Grid Magazine December [#80]

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TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE PHILADELPHIA DECEMBER 2015 / ISSUE 80 GRIDPHILLY.COM

CAN VALUES-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAVE THE

WORLD? INSIDE: MAKE YOUR OWN BEESWAX CANDLES · ORGANIC VS. LOCAL · WASH CYCLE LAUNDRY GOES NATIONAL, CITY COHO GOES REGIONAL · WHY THE U.S. WON’T LEAD ON CLIMATE CHANGE

 MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER REFLECTS ON THE CITY HE LOVES

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CONTENTS D EPA RT M E N TS

08 To-Do List December is the time to declutter and donate

10 Comings and Goings Find out which doors are opening and closing, and who deserves kudos

12 Editorial Social entrepreneurs need better access to capital, says Pamela J. Rich-Wheeler

14

“GoodCompany Ventures is better than anyone else I’ve seen in the industry at identifying what it is about your business that is unique and powerfully motivating, and then defining not just who should pay, but can pay.”

– John Moore, Managing Partner at Robin Hood Ventures

Made in Philly Organic comfort from Orgotton and local nibbles from Snack Like a Local

19 Shop Local A Grid roundup of emerging beer and spirits purveyors, and seasonal brews

24 The Right Question If you’re only looking for organic labels at the food market, you aren’t looking hard enough

52

57

INSID E THE ISSUE

Homestead Acts

Events

Our inaugural homesteading column with Anna Herman features beeswax candles

What to see and where to go: Don’t miss our holiday market guide

42

55 Market Watch Your guide to what to look for at the farmers market this month

Dispatch Mayor Michael Nutter ends his two terms as the city’s green steward by bidding farewell to Grid readers

Nonprofit? B-corp? Co-op? The kind of business you create makes big operational differences

46 Big Wheels

28

O N T H E COVER

The Big Picture

35

Scholar Robert Paarlberg explains why the U.S. will never lead on climate change

64

So, You Want to Start a Business?

Positive Cash Flow Can Philadelphia’s GoodCompany Ventures help social entrepreneurs save us from climate change?

Wash Cycle Laundry’s national expansion was fed by investing in its employees and low-carbon practices

48 Relationship Building City CoHo isn’t just a co-working space—it’s movement building

EDITOR’S NOTES

by

HEATHER SHAYNE BLAKESLEE

CLIMATE CHANGE, INC. What would Warren Buffet do?

O

klahoma Senator James Inhofe (R), one of America’s most influential climate science deniers, famously threw a snowball on the floor of the Senate this past February, his way of calling for calm amid what he calls climate change “hysteria.”

It was a publicity stunt that is, unfortunately, emblematic of elected officials who are thinking short-term (and of their own terms) rather than of public interest over decades.

October Senate hearings with U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, who is serving as the U.S. representative at United Nations climate talks in Paris this month, were less dramatic, but no less instructive: Opening statements from Wyoming Senator John Barrasso (R) claimed that action on climate change will hurt our economy. New Mexico Senator Mark Udall (D) declared investments in renewable energy an economic boon. Mr. Stern told the committee that, “A strong Paris agreement… is in our economic interests, because the costs of inaction properly accounted for will dwarf the costs of acting… no one is better positioned than the United States to win big in the multi-trillion dollar, 21st century marketplace for low carbon energy innovation.”

Everyone is talking about the opportunity, risks and costs of climate change. The estimated price tag of just one superstorm in Philadelphia, according to the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability? Two billion dollars.

While others drag their feet, the City of Philadelphia and entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors across America are getting down to the business of mitigating and adapting to climate change. In the fields of Iowa, wind turbines already produce 30 percent of the state’s electricity; Unilever—an international company worth $126 billion—is voluntarily piloting a sustainable soybean program; and the Iowan-based agroforestry company Versaland, along with the University of Iowa, is helping farmers restore biodiversity to their fields in ways that sequester carbon and reduce the flooding, drought and erosion that currently plague the state’s cornfields.

Established companies are changing course, and next-generation investors and

entrepreneurs are considering the world the want to live as word one of their business plans. Case in point: the grandson of superinvestor Warren Buffett. He’s launching i(x) Investments, “a permanently capitalized holding company for investors that want to create long-term economic growth in combination with social impact.” Taking a page from his grandfather’s playbooks of long-term holdings, he’s also upping the ante and investing only in companies who solve entrenched social problems, like hunger. Here in Philadelphia, GoodCompany Ventures is part of a national initiative that will turn entrepreneurs loose on government climate science data banks to create market-based solutions to mitigation and adaption.

There is good reason to be cynical of turning over the challenge of climate change and pollution to private forces: Unchecked capitalism has created our current predicament.

Even companies that have enjoyed environmentally friendly reputations, like Volkswagen, are still capable of malfeasance. But their stock price is suffering from it.

Long-term investment tactics must replace quarterly profit mindsets. President Obama’s decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline gave up short-term job creation and traded it for the health and wealth of multiple generations; it was less about pure economics and more about America’s image and values. Philadelphia should take note.

Cynical and unprofessional displays meant to divide the public aren’t just happening on the floor of the U.S. Senate—they’re happening in our own city as we ratchet up debate on whether Philadelphia should invest in becoming a petrochemical hub. Spewing out short-term profits at the expense of long-term societal wealth is one investment strategy being considered. But Warren Buffett would probably advise against it.

editor-in-chief Alex Mulcahy managing editor Heather Shayne Blakeslee heather@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 designer Kathleen White kathleen@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 copy editors Andrew Bonazelli Walter Foley editorial assistant William Beisley writers Marilyn Anthony Peggy Paul Casella Anna Herman Justin Klugh Emily Kovach Mayor Michael Nutter Pamela J. Rich-Wheeler Jerry Silberman Hannah Waters illustrators Max Amato Corey Brickley Max Gordon James Heimer photgraphers Mark Likosky Margo Reed

___________ Sales & Marketing Manager Claire Margheim claire@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 103 ad sales Wesley Kays-Henry wesley@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 100 distribution Megan Matuzak megan@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 106 published by

heather shayne blakeslee Managing Editor heather@gridphilly.com

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

TO-DO LIST 1. hang heavy

2. get out of the house!

Heavy curtains are a great way to retain heat in rooms.

You can also thicken existing curtains by sewing an old fleece blanket or a quilt onto them.

Don’t let the warm embrace of your couch keep you from all that’s happening outside.

Lace up your skates and take your family and friends to the Rothman Institute Ice Rink at Dilworth Park at City Hall.

curtains

4. declutter

Keep bird feeders filled, and check periodically to make sure the feed hasn’t gotten moldy or frozen.

6. lower your

and donate

Simplify your home by ridding yourself of unnecessary things. Examine your closet for clothes you could donate to a local clothing drive. You may be tired of that rainbow knit hat, but it might bring someone else joy and warmth.

3. feed the birds

thermostat at night

5. make your own gift wrap

Everyone wants to be warm when they’re getting to sleep, but overnight you sleep better when the air is cooler. Turn down your thermostat, or use a programmable model that will do it automatically, before you go to sleep.

and holiday cards

Reuse the paper around your house to wrap your gifts and create your own hand-stamped or -drawn holiday cards. Fold a page of newspaper and then cut some simple shapes that you can unfold into a snowflake-like wrapping paper. Personalize your own cards by cutting out festive shapes from newspaper to make a snowy winter scene you can glue to a folded cut of paper bag.

7. make your

own wreaths Spend an evening making your own wreaths at one of the workshops being held around town this month. That pine scent will make it feel like the holidays.

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10. break out 8. give until it hurts

Whether it’s cash, clothes, food or time, there are endless ways to give this season.

Spend a few days this winter delivering meals to the homeless with the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, or just keep your eyes open in your neighborhood for opportunities to do some good.

9. dress

appropriately for cycling Avoid cottons that will soak up moisture, which can lower body temperature. Wearing a wool or synthetic fiber beneath your outer clothes ensures that your body stays warm and dry while you ride.

the homebrew kit or make some kombucha There’s no better time than winter for a homebrew. Reuse old beer bottles, growlers or mason jars to store your handmade drinks. Read about local brewers and distillers starting on page 19.

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NEWS

news from around town

PHILADELPHIA BECOMES THE FIRST U.S. WORLD HERITAGE CITY We’ve always known Philadelphia is a world-class city, but now it’s official. On Nov. 6, the World Heritage Committee, part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), named Philadelphia the first World Heritage City in the U.S. The program honors and preserves the history of urban environments by promoting tourism to their historical or environmental attractions. UNESCO also encourages increased business connection among the 264 World Heritage Cities, which include Jerusalem, selected for its religious history and monuments; Berlin, chosen for its parks, palaces and museums; and Paris, notable for its architecture, including the Eiffel Tower and the Palais de Chaillot.

Philadelphia was selected as a World Heritage City due to the cultural significance of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the United States Constitution was 10

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signed in 1787. UNESCO accredits these documents—and their universal principles of the right to revolution and self-government—as profoundly influential for lawmakers and politicians around the world.

JOBS OPEN IN KENNEY ADMINISTRATION Mayor-elect Jim Kenney has announced his transition team, and applications for employment in his administration are being accepted through his transition website, kenneyforphiladelphia.com.

His Transition Committee is being led by Democratic State Rep. Dwight Evans, former Human Services Commissioner Alba Martinez, and Jessie Bradley, the former field director for current Mayor Michael Nutter, whose term ends with this calendar year.

The Environment and Sustainability Committee is being chaired by PennEnvironment’s David Masur. Other members include Chris Lewis from the Philadelphia Energy Authority, Dianne Herrin from

Practical Energy Solutions, Dr. Poune Saberi from the Physicians for Social Responsibility, E. Mitchell Swann from MDC Systems, Emily Schapira from Aelux, Jamie Gauthier from the Sustainable Business Network, Kenneth Lande from the physics department at the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Robinson from the Energy Coordinating Agency, Maitreyi Roy from Bartram’s Garden, Matthew Stepp from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and Maura McCarthy from the Friends of the Wissahickon.

INSPIRED BREWS OPENS STOREFRONT IN OLD CITY Locally sourced kombucha producers Inspired Brews opened their Old City storefront at 263 N. 3rd St. on Nov. 6. The company, owned by graphic designer Jessa Stevens and her business partner Jennifer Snow, has been in operation since early 2014. They orginally sold their fermented tea drinks out of Ryan Crown’s Juice Club at 1425 Arch St., which features a subscrip-

tion-based service, but Stevens and Snow now distribute their drinks in markets, coffee shops and yoga studios across the city.

Their kombucha is seasonally influenced, and their ingredients are largely sourced from regional farmers such as Eden Garden Farms, Beechwood Orchards, Livengood Family Farm, Pitspone Farm and Antlered Acres. Fall flavors will include apple, pumpkin, elderberry, beet and hibiscus. The owners have a bottle return system in place to ensure the reuse of containers; they also compost leftover ingredients. “[We] hope to nourish and connect with Philadelphia,” Stevens says. “We will have kombucha on draft with current flavors, as well as a membership program where subscribers can fill up growlers. We also plan to use the space as a venue for events and workshops that we hope will nourish the community.”

NEWLY RELEASED TEMPLE MASTER PLAN PROMISES MORE GREEN SPACE ON CAMPUS Temple University has released finalized plans for its campus renovations. The landscape project, titled Verdant Temple, will emphasize the importance of green social spaces while improving the pedestrian and bicycle pathways. Progress began in June with the redesign of Liacouras Walk, which is now nearing completion.

Renovations to the student walkway focused on adding additional social spaces, better accessibility to Wachman Hall and adding more plant life and grassland to the campus.

Additionally, the university is focusing on stormwater infrastructure improvements by expanding pre-existing bioretention areas and subsurface infiltration systems. The most ambitious of the proposed improvements is the new campus green, which will be the size of an entire city block and home to new gardens and future campus events.

The Verdant Temple project works in conjunction with the Visualize Temple initiative, which will include the construction of a new interdisciplinary science building

and a state-of-the-art library at the core of the campus.

MARIPOSA HIRING TRANSITIONAL GENERAL MANAGER, BULL GERVASI NOW INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER Since its expansion in 2012, Mariposa Food Cooperative in West Philadelphia has seen its membership triple and its work force quadruple. In an attempt to address some of the challenges from the rapid growth, it has created the position of transitional general manager (TGM). The role of the TGM will be to fulfill the objectives established by the board of delegates, including the development of a new sustainable democratic management structure. The TGM will implement the proposed plan over the course of the position’s three-year contract, at the completion of which Mariposa will return to operating as a self-managed co-op.

Bull Gervasi, a member of the Mariposa Food Cooperative for 18 years, has been promoted to interim general manager, replacing Sam McCormick, the current operations coordinator. Gervasi will oversee the management of the store until a suitable TGM is found. Applications are being accepted now.

GREEN ENGINE COFFEE CO. OPENS STOREFRONT IN HAVERFORD Zach Morris, co-owner of Urban Ecoforms and BioNeighbors, opened the Green Engine Coffee Co. in Haverford on Nov. 4. The interior of the shop was built using reclaimed and repurposed materials including the dark wood flooring, subway tiles and even church pews—along with an 81-square-inch living plant wall in the dining area. The shop will stock Rival Bros.

Coffee, a local small-batch custom roaster, and will feature top-of-the-line equipment such as a La Marzocco espresso machine.

For tea drinkers, Premium Steap Tea, a Rittenhouse-based company, will be available.

Green Engine will also offer a seasonal variety of local baked goods and sandwiches.

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GU E ST EDITOR IAL

MONEY MATTERS We must provide better financing options to social entrepreneurs, particularly in underserved communities by pamela j. rich-wheeler

T

he barriers small businesses face are many, no matter where they are located, and one of the biggest is lack of access to capital.

This is a particular problem for minorities and women who do not often have the luxury of wealth transfer as a source to start a business; a lack of “friends and family” money can mean that social entrepreneurs start out undercapitalized, and never recover. At the Business Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise (TBC), we have watched as individuals use their

12

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retirement savings, or max out high-interest credit cards, to start their businesses.

It’s almost never a winning strategy, and it puts some of our most financially at-risk residents at even greater risk—even as they are trying to invest in their business, community and city.

These undercapitalized individuals also suffer from having an inadequate network of high-level connections and access to the networks that may lead to desirable contract opportunities—and other relationships—that will enrich their business.

It is imperative these barriers and risks be removed if we want our entire city to thrive, and investing in social entrepreneurs has even greater impact.

The social entrepreneur, similar to a business entrepreneur, builds strong and sustainable organizations, but operates with a dual purpose: generating income by selling a product or service in the community and marketplace while creating social, environmental and cultural value.

We must do more to support social entrepreneurs, particularly among people and communities who have not traditionally had access to capital or high-level networks for starting businesses.

At TBC, we have seen the good these entrepreneurs do in their communities. An example is TBC client Linda’s Vegetarian Village, owned by Linda and Leo Smith and located on the corner of Johnson Street and Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia.

