1. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  2. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  3. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  6. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  7. RACISM IN THE WATER
  8. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  9. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  10. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  11. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  12. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  13. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  14. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  15. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  16. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  17. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  18. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  19. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  20. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  21. Ian Harris
  22. Melissa Ostroff
  23. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  24. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  25. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  26. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  27. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  28. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  29. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  30. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  31. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  32. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  33. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  34. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  35. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  36. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  37. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  38. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  39. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  40. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  41. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  42. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  43. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  44. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  45. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  46. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  47. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  48. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  49. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  50. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  51. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  52. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  53. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  54. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  55. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  56. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  57. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  58. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  59. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  60. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  61. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  62. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  63. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  64. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  65. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  66. THE NATURE GAP
  67. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  68. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  69. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  70. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  71. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  72. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  73. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  74. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  75. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  76. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  77. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  78. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  79. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  80. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  81. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  82. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  83. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  85. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  86. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  87. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  88. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  89. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  90. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  91. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  92. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  93. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  94. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  95. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  96. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  97. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  99. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  100. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  101. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  102. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  103. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  104. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  105. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  106. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  107. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  108. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  109. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  110. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  111. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  112. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  113. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  114. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  116. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  117. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  118. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  119. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  120. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  121. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  122. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  123. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  124. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  125. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  126. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  127. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  128. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  129. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  130. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  131. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  132. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  133. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  134. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  135. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  136. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  137. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  138. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  139. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  140. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  141. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  142. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  143. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  144. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  145. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  146. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  147. Are You Going to Drink That?
  148. The Origins of ecoWURD
  149. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  150. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  151. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  152. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
  1. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  2. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  3. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  6. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  7. RACISM IN THE WATER
  8. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  9. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  10. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  11. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  12. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  13. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  14. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  15. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  16. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  17. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  18. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  19. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  20. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  21. Ian Harris
  22. Melissa Ostroff
  23. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  24. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  25. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  26. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  27. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  28. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  29. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  30. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  31. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  32. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  33. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  34. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  35. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  36. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  37. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  38. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  39. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  40. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  41. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  42. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  43. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  44. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  45. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  46. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  47. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  48. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  49. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  50. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  51. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  52. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  53. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  54. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  55. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  56. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  57. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  58. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  59. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  60. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  61. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  62. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  63. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  64. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  65. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  66. THE NATURE GAP
  67. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  68. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  69. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  70. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  71. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  72. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  73. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  74. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  75. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  76. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  77. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  78. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  79. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  80. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  81. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  82. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  83. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  85. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  86. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  87. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  88. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  89. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  90. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  91. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  92. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  93. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  94. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  95. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  96. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  97. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  99. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  100. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  101. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  102. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  103. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  104. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  105. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  106. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  107. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  108. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  109. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  110. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  111. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  112. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  113. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  114. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  116. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  117. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  118. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  119. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  120. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  121. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  122. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  123. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  124. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  125. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  126. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  127. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  128. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  129. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  130. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  131. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  132. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  133. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  134. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  135. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  136. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  137. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  138. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  139. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  140. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  141. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  142. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  143. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  144. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  145. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  146. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  147. Are You Going to Drink That?
  148. The Origins of ecoWURD
  149. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  150. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  151. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  152. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess

Penn’s $100 million contribution to the School District—$10 million annually for 10 years—will be used to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in our public school buildings. This funding will have an immediate impact, supplementing the ongoing efforts of the City and District, and enabling them to dramatically accelerate and expand their response to environmental concerns in our public schools.

 

University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, School Board President Joyce Wilkerson, and Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia William R. Hite Jr., today announced that Penn will contribute $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia, representing an unprecedented commitment to the City and its public schoolchildren. This is the largest private contribution to the School District in its history.

 

“Nothing is more important than the health and welfare of our children, and few things are more crucial to a community than the safety and quality of its public schools,” said President Gutmann. “When Philadelphia’s schools and school children succeed, all Philadelphia succeeds. We are proud to be able to partner with our City and School District to significantly improve the learning environment for Philadelphia’s schoolchildren in a way that will have a long-lasting impact on the health, safety, and wellbeing of our entire City. This historic commitment by the University and Penn Medicine will help support a most critical and immediate need that will benefit generations of Philadelphia students, their teachers, and school staff.”

 

“All Philadelphia students deserve high quality and safe learning environments, but we know that achieving this systemwide in our aging school buildings requires significant resources,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “I commend the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Amy Gutmann for this historic gift. It will go a long way in accelerating the District’s aggressive environmental remediation work. I also hope it will inspire other institutions to follow Penn’s lead. It takes all of us working together—government, business, nonprofit, and philanthropy—to tackle our most pressing challenges and ensure our kids have access to great schools in every neighborhood.”

 

Mayor Kenney, Superintendent Hite, and the Board of Education have embarked on aggressive environmental remediation efforts in School District buildings. The School District currently has an estimated $4.5 billion in unmet capital needs. Since 2018, the School District has fully stabilized lead paint in 54 elementary schools, completed work to certify an additional 25 schools as Lead Safe, and invested more than $23 million to complete asbestos-related projects. The District announced in November 2019 an Environmental Safety Improvement Plan that outlined new safety and inspection measures. The District approved $41 million in January 2020 for asbestos testing, abatement, project management, and other remediation resources.

 

“Every student in Philadelphia deserves the dignity of a safe and welcoming school building,” said School Board President Joyce Wilkerson. “This tremendous gift will not only help us to ensure these safe spaces for every student, it will free us to direct our focus to investing in a new and compelling vision for school facilities. I thank the University of Pennsylvania for this incredible gift which is an investment in all of our city’s children.”

 

“We are thrilled to have this very generous contribution from the University of Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Hite. “It will be a great support as we move forward to address the immediate environmental conditions in all of our schools. This will allow us to shift our focus to creating 21st century learning environments for all students.”

 

Penn’s commitment to environmental remediation is one of many contributions that the University makes to the School District and the broader community to provide important support to public education in Philadelphia. In partnership with the School District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the University has invested more than $25 million over the past 15 years in the District’s top-performing Penn Alexander School, providing land for the school, funding for construction, and annual payments of approximately $1 million for operations. In 2013, the University deepened its commitment to the nearby Henry C. Lea Elementary School with an expanded partnership.

 

“Penn’s contribution will catalyze even more aggressive and comprehensive remediation of environmental hazards in all our public schools,” said President Gutmann. “Philadelphia is our home. Education is at the very heart of all that we do at Penn, and we will continue to ensure that we are doing all that we can to support the success of public education in Philadelphia. Our schoolchildren and teachers deserve no less.”

 

With a Penn Graduate School of Education-based liaison on site serving as a partnership coordinator, 16 Penn-affiliated organizations facilitate 37 district partner programs at Lea. Penn’s 12 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, led by Penn’s Graduate School of Education, as well as Penn centers including the Penn Museum and Penn Libraries, operate more than 500 activities in 248 schools in every catchment area throughout the School District.