATHER SHAYNE BLAKESLEE

NATURAL LAW & ORDER A tangled web of states’ rights, business interests and public health

A

merica watched in fascination last year as an armed, native-born, private militia occupied Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Some were convicted and others were acquitted on charges that included conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft and depredation of federal property. One protester died trying to evade a federal blockade.

Among the concerns of the ranchers and others who holed up for over a month at the popular wildlife sanctuary was the idea that stewardship of public lands should be the purview of states, not the federal government, and that states should have the right to privatize and monetize the land: They called for the federal government to relinquish control of the refuge’s 1.4 million acres.

Matters of ownership and public benefit are always complicated. Property owners in Pennsylvania, for instance, have banded together in an encampment called “The Stand” to protest the state’s use of eminent domain to bury natural gas pipelines under their property.

So, to recap: In Oregon, private citizens occupied public land to insist that it should be available for private uses such as mining, and in Pennsylvania, private property owners are essentially occupying their own land to keep state-approved fossil fuel interests out.

A “states’ rights” approach to federal oversight and regulation is often portrayed as a pro-business strategy, and it’s the war cry—genuine or not—driving the deep cuts proposed by the Trump administration to the Environmental Protection Agency.

At stake is the right to clean air and water— to public safety—a matter on which the administration would like to have it both ways: Trump cites public safety as the reason for his retrograde “law and order” immigration policies, even though immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

Meanwhile, 200,000 people die prematurely each year in the U.S. from air pollution.

But saying “pro-business” is so vague as to be unhelpful, since “business interests” depend on what business it is you’re talking about.

In a recent New York Times Magazine article titled “Siege Has Ended, But Battle Over Public Lands Rages On” writer Kirk Johnson details how companies such as Patagonia, whose business interests include the American public having land (equipped with fresh air and clean water) available to them for outdoor recreation, don’t always favor state control that could more easily lead to privatization. According to the report, Patagonia and other aligned companies now have unlikely allies: conservative outdoorsmen who are also concerned about privatization and degradation of natural resources.

If you really want your head to spin, though, consider that President Trump’s own advisory council is split on whether to stay in the Paris climate accord, and—wait for it—former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson, now our secretary of state, is one of those in favor of “keeping a seat at the table.” For the record, according to another Times article, ExxonMobil’s new chief is in favor of the holy grail of environmental policy fulcrums: a carbon tax. So are the heads of Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Canada, BP and Suncor.

If these headlines and articles in just one newspaper are any indication of what’s to come, environmental alliances will be shifting just as radically as other political alliances in this new age.

As we sort out the purview and priorities of the federal government versus the states, if your business is making money from formerly public lands—or railroading natural gas pipelines through private backyards— you may have cause to celebrate. But if your business is breathing clean air or drinking clean water, you may be out of luck.

In either case, when you look to the left and the right at your allies, the faces may surprise you.

HEATHER SHAYNE BLAKESLEE Editor-in-Chief heather@gridphilly.com

publisher Alex Mulcahy editor-in-chief Heather Shayne Blakeslee heather@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 copy editors Walter Foley Aaron Jollay art director Michael Wohlberg michael@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 113 designer Marika Mirren marika@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 writers Jared Brey Lan Dinh Laura Everard Justin Klugh Emily Kovach Stephen Kurian Brian Ricci John Henry Scott Jerry Silberman Estelle Tracy illustrators Chris Bernhardt Anne Lambelet Natalie T. McGarvey Carter Mulcahy ___________ advertising director Allan Ash allan@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 103 account executive Trevor Tivenan trevor@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 100 distribution Alex Yarde alex.yarde@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 106 published by Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 G R I D P H I L LY. C O M

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TO-DO LIST 1. try out a new

2. weed grass

3. finish planting

Spring usually brings many restaurant openings, and two to try are The Lab in Fishtown and Second District in Newbold. See story, Page 38.

The grass has been growing since February, which means it won’t be long at all before it goes to seed and multiplies.

It’s May! You can finally plant your cucumbers, melons, beans, okra, corn, squash and sweet potatoes. And don’t forget those long-to-fruit peppers!

neighborhood spot

4. explore

spring festivals The South Street Spring Festival is May 6 this year, and on May 7 you check out the Chestnut Hill Home and Garden Festival. You’ll find Philly’s zaniest parade at the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Arts Festival on May 20. That’s also the date of the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, and day one of the two-day 9th Street Italian Market Festival. Check out these and many others on Page 44.

on walkways or sidewalks

5. take a walk by the river The Bartram’s Mile portion of the Schuylkill River Trail, from Grays Ferry to 56th Street, is now open. If you’re near the Delaware River, don’t forget to picnic at Pier 68.

the garden

6. go to

a plant sale If you missed April’s plant sales, don’t worry. You still have time to get to Morris Arboretum’s plant sale May 13, the Brandywine River Museum of Art’s plant sale May 13 and 14, and the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education’s second plant sale on June 24.

7. keep resisting It’s tough to keep going when it seems like every day brings a new issue to confront, but resist we must. The Philadelphia Office of Sustainability has just released a great guide of resources and actions you can take to protest cuts to the EPA. See Page 8.

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IL LUSTRATIO N S BY AN N E L A MBELET

8. get your screens in

If you haven’t already done it, put in your screens. It will keep your home cool at night and deter you from turning on the AC.

9. clean up the yard

Spring is the best time to prune many trees and shrubs, including roses, and you’ll also want to check out the yard or patio for places mosquitoes can breed.

2017

10. unleash the tomato starts

It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for: Time to plant the tomatoes. The chance of frost is over, and many people use Mother’s Day (this year on May 14) as their go-to date for knowing when to get those fragrant green tomato starts into the ground.

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NEWS

PHILLY RELEASES ACTION GUIDE AFTER TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CLIMATE CHANGE Mayor Jim Kenney released a response in late March to the Trump administration’s executive order aimed at rolling back climate change programs and regulations.

The order includes directing the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind the Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing carbon emission from power plants.

“Eliminating the Clean Power Plan and other programs that fight climate change is irresponsible. A hotter and wetter climate will have a disastrous impact on the health of our residents and our communities,” said Mayor Kenney. “Additionally, the proposed Trump budget would have immediate and drastic effects on many programs that Philadelphians rely on, such as those that support local air pollution prevention efforts, or that help residents save money on energy.”

The order also removes barriers to coal, oil and gas development on federal lands, and rolls back orders for federal agencies to consider climate change in decision-making. The executive order came two weeks after the Trump administration released a

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proposed budget that includes cutting the appropriation for the EPA by 31 percent and eliminating funding for a variety of environmental and climate change programs.

In order to help residents take action against these cuts and the dismantling of environmental programs, Philadelphia officials put together a guide at phila.gov that includes facts about the environment and resources for contributing to environmental causes locally.

Mayor Kenney is among 35 U.S. mayors who have sent a letter to the president objecting to the executive order on climate change. The letter, issued in March by the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda, tells President Trump that they “fear your administration’s actions and executive order will undermine America’s leadership on climate action, if not take us backwards.”

HOUSING AUTHORITY BREAKS GROUND FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES IN STRAWBERRY MANSION The Philadelphia Housing Authority broke ground in March on a new 55-unit development in the historic Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of North Philadelphia.

“This new housing development—which will provide several different housing options to the residents and families of Strawberry Mansion—will help to ensure that there is affordable housing available here, so that the neighborhood’s residents have real choices when looking for homes where they can build and grow their families,” said Gov. Tom Wolf.

The 55 new apartments will comprise one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes and will exceed 2015 Enterprise Green Communities Criteria—the leading U.S. standard for the design, construction and operation of energy efficient and environmentally responsible affordable housing, according to a press release from the city. Renovations along the perimeter will include trees, lighting, curbs and sidewalks.

Philadelphia Housing Authority is investing $23 million in the homes and in neighborhood upgrades, of which $13 million will come from private investors via the sale of low-income housing tax credits. The balance will come from public housing funds and private financing through the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program.

WEST PHILLY GARDEN WON’T BE SOLD The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority unanimously rejected a deal April 12 that would have sold 11,000 square feet of green space at Powelton Avenue and Wiota Street to developer AJR Endeavors LLC, which had planned to build eight single-family homes on the site, philly.com reported.

The space includes a garden that was started by residents in 1984.

PHILADELPHIA ORCHARD PROJECT CELEBRATES A DECADE OF PLANTING AND VOLUNTEERISM To mark its 10-year anniversary, Philadelphia Orchard Project is posting articles delving into each year of its history at phillyorchards.org, profiling volunteers as well as urban-renewal projects—which include planting edible fruits and vegetables in formerly vacant lots, community gardens and school yards.

“We are proud to have planted five new community orchards and involved 1,330 volunteers and 3,382 total participants in planting, caring for, and celebrating community orchards in 2016,” said Executive Director Phil Forsyth on the POP website.

“POP staff expanded our educational offerings, including workshops on organic pest management, mushroom cultivation, and a four-part urban ecosystem design course.”

POP also recently hired Alyssa Schimmel to serve as part-time education director.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS NETWORK NAMES NEW DIRECTOR Anna Shipp has been promoted to the role of executive director of Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia.

Shipp has 14 years of experience in nonprofit programming and management, as well as a four-year history with SBN serving as manager of the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partners.

“We received dozens of applications and interviewed many very qualified and talented candidates for this role, but Anna continuously stood out among them,” said SBN Board Chair Colleen Bracken. “Anna has proven her effectiveness by growing the GSI Partner program into a thriving global model for local, sustainable economic development.”

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY UNVEILS SUSTAINABLE NEW ‘TINY HOUSE’ A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held April 7 after the completion of a sustainable tiny house at the Temple Community Garden. The 160-square-foot structure includes thermal envelope construction, a green roof, rainwater harvesting, solar photovoltaic system and a composting toilet.

Thirty-five Temple students from 18 disciplines competed in a contest to create conceptual design ideas for the sustainable tiny house, then assisted with engineering and construction of the building. The tiny house will host workshops, demonstrations and meetings for the university and neighboring community.

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EDITOR IAL

Refugees Taking Root Access to land contributes to healing and self-determination by lan dinh

G

rowing up on the 4700 block of Sansom Street, an area where many Southeast Asian refugees were initially resettled, I still remember the food oasis in our 5-by-5 back porch. Beautiful, big, fuzzy leaves crawled up every vertical inch of available gate, pole or fencing.

My parents were skilled in choosing the best branches to build strong, uncollapsible forts. I would play in the fort, hiding among hanging melons and vegetables of every size, some bigger than my head. Magical buckets gave birth to large, juicy, delicious tomatoes, peppers and more. I remember our pet ducks that would mysteriously disappear right before a large community dinner. Transforming tiny row home stoops and backyards into food jungles has been a story of Southeast Asian resettlement and resilience since the 1980s and 1990s. This predated the trendification of urban gardening. As I have learned from my parents, it began as a form of survival and a desperate hope to recreate a semblance of home.

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Southeast Asian refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos came to the U.S. en masse in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, known in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America, which followed hundreds of years of colonialism. The legacy of colonialism meant that the region experienced one of the worst levels of land-ownership disparity in the world among the wealthy and poor leading up to the war. This is what inspired Vietnamese revolutionaries to organize peasants around the promise of equitable land redistribution. This is a war in which the U.S. dropped 19 million gallons of Agent Orange herbicide on 4.5 million acres of land, which contaminated water and soil and continues to cause serious illness.