The restaurant features a simple but varied selection of vegan delights. In addition to raising the consciousness of the community through the fare that they serve, each second Monday the restaurant offers Herbal Mondays, informational sessions that cover health-related topics from lowering blood pressure to understanding foods that prevent cancer, kidney disease and diabetes.

Linda’s Vegetarian Village is a change driver, applying practical, innovative and sustainable approaches to benefit society in general. We work with these change drivers on a daily basis to encourage more entrepreneurs to dedicate themselves to social innovation and transformation in various fields of enterprise development.

They include emerging industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, food service, construction and technology.

While social entrepreneurs make a difference in every neighborhood, their contributions are particularly important in some of the communities we serve. Center City is awash in tax credits and connections, and some areas of the city also benefit from being designated as Keystone Opportunity Zones that offer tax breaks to businesses within them. But many, many neighborhoods are left with little or no support.

At TBC, we start with fundamentals, and we must all work to better position IL LUSTRATIO N BY M AX GORDON

minority- and woman-owned companies to develop and vet their business concepts before they get started, continually developing more knowledge on accessing new capital, on marketing and on efficient operations. TBC offers courses that help individuals determine if their idea is feasible, write a sound business plan and determine a sound level of capitalization for their endeavor.

Institutions throughout the city must do a better job of educating emerging social entrepreneurs about financing alternatives. Money matters.

Peer-to-peer lending is a tool that connects individual investors with individuals seeking to borrow money. Another source of alternative capital is crowdfunding, such as KIVA ZIP, a pilot program that drives innovation in peer-to-peer lending. TBC serves as a trustee for KIVA ZIP in the city of Philadelphia. It carries zero percent interest to the borrower. A borrower begins the process by identifying seven affiliates that will invest online. After that happens, it is then opened up to the larger community to invest in the company. Investments with KIVA ZIP begin with amounts of $2,500 and extend up to $10,000. TBC offers one-on-one coaching so the individuals can fine-tune the plan and determine the best sources of financing.

TBC partners with the Commerce Department, banking institutions and other agencies to get clients contract-ready, grant-ready and fully capitalized with the right lending products as they move forward with their business plans.

Educating aspiring social entrepreneurs and offering financing alternatives is something we do every day at TBC as we help people grow healthy and sustainable businesses—but we can’t do it alone and hope to achieve the scale of impact we need.

Now, as America pulls itself out of the recession of the last eight years, and as Philadelphia’s star is rising, it’s time to make sure that the American dream is accessible to everyone.

Pamela J. Rich-Wheeler, MBA, is founder and executive director of the Business Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise, a nonprofit business support center in Northwest Philadelphia that can be found at thebizctr.com.

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Kristy Carbello and Stef Emery run Orgotton, an organic clothing company, from Kristy’s South Philadelphia home. Jewelry by Staylow 14

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MADE in PH ILLY

THE RIGHT FIT Stylish, versatile women’s clothing made with values that will make you comfortable by william beisley

O

n a beech-lined street in South Philly’s Girard Estate sits the bungalow-style home and workspace of Kristy Carabello, 37, co-owner of Orgotton. It’s here that she and her sister, Stef Emery, 32, design the organic cotton cardigans, dresses, skirts and shirts that make up their sustainable clothing collection.

Orgotton began in 2009 when the sisters offered to make shirts for a friend’s band.

They started by painting each one by hand in the basement of their family’s home in Bucks County. Hand-painting was a timeconsuming process that soon motivated them to learn how to screenprint.

“We ruined the basement floor,” Emery laughs, recalling their father’s reaction to the influx of ink stains and printing tools.

When they both moved to Philadelphia later that year, they realized they wanted to begin developing a full product line.

Orgotton’s clothing has a minimal aesthetic, one that blends the comfort of yoga wear with the subtle, flared eccentricity of ’70s fashion. Products like their infinity dress and 100 percent organic cotton cardigan are purposefully designed with a versatility that allows for a different wearstyle each time it’s put on. It’s slow fashion that blends the principles of utility with chic simplicity.

“We believe that it’s important to create things that last and are multifunctional,” Carabello says. Before they began creating anything, they knew what kind of materials they would work with.

Emery, a private music teacher and former employee of Kensington’s Greensgrow Farm and Newtown’s Anchor Run Farm, says, “From the start of Orgotton, we knew it had to be organic fabrics. We are aware of how conventional farms operate, with P HOTO BY M A R K L IKOSKY

pesticides ruining groundwater and affecting not only the farm workers, but the neighboring communities as well.”

The use of pesticides can endanger local wildlife and drastically deplete the fertility of farmlands. Cotton takes up 2.5 percent of the world’s agricultural land, and consumes 16 percent of the insecticides used worldwide for food and fiber production. Due to these standard practices, conventional cotton is considered one of the “dirtiest” crops.

The sisters use a Texas-grown organic cotton manufactured in Asheville, N.C.,

by Spiritex. It meets the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) to ensure it’s grown and processed to high-level environmental and social standards. GOTS also requires cotton producers vying for organic certification to establish wastewater treatment plants to purify the water they use for production.

For products like their jumpsuit or maxi skirt, they blend the cotton with spandex made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and bamboo from a Canadian provider whose operational practices limit the toxins released during manufacturing.

“We all know that organic-made can sometimes be more costly,” Carabello says. “[But] I’m very interested in finding out why consumers are more likely to spend their money to buy organic foods, as opposed to organic clothing. Cotton is said to be the most highly [pesticide]-sprayed crop, so why are people okay with putting pesticides on their bodies if they won’t put them in their bodies?”

The sisters and partners hope that their fashion line will inspire buyers to thin their closet by purchasing clothing that is adapt-

able to any occasion. They also hope to inspire your garden.

“We want people to grow their sustainable [clothing] collection with us,” says Carabello, “which is why our hang tags are made from seeded paper. When you plant them, wildflowers grow!”

Orgotton employs local collaborators to help them actualize their ideas. Steve Levin of CSH, Inc., in Port Richmond, manufactured the first run of their line. They’ve also worked with Heidi Noon, a local designer and fashion consultant who assisted in producing patterns based off of the sisters’ designs. Through Noon, the pair met Bela Shehu, stylist and owner of NINObrand, located in Rittenhouse. Shehu has helped with the production runs of the most recent patterns by cutting fabric at her atelier in Rittenhouse and providing the aid of her seamstresses in North and West Philly, as well as one located in New Hope.

In addition to their current 12-piece clothing line, Emery has begun to handcraft jewelry and accessories for Orgotton under the name Staylow. Her newest wares are made by hand-hammering metal and hand-wrapping local gemstones and beads from providers such as Beadworks in South Philly. The sisters even incorporate the leftover cotton into their accessories.

“I work in the cosmetic industry and I was appalled by all of the waste,” Carabello says. “It’s the same in the fashion industry.

If there’s anything that you can do, little by little, you have to at least try.”

Orgotton clothing can be found at Toile, in Fishtown, and Volta Market, in South Philadelphia. Their products can also be purchased from orgotton.com and from fashionflairbazaar.com.

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MA D E in PH ILLY

Meg Widholm, owner of Snack Like a Local

SMASH MOUTH Snack Like a Local is out to destroy the snack food hegemony by william beisley

T

he bespectacled Meg Widholm, 40, has a childlike effervescence as she opens the door to one of her Snack Like a Local vending machines in the Old City co-working space Indy Hall. Her short, dyed-red hair pairs well with her casual, cool-older-sister outfit comprised of a longsleeve shirt, faded jeans and beatup sneakers. She points inside the machine to a seltzer, a chocolate bar and a bag of pretzels—seemingly average vending machine fare. It’s with closer examination that a customer would notice that the seltzer is from Boylan’s in Teterboro, N.J., the chocolate bar is infused with coffee beans from Philly Fair Trade Roasters, and the bag of 16

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pretzels are made in Mohnton, Pa., by Uncle Henry’s Bakery.

“Our main focal points for products are locale, nutrition and price,” Widholm says.

“There are a million products that would be amazing in this capacity that are produced on the West Coast. We want to raise the bar for Philly and hold out for snacks made here to invest in the local economy and keep our reliance on fossil fuels down.”

Products in Snack Like a Local vending machines, snack racks and tabletop snack stands are priced from 75 cents for a Day’s soda to $5 for a Philadelphia Fair Trade chocolate bar.

“People have only recently started car-

ing about where their food is coming from, and the labels on them aren’t always that helpful for people,” Widholm says. “[We] will hopefully raise awareness of the difference between produced-in versus distributed-from.”

Widholm’s ambition for Snack Like a Local goes beyond providing healthy, local snacks—she wants to help other companies increase the availability of their products by getting them thinking of new distribution options, shelf-life and packaging.

“Local artisans aren’t thinking of packaging for vending machines,” she says. She’d love to find artisans who are so she can carry more produce-based snacks, like dried fruits and dehydrated vegetable chips.

Snack Like a Local supplies snacks for companies like NextFab, Northwood Charter Academy School and the local nonprofit Philly AIDS Thrift. In early November, Widholm began providing weekly wholesale delivery service to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She describes the initiative as “instantly successful” and restocked their stand within a week of her first delivery.

“I didn’t go to school for business, so it’s been bootstraps for learning and trying things,” says Widholm. The Kingston, N.Y., transplant has worked as a computer programmer for over 10 years and is currently a part-time technologist with Health Partners Plans. While she still enjoys working in the technology field, a few years ago she became “fueled by the political climate that led to the Occupy movement” and decided to start changing her focus. “I wanted to make a productive change to our economy to balance the scales with the established, mass-producing industries,” she says.

Snacking like a local is not all politics and economy, however. It’s also about pleasing her customers. Widholm recalls an email she received from a woman whose son is diabetic and has celiac disease. The email described the mother’s disbelief and elation when her hungry son pointed out a Snack Like a Local machine at Philly AIDS Thrift that stocked Emmy’s gluten-free macaroons.

“It’s a perfect example of why I do what I’m doing,” she says.

Visit snacklikealocal.com for inquiries and information on their services.

P HOTO BY M ARGO REED

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Connect to Your Food.

Connect to the Co-op.

When you shop at Weavers Way, more of your money stays local, through our partnerships and our very own farms. For 40 years, we’ve been owned by our members, the people who shop here every day.

Chestnut Hill

Food Market 8424 Germantown Ave.

Next Door

Wellness & Beauty 8426 Germantown Ave.

Mt. Airy

Food Market 559 Carpenter Lane

Across the Way

Wellness & Pet Supplies 610 Carpenter Lane

Community-owned, open to everyone.

www.weaversway.coop/connect

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holidays at the clay studio

One of a kind mugs, dishware, jewelry and tile from over 100 artists shop online and ship anywhere

137-139 n 2nd street philadelphia 215 925 3453 theclaystudio.org

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MAGAZ

Beer & Spirits by emily kovach

It’s time for seasonal brews and new local spirits Early winter chills and holiday festivities make the best excuses to pop a bottle or two. Whether it’s something special from the cellar or a frosty can from the corner store, we encourage you to drink local. The craft brewing and spirits industry in and around Philadelphia continues to grow—good news for both the local economy and fans of fine libations.

Say hello to some of the newer artisans on the scene who are producing small, meticulously crafted batches of beer and spirits, and don’t miss special releases from your favorite breweries.

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SHOP L OCAL

Provincial Potables Three emerging regional beer and spirits purveyors to try this season

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COOPER RIVER DISTILLERS

CAMDEN, NJ COOPERRIVER DISTILLERS.COM

J

ames Yoakum was working in real estate, bored and searching for a change. A Kentucky native and an avid homebrewer, he had a flash of inspiration. “I’m an entrepreneurial guy, so anything I play with, I think of as a business,” he says. “When I saw how few small distilleries there were, it made me think, ‘All my friends drink whiskey—why aren’t people making that locally?’”

Yoakum opened Cooper River Distillers in downtown Camden in June 2014—only the second legalized distillery in New Jersey since prohibition. He began with rum, which is a much quicker process than whiskey and rye, which need time to age.

In addition to his core line of products, Yoakum loves to experiment. “We play with new things all the time, with whatever we can get our hands on. And using locally sourced or connected stuff is important to us,” he says. One of the most successful outcomes has been their Single Run Series Whiskey, some of which was made with distilled IPA from the Kensington-based Saint Benjamin Brewing Company.

The distillery now produces up to 250 bottles of product per week, much of which goes right into barrels. Their products are available in a few dozen bars in New Jersey and Philadelphia, and they are planning to expand into the region slowly. The distillery and tasting room is now a lively addition to Camden’s downtown, with a dedicated group of regulars at Friday tastings. “Camden has unique history and character,” Yoakum says. “Some people have a negative image of it, but at least people remember it.”

The Seasonal 6er Favorites from regional craft breweries Morro Castle Smoked Porter Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Co. Smooth maltiness anchors deep smokiness, with rich roasted coffee and tobacco on the nose. On draft and in growlers at the brewery and various local bars. Cherry Hill, N.J. 20

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Bon Annee Belgian Specialty Ale Saint Benjamin Brewing Company A New Year’s beer with gooseberry, light fruit and white wine flavors made with the elusive Nelson Sauvin hops.

On draft and in 750mL bottles from the brewery. Kensington

Behemoth Oatmeal Stout Crime & Punishment Brewing Co. Brewed with oatmeal and a trio of darkly roasted malts. Flavors of Baker’s chocolate, plum, espresso, earthiness. On draft and in growlers at the brewery. Brewerytown

S H OP L OCAL

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2SP BREWING COMPANY

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ASTON, PA 2SPBREWING.COM

ucked away in an office park in Aston, Pa., is 2SP Brewing Company’s new craft brewery and tasting room. Open since August, 2SP was born from Two Stones Pub, a local chain of gastropubs in Delaware. Founder Michael Stiglitz says that, above all, their mission is about excellence: “We’re not going to release anything less than top quality—it’s not cheap and it’s not quick, but that’s really our goal.” While IPAs are their best sellers, they remain committed to a balanced portfolio, including an impressive barrel aging program.

Stiglitz partnered with longtime friend and Delaware County native Bob Barrar—an accomplished brewer with an impressive number of brewing medals and awards—to open this 20,000square-foot facility in Aston, a dream that was years in the making. “Delaware County [is] where Bob was born and raised,” says Stiglitz. “It was important to us to stay local to his hometown.”

The local pride runs deep at 2SP: One of their mainstay beers is Delco Lager, which they claim is made with “Hops + Wudder + Bob.” A visit to the tasting room is an easy drive from the city, and 2SP’s beers can be found in a number of Philly bars and restaurants, such as Local 44, City Tap House and the Cambridge. On the outskirts of a craft beer-obsessed city, 2SP is already developing a following and is poised for greater success in 2016.

Blizzard of Hops Winter IPA Tröegs Brewing Co. Piney, citrusy hops take front and center of this light-bodied IPA, with muted sweetness and bitterness. Hershey, Pa.

