Thanks to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and PhillyCarShare, Organic Gardening magazine's latest issue names Philadelphia as one of the "greenest" metro areas in the country. In this category, we were outranked only by Portland, Ore., Boston, Seattle, Denver and San Francisco, but tell you what. Even coming in at the bottom of a list like that is an honor.
OG cites Philadelphia Green, the horticultural society's urban gardening program, Mill Creek Farm, the amazing community garden in West Philly, and the Philadelphia Flower Show, in addition to the car-sharing outfit whose vehicles seem to be everywhere these days.
At the risk of sounding like a nattering nabob, I have to say I wish the awareness of responsible environmental behavior was as high among the rank and file in this city as it is in Portland, Boston, Seattle, Denver and San Fran. If you've been to those places, you sense the difference at every turn, starting with the drive from the airport into town.
Despite all the community gardens, the car-sharing, the flower show and Philly Green, you'll never convince me that the residents of this city are among the "greenest" around. Take one small part of the picture - trash.
Step outside the boundaries of any of the special services districts, whether Center City or University City, and there's more litter and filth than you'll ever see in Boston or San Francisco. Our recycling rate is a mere 7 percent - shamefully low, and though our spiffy new mayor has vowed to get right on this, he's got a tough job ahead. Our level of participation is one of the worst in the country and, like so many laws and regulations in Philadelphia, there is no accountability on this front, little or no enforcement. (Even red lights here seem to be recommendations only.)
It's nice that Organic Gardening saw the best in us. Good publicity is always welcome. But if you know this city, it's hard to ignore the rest of the story.
Comments (1)
It's refreshing to hear someone speak of accountability. Nutter can talk until he is blue in the face but real progress will not be achieved until the people begin to take more pride and ownership of our city. I love Philly but often walk the streets noticing how unattractive our city blocks appear. I have countless times walked past trash on my block and accpeted it as part of the landscape. Perhaps indifference is part of the problem. I may never have thought twice about taking responsibility for cleaning my block without your blog reminding me about an important word-responsibility. Thanks Ginny and keep up the great work!!
Posted by Bryant | February 14, 2008 1:25 PM
Posted on February 14, 2008 13:25