More than 1 million people fled land dispossession, violence, genocide and starvation. Southeast Asians were relocated to the U.S. between 1975 and 1995 as part of the largest resettlement of refugees in U.S. history. Tens of thousands were resettled in resource-poor areas of Philadelphia

where they faced poverty, racism, language barriers, loss of voice and social isolation.

Mostly populated in South Philadelphia, as development and gentrification rises, the Vietnamese community continues to be uprooted along with other working class communities of color.

Land has always been political and personal to Vietnamese people. Although there has been trauma from oppressive denial of land, chemical warfare and displacement, it has also served as a source of resilience and as a political tool.

In the summer of 2016, VietLead, a grassroots nonprofit, explored how Vietnamese community members perceived the multifaceted issues of land and community control. In a six-week community-organizing bootcamp, called SumOurRoots, high school students learned about the history of Vietnam, food sovereignty and movements for social justice. They then interviewed and captured the stories of 60 community members. One interviewee summed it up:

IL LUSTRATIO N BY N ATAL IE T. M CGA RVEY

“Knowing your heritage is to know what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it tastes like, what it feels like. Gardening is like a ceremony: Everyone must have their own routine.”

Growing is seen as a critical part of restoring self-determination in the Vietnamese community. Cultural foods are seen as essential to Vietnamese identity, as it is passing on tradition to younger generations in the face of assimilation to American culture. It allows community relationships to build, as one interviewee noted, “We can’t talk to each other, because I don’t know English, but we can at least sit together, have some tea and just look at my garden.” For retraumatized refugees, gardening provides spiritual and mental healing. Another interviewee related, “It gives me the purpose to wake up every morning.” Gardens have the power to rebuild dignity and self-worth through validation: Refugees can affirm the knowledge they hold with the land.

Gardening is an activity that the Vietnamese community may partake in more than voting or attending school meetings, as almost every house has a garden or bucket of plants. Growing together on a shared piece of community-controlled land has the potential to build increased civic participation in the Vietnamese community that can extend beyond the neighborhood to activities such as organizing against pollution from local oil refineries and rising deportation orders.

Access to land remains a clear priority.

VietLead is a member of Soil Generation, a black- and brown-led coalition working for food sovereignty and land access in Philadelphia. Student leaders of VietLead have testified with Soil Generation for increased protection of existing community gardens and transparent pathways to ownership.

As Neary Narom, a VietLead student leader has written, “With the power of gardening, it gives us strength to believe that those

memories [of war] may scar us, but it cannot and will not leave a permanent mark. We need the city to make access to land a priority so that we can create gardens in order for our elders and community to heal, both physically and emotionally.”

VietLead will implement the second installment of SumOurRoots to build power within the Southeast Asian community in solidarity with growers of color, collaborating with the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia and the Bhutanese American Organization of Philadelphia.

We must prioritize securing access of land for disenfranchised, low-income communities of color—so we can build communities of self-determination—not for corporate development.

Lan Dinh is the farm and food sovereignty projects director with VietLead, and you can find more information on the organization and its SumOurRoots project at vietlead.org.

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11

the BIG PICTUR E

Are the Golden Arches a Golden Ticket?

Our brains are wired to want fat and sugar. Maybe we should go with it. interview by heather shayne blakeslee

J

ournalist David H. Freedman, a skeptic of the first order, has a lot to say about those he calls “the Pollanites,” by which he means devotees of food writer Michael Pollan. Freedman thinks that an unfounded belief that farm stands and unprocessed food will save us from ourselves is actually getting in the way of progress. Instead, he argues, if we work with human nature and give the public cheap, good-tasting, processed food that’s also healthy—by covertly taking out some of the fat, sugar and calories—we’ll more easily stem America’s obesity epidemic and related health crises.

In your Atlantic article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” you declare that “Michael Pollan has no clothes” and attempt to debunk the idea that processed foods are the cause of the obesity epidemic in America.

DF: The idea is: Obesity has been a problem for a long time—before we can actually point to the problem of processed food, specifically, being a huge cause of it. So you run into trouble very quickly when you try to say that processed food is the entire cause of it. The one thing you can truly say for sure about processed food is that it has vastly reduced starvation and the costs of food. Processed food has been an extraordinary boon to survival and access to food.

Here’s where we have to be careful, though: The reason processed food is linked with obesity, is it makes calories freely available. The food becomes cheap, it’s easy to make foods that people love and want to consume more of and can afford to eat, and therefore, for the first time in history, human beings are free to consume too much food and get too many calories. That’s because of processed food. So, yes, in that sense, processed food is to blame.

It wiped out starvation—just about—and the side effect is it’s given us obesity.

What I want to be clear about is it’s not the processing of food, per se.

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You argue that when it comes to food policy, we can help the most people if we shrink rates of obesity, and that means reaching the masses, maybe even through processed food at McDonald’s. How so?

DF: What the vast majority of the American public really likes is this crappy processed food. It is very, very hard to change their habits. Eating fatty, sugary foods becomes addictive. This, by the way, has been true for tens of millions of years for the human race.

Our brain is wired to love that stuff.

In a capitalist system, what do you know, companies do well when they find ways to cheaply get people the food that they naturally like, and that’s how we end up with all this crappy, cheap food. Given that everybody eats it, if we could [make it healthier], that’s how you change hundreds of millions of lives.

When Michael Pollan comes out and says, “Let’s buy food right off the farm stand and stay away from big companies,” that’s great for affluent people and highly motivated people who can access and afford that food. That’s a tiny percentage of the American public. That’s not what most of the American public can afford, it’s not what they have access to, and, most importantly, it’s not what they want.

If you had to say one thing about GMOs, what would it be?

DF: GMOs are absolutely as healthy in principle and probably more so than conventionally raised food. Human beings have been scrambling the genes of our wheat and other produce for thousands and thousands of years through traditional farming techniques. We’ve been raising all kinds of hybrids forever. And those foods are not tested. Any one of them could turn out to create a plague that would wipe out mankind, and it doesn’t because apparently the chances of that happening are very low.

The only difference with GMOs: It’s in a laboratory with only a few genes, instead of scrambling thousands of genes; it’s studied much more carefully; and it’s tested a million times more carefully. There’s just no real scientific basis for thinking that GMOs are inherently less safe. All foods should be tested, we should be careful about all scrambling of genes, including GMOs, but also of conventionally bred foods.

What we do know is: In no way is it going to be healthier unless it lowers the calories per portion, lowers the fat in it or lowers the sugar in it, and that’s not what people are demanding.

If you’re reading an article on a new study that has just come out telling us to do one thing or the other when it comes to food, what should we look for?

DF: Scientists actually end up being wrong most of the time. Most of their statements, most of their claims end up being wrong.

Even their study findings; the majority of them end up being wrong. However— anything else you look at ends up being even wronger.

IL LUSTRATIO N BY CHRIS B E RNHA RDT

Scientists are the best path we have to the truth. And if you look at what they come to a consensus on over a long period of time, that has a very high rightness rate. So when I say I believe scientists, we have to distinguish the latest study finding you read about in The New York Times from something scientists have been saying among themselves in large-scale agreement for decades.

When I say I listen to scientists who say we have to reduce calories and sugar and fat, that’s decades and decades of nearly unanimous scientific agreement. When The New York Times says, “It’s not diet and exercise, it’s carbs that are causing all the problems,” it’s looking at the 0.005 percent of scientists who have come out with some new study that’s almost certainly, in the long run, not [going to] hold up. That’s an important distinction to make.

In terms of what to look for when we look at a study, in terms of “Is this study likely to be right or not?” here’s a little checklist to go through. The more of these you check off, the more likely the study is to be wrong.

First of all, is it a single study as opposed to the results compiled from many, many studies? Is it something that one scientist is claiming, or is there a consensus of scientists? Is it a novel claim, or is it one that’s been building for a long time?

Is it a surprising and interesting-sounding claim, the kind of thing that’s going to get some press in The New York Times? I love to pick on The New York Times because they’re so highly regarded, and they are a fantastic publication, but they get science horribly wrong.

Is it novel and surprising? Then it’s probably wrong. The reason we find things novel and surprising is that we develop pretty good sense over time of what’s likely to be true and what isn’t. And when something surprises us, it’s usually because we didn’t think that was true. And usually, in most cases—with plenty of exceptions, but in most cases—when we think something doesn’t sound like it could be true, it probably isn’t.

So there’s a little checklist. Longstanding consensus of scientists that builds up over time: probably true. Latest amazing, surprising finding from a scientist: probably not true.

THIS INT ERVIEW H AS B EE N E D I TE D FO R CLA R I TY

What’s your opinion on the scientific consensus of climate change?

DF: We have a really strong, longstanding, ever-stronger consensus there that our climate is being horribly, negatively impacted by human behavior. Whatever voices of disagreement with that consensus, those voices are dying out slowly but surely. This is really starting to look like something you can take to the bank, and we’d better start taking it to the bank and depositing it pretty quickly, because we’re going to get into trouble. I absolutely believe—this one has all the hallmarks of something that science is right about.

What concerns you about the sort of posttruth, post-factual talk that’s going around all over the country?

DF: Everything concerns me about that. I think there’s no bottom here to how much damage this can cause the future of our society in every single possible way.

I want to point out that while many liberals say that—and I am a liberal—I don’t know many liberals who take time to watch Fox or read Breitbart. So let me say to my fellow liberals: Before you start getting all hysterical about the right wing and conservatives only looking at the nonsense on Fox and Breitbart, they ought to start making sure that they’re also looking at other sources of information, too. I don’t think they’ll get a better sense of what the facts are, but I think they will get a better understanding of how the other half is thinking. And I think that’s missing right now and is critical in American politics.

So let’s all start broadening our sources of information.

Journalist David H. Freedman is the author of several books, including “Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us—And How to Know When Not to Trust Them.”

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the RIGH T QUE STION

Blowin’ in the Wind Wind and solar power are still dependent on fossil fuels by jerry silberman

Q

parts of the world between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago. The second was the exploitation of fossil fuels, initially through steam engines, just over 300 years ago.

In the preceding 12 millennia, human population crept up at a very slow rate, with only arithmetic increases based on incremental changes in technology and the expansion of the territory dedicated to agriculture. The surplus energy available from agriculture changed only very slightly for thousands of years. Global population several times dropped from one century to the next. Dozens of generations of people lived such that their lifestyle would have been very familiar to their great-great-greatgreat-great-great-grandparents. It took 10,000 years for human population to reach one half-billion, shortly before 1700.

uestion: How much of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels?

The Right Question: How much of the energy we use is dependent on fossil fuels?

Last month we identified the sources of energy that make our high-technology civilization possible.

What it really comes down to is fossilized sunlight, energy initially captured by photosynthesis, and fashioned into coal, oil and natural gas over many millions of years.