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SØLE ARTISAN ALES

EMMAUS, PA SOLEALES.COM

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s a teenager, Joe Percoco was infatuated with beer, but not in the party-hardy way you might think. “I was just obsessed with flavor,” he says. A homebrewer at age 17 and a professional brewer by 18, Percoco had an early introduction into what he now sees as his calling. In 2012, at age 22, he went on a transformational pilgrimage to Belgium, and showed up on the doorsteps of legendary breweries, such as Cantillon, asking how he could help.

“What I took from that trip was this methodology of farmhouse brewing and countryside flavor, dominant sustainability and farming as an agricultural art form: something that was governed by nature, land and seasonality,” he says. Upon his return, Percoco got the itch to set out on his own quest. Building a brewery is extremely expensive, so he chose to be a “gypsy brewer,” bringing ingredients to an established brewery to rent their equipment; he currently brews at Susquehanna Brewing Company in Pittston.

Joe and his wife Laura, co-owners, have two core offerings thus far: Clink!, an easy-drinking double dry-hopped ale, and Green Life, a beautifully complex IPA; look soon for Artistry & Alchemy, an imperial maple stout. They're also opening a 3,000-square-foot production facility in Emmaus, Pa., dedicated to barrel aging, wild yeast fermentation, and local and seasonal ingredients.

Olde Bartholomew English Style Barleywine Yards Brewing Co. Released only on odd numbered years, this unfiltered 10.3% ABV winter warmer brings smooth malts, soft fruit and spicy hops.

750mL bottles and limited draft. Fishtown

Altar HoliDAZE BerlinerWeisse Tired Hands Brewing Co. Make the season bright with this juicy, vibrant beer brewed with hibiscus, Madagascar vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. On draft and in growlers at the brewery. Ardmore

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SHOP L OCAL

Viciously Delicious Dock Street Spirits brings mezcal love from Oaxaca to Philadelphia

R

osemarie Certo is the owner of Dock Street Brewing, one of the first regional microbreweries to embrace craft beer in the mid-1980s. Along with three business partners, she now has her sights set on another kind of craft beverage: mezcal. Mezcal is considered the “mother of tequila.” It’s primarily made in Oaxaca, Mexico, by small family producers. Agave plants, which take a minimum of seven years to grow, are roasted for days in pit ovens, then mashed with a horse-drawn stone wheel, fermented and double distilled to produce a smoky, complex spirit.

Dock Street Spirits works with a generations-old family of mezcaleros in Oaxaca to make their mezcal, which they call Vicio (Spanish for “vice”). Since 2011, they’ve traveled often to Mexico to develop this relationship and learn about the process.

Marilyn Candeloro, another partner at Dock Street Spirits, says these visits opened her eyes. “Seeing how it’s made… I fell in love with it,” she says. “It’s how these families are surviving in a crazy climate, and as the new generation realizes what they have, they are staying there instead of coming to America.”

They also worked closely with the family to develop the recipe to their exact specifications: a velvety smooth mouthfeel, with floral, spicy notes and subtle smokiness.

“Most mezcal is harsh,” Certo notes, “but we wanted to evolve it to a high spirit.”

Certo and Candeloro both speak of mezcal with a reverential vocabulary usually reserved for certain psychotropic drugs.

“Mezcal allows you to be able to transcend, to be very lucid,” Certo says. “It’s a drink that opens up your mind.”

Since officially debuting in June of 2014, they’ve produced about 2,500 bottles of Vicio mezcal, available in local restaurants like the White Dog Café, and for retail in a few New Jersey liquor stores, such as Canal’s in Pennsauken. Next up on their roster is Calvados—made with local apples— and rum. But for now, it’s all about the mezcal. “We knew that there was a space for mezcal. People are ready for it,” Certo says. “People who taste it, love it.”

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the RIGH T QUE STION

WHICH FARM TO TABLE? Organic food contains fewer toxins, but there’s more to consider by jerry silberman

Q

uestion: Is organic food better for my health?

The Right Question: Is local food better for my planet (which includes me)?

When we’re stocking up on groceries, most of us do mental math around price, convenience, cravings, health, and even environmental or economic impacts. Pondering an organic label, we ask ourselves, “Is it really better for me? Or the planet?”

One of the ways we can dig in is by examining what “organic” means.

When you see the term organic, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it means food grown without artificial chemical poisons or fertilizers, the use of which has far-reaching, negative effects on human health and the integrity of the environment.

According to the New England-based

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nonprofit Toxics Action Center, the effects of pesticides are wide-ranging and can include, “short-term impacts such as headaches and nausea to chronic impacts like cancer, reproductive harm and endocrine disruption.” Don’t forget that while there may be few pesticides left on your produce by the time it gets to you, farm workers get heavy exposure. The advocacy group Farm Worker Justice maintains that many safeguards put in place are not being enforced within the U.S. food production system.

The biggest conventional food companies are now deep into the growth industry of organics, even as they lobby to weaken the legal definition of organic.

But for now, consumers should know that organic food consistently contains fewer poisons, and likely has a better nutritional content, than the same food produced by

conventional means.

While there is a legal definition of “organic,” there is no legal definition of “local.” In the way it’s often used, it can be more about supply chain than distance.

Can you identify the producer and visit the farm? Does the food reach you through trusted hands, not large corporate intermediaries? If we assume that you choose foods produced within 150 miles of where you live when possible, why might this be more, or less, sustainable than organically grown food?

For the purpose of this column, “sustainable” means that a society—and the systems within it—must operate within the current budget of energy available without depleting non-renewable resources.

That means energy consumption is also central to our question. If it takes more enIL LUSTRATIO N BY M A X A MATO

ergy to produce our food than we get out of it, we are drawing down our societal energy bank account without ever making a deposit: not a good strategy for financial stability or food security.

At present, according to USDA data, producing one calorie of food energy with conventional mechanized American farming methods takes about 10 calories of input.

Most of that subsidy comes in the form of fossil fuels, whether directly as tractor fuel, or indirectly as agricultural chemicals.

With these definitions and the idea of a societal “energy budget” in mind, there are three reasons why locally produced food is often more sustainable than organic food.

First, local food—in our region, Eastern Pennsylvania—tends to be produced with a lower energy input from seed to table, as a result of smaller farms and more efficient practices, as well as the reduced distance of transport from farm to table.

Second, local farmers often have direct contact with the people who are purchasing what they grow (or are connected to them by short, non-exploitive supply chains like those created through Community Supported Agriculture). These farmers are more likely to use—and to be receptive to—expanding sustainable practices that produce much better quality food than corporate farms, especially if they know they will have the loyalty of their customers.

While corporate organic farms eschew the use of fertilizers and pesticides, they have the same mandate as conventional farms to produce picture-perfect produce, which leads to the third point in favor of local. Organic farming often uses more energy per unit of production than conventional farming because additional energy-intensive technology and labor are needed to make up for the poisonous shortcuts taken by conventional agriculture to get unblemished fruits and vegetables to market.

If you seek sustainable food, be proactive, and know that you must balance several factors that may come down to your personal priorities: your health, the health of farmworkers, and health of the environment. Just remember that the prettiest apple may be produced in a way that gives the planet indigestion—even if it’s organic.

Jerry Silberman is a cranky environmentalist and union negotiator who likes to ask the right question and is no stranger to compromise.

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BARTRAMSGARDEN.ORG Connect. Learn. Be inspired. Bartram’s Garden is a 45-acre National Historic Landmark on the banks of the Schuylkill River.

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the B IG PICTUR E

STARS, STRIPES AND SEA LEVEL RISE Scholar Robert Paarlberg talks with Grid about American exceptionalism, and how we should use our love of science and innovation to combat climate change interview by heather shayne blakeslee

Your book is titled The United States of Excess: Gluttony and the Dark Side of American Exceptionalism. What is “American Exceptionalism”?

RP: It’s the assertion that America is very different from other advanced industrial countries because of our unique history as a nation of immigrants, protected from outside influences by the [Atlantic] Ocean and Pacific Ocean—our Anglo-Protestant heritage that evolved in a unique direction.

Many people say the United States is so different because we provide our citizens with a more vibrant economy, with much more political freedom. We’re far more diverse in terms of ethnicity. We’re far more optimistic. We believe more in science and technology; we’re more religious. We really are different in many of those regards.

What I’m doing in my book is showing that there’s a downside to our differences.

We do provide more personal freedom. But we also have a much higher rate of violent crime, and more gun crime in particular, and the largest per capita prison population in the industrial world. We do have a more dynamic economy, but many people are left behind. We have the highest rate of child poverty in the industrial world, and the highest rate of homelessness.

What I say is that our high rate of obesity and our high per capita greenhouse gas emissions, these are just two more aspects of America’s difference—America’s exceptionalism—that we really shouldn’t be that proud of.

You write that Americans “tend to be more individualistic, less welcoming toward state authority, more trusting of free markets, and far more religious or moralistic.

They are also more optimistic about using science and technology to improve their 28

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lives. Taken together, these cultural traits heighten the tendency of Americans to overconsume both food and fuel, and help frustrate public policy efforts to impose restraint.” Is there any way in which these traits are going to help us?

RP: You know, you would think that they might. We are much more optimistic [than people in other countries] about what science and technology can provide. … I would like to see much more government investment in low-carbon energy options, and I’m a little surprised that we’re not

those kinds of lobbies. Given that we do, how are we going to change our priorities?

RP: Right. Everyone says, “Why don’t Americans believe in climate change while Europeans do?” and the most obvious explanation isn’t that we ignore science.

Americans actually take science more seriously than Europeans. The clear explanation is that only in the United States do we have a large fossil fuel industry, and you have a carbon disinformation campaign funded by an industry that has confused Americans about whether there is or is not

“Bringing federal money back to the local congressional districts is the mother’s milk of American politics. … Investments in climate resilience are going to be a new form of pork barrel spending.”

getting it. ... If we took climate change seriously, we'd be investing much more in low carbon energy research than we are.

You document that while Americans believe more strongly that innovation and science will save us, “the strongest source of climate science denial in America is not culture at all, but a disinformation campaign financed by the fossil fuel industry, based on the hope that if the science can be challenged, new taxes and regulations will be avoided.” Europe and Japan don’t have

scientific consensus. The one hope that I hold out is a division inside the fossil fuel industry between oil and gas on the one hand, and coal on the other.

You say in the book of mitigation advocates, “The most they have been able to win from the federal government are weak or even sham measures, based only on public exhortation, voluntarism, or subsidies designed to buy (or rent) a few mitigating behaviors at the margin. Weak half-measures of this kind are doubly dangerous, because they

THIS EXCE RPTE D IN TE RV IE W HAS B E E N E D ITE D FO R C LA RI TY

can create a complacent status quo.”

RP: The advocates for mitigation have, till now, I think, been so focused on mitigation... they’ve left themselves vulnerable to criticism when the mitigation hasn’t occurred. ... There’s a point at which mitigation advocates reduce their own credibility if they say, “No, we don’t want to switch from coal to natural gas power generation.

Fossil fuel is fossil fuel, and it all has to stay in the ground.” I think that’s a position that’s not going to be persuasive politically in the United States, and what I fear is that if we go for the first-best option, and if we’re not open to second-best options by using natural gas as a transition, we won’t get any mitigation at all—and then adaption starts to look like the only answer.

You also outline that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report struggled to find hard-hitting impacts that might shake Americans out of our slumber.

RP: It’s quite surprising. The United States is far less vulnerable to climate change than most other industrial countries, and far less vulnerable than poor countries of the tropics. Climate change will lead to sea level rise, and that will do damage to the United States. But the United States doesn’t have as many people living in low elevation coastal zones compared to Europe … and [America is] dramatically less vulnerable than poor countries like Bangladesh.

Climate change will place parts of U.S. agriculture under stress. But U.S. agriculture is only one or two percent of our gross domestic product. That doesn’t threaten us nearly as much as it would threaten agriculture in other [places]—in Africa, for example. And then, as a Northern Hemisphere country, parts of U.S. agriculture could actually benefit from warming from a longer growing season. … And climate change could increase rainfall in certain areas and actually raise yields for non-irrigated farming. That’s one of the surprising findings in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meanwhile, farmers in India, Pakistan and Africa will suffer intense hardship from higher temperatures and from more extreme drought.

And so, they don’t have the adaption options that the U.S. seems to have, at least in the short run. That’s one of the reasons I’m afraid of the adaptation option. We ILLUST RAT IO N BY JA M ES H E I M E R

will be able to still protect ourselves for a while, but if we pivot away from mitigation to adaptation, it’s going to accelerate the pace of climate change—damaging climate change—for others that don’t have the same self-protection options.

You write, “Given this relatively low exposure to risk, plus the nation’s unmatched material wealth, America will find self-protective adaptation to climate change a tempting policy option.” Is there any part of you, after your research, that cynically thinks that some business interests view not mitigating climate change as a midterm play for a win?

RP: I look what happened after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and it’s quite revealing. The Congress, without very much debate at all, immediately enacted a $50 billion supplemental appropriation to rebuild the Jersey Shore, and to do so with greater resilience ... infrastructure that could stand up to the next storm. And why was this so popular? ... Why are we spending so much money to get ready for the next storm, instead of

starting to make adjustments to prevent the next storm? Where was the money spent? Well, it was spent locally, in local congressional districts: Damaged homes were repaired. New infrastructure was set in place—elevated highways, new power facilities. Hospitals that will be more resilient if the power fails. These were very expensive investments that went to the private sector. Private construction firms got the money. Local districts got the jobs.

This is the way that American politics operates. ... Bringing federal money back to the local congressional districts is the mother’s milk of American politics. … Congress doesn’t want to regulate anybody or tax anybody, but they’re not afraid of spending money if the money is being spent in their district. … Investments in climate resilience are going to be a new form of pork barrel spending.

Author Robert Paarlberg is a professor at Wellesley College and associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

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Mayor-elect Jim Kenney walks the halls of Philadelphia City Hall 30

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NEWS

POWER SHIFT Mayor-elect Jim Kenney has promised to protect the environment and the health and welfare of all Philadelphians. Will he be able to do either if a petrochemical hub comes to town? by heather shayne blakeslee

O

n Nov. 3, the day before Mayor-elect Jim Kenney officially won his post, he started his public appearances for the day at South Philadelphia’s Barbacoa, the former spot of Vegan Commissary at 1703 S. 11th Street. The tiny restaurant was filled with a few Latino families with kids in tow, a smattering of restaurant owners and workers and a handful of press. Nominally, it was a campaign stop, but it’s likely that most everyone crammed into the colorful space and taking in the smells of a lunch being prepared knew that the election was a foregone conclusion— that they were literally rubbing elbows with next mayor of Philadelphia.

The hosts were Barbacoa co-owners Benjamin Miller and Cristina Martinez, a married couple who operated a food truck before their booming business sent them looking for a permanent location. They opened their restaurant this year on the Fourth of July.

