Grid Magazine

13/01/2025

🚲 Several times a week, John Boyle, research director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, rides the power of electricity to work. A resident of Edgewater Park, New Jersey, Boyle rides a foldable e-bike to the Beverly Rail Station, which he takes aboard NJ Transit’s River Line to Camden. If the weather is nice, he’ll then bike across the Ben Franklin Bridge to the coalition’s Center City offices. If not, he crosses the Delaware on the PATCO Speedline instead.

Either way, the commute is timely, convenient and a blueprint for how electrified transportation can drive down greenhouse gas emissions.

In the United States, 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions comes from transportation, the most of any sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And it’s not just big rigs and airplanes: 57% of transportation emissions come from everyday light-duty vehicles like the family car, while less than a quarter comes from heavy road vehicles like 18-wheelers.

Over the past 15 years, Philadelphia’s transportation emissions have actually increased. If you drive, you can help turn that trend around by switching to an electrified ride.

➡️ Learn more about environmental pros of electric cars and e-bikes at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/looking-for-a-surefire-way-to-cut-down-on-your-households-greenhouse-gas-emissions-electric-cars-and-e-bikes-are-a-plug-and-play-option/

✍️ Kyle Bagenstose
📸 Jessica Paul

10/01/2025

Events happening in and around Philadelphia this weekend!

FRIDAY, 1.10
Virtual Nature Book Club | Winter World: Join us to discuss Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich. Bernd is a professor emeritus in biology at the University of Vermont. His book discusses the many remarkable evolutionary innovations that animals have to help them survive the winter. In this book club session, we will discuss our perspectives on the book, and reading it prior is suggested.

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/virtual-nature-book-club-winter-world/

SATURDAY, 1.11
Winter Bird Census: January is great time of year for bird watching here at the Schuylkill Center. We’re inviting birders to help us collect data for our annual Winter Bird Census! Help monitor the abundance of bird species that winter in our forests and fields. All of the information we collect will be shared with other citizen scientists, helping us to better understand how our local bird populations change over time.

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/winter-bird-census/

SUNDAY, 1.12
Botanical Printing—Design Cotton Kerchief Headband using Flowers: Learn fabric design using fresh and dried flowers to create your own wearable bandanna/kerchief/headband.

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/botanical-printing-design-cotton-kerchief-headband-using-flowers-3/

09/01/2025

🔌 Sam Calisch has electrification bona fides. There’s the MIT engineering degree, the years spent in a lab tinkering with electromagnetic devices and his time on Capitol Hill as a scientist-turned-advocate, successfully campaigning for the inclusion of historic climate measures in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

So why is his new gig all about the humble kitchen stove? Because, Calisch says, he sees an opportunity in the home appliance sector to make a direct, tangible impact in arresting climate change.

“About five years ago I had a realization that the [climate] technology we have is already pretty awesome,” Calisch, a resident of the San Francisco Bay area, says. “What we really need are tools for deploying it.”

So in 2022, Calisch founded Copper, a company that makes a battery-powered induction stove, which is a technology that uses electromagnetism to heat up its elements, instead of the combustion of fossil fuels. Climate experts say it’s essential to make such electric-powered home appliances the norm over the next several decades, with homeowners swapping them in as their old gas-powered models break down. In most homes, there are a “big four” of appliances that must be converted: the kitchen stove, the water heater, the clothes dryer and the HVAC system.

➡️ Learn more about the importance of choosing electric over gas and how to navigate making the switch with your major appliances at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/to-address-climate-change-gas-powered-stoves-water-heaters-dryers-and-hvac-systems-must-go/

✍️ Kyle Bagenstose
📸 Courtesy of Copper

08/01/2025

Does your new year's resolution include home improvements? Grid Magazine features client Philadelphia Energy Authority and its innovative Solarize Philly program, which helps local homeowners increase their efficiency while benefiting from tax incentives & long-term cost savings. Learn more! https://ow.ly/tOFN50UBY7H

08/01/2025

🔌 A few years ago, Cora Wyent, senior director of research at electrification nonprofit Rewiring America, and her partner were weighing the purchase of an induction oven to replace the old gas model in their kitchen. Induction ovens run off electricity and, thanks to some fascinating engineering, boast such perks as cooking elements that not only heat up super fast but also are instantly cool to the touch once the appliance is turned off. Many home chefs swear by gas for cooking (a common cultural preference that actually has roots in fossil fuel ad campaigns), however, and induction ovens are more expensive on average than gas models and also require compatible cookware.