Thinking about human culture as a system for capturing energy to support increasing populations of our kind on the planet, there have been two changes that stand out in our several-hundred-thousand-year history as true watershed moments. The first was agriculture, developed independently in several

U.S. primary energy consumption by source and sector, 2015

sector

1 4

39

5

27.6 (28%)

44

76

7

11

21.2 (22%)

15

10.6 (11%)

1 9

‹1

91

26 1

37

9

3

92

28

24

33

9.7 8.3 (10%) (9%) 14

23

9

3

72

15.7 (16%)

28.3 (29%)

13

53

100

22

38.2 (39%)

{transportation} {industrial5} {residential & commercial6} {electric power7}

percent of sectors

35.4 (36%)

35

source

{petroleum1} {natural gas2} {coal3} {renewable energy4} {nuclear electric power}

percent of sources

Total = 97.7 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu)

petroleum1

36%

renewable

10%energy4

natural gas2

29%

coal3

16%

14

9%

nuclear electric power

GRIDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 20 17

Footnotes: 1Does not include biofuels that have been blended with petroleum—biofuels are included in “Renewable Energy.”

2Excludes supplemental gaseous fuels.

3Includes less than -0.02 quadrillion Btu of coal coke net imports.

4Conventional hydroelectric power, geothermal, solar/photovoltaic, wind, and biomass.

5Includes industrial combined-heat-and-power (CHP) and industrial electricity-only plants.

6Includes commercial combined-heat-and-power (CHP) and commercial electricity-only plants.

7Electricity-only and combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plants whose primary business is to sell electricity, or electricity and heat, to the public.

Includes 0.2 quadrillion Btu of electricity net imports not shown under “Source.”

Notes: Primary energy in the form that it is first accounted for in a statistical energy balance, before any transformation to secondary or tertiary forms of energy (for example, coal is used to generate electricity). Sum of components may not equal total due to independent rounding.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review (April 2016),Tables 1.3, 2.1-2.6.

U.S. energy consumption by energy source, 2015 {geothermal 2%} {solar 6%} {wind 19%} {biomass waste 5%} {biofuels 22%} {wood 21%} {hydroelectric 25%}

With the fossil fuel revolution, all hell broke loose. The incredible quantities of energy available allowed exponential increases in population and consumption. Global population doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion in just 40 years, from 1960 to 2000, as energy from fossil fuels also doubled.

So exactly what part of our current energy consumption comes from fossil fuels, and how do we use them?

Two charts generated and updated regularly by the Energy Information Administration can provide us some important background and context.

We can see that renewable energy from wind and solar are 2.4 percent of our total energy use, and 6 percent of our electricity use. Together, wind, solar and hydro—the renewable technologies used for electrici-

Note: Sum of components may not equal 100% because of independent rounding.

biomass 48%

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3 and 10.1 (April 2016), preliminary data.

Data Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

ty—generate 12 percent of our electricity. The rest comes mostly from natural gas and coal.

We can see that our transportation system is 95 percent dependent on fossil fuels. In the case of freight transportation, not broken out in this chart, it is virtually 100 percent.

Unfortunately, most of the modern renewable energy technologies are completely dependent on fossil fuel energy subsidies, and, without them, they are nearly impossible to carry out.

Consider the fossil fuel needed to construct a modern, 1.5 megawatt capacity wind turbine. The materials needed for these turbines often originate on two or three continents and are moved to their assembly point in ships, trucks and trains. The efficiency of the turbine depends on highly technical electronic controls. Rare metals sourced from around the globe are crucial. Large amounts of steel and concrete are needed, and the manufacture of concrete requires burning fossil fuel and releases substantial carbon dioxide from the concrete itself. Finally, the turbine must be transported to its final location and erected.

Often, the size of components requires specially built rail cars and trucks. Then, there are the diesel-powered cranes and other heavy equipment used in the installation. Electric-powered technology for most of these construction processes is nonexistent.

Much the same could be said for photovoltaic arrays. To achieve the recent improvements in the capture of energy, more very-scarce resources are used, and the electronics are equally complex. While not as physically massive as wind turbines, their complexity means they require a great deal of maintenance.

Since both of these sources of energy are intermittent, even for the electricity they supply, they must be integrated into a grid that has fossil fuel capacity—mainly gas and coal-fired generators—to keep the electricity flowing even when it is dark or calm.

Could a reliable electric generation system be based on wind and photovoltaic energy?

Could such a system generate electricity to power sectors of society that are completely nonelectrified at present?

Stay tuned for the next two columns.

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“Our programs are producing the next generation of sustainability leaders. Environmental problemsolving skills are in demand across every industry, and our graduates bring hands-on training in the latest sustainability practices.”

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Jerry Silberman is a retired union organizer who now devotes his time to negotiating a resilient future for all of us.

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WATER & POLITICS

The Rollback

President Trump and his new EPA administrator have openly questioned the science of climate change. But, advocates say, you don’t have to believe in global warming to be concerned about the president’s early budget proposal. by jared brey

T

hree years ago, after decades of waiting and pestering city officials to do something, residents of Bridesburg, a riverside community in Philadelphia between Frankford and the great Northeast, met at a catering hall to start planning for the future of three big gashes of possibly polluted, formerly industrial land in their neighborhood. In Eastwick, on the other end of town, officials are finally starting to reckon with decades of neglect. They’re beginning the work of cleaning up the area around two former landfills aside Darby Creek, which have been listed since the early 2000s as contaminated Superfund sites, designated for priority cleanup due to the risks they pose to human health. A few miles north of there, on the banks of the Schuylkill, the University of Pennsylvania recently cut ribbon on the Pennovation Center, where it hopes to incubate the next generation of health and tech pioneers. And all around the city, the Philadelphia Water Department is working to build out neighborhoods with green stormwater infrastructure to keep pollutants from flowing into our waterways.

What do these efforts have in common?

None of them would be happening without some kind of support from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Since Donald Trump was elected president, advocates have been reading the tea leaves, trying to predict how sharply Trump plans to depart from the modest environmental progress made under the Obama administration. The indications so far have been grim. In February, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who’d made a career of battling federal environmental regulations, as the new EPA administrator. Then in March, the Trump administration released a preliminary budget proposal calling for

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GR IDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 20 17

3,200 layoffs and a 31 percent reduction to the agency’s funding.

But the budget isn’t set in stone, and many advocates quietly doubt Congress will approve such deep cuts to the agency.

The real negotiations won’t start until later in the year. In the meantime, residents and state and local governments are left to wonder how much leaner the EPA can get before we start paying for it in the quality of our air and waterways.

“Are we going to feel it immediately? I’m not sure,” said Maurice Sampson, the Eastern Pennsylvania director for Clean Water Action, a group that formed around the

push to adopt the Clean Water Act in 1972.

“What we’ve built over the last 40 years to protect the environment, which we know has had a positive impact—what happens when you start untangling that?”

Maurice Sampson, Eastern Pennsylvania director for Clean Water Action

Joseph Minott, executive director of the Clean Air Council

“Are we going to feel it immediately?

I’m not sure.”

“The whole budget is clearly a farce.”

Shifting responsibility to states and cities Donald Trump, who tends to reveal his governing philosophies via Twitter, once famously claimed that climate change was a hoax invented by the Chinese to make American industry less competitive. That such a belief could be held by the presi-

WATER & POLITICS

dent of the United States is cause for alarm among climate scientists, who agree in virtual unanimity that global warming is real, and a threat to life on earth. But advocates say that even people who reject the science of climate change may find something to worry about in Trump’s developing environmental policy.

Of all the government agencies whose budgets are slated to shrink to make room for a $54 billion increase in military spending, the Environmental Protection Agency would be hit the hardest. In addition to the funding and staffing cuts, Trump has targeted a broad range of programs and grants to be reduced or eliminated in the budget. If the cuts go through as is, according to a detailed but “confidential and pre-decisional” budget memo published by The Washington Post, there will be less money for Superfund site cleanups, for brownfields planning, for oil-spill prevention and even for childhood lead safety programs.

Pruitt has said his approach to the administration of the EPA is guided by a belief that states should take on more of the

responsibility for protecting the environment, and the EPA shouldn’t get involved in anything beyond its core mission. But the state Department of Environmental Protection relies on federal funding to implement many environmental protection programs, as Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a letter to Pruitt in March. The proposed cuts would have an “immediate and devastating effect” on the state’s ability to protect the safety of its air and water by reducing funding for local water system inspections. In addition, by paring down brownfields planning, the budget would stifle job creation and economic growth, McDonnell wrote.

J.J. Abbott, press secretary for Gov. Tom Wolf, noted that the federal cuts would harm the DEP’s ability to do its job without touching its responsibility for the environment, putting it in an impossible spot.

Later in March, Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability published an action guide, outlining the potential consequences of Trump’s budget proposal for the city’s environmental health, encouraging Philadel-

phians to mobilize in opposition to the cuts.

In a press release, Mayor Jim Kenney said the Trump administration’s proposal is “irresponsible” in light of climate change threats.

“Additionally,” he said, “the proposed Trump budget would have immediate and drastic effects on many programs that Philadelphians rely on, such as those that support local air pollution prevention efforts, or that help residents save money on energy.”

The EPA, for its part, has been quiet.

Regional representatives did not respond to three requests for an interview.

Advocates do have some reasons to hope.

Others have pointed out that back in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was elected president, he also began his term by making industry-friendly appointments and proposing substantial budget cuts. But the Reagan administration wasn’t able to completely dismantle the agency; congressional investigations enforced some senior appointees to resign, and, while environmentalists still see the 1980s as a damaging time for environmental policy, their worst fears were never realized.

Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program

Diane Sicotte, environmental sociologist at Drexel University

Sam Bernhardt, senior Pennsylvania organizer for Food & Water Watch

A “massive void” for communities of color

“People...will die.

It’s really that simple.”

“An opportunity for us to set the right course.”

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WATER & POLITICS

“The whole budget is clearly a farce,” said Joseph Minott, executive director of the Clean Air Council. “It is unimaginable that one of the largest public-health protection organizations would be gutted by any administration. It just does not make any sense. Clearly, this is sort of a political document and not a serious budget, and I hope and pray that Congress will see it as such.”

In Philadelphia, at least in the short term, cuts to the EPA are unlikely to affect the quality of the drinking water. Joanne Dahme, general manager of public affairs for the Philadelphia Water Department, said that all of the department’s work is funded locally, by ratepayers. And that even includes the massive, forward-looking Green City, Clean Waters program. Sources said, too, that EPA funds that have already been granted for local brownfields planning and Superfund cleanups are not likely in jeopardy. And Christine Knapp, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability, said in an earlier interview with Grid that Greenworks, the local sustainability plan, won’t be affected by the federal budget or policies.

Trump’s approach to environmental regulation does, of course, have some supporters. Rachel Gleason, executive director of Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, said her group applauds the Trump administration’s decision to reconsider Barack Obama’s climate and environment policies. And Kevin Sunday, who works on energy and environment issues for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, said that every government program could use some “thoughtful cutting.” The Chamber of Commerce only hopes that budget cuts don’t affect permit-review timelines.

Not all business leaders are in favor of the proposed cuts. In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, Michael Bloomberg argued that businesses will continue to pursue the aims of the Clean Power Plan even if the regulations are undone.

And Jon Jensen, a technical consultant at MaGrann Associates and co-chair of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, said local builders are demonstrating a voluntary commitment to more sustainable construction practices because it benefits their bottom line as well as the environment.