The pair is outspoken on the issue of providing support to undocumented workers in America. It’s an issue that directly impacts their business and family; Martinez is not a U.S. citizen. Outside the restaurant before the event, Miller didn't mince words. “She’s undocumented,” he said, “which put us in an interesting and unique position to try to talk about this.

Her son is also working with us. And yet, she doesn’t have the right to work.” He said that Kenney is “very progressive” on this issue. “We’re glad to have his support to try P HOTO COU RT ESY O F K EN N E Y 20 1 5

to take this issue to the White House.”

While Miller talked about his hopes for bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows, Kenney strolled up the bright street, unaccompanied by any staff, and walked into the restaurant to get started. It was a low-key scene that perfectly encapsulated Kenney’s comfort in his home turf of South Philadelphia, his ease with the mix of old and new residents that sent him into the mayor’s office and the importance of small business owners and new immigrants to the city’s economy.

Kenney began by sitting down at a table across from Miller and reminding the attendees that “some of the Italian Americans, when they first came to the United States, didn’t have documents either,” and that newcomers were not, “...illegal immigrants. They’re human beings that don’t happen to have the right paperwork at the moment.” He called out supporters of less humane politics as “racist” and “xenophobic.” He finally summed up the situation of recent arrivals and would-be detractors in his infamously blunt style. “They’re not white Europeans,” he said. “So what?” It was a sentiment—and a direct approach —that Miller appreciated. Kenney went on at length about respecting and protecting residents of Philadelphia who may not be citizens, but are contributing to Philadelphia nonetheless.

Grid used the opportunity to ask Kenney about his commitment to protecting immigrant families and people of color from the

pollution that disportionately affects them in Philadelphia, particularly in the fenceline communities that surround the site of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) located in South Philadelphia. The company has been relentlessly lobbying City Council and the economic development community in an effort to make Philadelphia a petrochemical hub. Kenney responded that he couldn’t comment on a plan that didn’t exist. While PES CEO Phil Rinaldi was originally named to Kenney’s economic development advisory team, he was absent from the transition team.

Outside the restaurant, Kenney reiterated his stance: “Right now, there’s no plan. I can’t comment or criticize a ‘no plan,’ and when there is a plan, we’ll look at it and see what we can do to make it safe.”

Despite his perhaps unintentional characterization of a potential plan being a “how” not “if” scenario, Kenney is insistent that there won’t be any backtracking on environmental issues, and that a top priority of his when he takes up residence in Room 215 in City Hall is “continuing the sustainability issues that Michael Nutter’s administration had put forward.”

He also believes we have the best bike share program in the country and that he’ll be “expanding bike share to every neighborhood in the city.” Other priorities he mentioned were “to expand our ability to control our stormwater, to keep our rivers clean,” he said. “To clean up our sometimes dirty city.”

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NEWS ANALYS IS

DIVIDED WE FALL Community meeting against “energy hub” derailed by state rep’s office by heather shayne blakeslee

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n organizing meeting with Action United in Southwest Philadelphia started out peaceably, but suffered from continual disruption from the chief of staff for State Representative Jordan Harris’ office.

On the evening of Nov. 17 at Grace Christian Fellowship Church, about 50 people— largely composed of community members and community organizers—gathered for an informational session and organizing meeting. Action United is a statewide organization that operates largely in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; staff organizers are working with Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood residents concerned about the health impacts of the current and future operations of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which operates a refinery in the neighborhood.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PES is responsible for 70 percent of Philadelpha’s air pollution. The company has been lobbying to make Philadelphia an “energy hub,” which would bring significant natural gas operations— piped in from Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale fields—into the PES portfolio. It would also make the city a “hub” for petrochemical refinement and export, which could include the manufacturing of fertilizers and plastics.

A community information session on health impacts of current refinery operations began at 6 p.m. Organizers confirmed during and after the meeting that they wished to gather the community first in order to allow neighbors to be briefed and to collect questions before inivited officials arrived.

Among those invited to attend the second half of the meeting at 7 p.m. were the offices of Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, State Senator Anthony Williams, State Representative 32

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Jordan Harris and Mayor-elect Jim Kenney.

Alleged confusion over the time, place and agenda of the meeting—as well as not being privy to the community’s 6 p.m. discussion—put officals on the defensive.

When State Representative Harris’ chief of staff Gerald Johns took the microphone, he started calmly, but soon roiled to a boil.

Johns veered back and forth between sympathizing with the audience, telling them, “I reached out to the people at PES today because I was confused like you... This is a problem for all of us,” and insinuating that organizers were purposefully using the community for their own means.

“Don’t play games with me,” he yelled at the crowd. “I’m not a part of your political agenda. This air is for real, and it’s going to kill people. … I will say it again. We were invited to this meeting—at 7 o’clock. So, after everything that was going to take place was to take place, then we were to come in and be your whipping boys,” he shouted.

“That’s not how we do business.”

He asked the audience to consider whether officials were the community’s enemies or allies, which drew some applause. “This is a neighborhood that is in trouble, and we’re playing games! We’re being used as bait.”

Who, exactly, was using the community as “bait” was not specified in Johns’ speech, but his mix of praise and aspersions continued: “I applaud these people’s efforts. I’m not putting them down. They have a reason for doing what it is that they’re doing,” he said. “But... after the community has been destroyed, you’ll still be here… and people are gonna come in and tell you all kinds of stuff, because you’re bait—‘Let me see if I can get some grant money with you.’”

“Don’t treat me like your adversary and then expect me to fight for you,” said Johns.

“That’s not how this game gets done.”

His eventual call for unity elicited ap-

plause, while others looked on shaking their heads in silence. Whatever the audience may have thought about the confusing display, the meeting fell again into a disordered conversation about who invited whom, when, and at what time.

After Johns resumed shouting at the meeting hosts, the church’s Reverend Cean James took the floor to ask for calm, telling assembled visitors, “I don’t believe that anything is being accomplished by the behavior being demonstrated at this time…

What’s happening right now is people’s egos are taking over.” Johns continued to argue with the pastor, who informed the crowd, and Johns in particular, that people who couldn’t be calm would need to leave.

CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION Despite intense backroom discussions throughout the city, the “hub” is still an amophorous and confusing topic for many.

The lack of a concrete plan has given those politicians riding the fence an opportunity to participate in conversations while staying quiet publically.

The concept of Philadelphia becoming an “energy hub” or “petrochemcial hub” has been widely reported in local and even national press; WHYY reported after the Action United meeting that PES CEO Rinaldi recently called at a conference for an “army” of supporters to help move the concept foward, and Forbes has asked whether Philadelphia will become the next Houston.

Grid also reported the story in March of 2015, the same month that City Council held hearings on the issue; during testimony, Councilman Johnson, who represents part of South Philadelphia, requested that Rinaldi consider conducting a study to evaluate community health impacts of such an expansion.

Chief of Staff Christopher Sample from

“The representatives of the politicians came in a little bit hostile. They’re paid to speak. They’re paid to get you to believe what they had to say… they can sell you a dream. And everyone was falling for it. This is what we see time and time again.”

- Denia Henry, 29, Southwest Philadelphia resident and public health student at Temple University

Councilman Johnson’s office also addressed the community meeting on Nov. 17, telling the assembled crowd that, in a phone call to a PES representative that evening, he confirmed that there were no expansion plans.

Grid made an inquiry to Councilman Johnson’s office about the apparent discrepancy and confusion. His office sent this response: “The invitation we received for the meeting referenced plans to expand the PES ‘refinery complex.’ At the meeting, Councilman Johnson's Chief of Staff told community members that the office knew of no immediate plans for expansion of the PES refinery in South Philadelphia. City Council has had general conceptual discussions about the feasibility of an energy hub in the City of Philadelphia, but we are not aware of any concrete plans for expansion at the PES refinery. The confusion may stem from the fact that we were invited to arrive at the meeting at 7 p.m., after much of the discussion had already taken place. Accordingly, we thought the group was concerned about some imminent expansion at the PES refinery in South Philadelphia, not the general concept of a possible energy hub, which has been the subject of very open public hearings.”

His office also stated that they have since been in contact with organizers, and that “Councilman Johnson is committed to ensuring that residents in the area are

protected before supporting development of any kind.”

Among the presenters during the first portion of the Nov. 17 meeting was Denia Henry, 29, a public health student at Temple University, a lifelong South Philadelphia resident, and a seven-year member of the community in which the event was held.

She’s currently completing an internship with Physicians for Social Responsibility, and she briefed the crowd about health impacts of chemicals that are produced during refinery operations.

Others in the audience shared stories of family members who have been affected by cancer and asthma, and residents discussed concern about any expansion of PES activities until the impact of current operations is better studied and understood.

One of the residents who expressed concern during her presentation was 74-yearold Maxine McCleary, who has lived in the neighborhood her whole life. She reiterated to Grid after the meeting that cancer and asthma afflict “every other person, and I have a big family.”

“He has asthma, really bad,” she said, referring to Jaylyn, a 9-year-old relative she’s raising. As if on cue, he coughed deeply.

“He’s on the machine since he was a little boy,” she continued. “He’s still on the machine, and he takes medicine every day. …

All of his siblings have [asthma]. And my daughter has it, my son has it.”

Organizers had four demands that were distributed and read at the meeting: that a study be conducted about health impacts of current refinery operations; that City Council enforce its own resolution requiring community meetings for review of emergency response plans in the event of an oil train derailment; an accounting of tax breaks that the refinery currently utilizes; and regular meetings with the community.

After the meeting, Henry told Grid, “The representatives of the politicians came in a little bit hostile. They’re paid to speak.

They’re paid to get you to believe what they had to say… they can sell you a dream. And everyone was falling for it. This is what we see time and time again.” Meeting attendee Brice Baker called the behavior of the staffers “embarrassing” and “divisive.”

McCleary commented, “We know we can’t close down the refinery, but we want to see if we can stop the expansion, and now this person from Kenyatta’s office stops by and says there’s no plans for expansion? So now that’s something else we’ve got to work on tomorrow.”

While McCleary was pleased with the meeting overall, she wished there had been even more people there, and was upset by the tone. “We wasn’t trying to do what that guy said we was doing,” she said of Johns.

“All we wanted to do was let the community know what was going on. … I think he was put here to disrupt our meeting.”

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Real. Innovative.

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We are currently accepting applications.

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THE

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ISSUE A new generation of business school graduates and venture capitalists want to do well while doing good, and they’re finding more and more ways to do an end-run around business as usual.

It’s a national and international trend, and the city of Philadelphia is becoming a mecca for dreamers, innovators and entrepreneurs who are using business to fight entrenched social and environmental problems.

They’re looking down the maw of hunger and staring up at the face of climate change and saying, “I can change this.” They’re crowdfunding capital and measuring social impact. They’re starting local and going national. They’re opting out of a fossil-fuel based economy. They’re hearing people ask the question, “Business got us into this mess—can business get us out?” and answering with a collective and resounding “yes.”

Are they right?

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SERIOUS BUSINESS Can entrepreneurs save us from climate change? by hannah waters | illustrations by kathleen white

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very moment of every day, even as you read this magazine, a dizzying array of scientific gadgets collect data on our planet’s environment. More than 3,000 ocean floats measure the

temperature and saltiness of seawater to depths of 6,500 feet. Instruments at the top of the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa (over 11,000 feet high) track carbon dioxide, water vapor and light in the atmosphere.

Hundreds of tide gauges record the ocean’s height. A fleet of orbiting satellites measure ice cover and photograph every inch of Earth. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (so to speak).

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All collected data point to the same conclusion: The climate is changing at the fastest rate in recent history. The last time our atmosphere held as much carbon dioxide as it does now was 650,000 years ago, and it’s now warming at the quickest rate in 1,300 years. Surface seawater is 30 percent more acidic than it was 200 years ago, the fastest change in ocean chemistry in 50 million years. Sea level has risen 6.7 inches in the last century after thousands of years of flatlining—and the rate of rise doubled in the last two decades. And then there’s the ice: Glaciers are retreating throughout the world, Greenland’s massive ice sheets are melting, and Arctic sea ice is declining at a rate of 13 percent each decade.

These are the facts, relayed to us by those scientific gadgets through decades of data—data that largely sits on government computers collecting metaphorical dust.

So far, climate data is mainly used as mud for slinging, as politicians, public intellectuals and family members debate whether humans are responsible for these patterns in the data or not. At some point, however, it doesn’t matter who’s to blame.

The climate is clearly changing—and our human world and its global infrastructure will have to change with it.

This is why the U.S. government chose to make its dusty climate data better available to the public. The White House Climate Data Initiative, launched in March 2014, gathered climate data sets from across its agencies—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Defense, and others—and later added data on how species and natural resources are distributed across the country. The biggest U.S. technology companies participated in the fun, too, offering server space, funding and database tools.

“We need to take steps to make our communities more resilient to the climate-change impacts we can’t avoid—some of which are already well underway,” states the official program description. “This effort will help give communities across America the information and tools they need to plan for current and future climate impacts.”

Tucked into that list of outside contributors—including giants like Microsoft, Google, HP, Coca-Cola, Walmart, PepsiCo

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and others—sits GoodCompany Ventures, a Philadelphia-based outfit that trains novice entrepreneurs who care about social issues how to run a business. Their contribution to the Climate Data Initiative is a project called Climate Ventures 2.0, which offers their business boot camp to entrepreneurs eager to respond to the threats of climate change.

On that long list of philanthropic donations and funding offers, Climate Ventures 2.0 stands out. Most of the contributing projects make climate data more accessible, but they don’t promise that anyone will actually use it; climate data can just as readily collect dust on an Amazon server as on a NOAA computer. GoodCompany Ventures, on the other hand, invites people to do something with the data to prepare for a future under climate change.

But they’re not inviting just any people— they are inviting people who want to start businesses, which means ultimately making money from climate change. More than 97 percent of climate scientists say that humans caused climate change, and many of those humans used carbon-emitting fossils

to fuel their business ideas.

If business got us into this mess, can it also get us out?

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inding ways to use business to change the world for the better is Garrett Melby’s day job. After working in venture capital during the late 1990s tech bubble, he noticed a growing interest in combining philanthropy with business. He met investors who were interested in making money, sure, but also in doing good. Just as companies report their earnings to investors to be held accountable, these new investors—called “impact investors”—wanted to know that their investments were making a real impact and helping people.

At the same time, a new class of entrepreneurs wanted to create businesses that meet social needs, such as reducing poverty or helping released inmates build new lives. They didn’t want to rely on philanthropy or grant funding, however; they aspired to find a way to make enough money to keep their do-gooding in business.

“The great thing about them was that

More than 97 percent of climate scientists say that humans caused climate change, and many of those humans used carbon-emitting fossils to fuel their business ideas. If business got us into this mess, can it also get us out?

they were coming out of fields of social services, or scientific research, or public policy, and they really understood the problems,” says Melby. “But because they didn’t come from a business background, they needed help designing models to take their innovation out into the world, scale it up, and get it funded by investors.”