So, Wyent started by purchasing an induction hot plate. These often cost less than $100 and can be used to cook whatever you would on a single burner. After using the hot plate for about a year, Wyent felt ready to upgrade to a full-scale induction oven.

“It’s a great way of just trying out the technology and making sure you’re comfortable with it, that you like it, before going with a big appliance purchase,” Wyent says of her hot plate trial.

➡️ Learn more about the perks of purchasing small electric appliances and which are the easiest to begin electrifying your home with at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/purchasing-smaller-electric-appliances-like-a-leaf-blower-or-hot-plate-is-a-good-way-to-try-out-newer-technologies-especially-on-a-budget/

✍️ Kyle Bagenstose
📸 Courtesy of Cuisinart

07/01/2025

Before you begin your journey toward electrification, you need to find out where your home is losing energy. A skilled energy auditor doesn’t just inspect — they diagnose, prioritize and recommend solutions tailored to your home’s unique needs. Selecting the right person can make all the difference.

➡️ Learn how to determine whether a prospective auditor has the right stuff at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/a-great-energy-audit-starts-with-the-right-expert/

✍️ Kyle Bagenstose
📸 Courtesy of ECA

06/01/2025

Looking to electrify your home? We’re here to help! View our list essential items to consider before making the switch at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/heres-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-go-all-in-on-electrifying-your-home/

03/01/2025

03/01/2025

Events happening in and around Philadelphia this weekend!

FRIDAY, 1.3
Afro-Garden First Friday Party @ d’griot: An afro-beat family experience to view d’gallery, meet vendors, eat wholesome food. +storytelling + creative + seasonal activities

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/afro-garden-first-friday-party-dgriot-2/

SATURDAY, 1.4
Philly Goat Project Christmas Tree-Cycles: The Philly Goat Project’s Christmas Tree-Cycle Festivals are back! Donated Christmas trees provide delicious snacks for the goats, and what they don’t eat is turned into wood chips for trails in city parks and community gardens thanks to a partnership with the Philadelphia Sanitation Department.

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/philly-goat-project-christmas-tree-cycles/2025-01-04/

SUNDAY, 1.5
Adult Beginner Group Knitting Class: Come join our fun knitting class for adults who are just starting out – we’ll have a blast learning together!

➡️ Learn More: https://gridphilly.com/event/adult-beginner-group-knitting-class-10/

02/01/2025

⚡ Founded in 2020, Rewiring America is the nation’s leading nonprofit for helping Americans electrify their homes. Their task is a challenging one. Electrification can be a confusing endeavor, with homeowners often left on their own to figure out what to electrify first, when to do it, how to get started and what financial incentives they’re eligible for.

Fortunately, Rewiring America has built various online tools to make the process as easy as possible. In this Q&A, Rewiring America’s Cora Wyent, senior director of research; Sarah Lazarovic, vice president for communications; and Quentin Barber, senior product manager, walk Grid through answers to the essential questions.

➡️ Learn more about electrification with the help of Rewiring America at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2025/01/01/electrification-advocates-answer-some-frequently-asked-questions/

✍️ Kyle Bagenstose

01/01/2025

The year is 2050. On every street across the wide expanse of the United States, nearly every vehicle that goes by emits only the quiet whine of an electric motor. A few folks still ride by in antique, gas-powered cars, but in many places such vehicles are greatly outnumbered even by electric bikes.

The houses lining the streets are also quiet, peaceful. There’s nothing coming out of their chimneys, no big tanker trucks rumbling up with “heating oil” emblazoned across their sides. On the roofs of many dwellings are arrays of solar panels. Elsewhere along home exteriors, the rectangular frames and circular fans of heat pumps jettison warmth inside or out, depending on the season. Within, appliances are all electric: stoves, water heaters, laundry machines all do their work without spewing noxious chemical byproducts.

Globally, climate change is arrested. Several degrees of warmth have undeniably altered the planet and the human civilization that inhabits it. Tragedies unfold on every continent, some documented, many not. But humanity has bent the curve of warming, and can look forward to the future with hope instead of trepidation.

Yes, this is a dream for our planet that may or may not come true. We hope that this edition of Grid, our Guide to Home Electrification, will inspire you to play your part.