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GR IDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 20 17

But major reductions in funding could mean fewer state inspections of local water systems. And bold programs such as Green City, Clean Waters may never have gotten started without buy-in from the EPA. There’s also the question of progress.

After all, it’s not as though the environment is perfectly safe and healthy right now. Environmental quality needs constant improvement, and most advocates say the EPA has never been as robust as it should be.

A ‘massive void’ for communities of color Perhaps most concerning of all for cities like Philadelphia, where a majority of citizens are people of color and a quarter of the population is poor, is the Trump administration’s push to eliminate the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, which was created in the early 1990s and is charged with ensuring that all communities receive equal protection from environmental harms. Historically, that hasn’t been the case. Studies have found that poor people and communities of color are likelier to live in areas with lower air and water quality and in closer proximity to toxic waste sites. Last year, a report by PennEnvironment and ACTION United revealed that areas within the potential blast zone of oil trains running through the city are populated mostly by people of color, while areas outside the blast zones are two-thirds white.

Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, said the Office of Environmental Justice has been a crucial watchdog for marginalized communities.

“The office has done a lot...” Patterson said. “I think a lot of people, especially communities that aren’t necessarily seeing relief, would be concerned about what hasn’t been done. But with the constraints that they have, of being a relatively small office with a relatively small budget and varying degrees of political embrace of what they’re doing, I think they’ve done a lot.”

The Office of Environmental Justice has been able to move resources into communities that are “suffering under environmental-justice challenges,” she said, as well as

“Seventy-one percent of AfricanAmericans live in violation of our existing air quality standards, and so if we have fewer standards and less monitoring and enforcement, how is that number going to be affected?

Is it going to be 100 percent now?”

—Jacqueline Patterson NAACP

provide technical assistance to those communities and improve their level of civic engagement. Moreover, the office provides an environmental-justice lens that informs the work of the entire EPA, as well as other federal agencies, she said.

It’s also the case that communities of color and poor communities, often one and the same, are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, according to the NAACP. Coupled with the other budget cuts proposed for the EPA, Patterson said, the elimination of the Office of Environmental Justice could leave a “massive void” for marginalized communities.

“Seventy-one percent of African-Americans live in violation of our existing air quality standards, and so if we have fewer standards and less monitoring and enforcement, how is that number going to be affected? Is it going to be 100 percent now?”

Patterson said.

Diane Sicotte, an environmental sociologist at Drexel University and author of “From Workshop to Waste Magnet: Environmental Inequality in the Philadelphia

WATER & POLITICS

Region,” said areas around Philadelphia such as Camden and Chester could be particularly threatened by further degradation of air quality standards.

“When you have poor populations, there are so many things that can impact and degrade their health,” Sicotte said. “And the health problems that people get from pollution are so common—heart disease, lung disease, asthma, lung cancer, all of that stuff—they’re so common, how can you tease out that this is from the incinerator, and that’s from stress, and that’s from automotive pollution? But there’s a cumulative burden on people’s health, particularly people who are poor.”

What would be the result of a diminished EPA? “More people will die of lung cancer, more people will die of heart disease, because air pollution kills people,” she said. “It’s really that simple. Whether you die of an asthma attack or heart disease, it kills you. Water pollution kills people. It gives people cancer. It gives people kidney disease. It does all kinds of things that happen slowly and almost,

sometimes, invisibly... But, people just will die. It’s really that simple. And that’s not even thinking about what it does to the ecosystem.”

From an imperfect ally to a clear adversary The relationship between the EPA and environmental advocacy groups is a complicated one. On the one hand, environmentalists say, the EPA has always been underfunded, and only adopts regulations that industry can tolerate. On the other, since its creation in 1970, the EPA has been the only official lever of power at the movement’s disposal.

Under the Obama administration, the environmental movement, which encompasses a vast array of focused causes, had an imperfect ally. In 2015, the administration announced the Clean Power Plan, its signature effort to combat climate change by setting a range of targets for reduced greenhouse-gas emissions in states across the country. Later that year, the U.S. signed on to the Paris Agreement, aimed at reducing carbon emissions worldwide.

Advocates say both plans were important foundations for future action on climate change, even if they fall short of setting standards that scientists say are necessary to keep the globe from warming too much.

Both plans also face uncertain futures under the Trump administration.

Sam Bernhardt, the senior Pennsylvania organizer for Food & Water Watch, said his group has been saying for years that the EPA hasn’t been doing its job, and is now in the somewhat awkward position of rallying to save it. But in some ways, he said, it’s easier to deal with a clear adversary than an imperfect ally.

“Obama was not going to get us to the place where we need to be on climate change,” Bernhardt said. “Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to, either. And so in some sense, this is an opportunity for us to set the right course. Instead of fighting against the Clean Power Plan, which is an awful thing to have to fight against—they named it very well, they didn’t name it the Let’s Build Fracked-Gas Power Plants Plan—we now have Trump and Scott Pruitt. And we need to seize on that.”

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WATER & POLITICS

Farmers, Water Protectors Pennsylvania is leading the country on supporting farmers to be better water stewards by john henry scott

W

hile many people believe access to clean water should be a basic human right, the necessary level of government involvement to regulate water is a more contentious issue. In Pennsylvania, voluntary programs that work with our region’s farmers are one way advocates are protecting our water supply.

Since 1972, the federal Clean Water Act has helped to reduce point-source water pollution, such as specific and discrete waste from factories and pipelines.

However, the regulation fails to address “nonpoint” sources of water contamination: the stormwater runoff that trails over many buildings, roads and—importantly— farms. It can include a toxic mix of motor oil, garbage liquids, animal waste and pesticides that all eventually flow into nearby bodies of water. That water makes its way into the entire Delaware River watershed, the source of clean drinking water for more than 15 million people in the region.

Andrew Johnson is the director for the William Penn Foundation Watershed Protection Program, which is itself part of the larger Delaware River Watershed Initiative, a coalition of more than 50 organizations dedicated to improving water quality in the area.

“We support organizations that have lots of experience working with farmers,” said Johnson. “We focus on specific geographies where agricultural runoff is known to be a specific source of impairment of water quality.”

With the assistance of nonprofits supported by the William Penn Foundation, farmers can change the way they manage their fields or their livestock to the direct benefit of water quality. One strategy is mass planting of trees along the edges of streams that pass through farm fields— otherwise known as a riparian buffer, these small, man-made forests help filter runoff. Over time, they also begin to shade

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GRIDPH IL LY.CO M M AY 2017

the stream, lowering the water temperature to the benefit of aquatic life.

Other farm practices that benefit water quality include building new stream crossings for livestock so that they don’t create sediment runoff, stream-bank fencing and nutrient management plans.

“Putting manure out in the field at the right time and place can help control the amount of nutrients that are applied onto the land,” said Johnson.

“Nutrient management plans help defend the stream from the impact of those applied substances.”

Because of the lack of federal regulation, all the work done by the Delaware River Watershed Initiative has to be done through voluntary compliance with the farmer or landowner. “[Nongovernmental organizations] play a really important role in working directly with farmers and enabling them to access public and private money so they can address issues of water quality on their land,” said Johnson.

One such organization, the Brandywine Conservancy, holds agricultural and conservation easements (the right to work with land you do not own) on farms and natural areas around Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware.

John P. Goodall, head of the farmland protection program for the conservancy, helps farmers navigate the various bureaucracies that provide help with funding to mitigate farm impact on water quality.

According to Goodall, these practices not only improve the quality of the water but the productivity of the farm as well.

“These efforts can improve herd health, if they have livestock,” he said. “Getting animals out of contaminated water means fewer vet bills. It can also improve the amount of production, such as weight gain and milk production in cattle.”

Hugh Lofting is one of the landowners Goodall works with. Lofting makes his liv-

ing through his construction business but also owns a family farm in West Marlborough, Pennsylvania. The farm has been active for hundreds of years and has a stream that feeds into the White Clay Creek.

The Brandywine Conservancy—along with the William Penn Foundation and the Delaware River Watershed Initiative—has assisted Lofting with upgrading the conservation plan (which he has had since 1976, one of the first in Chester County) and implementing different practices to help temper the farm’s impact on the stream.

Lofting began building his riparian buffer in the 1980s by planting 1,800 trees along the stream, a joint effort between the conservancy and his family.

“Ever since then, I’ve been really interested in sustainability and farming cover crops,” said Lofting, referring to crops such as rye and barley that are grown specifically to protect and enrich the quality of the soil.

“Recently, we did a lot of work through the Brandywine Conservancy regarding water that ran off the barn,” said Lofting.

“The barn is pretty close to the stream, so we put a lot of dry wells [a pit with stones and fabric that filters groundwater before it enters the stream] in for the water to run off on. We put another road in, and put some soils in the field to control the water going into the stream. I’d like to stress the importance of people being conscious of what goes in their streams.”

This consciousness, despite a lack of legal obligation, can go a long way toward cleaner water.

The efforts of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative are focused on scientifically predetermined areas that would benefit the most from this kind of intervention.

“This is a really exciting thing we’re doing,” said Johnson. “And we’re doing this on a scale that I don’t think is happening anywhere else in the country.”

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WATER & POLITICS

Standing Her Ground

After returning to the family homestead, a Pennsylvania woman fights against the natural gas pipelines that may defile her community and threaten the region’s water supply by justin klugh

M

alinda Harnish Clatterbuck goes for a run almost every morning.

Early in the day, the sun crawls across the Tucquan Glen, a nature preserve in southern Lancaster County, bringing to life its seven ravines teeming with greenery.

The concealment of the trickling glade is exactly the habitat to which her instincts lead her. “People who have heard me speak are shocked to find out that I am introverted and that I prefer to live in a hole in the woods by myself,” Clatterbuck says.

The woods hold a deep history, not just of the undisturbed River Hills, but of Clatterbuck herself. She has lived all over the country but returned to her Lancaster birthplace in the wake of her father’s death and moved back into her childhood home—one of 10 houses on a 2-mile stretch of road—where she has raised a pair of daughters with her husband, Mark.

“I’ve come to appreciate and value how your geography shapes who you are and how you see the world,” Clatterbuck says.

Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, an educator, community organizer and counselor

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GRIDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 20 17

“People are different in different parts of our country because of geography, I think.

Coming back home after my father died helped me find my roots… and what I appreciate about this geography: the rocks and the streams, the mountain laurel on our road. You come to know each plant and tree intimately.”

Tucked away under oaks, beeches and a dense hemlock canopy, it’s easy to see how a resident could come to treasure and embody the private Tucquan geography as Clatterbuck has. But now, a sharp turn in her life has required her to abandon the tranquility of life in the Tucquan Glen, and enter a fight to protect it.

Clatterbuck, a pastor, counselor and educator, has some harsh (and unprintable) words for what she thinks of her adversaries. To paraphrase: “People can be [jerks].

Trees can’t be.”

It starts with a knock on the door. A man with a clipboard tells a homeowner their house is in the way of the installation

of a massive construction project—in this case, the 198-mile, $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline that will transport 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day—and that knock becomes a homing beacon for similarly affected community members, protesters, police, politicians, reporters and, of course, the aforementioned jerks.