And so in 2009, he founded GoodCompany Ventures. It’s not unlike a venture capital effort, but instead of investing money into new companies, it invests training and mentorship. Melby solicited early stage entrepreneurs to submit their business ideas, and each summer invited the top 10 to 12 to Philadelphia for a 12-week crash course on how to run a business. In its first four years, 45 companies went through GoodCompany Ventures and went on to raise $60 million in private capital, he says.

The nonprofit spread its wings in 2012, when it teamed up with Mayor Nutter’s office to submit to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, which funds projects that find new solutions to a city’s old problems. Their idea, called FastFWD, built upon GoodCompany’s 12week curriculum with a few added features designed to sell social issues to investors and entrepreneurs.

More than 300 U.S. cities submitted proposals to the Mayors Challenge—and FastFWD was one of five winners, receiving $1 million in funding. GoodCompany Ventures used that money to fund two cohorts of 10 entrepreneurs each through its program.

One of those entrepreneurs was Jimmy Chen, who had left a swanky job at Facebook to work on a difficult government problem: SNAP benefits, previously known as food stamps. In 2014, he founded

Propel and created a mobile website that streamlines the benefit application process.

It takes three to four hours on average to fill out Pennsylvania’s 27-page application for SNAP benefits; the same application takes only 15-20 minutes with the website (easyfoodstamps.com), he says.

But before the website could go live, Chen had to figure out how to make enough money with Propel to cover its day-to-day expenses. Convincing city government to pay for an untested idea that would ultimately increase their budget makes for a hard sell, and charging his low-income users even a buck or two felt exploitative.

He knew that Propel would help people feed themselves—and spend more money.

So, who could he convince to pay for it?

Chen and Melby followed the money to the main financial beneficiaries of SNAP benefits: grocery stores. They calculated that registering every qualified Philadelphian for food stamps would bring an additional $12 million into local grocery stores—at no direct cost to the customers.

Propel is currently running a pilot with La Salle Fresh Grocer on Chew Avenue, and will soon hear whether the mayor’s office will fund another. If it works, it won’t just prove Propel’s business model, but also that there is money to be made in serving often-overlooked poor customers.

This ability to follow the money and find who can and will pay for a product is the secret sauce in GoodCompany Ventures’ curriculum, and they’ve done it over and over again. One Degree Solar, which went through the curriculum in its early days, has African cell phone companies purchasing solar-powered lights for villagers so that they can charge their phones.

Edovo, a FastFWD company, is bringing Wi-Fi and tablet-based education to prison inmates; prisons fund the tech to reduce violence inside and keep released citizens from coming back.

“GoodCompany Ventures is better than anyone else I’ve seen in the industry at identifying what it is about your business that is unique and powerfully motivating, and then defining not just who should pay, but who can pay,” says John Moore, a managing partner at Philadelphia’s Robin Hood Ventures and board member of GoodCompany. “This is what makes them unique.”

Now, with Climate Ventures 2.0, Melby will bring his savvy to answer the question: Who should pay for climate change?

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his question of “who pays for it” is among the reasons that capitalism is not a great system for addressing social problems. All businesses provide some social good, broadly defined, or else no one would give them money. But entrenched social problems (such as poverty, illness, discrimination and educational access) disproportionately affect poorer people—and if your core customers don’t have money to spend, it’s hard to convince investors to take a gamble on your company to get it off the ground.

It doesn’t have to be that way, says Moore. As president of the Philadelphia chapter of social impact investing group Investors’ Circle, he is working to understand how to use the power of capitalism to address social problems.

“There are a couple of things that capitalism does really well—namely, allocating resources and encouraging productivity,” he says. “At the same time, there are some D ECE M B E R 20 15

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downsides to capitalism. There are a lot of incentives for companies to externalize their costs.”

A prime example is the tobacco industry. A pack of cigarettes at the corner store typically costs $5-10 in Pennsylvania. But if you include the social costs of smoking, each pack should cost around $40, according to the 2004 study The Price of Smoking.

That figure includes the private costs to the smoker (mainly through shortened lifespan), the costs to his or her family through hospital bills and lost wages, and the societal cost paid by taxpayers into Medicare and Social Security to treat lung cancer, emphysema and other tobacco-related illnesses.

“In a true capitalistic model, tobacco companies would pay that cost, and cigarettes would be significantly more expensive,” says Moore. “Taxpayers would not have to pay for the negative health effects of cigarettes.”

Climate change presents a similar problem. For the last few centuries, extracting and selling cheap, high-energy fuel—coal, then natural gas, then oil—has made a small percentage of the world’s population an enormous amount of money, and transformed how people live.

Extracting, refining and selling dead plants that had cooked in the Earth’s crust for millions of years must have felt like a free lunch to those early oil prospectors.

But as we’re now realizing, there’s no such thing. The entirety of the world’s population—and especially the poor—will endure the societal costs of climate change, although the specific costs will vary widely by location.

One example of how much climate change could cost is ongoing on the other side of the country: Central California is in its fourth year of severe drought. Without the water for irrigation, farmers leave fields unplanted; more than 10,000 seasonal laborers are out of work, as are another 11,000 people whose work depends on the farms.

Altogether, the drought will cost the state $1.84 billion this year, according to a study out of the University of California, Davis. $1.84 billion—and that’s just the cost of one severe drought, on one agricultural sector, in one state, in one country, in one year.

The estimates for the total cost of climate 40

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“You’re talking about mobilizing a trillion dollars, which is hard to do in the nonprofit world. You have to be moving mainstream capital and mainstream business.”

- Alicia Seiger, deputy director of Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance.

change are harder to grasp. Citigroup estimates that not acting on climate change could cost the world $44 trillion by 2060. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, investment in clean energy will have to ramp up to $1 trillion per year, says the International Energy Agency; that’s quite the bump from the global investment of $250 billion in 2013. The United Nations estimates that, by 2050, it will cost $250 billion to $500 billion per year to prepare developing countries for the effects of climate change.

Such estimates shouldn’t be taken at face value, says Jessica Hellmann, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, but they do tell us one thing: Climate change is going to cost a lot. But who is going to pay for it?

The most official mechanism by which the world will pay for climate change is the Green Climate Fund, which was set up by the UN to help poor countries cope with climate change. Developing countries can submit adaptation plans to the fund, and a governing board doles out the money accordingly.

“Whatever is in the Green Climate Fund is the amount the international community can spend on adaptation,” says Hellmann. “But it doesn’t have much money in it right now.”

No matter how much the fund raises, it will never approach how much we need to spend, says Hellmann. Philanthropy alone won’t provide the resources to prepare for flooding from sea level rise, droughts, the loss of major agricultural areas, mass human migration and transforming our energy system—among other things.

However, we do know of one system that

is very good at moving resources and creating productivity: capitalism and business.

“Business is an exceptionally critical part of the solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation,” says Alicia Seiger, deputy director of Stanford University's Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance. “One of the biggest challenges around climate change is that the scope of the problem is so large; you’re talking about mobilizing a trillion dollars, which is hard to do in the nonprofit world. You have to be moving mainstream capital and mainstream business.”

In the last few years, big business has taken notice. Investing firms are publishing reports about how climate change will affect their investments. Some offer “green” investment funds for those who want to divest from the fossil fuel industry. In a symbolic gesture, the governor of the Bank of England warned a room full of insurers that climate change could cause a collapse of the financial system if they didn’t wake up.

“The far-sighted amongst you are anticipating broader global impacts on property, migration and political stability, as well as food and water security,” he said in September. “So, why isn’t more being done to address it?”

Because climate change has largely been framed as a “save the planet” advocacy issue, the entry of big business to help the cause—and make money while doing it—makes many people uneasy, and not without good reason. Much of the heightened frenzy is self-interested, as investors realize that climate change will affect their investments.

“Everyone should be skeptical of capitalism run amok,” says Hellmann. “The interests of private individuals do not necessarily align with the interests of the public. They’re not looking out for the public interest, and no one is making them. But at the same time, I think that market forces are powerful. And if we’re smart, we’ll find ways of harnessing them to build the world we want.”

I

t’s hard to imagine the challenges we will face, and harder still to imagine how we could surmount those challenges. As a result, people have largely taken no action at all. It’s a classic anxious-avoidant response: The data tell us change is coming, and people are afraid, so we waste time talking around the problem instead of doing something about it.

“Emergent threats are coming—caused by what, we don’t have to agree on that,” says Melby. “What sorts of adaptations can we begin to develop so these changes do less harm?”

Climate Ventures 2.0 will focus on food and water systems, which is a “smart choice” for a few reasons, says Moore. It’s

one of the first areas that will be affected by climate change, whether through drought or sea level rise.

Additionally, what is more critical to human survival than food and water?

People can handle temperature change, but without food and water, we’re toast.

If major farming areas go into decline, if saltwater invades freshwater aquifers, or if storms flood ports and roads that deliver food around the world, people will be in real trouble.

The entrepreneurs that go through Climate Ventures 2.0—the program is accepting applications through January 2016—will bring new ideas for how to overcome these challenges, and with any luck, the program’s boot camp will work its magic to turn those ideas into sustainable businesses.

Melby has no idea what these ideas will be or what projects he’ll be working on in the coming years. Maybe a budding entrepreneur found a way to use government data to identify climate risk to rural farmers. Maybe someone has developed a sensor to help farmers manage their water use, or a mapping tool to help insurers plan for sea level rise, or solar-powered drones to

monitor crops.

It all depends on the applicants—and he has full faith that they’ll pull through.

“One of the things that’s really a delight and a curse about what we do is that we can’t tell you what we’re going to get,” Melby says. “I guarantee that some of the things that are going to come through here will be super cool and you wouldn’t have thought of them yourself. That’s the point: If you could think of them yourself, you wouldn’t need this platform to stimulate and collect and develop them.”

To have ideas, these entrepreneurs need to envision a future world under climate change—with data to guide them. These worlds won’t be governed by the drama of dystopian science fiction. They will be worlds with people living their normal lives and doing what they do best: adapting.

Most people are ready to think this way, says Hellmann. “We have to give people something they can contribute to. If there are forces acting that you can’t do anything about, why should you care?” she asks.

“The problems are real. But it’s important to give people opportunity and a vision of hope so that we can imagine overcoming them.”

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WHAT’S IN A NAME? The legal structure of a business has big impacts on decisions

When it comes to businesses that want to do good, common misconceptions abound: that nonprofits are not businesses, that cooperative businesses are not run for profit, and that all businesses must maximize profit above all else.

incorporate will in part dictate how they are legally obligated to run their business. Each has pros and cons, and entrepreneurs should think hard about the problem they want to solve as well as which kind of incorporation will best serve their needs.

Any company, theoretically, can do good. The reverse is also true—not all nonprofits are able to achieve their mission. Whatever the case, how a person or a group of stakeholders elect to

A social entrepreneur is an individual or group of individuals who start a business with the goal of solving a societal or environmental problem. Below are choices for how to incorporate.

Private Corporation

Benefit Corporation

A privately owned company is not legally bound to ensure the greatest amount of profit, but the owner or owners may choose to; they could also forgo profit for social or environmental concerns.

In a cases where there are multiple owners, the majority owner calls the shots. Owners may also choose to offer stock ownership to employees at their discretion. Most businesses in America are private companies. (LLC, C-corp, S-corp.) examples: Wawa, Di Bruno Bros.

A privately or publicly owned company that voluntarily meets standards of transparency, accountability and performance, and , according to benefitcorp.net, has “a corporate purpose to create a material positive impact on society and the environment.” Benefit corps can legally sacrifice shareholder profit to benefit—or avoid harm to—their employees, society or the environment, and, except in the state of Delaware, must yearly and publicly post a benefit assessment of their “overall social and environmental performance against a third party standard.” (L3C, C type, S type. Can also apply for B Lab’s B-Corp certification.) examples: YIKES, Inc., Re:Vision Architecture

Public Corporation A publicly owned company is legally bound to its owners, typically shareholders who have bought stock in the company, to ensure the greatest amount of profit. (LLC, C-corp, S-corp.) examples: Comcast, Rite Aid

Cooperative Business Owned by its members, a cooperative business aims to make a profit, but is more likely to consider community and environmental impacts. Decisions are made democratically on a “one member, one vote” basis. Profits are returned to member-owners, or invested back into the business. example: Mariposa, SB1 Credit Union

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Nonprofit Corporation Strictly speaking, no one “owns” a nonprofit, and it is run by stakeholders (not shareholders) who make decisions as a means toward achieving a stated mission; that mission may be driven by any number of social concerns. Profits are invested back into programming. Can file for 501(c)(3) tax exemption. example: Sustainable Business Network, PennFuture

COMPANIES THAT CARE

Four businesses take on social and environmental challenges

Water

Energy

Food

Waste & Recycling

Company: SHIFT_DESIGN

Company: SOLAR STATES

Company: LANCASTER FOOD COMPANY

Company: RECYCLEBANK

Diverting or absorbing stormwater runoff protects our rivers from pollution and prevents citywide flooding.

Shift_Design splits its portfolio between environmental design work for local businesses and consumer-based products that combat this issue.

Shift_Design uses recycled components made within 120 miles of Philadelphia. One of their products, a living tile, is a planter made from aluminum, lined with burlap and filled with a specially formulated low-weight, high-absorption soil. In a city with predominantly flat-roofed rowhomes that collect stormwater and absorb heat, it could help transform problem roofs into rooftop gardens.

The Shift_Design team has designed the stormwater-absorbing living walls at 30th Street Station and the Independence Living History Center, in addition to the green roofs at URBN headquarters in the Navy Yard and Shake Shack in Center City, which is also home to their planted bicycle corral, a series of planters that are designed for bike parking ease.

Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is an ongoing battle, and energy efficiency, alternative fuels and new technology are all critical pieces of the puzzle.

Solar States, founded by Micah Gold-Markel, has been installing rooftop solar panels in homes, schools and businesses since 2008.

Educating Philadelphians on the benefits of solar power and making the transition to it affordable are the primary goals of the company. They are also working to create green-collar jobs in Philadelphia and support the local economy by sourcing their materials from local, independent suppliers.

Solar States has collaborated with local high schools and various nonprofits to encourage an institutional citywide switch to solar power called the Philadelphia Solar Schools Initiative.

Solar States also works with the Science Leadership Academy to educate and train high school students on the principles of solar technology, panel installation and maintenance.

They hope that the yearlong course that they have developed will be replicated by other schools nationwide.

Hunger and poverty are entrenched problems in our society. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area renowned for its farmlands, has a 30 percent poverty rate in its population of close to 60,000 people, which means that roughly 18,000 of the residents are impoverished.

Software developer Charlie Crystle and brand strategist Craig Lauer founded the Lancaster Food Company in 2014 to combat local poverty and make healthy, sustainable food. They produce USDA Certified Organic breads, spreads, syrups, salsas and jams from locally sourced ingredients. Their products can now be found at more than 100 stores and restaurants along the East Coast.