IN THIS ISSUE:

⚡ Here’s what you need to know before you go all-in on electrifying your home

⚡ Purchasing smaller electric appliances, like a leaf blower or hot plate, is a good way to try out newer technologies, especially on a budget

⚡ Looking for a surefire way to cut down on your household’s greenhouse gas emissions? Electric cars and e-bikes are a plug-and-play option

…and more on the importance of making the switch to electric.

➡️ Visit https://gridphilly.com/ to read the full Electrification Issue now!

31/12/2024

Another year down. Another 12 issues of Grid in the books. Another opportunity to thank you for your support in our mission to shed a light on the local leaders and organizations taking steps toward a sustainable Philadelphia.

We’re overwhelmingly grateful for a readership that not only continues to see value in the work these individuals and groups do, but aims to be an active part of it. You care about the world we live in and the people around you that inhabit it — it’s with this attitude we can all keep trying to do our part to make it a better place. From the entire team at Grid, thank you for being here.

Have a very happy and safe New Year’s Eve. We’ll see you in 2025!

27/12/2024

⚾ Even though the Phillies fell far short of their goal to win the World Series in 2024, their home runs are impacting the city in a very green way.

Home Runs for Trees, a 13-years-and-counting partnership between Asplundh, the Phillies organization and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), plants one tree in the Greater Philadelphia region for every long ball the Phillies hit.

To kick off and celebrate this autumn’s tree planting weekend on November 16–17, PHS hosted Tree Unloading Day on November 13. A total of 1,200 trees were distributed to the many Tree Tenders programs across the city for planting, with PHS volunteers, Phillies Ballgirls and — of course — the Phillie Phanatic on hand to help.

➡️ Learn more about the role the Phillies played in expanding Philadelphia’s tree canopy through Home Runs for Trees at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2024/12/17/the-phillies-hit-201-home-runs-in-2024-and-its-making-the-city-greener/

✍️ Adam Litchkofski
📸 Mick Kirchman

26/12/2024

📝 Editor’s Notes: At Least You’ve Got Your Health 📝

What’s more important, jobs or health?

The question nominally sits at the heart of the struggle to ban smoking in casinos in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, covered by Rebecca McCarthy in this issue. The people who work at casinos say they should not have to breathe to***co smoke at work, since that can lead to cancer and worsen all sorts of lung and cardiovascular illnesses. The opponents of the bans — casino owners, joined by unions representing some casino workers — say it would cost jobs to ban smoking.

It’s not jobs we should be worried about saving, it’s lives.

➡️ Read the full note from our editor at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2024/12/01/editors-notes-at-least-youve-got-your-health/

✍️ Bernard Brown

23/12/2024

🫂 On the morning of September 13, 2023, James Aye, cofounder and co-CEO of the Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly), a Black-led nonprofit that provides critical services to teens and young adults, refused to leave a hearing when ordered to do so. An 18-year-old probationer, a YEAH Philly client and the subject of the hearing, had requested Aye’s presence.

Aye was arrested, spent a night in jail, and was charged with obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, disrupting meetings and defiant trespass. Prison was a possibility.

Aye’s stance reflects YEAH Philly’s drive to, per the organization’s mission statement, help the Philadelphians from ages 15 to 24 most at risk of getting caught up in violence — or already in its snares.

Within days of Aye’s arrest, State Representative Rick Krajewski and City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kendra Brooks issued a joint statement, citing Aye’s courtroom presence as “part of YEAH Philly’s transformative work in youth advocacy recognized by leaders across the Commonwealth.”

➡️ Learn more about YEAH Philly’s work in aiding those navigating the juvenile legal system at https://gridphilly.com/blog-home/2024/12/01/black-led-nonprofit-educates-and-assists-phillys-youth-in-navigating-the-juvenile-legal-system-and-extricating-themselves-from-it/

✍️ Constance Garcia-Barrio
📸 Chris Baker Evens

20/12/2024

And that’s a wrap on 2024’s NextFab Holiday Gift Guide! We hope the ideas inside inspired you to support a few of the local artists and businesses we’re lucky to share a home with here in Philadelphia. More importantly, we hope it sparked an opportunity to show your friends and family you were thinking of them 🎁

Happy holidays! We wish you the comfort of joyful and lasting memories when you gather in the company of the ones you love most this holiday season.