Facing a system of intimidation and bullying—Clatterbuck tells stories of Amish neighbors who were lied to about the regulations of their compensation in regard to eminent domain laws—residents affected by the pipeline have been unified by a movement, Lancaster Against Pipelines, started by Clatterbuck and her husband.

“We used to think we were busy and life was full,” Clatterbuck reflects wistfully.

“And then we started this work.”

Pennsylvania is sitting on a mother lode of natural gas, and energy companies are desperate to build the pipelines to procure and export it. With 6,800 miles of pipeline in place, 4,600 more miles planned and the continued approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, they seem poised to get it. The pipeline, a product of Oklahoma-based energy business Williams Cos., is being mapped to reach the natural gas in the Marcellus shale of Northeastern Pennsylvania, with Williams Cos. intending to transport the resource overseas. The pipeline is planned to be installed through 36.5 miles of Lancaster County including the rural Conestoga and Manor townships in which the Tucquan Glen is housed, touching 10 Pennsylvania counties and 200 miles of state terrain in total.

Williams Cos., which touts the 8,000 jobs and $1.6 billion economic impact of a potential pipeline, has a history of safety failures since 2003, including three accidents in rapid succession from March to April 2014. In one case in Sauvie Island, Oregon, The Oregonian reported that the company was aware of gas leaks at transfer

P HOTO COURTESY O F M ICHE L L E J OHNSON

WATER & POLITICS stations, but did not notify the public for two months. The leaks eventually resulted in an evacuation and the closure of a school.

“What is left sacred?” Clatterbuck asks.

“At what point is the destruction itself bad enough that you say, ‘No, this can’t happen’? This is just for greed. This is for export. This isn’t good for the community.”

Some might call it a victory that several months after the knock on their door, the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline was no longer planned to go through the Clatterbucks’ home. However, in the fight for a community, there are no winners until no one loses, as the pipeline is still proposed to invade some neighbors’ properties several miles away.

“We are doing this work for our community,” Clatterbuck says. “We live in a community. I know in our country we try to pretend that we don’t. I care about the people who have it going through their backyard and they have a right to say ‘no.’

Even if the pipeline comes through on their property, I’m not going to move out of my community. I will [live and protest] on their property as long as they let me and continue to get arrested.”

The reach of the environmental damage the pipeline could cause goes beyond the Clatterbucks’ neighborhood. The 6-mile Tucquan Creek flows west from Rawlinsville, Pennsylvania, to its confluence with Clark Run before joining the Susquehanna River. The creek’s twisted journey contributed to its name, which translates to “winding water,” and has been referred to as “Seven Crossings,” given the amount of times hikers would have to step through the creek to continue on their way. But

Lancaster County residents who oppose the natural gas pipelines of the Atlantic Sunrise project

Tucquan is an oasis. Less than 15 percent of Lancaster’s land sprouts natural forests, and most of it is not dense enough for the official Pennsylvania Wild and Scenic River designations that Tucquan has received.

Tucquan Glen would suffer some of the most sprawling effects as forests of its kind conserve and sustain a local water supply, which in this area is used to cultivate the region’s farmlands.

As the creek joins the Susquehanna River and flows toward the Chesapeake Bay, the fallout of a pipeline’s installation could taint not only these water supplies, but those of communities downstream. Pipelines do not permit the replanting of trees after the devastation of their installment, meaning that any trees uprooted in the process would be gone for good.

“It’s this game that’s played for the industry’s benefit, sacrificing everybody else on the earth in the process,” Clatterbuck says, exasperated. In darker moments, she turns to Jane Austen novels to restore her faith in happy endings. “Story is really important to me.”

This story has an ending difficult to tell over the growl of idling construction vehicles. But the Clatterbucks, Lancaster Against Pipelines and other supporters will keep pushing back, a steady current against destruction, protecting the “winding water” and the life it brings to the neighboring region.

An encampment called The Stand has become a local comparison to the ongoing standoff in Standing Rock, North Dakota, where Clatterbuck’s husband and daughter traveled earlier in the year and witnessed a violent clash.

The lesson is taught across the nation as environmental legislation is scribbled out: Tampering with the land can lead to all sorts of trouble, and when you change the geography, you change the people living on it.

“I’m learning to get my [back up],” says Clatterbuck, the reformed forest hermit, although she (again) uses more colorful language. “I’m going to make enemies standing up for what’s right, and I’ve decided that it’s worth it.”

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GARDENING

Garden Supply Hot Spots Where to get the best plants this spring by laura everard

Whenever you talk to gardeners, regardless of who they are, where they live and what kind of garden they have, they always have the garden center that they swear by, and they tend to get very “Sharks and Jets� about the whole situation. I don’t claim to have the perfect inventory, but here is my own brief list of plant sources for the home gardener. All of them are within a brief walking or driving distance from Center City, are locally owned and offer a wide variety of plants and products that are bound to please a gardener of any experience level.

Plant selections in the outdoor area of Primex Garden Center

Primex Garden Center 435 W. Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa. This fantastic, family run garden center is just a short drive from the city, and it is certainly worth the trip. The friendly staff is knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions you might have about your garden, and they sell everything you may need to get started from ground up: high quality tools, soil, mulch, fertilizers and pots in every shape, size and color.

Primex also stocks hard-to-find items that will excite even the most modest plant geek. Whenever I go to this garden center, I am also pleased to see that they carry local products such as Organic Mechanics soil and mulch. Primex prides itself in having the largest range of organic products in the region, and it always has a wide variety of plant material. A huge advantage that Primex has over many of its competitors is that it is open year-round, and although its plant material is limited in the winter, you can still find many items to help you plan for the next growing season.

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GARDENING A large selection of spring flower bulbs, annuals, veggie starts and much more is available at Greensgrow Farms

Greensgrow Farms and Greensgrow West 2501 E. Cumberland St. & 5123 Baltimore Ave. Greensgrow, which just turned 20, is arguably one of the best options for the urban gardener in Philadelphia. The original farm is in Fishtown, and there is a smaller satellite garden center in West Philadelphia. Both locations have a refined, high-quality range of plant material that is well taken care of by their passionate staff, and they’re open year-round. As soon as you walk in, you’ll see repurposed objects, such as rain barrels, being used to grow arrangements that range from ornamental to edible. The aesthetic walks hand-in-hand with their admirable push toward sustainability and eco-friendly practices. The staff is knowledgeable of practices ranging from small-scale, urban landscaping to hoop houses and farming, so any gardening questions you may have are likely to be answered. You can find organic potting medium, organic fertilizers and basic tools, and you won’t want to miss all the interesting containers that are often tailored for an urban lifestyle, such as pots that can hang on banisters. They also offer a CSA program and participate in the SNAP program; they are committed to providing local, healthy foods to the community, regardless of income.

Secret Garden 7631 Ridge Ave.

Secret Garden offers high-quality plant selections

As the name suggests, this clandestine garden center is tucked away in the Roxborough/Manayunk area and is frequently overlooked by many residents. Despite being a little farther outside of Center City, this fantastic place should not be missed. Upon entering, you are surrounded by beautiful plants and trees that are sure to inspire. The knowledgeable staff and high-quality plants are just a couple of reasons why this place truly stands out. The very reasonable prices can even compete with box stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, so this is a fantastic choice if you are just starting out and are scared of blowing your budget while experimenting in your garden. Despite the fact that it doesn’t have a website (although it does have a Facebook page), you can find glowing reviews all over the internet, and the locals swear by it.

Like other garden centers, it also sells a selection of tools, soil and other gardening supplies. The friendly owners and staff make you feel welcome and are happy to advise you on any gardening plans. Unlike many such centers, Secret Garden is open seven days a week, which is a huge bonus for the weekend gardening warrior.

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GARDENING Urban Jungle has a wide selection of tropical plants, containers and gifts. It also hosts hands-on classes

Urban Jungle 1526 E. Passyunk Ave. Tucked away on bustling Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia, this funky warehouse holds tons of surprises. Urban Jungle prides itself in being an urban gardening specialist, so if you’re in a row home, it will probably have what you are looking for, including hangable planters. The constantly rotating variety of plants, containers and knickknacks helps set this garden center apart from many others—this shop aims to please, and you’re sure to find something a little different that will make your garden (or your living room) unique: Don’t miss the terrariums, figurines, water features and air plants.

Another thing Urban Jungle is known for is vertical gardening, so if you are considering a green wall for your space, this place should be one of your first stops for a consultation, and the staff will take you through design, installation and maintenance. They also offer consulting and landscaping services for standard gardens, just in case you need a little extra help with your project.

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FOOD

Shelling Out

Forty North Oyster Farms brings farming back to Barnegat Bay by emily kovach Forty North Oyster’s row of cages in the shallows at at Rose Cove in New Jersey

T

he first rays of sunshine are peeking over Barnegat Bay in coastal New Jersey when Matt Gregg, 33, steers his boat out into the water. The cool air of early dawn isn’t tempered yet by the summer heat, and Gregg and one of his employees are headed out to harvest some of the oysters that have been growing on Gregg’s property, Forty North Oyster Farms, for between 18 and 24 months.

Now that they’re considered market size, they’ll be sorted, counted and bagged, then taken back to a refrigerated van waiting on the dock. This is the twice-weekly summertime ritual that allows Gregg to finally share his oysters with chefs and other culinary-minded customers, after raising the baby bivalves since they were barely the size of quarters.

Gregg is a New Jersey native who followed his passion for sea life to the University of Rhode Island, where he majored 28

GR IDPH IL LY.CO M M AY 20 17

in aquaculture. After graduation in 2006, he pursued a different passion—music— to New York City, where he worked for a competitive talent agency. After a few years, though, he began to feel pulled back to the water. He’d worked on fishing boats during summers in college and had always been intrigued with oyster farming, so he decided to see if it was an industry he could break into.

He wanted to operate his new venture close to his hometown, but acquiring land proved to be a herculean exercise in maneuvering through layers of bureaucracy. Gregg sighs as he remembers the arduous process.

“There’s no system in New Jersey that allows an individual who would be well-suited to working in the water to get through the process,” he says. “There’s a lot of regulations, permits and licensing, and I just started digging into it.” Gregg had also

studied marine and coastal policy in college, and his existing familiarity with these sorts of laws helped guide him through the red tape.

In 2011, Forty North Oyster Farms opened on a 6-acre plot of land. The moment was not just an important milestone in terms of Gregg’s career, but for the New Jersey oyster-farming community as a whole. While the wild oyster industry on the Atlantic Coast of the state was a viable, thriving industry in the beginning of the 20th century, it collapsed in the 1950s due to pollution, oyster disease and overharvesting. “I’m pretty sure we were the first ones to harvest a Barnegat oyster in 50 years,” Gregg says.

Forty North started small, with 40 cages, a little boat and 200,000 oysters. Now, it produces about 1 million oysters each year.

Gregg works with hatcheries and does his own research to develop the best oysters possible for his growing conditions.

“We take adult oysters, spawn them in a controlled setting and look at their genetics,” he says. “Just like anything you’re breeding, you want the fastest and strongest growing you can find.”

His main oyster is called the Rose Cove (named after their location). Because their plot of coastline is exposed to the south, every afternoon in the summer the south wind kicks up waves that sweep in and tumble the oysters in their cages.