Their staff is composed primarily of Lancaster residents who were living in poverty or might otherwise have had difficulty finding work due to personal history, education, literacy or language barriers.

Employees are paid a better-than-living wage and have access to stock ownership in the company. Crystle and Lauer are confident that their staff of 14 will expand to over 100 in the next 18 months.

In recent years, recycling and composting have become more commonplace in the United States, but there is still a huge amount of waste that goes to landfills.

However, in 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency released a study showing that of the 250.89 million tons of waste generated during that year, only 87 million tons were recovered by recycling or composting.

Recyclebank is a company that rewards recyclers and composters with virtual points that they can redeem for sustainable products like bamboo kitchenware. Participants can also donate their points to schools to fund green projects.

The company was founded in 2004 by Patrick FitzGerald and Ron Gonen. The pilot program began in Philadelphia, where it raised the recycling rates of the West Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods to a reported 90 percent, up from seven percent and 35 percent, respectively. The program has since spread to all 50 states and has over four million users who have recycled roughly four billion pounds of waste.

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social entrepreneurship

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Wash Cycle laundry CEO Gabriel Mandujano shows off one of his company’s custom bicycles with cyclist Jake Clark

MR. CLEAN

Wash Cycle’s CEO takes his social entrepreneurship national by marilyn anthony

W

hen you think of disruption and innovation in business, the gleaming offices of Google may come to mind. But in South Philadelphia, within an ordinary coin-op laundromat at 1611 South Street, a radical business is thriving and expanding nationally.

Armed with a seemingly simple market analysis showing that Philadelphia “had a lot of people who produce a lot of dirty laundry in a bikeable area,” Wash Cycle Laundry founder and CEO Gabriel Mandujano set out to build a socially responsible corporation. The values-based startup would provide clean laundry, but operate the business by committing to two core values. The first and most visible part is to minimize environmental impact using bicycles, not diesel trucks, to transport the laundry.

Less visibly, but even more importantly, to maximize community impact, Wash Cycle offers jobs, training and advancement potential to people facing barriers to meaningful employment.

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In October 2010, Wash Cycle began operations in their unprepossessing storefront, and five years later—with $1.5 million in annual revenues, 50 full-time employees, and accounts in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas—Wash Cycle Laundry is a proven business model that has won over hardcore skeptics. After delivering 3.5 million pounds of clean laundry, Wash Cycle is much more than a warm and fuzzy notion.

Zoe McKinley, director of the Blackstone LaunchPad for entrepreneurs at Philadelphia University, defines socially responsible enterprises as “a business venture that addresses environmental and/or social problems through its core mission and operations.” John Moore, president of the Philadelphia chapter of Investors’ Circle, describes Wash Cycle’s social impact values as “baked into the organization.” The more laundry they do, the more they deliver by bikes, multiplying the environmental benefit. The more laundry they do, the

more people they provide jobs for, creating greater economic impact.

Mandujano’s business concept might seem both quirky and irresistible to the right investors and consumers, but the company faced daunting challenges to identify and train a labor force, secure funding and develop the technology to track the flow of laundry. Wash Cycle’s startup days are a terrific example of “it takes a village,” says Mandujano, now 32. A graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Mandujano never considered building a business anywhere other than Philadelphia.

According to Margaret Berger Bradley, director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative at the Community College of Philadelphia, Mandujano chose wisely. “We have in our region an extraordinary array of support services for small businesses,” she says. “Whether you’re starting up ... or are a more mature business… you don’t have to do it alone.”

P HOTO BY P L ATE 3 P HOTOGRA PHY

Investors’ Circle’s Moore adds, “Social-impact business creation is really getting a lot of momentum in Philly. We have some of the key components that are required to have an early stage ecosystem… and perhaps, most importantly, we have investors who write checks.”

According to Mandujano, one goal for Wash Cycle is “to pioneer a new way of managing people at the bottom end of the service sector.” He believes it is nearly impossible to overinvest in the professional development of your front-line staff, even in entry-level positions. Wash Cycle has found few effective off-the-shelf training programs, so they are creating their own— including professional coaching and peer learning circles, innovations not usually associated with laundry workers. This commitment to training pays off. According to Joel Hommes, 34, director of business development for Wash Cycle and its fourth employee, their employee retention rate outperforms other employers who work with former welfare recipients in Pennsylvania by 80 percent. It’s a key metric toward achieving a “triple bottom line” of people, profit and planet.

For assistance identifying suitable employees, Mandujano turned to key partners in labor force development, Philadelphia Works and Gearing Up. Both organizations assist job seekers with skills development and provide a conduit to employers.

Gearing Up specifically serves women in transition from addiction or incarceration, encouraging cycling as a means of transportation, employment and wellness.

Mark Edwards, CEO of Philadelphia Works, describes Wash Cycle’s business model as “iconic,” since “the people Gabe wanted to hire are the hardest population to serve.” According to Edwards, 46 percent of Pennsylvanians who receive cash assistance live in Philadelphia County. Edwards feels the five-year partnership with Wash Cycle demonstrates that individuals who are given an opportunity to be trained in a constructive environment can thrive.

Wash Cycle’s commitment to its employees “translates into a brand loyalty that, as an employer myself, I envy,” says Edwards.

Numerous early investors helped launch Wash Cycle, but attracting serious social venture capital wasn’t easy. Moore, who now serves on Wash Cycle’s three-mem-

ber board of directors, was not an early believer. When Wash Cycle approached Investors’ Circle, the oldest and most active social investor group in the world, their initial response was a firm, “No thanks.”

Moore, an avid cyclist, explains the reason behind the initial rejection. “The bicycle part was not hard to understand… [but] as an investor, you look for a company that can grow significantly, and laundry wasn’t a sector… that can give investors the return they’re looking for.”

Unique elements of the business plan helped win over investors and jumpstart growth for Wash Cycle. Mandujano needed OPM, Other People’s Money, but he needed less of it because his business utilized OPL, Other People’s Laundries.

Rather than build his own laundries, Mandujano found existing laundromats willing to lease to Wash Cycle. He dedicated resources to developing their laundry tracking technology and identifying the right equipment for safe, efficient yearround delivery. To be true to their core social mission, Wash Cycle also invested a lot of effort and thought into creating employment opportunities in an industry that is not renowned for them. Mandujano says, “I love bikes, but that’s a practical commitment. I can show the dollars and sense and business metrics that make them a good choice. The social impact… is by far the harder challenge, but one that is more rewarding when we get it right.”

Hommes says he’s keenly aware of how cost and social values play into customers’ purchasing decisions. “The laundry industry offers us an opportunity to be cheaper and greener, and shows that it doesn't have to add costs to do the right thing.”

Marketing Director Leigh Goldenberg, 33, elaborates that, while residential customers might sign on with Wash Cycle because of the low-impact bike delivery, institutional clients such as universities “can check off a lot of boxes in their sustainability criteria and still save money.”

Wash Cycle’s expansion into Washington, D.C., built on their solid hometown relationships with the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. George Washington and Georgetown universities signed on as early anchor clients, enabling Wash Cycle to establish a base from which to pursue additional insti-

tutional and federal contracts.

Mandujano describes D.C. as a bike-friendly place with “a lot of paint on the street.” It also offers vast potential for federal contracts, a market Wash Cycle feels its business model can serve competitively.

Looking to grow in the southern U.S., Wash Cycle’s scan of cities favored Austin, Texas, for its business and residential density in a bikeable distance. The warm climate was a factor, too. Without an institutional anchor contract, Wash Cycle moved into this market speculatively. They minimized their risk by identifying affordable facilities and landing numerous contracts with smaller independent businesses such as spas.

Back at the 1611 South Street laundry where it all began, the Wash Cycle Laundry Team of Kwabena Owusu-Ansah, Patricia Hightower, Rosa Isaac and Tracey Martin are “power pushing” through sacks of laundry, working toward a PPOH, “pounds per operating hours” that can earn them a bonus. Washing machines soap hundreds of towels while a wall of dryers tumbles them toasty dry. Consumer Route Cyclist Jason Jenigen wheels his bike trailer onto the sidewalk and unloads an astonishing number of bright yellow WCL sacks onto the shop floor.

Laundry Team Leader Martin, 48, was one of Wash Cycle’s first employees, and she welcomes the chance to talk about her employer. “Gabe is the type of guy who makes you want to be a go-getter. He said one day we're going to do diapers. It came true. One day we’ll do dry cleaning. It came true. And now we’re in Austin and Washington. I know it’s dirty laundry, but… I like what he’s doing: helping out people who are in distress, people that can't get a job.”

Owusu-Ansah, 38, had difficulty finding employment until he received janitorial training at Horizon House that led to the opportunity at Wash Cycle.

He takes a break from folding towels to say that it takes “hard work and dedication” to succeed at Wash Cycle, where he has worked for two years. He continues, “but it’s not about the laundry. It’s about that man offering opportunities for people who have a hard time getting opportunities. I’m getting up in the morning and going out and doing something. That’s a good feeling right there. My family is pretty much proud of me.”

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A NEW KIND OF NETWORKING The Sustainability NEXUS creates co-working spaces with an eye on movement building

by Justin Klugh

W

hen Drexel grad and current adjunct professor Max Zahniser returned to Philadelphia in 2007 after three years working in Washington, D.C., as a green building consultant, he was heartened to see that Philadelphia’s robust sustainability movement was thriving.

But after talking with people involved in “green” initiatives throughout the city, he became concerned that uncoordinated and diffuse organizations operating independently risked holding the greater movement back; he started brainstorming a way to pull more people together. Paul Hawken’s 2007 bestseller Blessed Unrest, which detailed successful environmental movements around the world—many of them led by indigenous people—served as inspiration.

Zahniser decided to start a nonprofit organization, but he also committed to making change by launching a business.

The nonprofit, Sustainability NEXUS, helps bring the 35-year-old architectural and green building leader’s design experience to bear on the challenge of coordinating a growing group of leadership.

“I thought, maybe we apply some integrative processes to the movement so that it starts to become an actual community,” Zahniser says, “a real ecosystem, so that it can self-manage in a more intelligent and organic way instead of competing with itself and marginalizing itself.”

Zahniser believes that without guidance, there may also be confusion or disagreement over strategies, or duplicated efforts, even among organizations with aligned visions. An even worse scenario: Organizations or individuals may fall into adversarial relationships with one another, 48

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rather than forging crucial alliances.

Finding physical space to co-locate like-minded groups was critical; Zahniser's solution was City CoHo, a co-working space that would give local groups direct access not only to shared resources, but to each other—a place where they could meet and align their work toward various causes.

While it was started with a mission in mind, City CoHo is incorporated as a business. “We partnered with the building owner essentially as both a landlord and investor, so for him, it has to be a profitable business,” Zahniser says. “We don’t see that in any way as diluting our values. For us, it’s just an instrument to be able to support the community with our deeper values.”

Zahniser wanted to put the co-working space equidistant from centers of education and business, and chose an old B&O Railroad building at 2401 Walnut Street in University City that itself would embody the sustainable causes under its roof. He started talks with the owner of 2401 Walnut, the Bedrock Group, and their president, Chuck Block, in 2013.

“Our goal with the building was to make it as green as we could make it,” Block says.

“So, when Max approached us with this idea, a co-working space targeting the Philadelphia sustainability community... It’s really a perfect fit with the building.”

Important, perhaps, but certainly not easy. Block and Zahniser ran into a litany of issues as City CoHo was developed. “We went through immense pain and effort to get the building core and shell to where it is,” Block recalls. Everything from prospective tenants wanting to make renovations that didn’t gel with City CoHo’s phi-

losophies to the added expenses of making a building as functionally green as possible, providing challenges for Block at every turn, “Especially given the investment we made and all of the infrastructure to enable this sustainable environment,” he says.

But Block and Zahniser’s persistence has paid off. City CoHo, a co-working and community collaboration space, opened its doors in early 2014. “We were definitely ahead of the curve,” Block says. “There wasn’t a lot of green renovation in the city.

But we felt it was very important to get things going.”

“We’re bringing people together in real collaboration—not just a buzzword,” Zahniser explains, comparing the ecosystem of the sustainability movement to the green structures he has spent his career designing and constructing. “When we just throw money at windows, or we just throw money at the HVAC system, and we don’t look at how that should come out of a different system somewhere else, we create more expensive, only somewhat more efficient buildings.”

It was also important for the space itself to reflect the values of the tenants and co-workers he wanted to attract.

“I wanted to be in a building that wanted to be greener than typical,” Zahniser says.

The place came equipped with a green roof, a rainwater collection system and enlarged windows; and thanks to Zahniser’s work with the owner, City CoHo will achieve a platinum LEED rating—the highest rating of a system that measures a building’s green infrastructures—for the core and shell of the building “within a year,” while the same rating is pursued for its commercial interior as well. It has been a long haul for the entrepreneurs.

The space now houses groups such as the Sustainable Business Network, a recent tenant, and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, the original anchor tenant for the space. Shared features include a media room, conference rooms, work stations, and even ping pong tables and a PlayStation 3.

Coming from a central, yet far from sustainably managed, location at One Penn Center, SBN Executive Director Jamie Gauthier says the move was a long time coming. Fresh on the job in March 2013, Gauthier had received a phone call from

Max Zahniser of Sustainability NEXUS with two co-working members at CityCo

Zahniser about the idea of relocating before she had even settled in. “I barely knew where the bathroom was,” Gauthier laughs. “Back then, we were smack dab in the middle of a lease, and I couldn’t figure out how to get out of it.”

However, when SBN’s lease was up, the appeal of the new location that Zahniser had been pitching for over a year was too good to pass up. “We knew [City CoHo] was sustainably built, sustainably managed, and we knew there was a community here of sustainable businesses and non-

profits and that was very attractive to us,” Gauthier says. “It's very modern, I love the look and the feel of the building. There's lots of light, glass; it just has a very modern, kind of sleek feel. We like the energy here; it has a very different feel than the place where we were. You can feel the energy.”

With this much appeal, City CoHo has attracted more than just sustainability-minded individuals and groups; members of the tech and financial industries are also booking time there. The unforeseen mix of tenants has brought even more bub-

bling ambition into the effort, which Zahniser calls, “a positive confidence. The folks in the sustainability movement can really benefit from it.”

Naturally, Sustainability NEXUS has no intention of stopping at 24th and Walnut.

A second for-profit space similar to City CoHo is coming to Mt. Airy next year, and a center for sustainable innovation and education is in the works that will likely house a combination of for- and nonprofits. Lots of people are ready to help; it’s just a matter of giving them the space.

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HOM E STEAD ACT S

CANDLE MAKING 101 Sweet smells and subtle light will get you through winter’s dark nights by anna herman

W

hen I was 7, I had a revelation.

I could have brownies on demand if I made them myself.

Learning this simple skill gave me agency over my appetites and fueled a lifelong interest in figuring out how to make things.

It is not necessarily cheaper to do-ityourself—especially the first few times you try out a new skill. There may be an investment in equipment and supplies, and

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the first batch will rarely be the best batch.

The economy of scale is small, and the savings may be smaller. But the value of the fun quotient should be factored in. Making stuff yourself is soul-satisfying in a way that Internet shopping will never be.

Developing a few urban homesteading skills can help connect us to seasonal rhythms, and skill-sharing can connect us with our neighbors citywide.

I am excited to share some do-it-yourself skills I’ve learned, and those that I am still learning, during my “making adventures.”

For my inaugural column, I've chosen a simple, but satisfying project: wax candles.

All you have to do is somehow get wax around a wick.

Making and lighting candles is a practical gesture against the growing darkness of late fall.

the

the

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

WAX The only wax I use is made by thousands of artisan workers, many of whom live in my neighborhood. Honeybees make this wax to build the perfect hexagonal cells in which they raise their young, store food and cover the concentrated flower nectar that we call honey. Beekeepers trim off this wax capping when they harvest honey; it’s melted and cleaned for candles and for other uses. Beeswax burns slowly and cleanly, lighting up a winter room and scenting it with sweetness. Beeswax has a high melting point; hence, it burns brighter than other waxes. It is renewable, non-toxic and dripless.

Most commercial candles are made with paraffin, a byproduct of the sludge of extracting gas from crude oil. There is evidence that burning paraffin negatively impacts indoor air quality.

Soy wax is a popular alternative to paraffin, though, with controversy surrounding GMO soy—the additive in most soy candle formulations—it’s not without issues. I choose beeswax because it is safe, can be produced locally, and makes a wonderful candle.

WICKS Wicks are generally made of braided cotton and other fibers—even wood. There are various sizes, shapes of braid, coatings, cores and more to consider. It is important that the wick end up straight down the center of your candle, so figuring out how you will secure the wick is the main challenge of your candle-making project.

Most sources agree that cotton square-braided wick is best for beeswax.

In addition, you should have the correct wick thickness, to allow sufficient beeswax to be burned and keep the wax pool from rising up and drowning your wick.

If you are trying different size containers, there are numerous websites with wick sizing charts, and wick sample packs.

For the votives, tea lights and small jar candles (shown left) I purchase cotton waxed wicks pre-cut and tabbed to a metal disc. The wax coating allows the wick to

stay straight, and the disk is a base upon which the wick stands up easily in the bottom of the container or mold.

CANDLE MOLD The easiest method is to pour melted wax into a vessel, such as a jar, in which a wick has been well-situated. This vessel becomes the candle. Any small sturdy glass, tin or ceramic container can work.

Glass has the advantage of transparency.

Small mason jars are readily available and widely used for candles. But, why not tea lights made in unmatched yard sale tea cups? Or use a simple reuseable mold to shape votives, or metal mini-muffin tin pans for tea lights.

If the candle-making bug bites, you can get carried away and create your own molds for candles from actual gourds or the perfect small pear by using a two-part rubber-like compound. But I digress.

VESSEL TO MELT WAX You will need something to melt wax in.

I started out using repurposed cleaned food cans, and now use an inexpensive tin campfire coffee pot, which has a spout for easy pouring. Whatever you use should be heat-resistant and sturdy.

Beeswax can be purchased from many farm market beekeepers, every big craft store and many online sources. Beeswax is available in blocks—which will need to be cut into small chunks before melting—or in pre-formed pellets.

Wax is flammable—that’s the point—so care should be taken when melting. Never let the beeswax get hot enough to smoke, and never leave melting beeswax unattended. Once melted, turn off the burner or risk scorching or flash fires.

I put my wax melting pot into a larger pot of hot water. Whatever method you use, stir wax while melting to ensure even heat distribution—a wooden chopstick works well for this.

Remember, beeswax burns hot. Plastic tea-light holders may warp, and glass votive holders and candles in jars and tins will be HOT.

After you’ve assembled your supplies—wax, wick, jar/container/ mold and melting pot—you are ready to begin:

1.

Cover surfaces with newspaper or oilcloth; melted wax can be hard to clean up.

2. Cut up wax into small chunks, or measure pellets. One pound of candle wax will yield 20 ounces in volume.

The calculation: (number of candles you want to make multiplied by volume of your containers) divided by 20, equals total number of pounds of wax you will need for your project.

3. Affix wick to center of the bottom of your container with a drop of melted wax.

4. Melt wax slowly over low heat or in a hot water bath.

5. Pour melted wax carefully into container. Make any needed adjustments to ensure wick is centered before wax sets. Use a popsicle stick, paper clip or chopstick to prop wick in place at top of container if needed.

6. Let cool.

7. Trim wick between 1/8 and 1/4 inch.

8. Burn.

9. Trim wick before each lighting, 1/8 to 1/4 inch.

10.

Beeswax tea lights and votives should be placed in a holder and on a heat-resistant surface.

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MAR KET WATCH

HEAVY HITTERS Load up your market bag with these robust winter vegetables by peggy paul casella

Winter Squash

Beets

(acorn, buttercup, butternut, hubbard, kabocha, spaghetti and turban)

(also known as beetroot)

Unlike their mild-tempered cousins of summer, winter squash have thick, inedible skins, hard seeds and dense, nonporous flesh that must be cooked before eating.

They also come in all shapes and sizes: the short and squatty butternut and kabocha; the oblong hubbard; the smooth, torpedoed spaghetti; and the hat-shaped turban. Their flavor is intense and pumpkiny, and—like pumpkin—they’re delicious in both savory and sweet applications. Choose squash with unblemished, richly colored skin. Because of their hard, thick rinds, winter squash will keep in a cool dry place (unrefrigerated) for up to several months.

USES: Scoop out the seeds and membranes, fill with soup or stuffing and roast until the flesh is tender. Roast with oil and herbs or butter and spices, cook and mash the flesh with potatoes, or cube it for stews, soups and chilies. Steam and purée the flesh for pies, cakes, cookies, scones, parfaits, smoothies and other sweet treats.

Beetroot is a descendant of the sea beet, a wild plant indigenous to the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe. The different varieties include red, gold, white and Chioggia (with fuchsia and white candy-striped flesh). Though the bulbous root is the most commonly eaten part, beet leaves are also edible and can be prepared in the same way as spinach or chard. The smaller the beet, the more tender and sweet it will be. Look for bulbs that are firm and heavy for their size, and store them in the fridge for up to three weeks.

USES: Shred them raw into slaws and green salads. Braise or roast them whole, caramelize them with onions or cook them into soups such as borscht.

Toss cooked beets and fresh herbs with grains, salad greens and pastas. Pickle them. Roast, slice and serve them as hors d’oeuvres topped with blue or goat cheese, nuts and honey. Cook and purée them and add them to panna cotta, baked goods and smoothies.

Cabbage The word cabbage is derived from caboche, a colloquial French term for “head.” It’s a vegetable whose shape ranges from flat to conical or round, and its color ranges from green to reddish-purple; leaves can be curly or waxy-smooth. Due to its versatile flavor, high vitamin content and cost-effective nature, this brassica is a staple food in cultures all over the world. A two-pound head of cabbage yields about 10 cups of shredded leaves, which can be used in multiple recipes throughout the week. You should choose a cabbage with crisp, tightly wrapped leaves. Keep it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two months.

USES: Shred it raw for tacos, slaws and other salads. Add to stir-fries and soups.

Ferment it to make your own sauerkraut.

Braise it with butter, onions, beer and sausage. Cut into wedges and roast with olive oil, salt and pepper. Blanch leaves, fill with a mixture of ground meat, onion, breadcrumbs, rice and seasonings, then roll them up and bake them in tomato sauce.

Peggy Paul Casella is a cookbook editor, writer, urban vegetable gardener, produce peddler and author of the blog Thursday Night Pizza.

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Holiday Markets A ll M onth christmas village

For this annual daily holiday market, expect more than 60 vendors offering international holiday gifts, toys, arts, jewelry and more. philachristmas.com

mt. airy art garage holiday market

At this juried show and market, enjoy fine art, handcrafted goods, live music, food and more in the 5,000-square-foot Mt. Airy Art Garage. mtairyartgarage.org WHEN: Dec. 5, 6, 19 and 20. Noon to 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Mt. Airy Art Garage, 11 W. Mt. Airy Ave.

WHEN: Dec. 1 to 27, closed Christmas Day COST: Free WHERE: Love Park (JFK Plaza), 1500 Arch St.

franklin flea holiday market

made in philadelphia holiday

The market features 60 vendors selling jewelry, antiques, furniture, art, clothing and gourmet street food. franklinflea.com

market at dilworth park

At this new market, you can purchase goods from local artists, including Philly Word Art, Beaucycled and Mahogany Essentials. There will also be local food vendors.

WHEN: Dec. 5, 12 and 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Historic Strawbridge’s Building, 801 Market St.

D ecember 11 punk rock flea market

Browse the goods of more than 700 vendors who will be selling records, clothes, art, food, electronics, instruments and more. r5productions.com WHEN: Dec. 11, 6 to 11 p.m. Dec.12 and 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COST: Free Friday, $3 Saturday and Sunday WHERE: 461 N. 9th St.

D ecember 12

greensgrow holiday bazaar

annual south philly handmade brigade

WHEN: Dec. 1 to 27, closed Christmas Day COST: Free WHERE: Dilworth Park, 1 S. 15th St.

Shop for handmade gifts from local crafters and artists at Greensgrow Farms. After you’ve finished shopping, browse their holiday trees and greens.

Shop locally made goods like clothing, jewelry, soaps and more. Over a dozen local artists will be exhibiting.

holiday market at the

greensgrow.org/holidaybazaar

national liberty museum

WHEN: Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Greensgrow Farms, 2501 E. Cumberland St.

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 1241 Carpenter St.

ccdparks.org

The National Liberty Museum’s gift shop turns into a pop-up art market this holiday season, selling everything from glass art and jewelry to hostess gifts and accessories. libertymuseum.org

D ecember 4 art shop

the center for emerging visual

Peruse the wares of over 50 local makers at the Circle of Hope church’s yearly Art Shop.

Check out the CFEVA’s third-floor gallery space for a pop-up shop of original artwork, wearables, home goods and more from fellows and alumni. Proceeds benefit CFEVA. cfeva.org WHEN: Dec. 1 to Jan. 16, Mon. through Fri., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COST: Free WHERE: Center for Emerging Visual Artists, 237 S. 18th St., Ste. 3A the art shop at moore

Shop for handmade holiday greeting cards, as well as jewelry, clothing and wall art created by alumni and current students.

D ecember 13 crafty balboa holiday fair

WHEN: Dec. 1 to 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.

artists holiday pop - op & art sale

facebook.com/southphillyhomemadebrigade

circleofhope.net/event

The seventh annual Crafty Balboa Holiday Fair will showcase handcrafted goods from over 50, vendors including the Art Dept., which will host a Make and Take craft table.

WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 2007 Frankford Ave.

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: SS Neumann Goretti High School, 1736 10th St.

coldhearted v at

go west craft fest

philadelphia sculpture gym

Shop unique treasures like jewelry, prints, stationery, home wares, children’s items, bags and soaps from over 100 artists, crafters and makers at West Philly’s Rotunda.

Shop handmade wares at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. Vendors will be artists, jewelry makers, houseware crafters, food artisans and more. philadelphiasculpturegym.com WHEN: 6 to 11 p.m. COST: Free

gowestcraftfest.com WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 4014 Walnut St.

WHERE: 1834 E. Frankford Ave.

moore.myshopify.com WHEN: Mon. through Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Christmas Day COST: Free WHERE: Art Shop at Moore, 20th St. and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy

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EVENT S

A ll M onth

D ecember 4

electrical spectacle holiday light show

wreath making workshop

This year, the holiday light show at Franklin Square returns with more than 50,000 lights that are set to a soundtrack of holiday songs performed by Philly Pops. There will also be “Food Truck Fridays” and a pop-up holiday market showcasing items such as scarves, blankets, jewelry, toys and winter accessories. historicphiladelphia.org

Learn to make beautiful holiday wreaths at Greensgrow Farms’ wreath workshop.

They’ll supply the frames, various greens and decorations like fall fruits, pine cones, bows and ornaments. greensgrow.org

WHEN: Dec.1 to 31, every half hour from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

COST: Free WHERE: Franklin Square, 200 N. 6th St.

WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: $35 WHERE: Greensgrow Farms, 2501 E. Cumberland St. kitchen conversations : the cup

that cheers with dr. gretchen sorin

sustainablehaddonheights.org

This talk and slideshow discusses America's fondness for alcohol, how it almost led to the disbanding of the Continental Army and the origins of our current interest in wine.

Included are tastings of 18th century style wines and tavern biscuits made from an 18th century recipe. cliveden.org

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 608 Station Ave., Haddon Heights, N.J.

WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. COST: $15 WHERE: Cliveden, 6401 Germantown Ave.

friday night lights at the holiday

wine and cheese night

greener holidays

Sustainable Haddon Heights will present an informative display throughout December that describes methods to celebrate the holidays without creating unnecessary waste.

garden railway

Set against the darkening winter sky, Friday Night Lights features model trains in action, decorated for the holidays with twinkling lights as they zip around an outdoor, quarter-mile track. Registration is required.

Take care of some holiday shopping at the Primex Garden Center’s complimentary Wine and Cheese Night. Visit their greenhouse for holiday poinsettias, cyclamen, amaryllis, paperwhites, roping, wreaths, Pennsylvania-grown trees and greenery.

morrisarboretum.org

primexgardencenter.com

WHEN: Dec. 4, 11, and 18, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. COST: $9 for members; $16 for non-members.

WHERE: 100 E. Northwestern Ave.

WHEN: 5 to 7:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa

primex winter farmers market

greensgrow west customer

Local market vendors will sell their veggies, grass-fed meats, eggs, baked goods, locally roasted coffee and more at the indoor Primex Winter Farmers Market.

appreciation happy hour

primexgardencenter.com WHEN: Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa

Enjoy discounted food and drink in the Greensgrow greenhouse before you head out to First Friday. While you’re there, check out their selection of Pennsylvania-grown holiday trees, wreaths and greens.

art after

5: holiday jazz

Enjoy a performance of George Burton’s Christmas Yule Log at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. philamuseum.org WHEN: 5 to 8:45 p.m. COST: Free with admission.

WHERE: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

D ecember 5 hand crafted holidays

Attend the Clay Studio’s Hand Crafted Holidays event for activities that include table setting demonstrations by local designers, how to curate a holiday cheese board, and how to pour beeswax container candles to enjoy at home or use as gifts. theclaystudio.org WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 137-139 N. 2nd St. feed the body/ feed the soul

Perkins Center for the Arts will host their fifth annual Feed the Body/Feed the Soul Empty Bowls Fundraiser this December.