This results in supersmooth shells with deep cups. The oysters themselves have a nice salinity, due to the clean ocean water coming in from just a few miles away. But what Gregg credits most with helping his oysters thrive is that his farm is surrounded by thousands of acres of undeveloped sea meadows, with freshwater ponds and sea grasses, whose nutrients run off into the bay during rain storms.

Oysters only grow when the water is over 50 degrees, which results in a sixmonth growing season in New Jersey.

During those months, and in the off-season, Gregg focuses the rest of his energies on sales and marketing. When he’d first begun oyster farming, he reached out to local seafood wholesalers and got lukewarm responses, even though chefs were frequently asking him for his oysters. Even though becoming certified as a wholesaler was another huge exercise in licensing and regulation compliance, Gregg ultimately decided to go for it. “It would be a lot easier to be an oyster farmer and put my oysters on a truck and not think about that,” he says. “But we had so much demand locally.”

In early 2017, to help offset some of the costs of wholesaling, Gregg and his friend Scott Lennox, another oyster farmer, founded the Barnegat Oyster Collective and reached out to seven other oyster harvesters in the area. So far, the collective is selling 60,000 oysters each month (a number that will double in the summer) to 50 restaurants.

After six years in the business, Gregg says he’s confident that oyster farming is his lifelong career.

“You grow up and people tell you to follow your dreams,” he says. “I don’t know if that’s actually great advice, but for me, I got lucky.”

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FOOD

Bean-to-bar chocolate Three regional shops to try for cocoa confections by estelle tracy

I

f the counter of Philter Coffee in Kennett Square is any indication, the craft movement has taken over chocolate.

The shop currently carries 12 different bars from small American makers, and yet, owner Chris Thompson still wishes he could carry more.

“There are other makers who I’d like to eventually work in,” he says. “It’s mostly a space issue, and it’s also hard to move someone out when they do such an amazing job.”

There’s never been a better time for American bean-to-bar chocolate: Ten years ago, there were only a handful of makers in this country; today, there are more than 180.

While not regulated, the term bean-to-bar refers to the process of making chocolate from the bean, as opposed to melting industrial chocolate to use in new confections such as truffles and bonbons.

Craft chocolate companies are known for the higher price of their bars (think $8 to $10 for a 3-ounce bar), but the trade-off is transparency in the sourcing process and the realization that chocolate is not a singular flavor, but a swirl of tasting notes. For instance, a chocolate made of Madagascar cacao beans will stand out with its strong citrus notes and no bitterness.

The Philadelphia area offers an ideal location for many chocolate makers. Former pastry chef Nathan Miller started his eponymous company in Boulder, Colorado, but eventually moved the company to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, back in 2013.

Managing Director Chelsea Russo explains that they picked the location “after considering its proximity to the cocoa ports and Washington, D.C., and New York City.”

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The company now offers 15 chocolate varieties, from the playful strawberry and rye whiskey to the classic 72 percent Peru dark chocolate. Wrapped by hand, the bars have received national attention and are now distributed worldwide.

On a smaller scale, two chocolate makers are serving their creations to cocoa aficionados in the city. In Northern Liberties, Robert Campbell has spent the past decade developing an extensive bean-to-cup chocolate menu as his charismatic alter ego, the Chocolate Alchemist. Campbell is known for his lightly sweetened, boldly flavored organic concoctions served at Sazon, the Venezuelan eatery he co-owns with his wife, Judith Suzarra-Campbell.

While most makers prefer single-origin cacao, Campbell prefers blends “because you can add your personality into it,” and he uses only unrefined sugars. In 2015, he started creating a bar version of his drinks, such as his popular Clásico, keeping sustainability in mind: Made of lokta paper, the chocolate wrappers are stitched by hand and designed to be reused or refilled at Sazon.

Over in Old City, Shane Confectionery has also been working with cacao beans for years, using housemade chocolate in its Royal Spanish drinking chocolate, chocolate popsicles and, for over a year, in square chocolate bars. Most notably, the shop makes cacao fruit pops from the sweet cacao pod pulp extracted from weekly cacao pod shipments. With a flavor described by chocolate maker Kevin Paschall as a mix of “citrus, melon and mango,” the sweet treat will carry you through the summer.

Shane Confectionery 110 Market St.

The Philadelphia landmark currently makes three different bars from cacao sourced from Guatemala, Ecuador and Bolivia. In addition to housemade creations, Shane Confectionery carries bars from several acclaimed American makers such as Askinosie, Fruition and Ritual.

Chocolate Alchemist at Sazon 941 Spring Garden St.

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FOOD

A Time, a Vine and a Place Terroir shines through Va La’s family farmed wines by emily kovach

Corvina Veronese grapes at Va La Vineyards

F

or Anthony Vietri of Va La Vineyards, wine has always been a family affair. Since 1928, they’ve owned the farm in Avondale, Pennsylvania, where Vietri and his wife currently live, grow grapes and make wine. It was started by his Italian great-grandparents; Vietri’s daughter now represents the fifth generation to live there.

As a child, Vietri would make wine with his great-grandfather and uncle from grapes they’d purchased from a vineyard in California. “We tried an experimental way of making wines, and it was cool to have that kind of freedom as a kid, and that served me well going into it commercially,” he says. His family also grew produce on the farm for their own consumption (the Vietris can trace farming through their family tree back to 16th-century Italy) and owned a mushroom business, Carozzo Mushrooms.

In 1995, after pursuing a career in the entertainment industry for over a decade, Vi-

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etri came back to the farm for a few months while traveling for work. He says he always planned to leave his industry at age 35, and he and his wife, Karen, were dreaming of a move to the Central Coast in California to open a small zinfandel winery. But, back on his family farm, he had a revelation, looking out over the fields and realizing how well wine grapes might grow there.

“I told Karen, ‘We can go to California and we’ll love it, or we can stay here and do it. We’ll be going uphill because Pennsylvania has a terrible reputation for wine, but we’ll be doing it with our families. It’ll be 10 times harder, but every little step will be more rewarding,’” he remembers. “I let her decide, and she said, ‘Let’s try it here.’”

The first step of their plan was to decide which varieties of grapes they wanted to grow and have the vines grafted. Throughout that time, Vietri worked with his family, researching the winery’s future, designing the buildings, getting permits and beginning the buildout. They planted their first

vines in 1999, the grapes came in 2001, and they opened the winery in 2002, the same week their daughter was born. Vietri recalls how hard it was to convince a bank to give them a business loan, each one more confused than the last about the prospect of a profitable winery in their area.

“Finally, we secured a loan from a bank where the executive was a wine enthusiast, and she understood what we were trying to do!” he says.

Growing grapes on their particular hill on the East Coast meant a different kind of winemaking. Instead of following market demand for recognizable varietals such as merlot or cabernet, Vietri wanted to pursue vins de terroir, a 9,000-year-old method of winemaking. While vines at many vineyards are neatly separated into distinct plots, Va La makes field blends, with many varieties of grapes growing in their individual plots all mixed together in the rows. Hills require a nuanced understanding of how elevation and the angles of

sunlight affect each grapevine. Vietri says his goal is to match each type of grape to the “language” that his hill is speaking.

“Instead of saying, ‘People want merlot and that’s what we should plant,’ our idea was to make wine special to this site, and that’s all we care about,” he says. “And that was about finding out what these soils want to grow.”

Vietri explains that America’s taste for single-variety wine goes back to the very beginnings of the culture’s introduction to the beverage as a commodity. European wine producers wanted to sell their wines to Americans, and realizing that these customers preferred to drink varietals, began to change their growing and marketing practices.

“Vins de terroir is actually a lost part of our culture… Italians planted vineyards in Napa in the 1800s, and I remember in the 1980s and ’90s, people were uprooting them because winemakers wanted control and wanted each style of grape separated,” Vietri says. He bought vinology textbooks and began to teach himself these techniques, many of which reminded him of how he’d made wine with his family as a kid.

“Wine science is very, very important, but sometimes we get too caught up in it…

Just because you’re a chemist doesn’t mean you’ll be a great chef,” he says.

Va La’s first year in business was scary for Vietri, who was committed to making a different kind of wine, in ways different from what anyone else in the state was doing at the time (dry and Italian, versus sweet and French), and he was working with equipment on a scale he didn’t have much experience with. He just had no idea if anyone would accept it.

He recalls a day when they’d just done their first round of bottling. Karen came home from her day job and looked into the winery, entirely filled with cases of wine. “She walked in and sort of staggered near this pallet and buried her head in her hands and said, ‘Who’s going to buy all this wine?!’” Vietri says. “And I was used to talking her off the ledge, but this was the one time I didn’t have an answer.”

But with no advertising budget to speak of, relying solely on word-of-mouth and a loyal community of regular customers, Va La is still making its small portfolio of

field blends in 2017. Each Spring, Vietri walks through his fields, trying to identify which vines are thriving or being rejected by the soil, seeking to improve his model.

The vineyard is made up of four separate parcels, each one with a distinct personality, dependent on its soil composition and angle to the sun.

“Certain varieties excel in different years… We’ve gotten better at understanding each variety in each section, and when those years occur, and exploit them more,” he says.

This attention to the grapes and the winemaking process has earned Va La a stellar reputation in both the region and the country. Jon Medlinsky, owner of the restuarant Martha in Kensington, says Va La is the only real intersection of local and natural wines that he’s ever come across.

“Anthony Vietri’s dedication to showcasing the soil and climate of Avondale definitely comes through every sip of his complex, layered and thought-provoking wines,” Medlinsky says. “I don’t usually speak in superlative terms, but Va La wines are far and away the best wines we offer, and we couldn’t be more proud or honored to serve them.”

Vietri credits much of Va La’s success to its younger consumer base. “Millennials have been the greatest thing to happen to us,” he says. “Unlike the generations who may have more money, millennials have an open-mindedness to anything we do.” While he notices that some of the older visitors to the winery have preconceptions of how things “should” be done, most younger guests want to taste the wine first, and then decided if it’s good.

Without their unbiased patronage, Vietri believes his operation long ago would have been forced to go mainstream and rely more heavily on a wholesale model.

“What we have here is a tiny farm, but we are able to sell almost 100 percent directly to the public, to meet them and interact with them… As far as I’m concerned, it’s the greatest thing ever,” he says. “All of the info coming to us from these huge marketing industries was saying millennials would be terrible for the wine industry, but they were completely wrong. They didn’t get that this generation is really into how things are made and are open to all different kinds of food. They want to try things.”

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FOOD

Two to Try: New Neighborhood Brewhouses Evil Genius opens The Lab in Fishtown, and Second District thrives in Newbold by emily kovach

T

he seeds of Evil Genius Beer Co. were planted in a rather unlikely place: an accounting class. Founders Trevor Hayward and Luke Bowen met as newly initiated graduate students at Villanova University in 2008, both pursuing careers in finance. However, just a few weeks into their first semester, the economic recession hit full force. Both guys were concerned about their job prospects and began to think of other directions to steer their careers. Both were avid homebrewers and loved craft beer, so heading in the direction of a brewery seemed like a natural fit.

The two consider the official launch date of Evil Genius Beer Co. as Sept. 9, 2011, the first time one of their beers was served at a bar. In the years that followed, they built brand awareness, widened their distribution and gained fans with their creative beer styles and quirky, pop-culture-referencing beer names, such as This One Time at Band Camp Double IPA. “Almost every single one of our names can relate people back to a time or place from their past, and for a lot of our beer drinkers it’s the late ’90s, early 2000s, when they were in high school or college,” Hayward says. “We try to keep things light by poking some fun at things that have happened over our lifetimes.”

The most recent exciting step for Evil Genius is opening The Lab, a brewpub on Front Street in Fishtown, a place for their fans and the craft curious to try special releases and beers from their newly minted sour and barrel program. “We didn’t have the opportunity or ability to do those [kinds of beers] until now,” Bowen says. “Now that we have our own space, we can do whatever we want! And that is so liberating.”

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Food and beer from The Lab at Evil Genius Beer Co.

The Lab features 10 Evil Genius draft lines, six of which can only be found at the pub. It also carries a large selection of local gins for cocktails, as well as a select number of wines. On the food menu, there are inventive house specialties such as the Italian hoagie dip and dessert waffles. This spring, look out for a few new releases at The Lab: Shut Up, Meg!, a farmhouse IPA; I Love Lamp, a pineapple hefeweizen; and a mango wit called Ma! The Meatloaf!

Second District aims to be second to none Tucked among the auto body shops and narrow row houses of South Philly’s Newbold neighborhood, a new kind of industry is thriving: craft brewing. Real estate developer and restaurateur John Longacre and

seasoned brewer Curt Decker (formerly of Nodding Head) have opened Second District Brewing Co. in a cool old building on the corner of Bancroft and McKean streets.

Their goal, according to Decker, is an ambitious one.

“There are a ton of great beer bars in town, but until recently there’s been a dearth of actual breweries,” he says. “We wanted Second District to be one of the great rooms to drink a beer in the country—or the world, for that matter.”

From the seven-barrel brewery, Head Brewer Ben Potts, who’s also worked for local all-stars Tired Hands and Dock Street, showcases the depth of his experience with a variety of styles on the pub’s nine tap lines. Among the rotating drafts, there’s the sessionable Bancroft Beer, brewed with P HOTO COURTESY O F EV IL G E N IUS B E E R COMPA NY

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FOOD Pilsner and Maris Otter malts and hopped with Mosaic hops; the contemplative It Starts With You dry Irish-style stout; and Meta Shepherd, a smoked porter conditioned atop pineapple purée.

Second District’s brew schedule is less beholden to the seasons and geared more toward an intuitive approach, Potts says.

“Our process is very organic and the beers really come up with themselves from week to week, depending on the current draft list and our whims.”

In addition to the roster of beers, local wines and cocktails made with hops and beer-infused mixers—as well as Pennsylvania-produced spirits—are on offer. A tight food menu from Chef Doreen DeMarco, who is also in charge of the kitchen at American Sardine Bar, provides plenty of beer-friendly snacks, pickles and charcuterie, as well as copious vegetarian options.

Both the brewery and the kitchen aim to keep things local whenever possible. Fruit and veggies are sourced from Green Meadow Farm and Lancaster Farm Fresh. Teas and spices—both heavily featured in the beer

program—come from Premium Steap and Penn Herb Co. The owners of Second District also have plans in the works to establish their own farm. They want to provide some

product for their operation, including fresh hops to support their own brewing, with the goal of eventually serving other brewers and homebrewers with local offerings.

Brewer Ben Potts with Second District’s Bancroft Beer, named after the street where the brewery resides

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FOOD

Spicy Watercress Salad Spring greens showered with Vietnamese fish sauce, ginger, peppers and lime by brian ricci

W

hen I was a child, my mother would bring home bags upon bags of watercress each spring. They were gifts from one of her colleagues who cultivated watercress in his garden at home. Mom would gently rinse it and then clip the long tendrils, discarding the thicker, more fibrous base in preference for the young, tender tops. They would then find their way into a salad creation that evening, and then the next.

Freshly clipped watercress can taste of black pepper and chlorophyll. It can also have light citrus notes or sometimes smell of fresh chervil or tarragon. It contains multitudes!

Brian Ricci is a chef living and working in Philadelphia.

Spicy Watercress Salad with Vietnamese Fish Sauce, Lime, Cashews, Ginger and Chilies Serves: 2 to 4

ingredients :

directions :

For the salad:

1. For the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients and whisk. Allow to

yy 3 bunches watercress—look for tendrils with no bruising or yellowness yy 2 limes, segmented yy 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut lengthwise, then into thin half-moon shapes yy Roughly 1/3 of a pound cashews—I prefer to toast and roughly chop them from raw yy 15 sprigs of mint leaves, plucked yy Salt and pepper to taste

sit for 20 minutes and then taste. Adjust as you like with more sugar, lime juice or salt.

2. For the salad, first trim the watercress sprigs with kitchen scissors to about 1½ lengths from the top—keep the remaining if you wish and make watercress soup or pesto. Plunge the tops into cold water and agitate. Then gently dry on towels. This can be done a day in advance.

3. Toast your cashews in the oven at 375 F for about 15 minutes and look for a light, evenly browned color. Let them cool, then roughly chop them.

4. Segment the lime by slicing the top and bottom off of the fruit. Then, cut off the peel, following the natural curves of the fruit. Remove as much of the white pith as possible. Then cut along the membranes that separate each segment, cutting at a slight angle inward along the membranes. Once you’ve cut along both sides of each segment, use the knife to loosen and remove each segment. This can be applied to pretty much all citrus, great and small.

5. Assemble the salad by adding the watercress, cashews, cucumbers and lime segments in a large mixing bowl. Grab your mint and shred it with your fingers. Add the vinaigrette to taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

For the dressing:

yy 1/2 cup fish sauce—Three Crabs brand is my personal choice yy 1 lime, juiced yy 1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw yy 1/4 cup water yy 1 inch peeled ginger, grated fine—a microplane will do the trick yy 1 clove garlic, microplaned like the ginger above yy 1 long hot pepper, sliced lengthwise, deseeded and cut into a fine dice

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EVENT S

M ay 5

The crowd at South Street Spring Festival 2016. The festival returns May 6 with music, food, family activities, shopping and more.

DVGBC Sustainability Symposium Join the Delaware Valley Green Building Council for a day of educational sessions covering cutting-edge sustainability and green building information. Regional and national speakers will discuss their current work and opportunities for social, environmental and economic impact. dvgbc.org WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. COST: Members $50; nonmembers $100; students $25; government/nonprofit $75 WHERE: Penn State at the Navy Yard, 4960 S. 12th St.

Friday Nights: Luke Carlos O’Reilly A lively mix of art, cocktails and live music from nationally renowned pianist Luke Carlos O’Reilly, who leads an ensemble of Philly’s talented jazz musicians. philamuseum.org WHEN: 5 to 8:45 p.m. COST: Free with museum admission WHERE: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

M ay 1–31 Celebration of Black Arts Celebrate black artists and intellectuals at various venues throughout the city. Highlights include an exhibition from writer/illustrator Bryan Collier; readings from Marita Golden, founder of the African-American Writers Guild; and a literary and arts conference. celebrationofblackwriting.org Please see website for times and locations

M ay 2

hosts inspiring youth speakers and a silent auction. NBW will provide drinks and bites from local food trucks. neighborhoodbikeworks.org WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. COST: $50 WHERE: The Woodlands, 4000 Woodlands Ave.

M ay 6 South Street Spring Festival A free festival spanning more than 12 blocks, with live music, food and vendors.

May the Forest Be With You

southstreet.com

Riverbend Environmental Education Center welcomes Chef Alex Garfinkel back for his creative take on dishes created with foraged food. Between courses of fresh, seasonal dishes, learn about foraging. BYOB. Seating is limited. riverbendeec.org WHEN: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. COST: $60 per plate WHERE: Riverbend Environmental Education Center, 1950 Spring Mill Road, Gladwyne, Pa.

WHEN: TBD COST: Free WHERE: South Street, starting at Front Street

Art-Reach Cultural Access Awards Art-Reach celebrates cultural accessibility to the arts in Philadelphia. art-reach.org WHEN: Noon to 3 p.m. COST: $150 to $300 WHERE: FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Blvd.

Flower Arranging with CHICORY Floral Join the Schuylkill Center for a special floral design workshop, where participants will create lush spring arrangements.

WHOLE WHEAT CORNMEAL RYE GRITS FINE FLOUR ANCIENT GRAINS

schuylkillcenter.org WHEN: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. COST: $70 WHERE: Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road

M ay 4 Pedalpalooza: Neighborhood Bike Works Fundraising Party Celebrates bicycling and bike repair programs for youth. This festive, casual event

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EVENT S Right to Breathe Workshop Physicians for Social Responsibility presents a public health workshop about air pollution, planned with community members and air pollution experts, hosted

by Philly Thrive and PSR Philadelphia.

Child care and light snacks will be provided during the event. psrphila.org WHEN: 12:30 to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Health and Literacy Center, 1700 S. Broad St.

M ay 7 Chestnut Hill Home and Garden Festival The 21st installment of this annual celebration will include landscape and garden displays, flowers, terrariums, birdhouses, fountains and “ask the experts” booths.

Rain date: May 21.

M ay 9 Drexel Maker All-Stars Featuring student (and recent alumni) teams from Drexel University. There will be food, drinks and door prizes, including a $200 Canary home security system.

Spring Foraging Walk “Wildman” Steve Brill will find seasonal wild edibles, and all participants will be encouraged to try these tasty, natural and free snacks. Advanced registration required. pennypackfarm.org WHEN: 3 to 5 p.m. COST: $20 WHERE: Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, 2955 Edge Hill Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. COST: Members $25; nonmembers $35; students $10 WHERE: Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Waterworks Drive

meetup.com: Makers Meetup WHEN: 5 to 8:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 3711 Market St.

Plant Swap Join the Horticultural Society of South Jersey for a plant swap! Clean garden tools in good condition also welcome. No invasive, sick or insect-infested plants. Please identify your plant and list growing instructions. For more information, call 856-816-8508. hssj.org WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Carmen Tilelli Hall, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill, N.J.

chestnuthillpa.com WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: Pay as you go WHERE: Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, between Rex and Willow Grove avenues

networking reception followed by short presentations and a panel discussion.

Speakers include: Tim Beatley of Biophilic Cities and Julia Africa of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. dvgbc.org

M ay 11 78th Annual Herb Sale Herb Society of Philadelphia features assortments of culinary and fragrant herbs; specialty plants, such as scented geraniums and salvias. hsaphiladelphia.org WHEN: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. COST: Pay as you go; $15 box lunch reservations WHERE: Historic Yellow Springs, 1685 Art School Road, Chester Springs, Pa.

Night Market Burholme

M ay 9–J une 11 Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival Explore Chinese culture through illuminated silk sculptures, acrobatics, dancers, authentic crafts and the return of a 200-footlong dragon. historicphiladelphia.org WHEN: Times vary by day. COST: $12 to $17 WHERE: Franklin Square, 6th & Race streets

M ay 10 Third Annual Biophilic Cities Conference: Healthy City - Urban Habitat

This ongoing street festival produced by the Food Trust always draws big crowds for local libations and food truck creations along with local performers. thefoodtrust.org WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. COST: Pay as you go WHERE: Cottman & Rising Sun avenues

‘Inhabit’: Presented by Weavers Way Co-op The film “Inhabit” offers a fascinating perspective on how we might best respond to the many environmental crises facing us today, using nature’s own patterns as a model. amblertheater.org WHEN: 7:30 to 10 p.m. COST: $10.50 WHERE: Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave, Ambler, Pa.