The event helps fight hunger while also enabling individuals of limited financial means to experience the arts. perkinsarts.org WHEN: Noon to 3 p.m. COST: $10 WHERE: 30 Irvin Ave., Collingswood, N.J. holiday greens sale

Visit Bartram’s Garden to shop their selection of wreaths and trees. Enjoy refreshments and seasonal music while browsing their local vendors for gift ideas. bartramsgarden.org WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 54th St. and Lindbergh Ave.

greensgrow.org WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Greensgrow Farms, 2501 E. Cumberland St.

Using strategy, design, and technology, we help people and organizations that improve the social good.

www.punkave.com

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The Online Sustainable Business Directory goes live December 10, 2015 Our new directory will be: Simple to navigate Easy to update Mobile-friendly Visually-appealing Promote your business to thousands of new customers today!

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EVENT S grow strong :

10th

anniversary benefit party

D ecember 6

D ecember 8

for mill creek farm

Support 10 years of community-based agriculture and environmental education at the Grow Strong 10th Anniversary Benefit Party. The festivities include live music, light refreshments featuring local produce, desserts, drinks, a raffle and silent auction.

All proceeds benefit Mill Creek Farm. millcreekurbanfarm.org WHEN: 5 to 8 p.m. COST: $25 WHERE: 675 Sansom St. holiday greens sale and festival

the color of food with natasha bowens

make a holiday decoration

Wooden Shoe Books and Philadelphia Orchard Project present a discussion with Natasha Bowens, author of The Color of Food, a collection of portraits and stories that challenge the status quo of agrarian identity.

Make a holiday decoration with greenery from your yard and enjoy the Horticultural Society of South Jersey’s Christmas party while you work. Bring greens and craft materials, as well as food to share. hssj.org

thecolorofood.com

WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 20 Mercer St., Cherry Hill, N.J.

WHEN: 6 to 9:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 704 South St. holiday wreath workshop

Scott Arboretum will host shopping and seasonal festivities, including marshmallow roasting, children’s storytime, a garden tour and more at their Holiday Greens Sale and Festival. scottarboretum.org

Decorate a fresh wreath with artificial, fresh or dried adornments and your choice of ribbon. You may bring your own ornaments for a personalized look. Please bring your own cutting tools if available. RSVP by Dec. 2. primexgardencenter.com

WHEN: 1 to 3 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, Pa

WHEN: 2 to 3 p.m. COST: $45 WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa

peace around the world

Penn Museum’s international galleries will ring in the holiday season with the 20th annual Peace Around the World celebration.

Visitors will receive a “Passport to Cultures” featuring “itineraries” to visit countries and explore diverse holiday traditions. penn.museum WHEN: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 3260 South St. holiday greens sale and open house

Awbury Arboretum is hosting their annual Holiday Greens Sale and Open House with local caterers, holiday music, kids’ crafts and more. Proceeds support the Arboretum. awbury.org WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 1 Awbury Rd.

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D ecember 7 wreath making workshop

Learn to make beautiful holiday wreaths at Greensgrow Farms’ wreath workshop.

They’ll supply the frames, various greens and decorations like fall fruits, pine cones, bows and ornaments. greensgrow.org WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: $35 WHERE: Greensgrow Farms, 2501 E. Cumberland St.

D ecember 9 building co - operative power : book talk with the authors

Building Co-operative Power is a guide and inspiration for building worker cooperatives that tells the stories of worker co-ops in the Connecticut River Valley. This event will feature a talk by the book’s authors, Janelle Cornwell, Michael Johnson and Adam Trott, followed by a discussion and book signing. facebook.com WHEN: 7:30 to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 931 Spring Garden St. nature ’s hidden surprises

Join Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership’s environmental educator, Judith Gratz, for a morning nature walk in Tacony Creek Park. Discover nature’s hidden surprises as you learn about how plants and animals prepare for winter. Free coffee and doughnuts provided. ttfwatershed.org WHEN 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. COST: Free WHERE: Tacony Creek Park, 4528 I St.

EVENT S

D ecember 11 vegan raw foods with atiya ola

During this hands-on workshop, Atiya Ola will demonstrate and assist attendees in the raw food preparation of vegetables, marinades, dressings, beverages and desserts.

All foods prepared will be suitable for vegan and gluten-free diets. mariposa.coop/events WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Mariposa, 4824 Baltimore Ave.

D ecember 12 music in the galleries : winter

winter wonderland

kokedama workshop

Smith Playground invites children, ages 10 and younger, and their caregivers to Winter Wonderland for festivities that include an ice carving demonstration, s’mores over fire pits, live music by youth performers, arts and crafts, and hot cocoa. smithplayground.org

Learn the art of Japanese hanging string gardens. Based on a form of bonsai, these moss-covered hanging orbs can make unique living gifts. Cost includes hands-on instruction, an easy-care houseplant and all materials. primexgardencenter.com

WHEN: 4 to 6 p.m. COST: Free for members; $10 for non-members.

WHERE: East Fairmount Park, 3500 Reservoir Dr.

WHEN: 1 to 2 p.m. COST: $30 WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa family artists’ workshop :

birding trip to conowingo dam

creative cards

The Friends of the Wissahickon is sponsoring an adventure to the Conowingo Dam led by Ruth Pfeffer, owner and operator of Birding With Ruth.

Learn to recycle and reuse commonly discarded items to create festive holiday stationery. bartramsgarden.org

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. COST: $65 WHERE: FOW Office, 8708 Germantown Ave.

WHEN: 1 to 2:30 p.m. COST: Free for members; $10 for non-members WHERE: 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.

sounds at philadelphia museum of art

The museum’s medieval cloister will once again be alive with the sounds of music with this holiday-themed concert performed by gifted young musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music. Music in the Galleries is generously supported by Cooke & Bieler, LP. philamuseum.org WHEN: 1:30 to 3 p.m. COST: Free with museum admission WHERE: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

D ecember 13

D ecember 16

sip and savor :

crowdfunding basics

cordials and infused alcohols

Instructor Brittany Campese of Vision Driven Consulting leads a discussion on the pros and cons of various crowdfunding platforms. mariposa.coop/events

Instructor Alyssa Schimmel will host a workshop in which participants will learn the basics of preparing cordials, infused elixirs and simple, herb-infused syrups.

winterfest

diggindeeper3.brownpapertickets.com

Make your own lantern and then traverse the winter woodlands. Afterward, enjoy s’mores, hot cocoa and winter stories.

WHEN: 11 a.m. COST: $25 WHERE: Random Tea Room, 713 N. 4th St.

schuylkillcenter.org

terrarium workshop

WHEN: 3 to 6 p.m. COST: $7 WHERE: 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd.

Create a miniature garden for the holidays with instructor Jamie McCracken. Cost includes all materials. primexgardencenter.com

WHEN: 7 to 8:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Mariposa, 4824 Baltimore Ave.

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. COST: $30 WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa

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Local | Farm-to-Table Fresh | Organic

ChefPeg@cosmicfoods.com | 610-324-5256 | Lloyd Hall, 1 Boathouse Row

www.threespringsfruitfarm.com

the pre-Finished Hardwood specialist since 1985 Environmentally-Friendly Wood Floors, Naturally Buy from a local Philly homeowner and SAVE!

(800) 363-6881 Materials 62

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installation

repairs

EVENT S

art after

5: feliz navidad

Celebrate the holidays with performances

by Pedro Villaseñor and Ballet Folklórico Yaretzi. Co-presented with the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia and the Mexican Cultural Center. philamuseum.org WHEN: 5 to 8:45 p.m. COST: Free with museum admission WHERE: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy

D ecember 19 eating healthy on a tight budget

Mariposa’s new workshop focuses on convenient, nutritious and affordable food that makes the most of your budget. mariposa.coop/events WHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Mariposa, 4824 Baltimore Ave.

Annual March of the Continental Army Commemoration Celebrate the anniversary of General George Washington and his Continental Army establishing their camping quarters at Valley Forge with this evening of reenactments, 18th century music and refreshments. nps.gov WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Valley Forge National Historical Park, 1400 N. Outer Line Drive, King of Prussia, Pa

D ecember 28

ugly sweater run

The Fifth Annual Philadelphia Ugly Sweater Run returns to Fairmount Park. This event calls for runners and walkers to participate in raising money for Save the Children by wearing “festive, ugly sweaters” and taking part in a 3.1-mile course. Participants are asked to donate $5 to the charity. Sam Adams, Angry Orchard and hot chocolate will be available to those who enter. theuglysweaterrun.com WHEN: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. COST: $35 WHERE: Fairmount Park, 4231 Ave. of the Republic

D ecember 22

The Johnson House is presenting an evening of African storytelling, drumming, arts and historic foods to educate families on the principles of Kwanzaa. johnsonhouse.org WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 6306 Germantown Ave.

D ecember 30 yoga white party

winter solstice celebration

Join the Land Conservatory as they celebrate the longest night of the year, as well as the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. Celebrations include a live choir, bonfire, hot chocolate and the lighting of the evergreen tree. All proceeds benefit the Bucktoe Cemetery. tlcforscc.org WHEN: 5 p.m. COST: $5 for members; $10 for non-members WHERE: 814 Merrybell Ln., Kennett Sq, Pa

D ecember 26

holiday centerpiece workshop

winter family studio

Create a holiday centerpiece with the Primex Garden Center greenhouse staff.

Cost includes step-by-step instruction, fresh greens, artificial and dried adornments, and candle centerpiece. Bring your own cutting tools if available. primexgardencenter.com

Join the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the Winter Family Studio between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, where you can enjoy daily activities, tours and music.

WHEN: 2 to 3 p.m. COST: $35 WHERE: 435 West Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa

Kwanzaa Family Celebration

Center yourself before the new year begins with a yoga class at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Afterward, participate in an art-making activity. Don’t forget your yoga mat. philamuseum.org WHEN: 5:30 to 8 p.m. COST: Free with museum admission WHERE: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

D ecember 31 new year’s eve yoga and mochi

Studio 34 will host their annual New Year’s yoga workshop led by instructor Morgan Andrews. All levels of experience are encouraged to participate.

WHEN: 8 to 10 p.m. COST: Sliding scale admission, $10 to $20.

WHERE: Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave.

philamuseum.org WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., winter balcony studio; 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., gallery tours COST: Free with museum admission WHERE: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

Branding, websites, posters, illustration, books, social media, storytelling, online advertising, and oodles of doodles.

pixelparlor.com

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DIS PATCH

GREATER, BETTER, MORE BEAUTIFUL Our mayor reflects on the city he loves by michael a. nutter

I

have spent my whole life in Philadelphia. This is my place in the world.

As my two terms of mayor come to an end, I think back to the Philadelphia I knew as a child and as a young man in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lot to miss about those days (the music!)—but the state of our local environment was not one of them.

Growing up in West Philly, the nature that I knew and explored was Fairmount Park and Cobbs Creek. Later, representing the 4th District in City Council, I became familiar with the rhythms of the Schuylkill River, the challenges posed by aging infrastructure, and urban gardening as a productive use of vacant land. As the sustainability movement took root in my consciousness—and as cities across the country began to take the lead—the notion of connecting environmental health to

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livability and economic vitality resonated deeply with me.

My time in office has coincided with a welcome shift in focus back to cities. Increasingly, people are choosing to live in cities, companies are relocating from suburban office parks to downtown areas, and creative ideas for the urban form are popping up everywhere. Even national environmental organizations that have traditionally focused on Big Wilderness and the kind of nature that is over there have reoriented to acknowledge that it is also right here where most of us live. All evidence suggests this trend will not reverse course any time soon.

Given this shift, the question is: What kind of city do we want to live in together and what do we need to do to achieve our shared vision?

As I reflect on the past eight years, I feel that my administration’s commitment to sustainability and the progress we made are among our greatest accomplishments.

With Greenworks, we established a plan that extended sustainability goals to every part of government, and beyond. Our partners in the community and in the business sector were—and remain—critical; there is a little something for everyone to connect to when it comes to sustainability. This integrated planning approach built a diverse set of leaders and champions that are driving work forward all across the city; things are happening now that I often don’t hear about until they’re completed—a sign that this way of working is here to stay. Together, we’ve developed a wide and deep community of practice, to which the pages of Grid are a testament.

In my 23 years in public service, I have been guided by the Athenian Oath, which hangs in my office as a daily reminder to “… transmit this city greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.” In the last eight years, we have added 157 new acres of open space, greened more than 580 acres to manage stormwater, improved air quality, added 100 miles of bike lanes and 39.8 miles of trails, increased access to healthy affordable food, and planted more than 120,000 new trees. That is the kind of progress that hits close to home for us all.

Greenworks sunsets in 2015, but in no way are we finished—just the opposite is true.

We now have the information and experience with which to build a next generation of work that goes even further and deeper.

The reality of climate change is upon us, and reducing Philadelphia’s carbon footprint while adapting as a city to our changing environment will be a defining charge of the coming years and decades. But, as the saying goes, great opportunities are often disguised as insoluble problems.

When I was sworn in as mayor, I pledged to make Philadelphia one of the greenest cities in the United States. I am proud of the progress that we have made and the legacy I hope I will leave. It’s a vision I know Mayor-elect Kenney shares, and will advance, as the city’s next steward. I know that you share it, too. I can’t wait to see what you all do next for our city.

Mayor Michael Nutter served two terms as mayor of Philadelphia, from 2008 through 2015. He is a lifelong resident of the city.

IL LUSTRATIO N BY CO RE Y BRI C KLEY

KNOWr YOUR CYCL ING RIGHTS

yourCYCLINGrights.com Joseph T. Piscitello

234 Delancey Street | Philadelphia 215.636.9988 | joe@piscitellolaw.com

Blazing trails for transit How one non-profit leader is using active transit to improve lives and the environment.

Anya Saretzky Master of Environmental Studies ’14, University of Pennsylvania To learn more about Anya’s work in driving community development through green infrastructure, visit www.upenn.edu/grid

As an undergraduate, Anya Saretzky (Master of Environmental Studies, ’14), was interested in finding ways to affect change in areas like urban decay, poverty and human rights. She discovered a bridge in the environmental field that set her on the path to where she is today. In her own words, “Without a stable climate, people can’t thrive.”

With this focus in mind for her career, Anya soon found her way to Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies program. “I immediately signed up for the education and advocacy courses and I was able to earn a non-profit certificate, which made me very marketable. The master’s degree shows I have the knowledge base and the certificate shows I have the right skill set to work within a non-profit.”

Staff from Penn’s MES program are here to

Now Anya is a Project Manager in Philadelphia for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a non-profit organization that transforms unused rail corridors into outdoor public spaces—which foster a more resilient environment, promote healthier lifestyles and offer accessible, alternative transportation. Anya also sees an even greater aspect to her work on this initiative, “These trails build and connect communities, and make neighborhoods more livable.”

answer your questions face-to-face on the second Wednesday

www.upenn.edu/grid

of each month.

Walk right in.

www.upenn.edu/grid

www.facebook.com/UPennEES

@PENN_EES