Focused on the connection between biophilia and health, this event features a

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EVENT S

M ay 12 & 13

scale book market filled with lots of free books. Free water ice and pretzels!

the first stirrings of American nationalism.

treehousebooks.org

Fitler Square Park Spring Fair

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, 3500 Reservoir Drive

WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m. COST: Free for members; $5 for teachers and students; $8 for nonmembers WHERE: National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.

M ay 14

M ay 18–21

Mother’s Day Bartram’s Garden Cruise

Celebration of the Arts Weekend

Enjoy a large selection of flowering plants and herbs for home gardens, foods and drinks, gently used books and children’s clothing, and more than 30 vendors of craft and antiques. Music all day. fitlersquare.org WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday COST: Pay as you go WHERE: 23rd & Pine streets

M ay 13 Access to Science: Opening the Doors to Autism Children on the autism spectrum and their families are invited to experience the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University before the museum opens to the general public. Visit with the dinosaurs, meet live animals and wander through the dioramas without the extra visitors. ansp.org WHEN: 9 to 11 a.m. COST: Pay what you wish WHERE: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Open Green House Visit Wild Ridge’s native plant nursery and farm for a selection of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees grown from local provenance seed in chemical-free greenhouses.

Please register for directions: rachel@ wildridgeplants.com wildridgeplants.com

Explore the Schuylkill as well as the history of a national historic landmark. The focus of this three-hour tour is the story of the Bartram family: botanists, explorers and 18th-century pioneers. phillybyboat.com

constitutioncenter.org

The Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County hosts work by Bucks County artists, live music, food and drink. visitbuckscounty.com WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: The Barn Studio Gallery at Gronendahl Farm, 4783 Landisville Road, Doylestown, Pa.

WHEN: Noon to 3 p.m. COST: Adults $30; children $17 WHERE: Bartram’s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.

M ay 19 M ay 16 United By Blue’s Delaware River Cleanup United By Blue, Honeygrow, Barefoot Wine, Philadelphia Water, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation host a Love Your Park cleanup of the Delaware River. After the cleanup, meet up at Fette Sau (1208 Frankford Ave.) from 7 to 9 p.m. for a buffet and complimentary wine. unitedbyblue.com

Why is Modern Art so Weird?: A Talk with Richard Vine, Managing Editor of Art in America The managing editor of Art in America will speak about the history and formation of modern art. drexel.edu WHEN: 4 to 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Paul Peck Alumni Center, 3142 Chestnut St.

Enchanted Forest: Party Beneath the Stars

WHEN: 5 to 7 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Penn Treaty Park, 1301 N. Beach St.

The Schuylkill Center hosts a party in the forest with sustainably sourced food, refreshments, live music and a raffle for prizes, including a vacation rental.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Pohatcong, N.J.

M ay 17–21

schuylkillcenter.org

Frog Jump Day

Parks on Tap: The Azalea Garden

Hop on over to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and celebrate frogs before the last day of the exhibit Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, which closes May 14. ansp.org

This fan-shaped garden boasts various annuals and perennials such as daffodils, irises, crocuses and tulips, as well as more than 150 species of azaleas and rhododendrons. parksontap.com

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: $18.95 and up WHERE: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

WHEN: Times vary by day COST: Pay as you go WHERE: The Azalea Garden, between Boathouse Row and Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Literacy Day, Hosted by Tree House Books

M ay 18

Meet at Smith Memorial Playground for free literacy resources, character artists, live music, poetry walls, food trucks and a large-

GRIDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 2017

M ay 20 11th Delaware County Environmental Summit This summit is for individuals, groups, municipal, elected, appointed officials and environmental organizations that want to work together to strategize the protection of open space and improvement of parks. dcva.org

Carol Berkin: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism Explores how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams caused

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WHEN: 6:30 to 10 p.m. COST: $125 WHERE: Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, 8601 Lindbergh Blvd.

EVENT S Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival Features art, beauty and fashion vendors; culinary demonstrations; beer and cocktail samplings; and live music and entertainment. rittenhouserow.org WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Walnut Street between Broad and 19th streets; and 17th and 18th streets from Sansom to Locust

Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby & Arts Festival

Sowing the Seeds of Transformative Leadership The Shalom Center invites the public to meet and honor three crucial activists: Bishop Dwayne Royster, political director of PICO; Bill McKibben, world-renowned leader of 350.org; and Sophia Wilansky, a young anti-pipeline organizer. theshalomcenter.org WHEN: 5 to 7 p.m. COST: $50, increases to $65 after May 7 WHERE: The Shalom Center, 6711 Lincoln Drive

A wacky, creative celebration in East Kensington. Part design competition and parade of human-powered vehicle floats, part arts festival featuring more than 200 local arts vendors, food trucks, arts demonstrations and performances. kensingtonkineticarts.org

M ay 24

WHEN: Noon to 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Trenton Avenue from Norris to Dauphin streets

Fifteen artists extend the Schuylkill Center’s art gallery onto the trails, with works that respond to their installation site, exploring concepts of placemaking, reused materials and natural/unnatural sound.

M ay 20 & 21 South 9th Street Italian Market Festival Vendors and businesses will set up along sections of the Italian Market, closed to traffic, with plenty of Italian-American, South American and Asian cuisine, as well as live music by local performers.

Making in Place: Art in the Open, Exhibition Opening

WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road

M ay 27 How Food Moves: Edible Logistics This exhibition aims to highlight the work of contemporary artists grappling with the complexity of the food movement through multimedia, research-based and participatory practices that focus on the social and industrial impacts of migrant workers, food justice movements, immigration, multiculturalism and economic disparities.

WHEN: 2 to 4 p.m. COST: Free for members; $5 per person or $10 per family WHERE: Riverbend Environmental Education Center, 1950 Spring Mill Road, Gladwyne, Pa.

rowan.edu WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Rowan University, 301 High St. W., Glassboro, N.J.

J une 3

M ay 21

West Park Arts Fest

ArtWell Festival

The 10th anniversary of this festival features dancing, arts and crafts, storytelling, food vendors, historical trolley tours and more.

At this interactive street festival, young community members will share their visions with festival-goers and engage in activities such as collaborative mosaic and crafting masks and instruments. theartwell.org

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WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. COST: Pay as you go WHERE: Along 9th Street, between Federal and Wharton streets

It’s that time of the year again when ponds fill to the brim with squirming tadpoles.

Riverbend Environmental Education Center hosts an afternoon to explore this spring phenomenon. riverbendeec.org

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schuylkillcenter.org

italianmarketfestival.com

Tadpole Transformation Weekend

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westparkcultural.org WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Avenue of the Republic, near the Please Touch Museum

WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Oxford Mills, 100 W. Oxford St.

M AY 20 17

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DIS PATCH

A Fisherman’s Tale The unlikely but all-true journey from the woods of Idaho to the waters of Alaska essay by stephen kurian

W

orking as a forester for the Idaho Department of Lands, I befriended a fellow hunter named—no lie—Hunt. During long hours in the wilderness, he’d entertain me with stories of fishing adventures in Bristol Bay, Alaska: the bracing water, the impetuous weather, working day and night in stormy waters to catch the returning salmon.

I always had a vision about being in Alaska. As a boy, longbow hunting with my father, we spent hours talking about hunting there—one day. It always felt like a dream, until Hunt offered me a job on his fishing crew the next summer. I quickly cut my Idaho forestry career short.

I will never forget that first season: an adrenaline rush of water, fishing nets, unforgiving weather and the occasional brown bear.

Then there were the sockeye salmon.

I became obsessed with the mysterious journey of these great fish, born in the gravel of freshwater streams a bit further inland. The following spring, once big enough, they make their way to the

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GRIDPH IL LY.CO M M AY 20 17

ocean, roaming the North Pacific for up to three years. Then, miraculously, they come back to Bristol Bay, their birthplace.

Fourteen years later, I have my own fishing company. But I am still in awe.

Floating out in Bristol with our nets, it’s this unknown, unchanged journey that keeps drawing me back to witness the great migration unfold.

On our 32-foot gillnetter, we live by the tides, the weather and the salmon. The fish show up early in June. At first it’s occasional, but it builds to a peak around the first week of July. We head out to the fishing grounds no matter what, even if the winds howl at 60 mph. For some reason, the fish love to push hard when the wind blows, so we work around the clock.

The first fish aboard is always filleted for the frying pan. I love this ritual—to celebrate the return of the fish that I have traveled 4,000 miles to catch. As I fillet the fish, its flesh a brilliant red, I’m reminded how special these nutrient-dense salmon are to the food chain, how important they are for both the animals that will feed on

them upstream and all the people to whom I’ll provide these beauties for dinner.

At the close of the season, my crew and I take a short floatplane trip to Brooks Falls. From this spectacular location we watch magnificent brown bears feasting on salmon as the fish attempt the near-impossible and try to jump the falls.

Biologists closely manage the number of salmon they need to swim upriver to spawn and replenish the system. It’s a balancing act, and we fishermen are doing our part. Too many fish spawning upriver may actually weaken the next generation.

When I watch the schools spawning in the river, I am filled with trust that this epic fishery will continue. I think of my children and grandchildren, and how they will be able to experience the same natural wonder—if they choose to, of course. Or if they are lucky enough to meet someone named Hunt.

Stephen Kurian is a fisherman. He and his wife Jenn own Wild for Salmon and live in landlocked Bloomsburg, Pa.

IL LUSTRATIO N BY CARTE R MULCA HY

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A breath of fresh air How a Penn alumna helps remediate the region

Elizabeth Madara Master of Environmental Studies ’12, University of Pennsylvania To learn more about Elizabeth’s experiences with remediation and environmental management, visit www.upenn.edu/grid

VIRTUAL CAFÉ

“I’ve always been curious about the world around me,” shares Elizabeth Madara (Master of Environmental Studies ‘12). “Growing up, my parents had a rule that if the sun was out, so were we.” Today, Elizabeth is a Project Scientist with Roux Associates, Inc., an environmental consulting and management firm. In her role, she explores new frontiers while working with clients to solve their most challenging problems.

“My work is certainly dynamic. Some days, I’m in the field collecting samples.

On others, I’m working on industrial or litigation matters. I use the technical, interpersonal and organizational skills—which I developed at Penn—every day on the job.”

Join the MES Program Director on Tuesday, May 2nd from 12-1 p.m. for an online chat about your interests and questions. Log in with us.

Elizabeth’s multifaceted education helps her navigate the challenges of the industry. “Emergency responses have been some of the most interesting experiences in my career,” she recalls. “You jump right in assessing how best to approach the situation safely, lead the crews, coordinate with regulatory agencies and work as a team to minimize risk. The Master of Environmental Studies program prepared me very well to adapt to the changing needs of a project and the people involved.”

WWW.UPENN.EDU/GRID

WWW.UPENN.EDU/GRID 50 GRIDPH I L LY.CO M M AY 20 17

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@Penn_MES_MSAG