THE DELAWARE VALLEY GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL says its mission is "to advance and promote sustainable and environmentally responsible planning, design, construction and operation of the region's buildings, landscapes, cities and communities. The goals are to safeguard water and ensure its efficient use; to maximize energy efficiency, conserve materials and resources and insure indoor environmental quality. Its director was quoted in the Inquirer as saying "the explosion of the green-building movement over the last five years has been incredible. With rising energy costs it is rapidly becoming how we do things."
THE ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, part of the Delaware Valley Regional Network, aims to train and support emerging environmental leaders via its flagship national initiative, the ELP Fellowship. In 2004, ELP launched the ELP Delaware Valley Regional Network. The Delaware Valley region was the first area selected and serves as a model for ELP to establish regional networks across the country.
THE PATRICK CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, a division of the Academy of Natural Sciences, consists of a multidisciplinary group of environmental scientists and engineers devoted to understanding aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including the effects of natural processes and human activities; applying this knowledge to assess ecosystems health and developing watershed-level strategies for enhancing environmental quality; and working with others to improve environmental stewardship.
THE CLEAN AIR COUNCIL is a member-supported nonprofit that works through public education, community advocacy, and government oversight on enforcement of environmental laws. It also presses or smoke-free public places, recycling, and green energy alternatives.
THE ENERGY JUSTICE NETWORK is a grassroots group that says it helps communities "fight off dirty energy and waste industry facilities, like landfills, incinerators, power plants and refineries. We educate people on the harms of various technologies as well as the clean alternatives. We work closely with student and community environmental groups. At our activist house in Philadelphia, we provide free food and housing plus a monthly stipend to those who are able to live and work with us."
EXELON CORP., the power company that owns Philadelphia Electric Co., has a Power Generation Division in Kennett Square. Exelon has taken steps to increase its green energy, citing these accomplishments: "voluntarily committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 8 percent below 2001 levels by year-end 2008 through its EPA Climate Leaders partnership; and obtaining ISO 14001:2004 certification of its environmental management system at five facilities and setting the stage for certification at more Exelon sites."
THE RODALE INSTITUTE RESEARCH works closely with farmers, scientists, and extension personnel to develop new farming and gardening methods that protect the land, improve productivity, and reduce or eliminate the use of costly and environmentally harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The institute conducts on-farm research at its 333-acre center, as well as on more than 30 independent farms that are part of Rodale's On-farm Research Network. Rodale Press is the publisher of Rodale's Organic Gardening, a guide produced to assist families in growing chemical-free food and flowers.
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL has faculty who teach Environmental Law and International Environmental Law.
THE NORRIS SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT promotes environmental education, social awareness and community improvement in its community-run environmental center.
VILLANOVA LAW SCHOOL has faculty who teach Environmental Law. One is the Rapporteur for the Water Resources Committee of the International Law Association, with the charge to redraft the Helsinki Rules on transboundary water management in light of developments in international water law and international environmental law over the 35 years since the original Helsinki Rules were approved. He has been an active member for more than ten years of the Task Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for drafting two Model Water Codes and chaired the working group that drafted the Regulated Riparian Model Water Code. He ascended in 1995 to the chair of the Water Regulatory Standards Committee of ASCE.
RUTGERS-CAMDEN LAW SCHOOL has faculty who teach Environmental Law. One has written extensively on the Clean Air Act and has been a member of National Academy of Sciences committees on environmental issues.
THE PHILADELPHIA MILLION SOLAR ROOFS PARTNERSHIP promotes the use of solar energy applications to homeowners and businesses in the metropolitan area. Its partners include local energy providers, utilities, solar energy system designers, installers, government representatives, and community based energy experts. It provides training for solar installers, professional groups and technical schools, while also advocating on codes, pricing and other issues.
THE ENERGY COOPERATIVE is a nonprofit, member-owned cooperative providing renewable electricity, heating oil, and biofuels to thousands of area households, businesses, and municipalities. Founded in 1979 by the Weaver's Way food coop Germantown, it has provided savings on home heating oil for 25 years. It says it also promotes the efficient use of energy through coops, and advocates for development and renewable energy.
THE WHARTON SCHOOL AT PENN supports business education and fostering career opportunities that aim to improve society as a whole. One of its foci is "environmental sustainability."
WISSAHICKON RESTORATION VOLUNTEERS is a community-based environmental organization dedicated to "preserving the biological diversity and scenic tranquility" of the Wissahickon Valley section of Fairmount Park. It promotes the sustainable use of the valley and does public education about "responsible environmental stewardship through experiential learning."
grow-design
GROW-DESIGN INC. is an industrial design firm that says it "creates sustainable to restorative solutions uniting economic and environmental goals through the transformation of products, services, and systems." Current business models too often create cumbersome obsolete products destined for the landfill, it says, whereas it aims to "reuse objects and materials through a cyclical system."
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY as an Office of Policy and Management that can provide study tours that cover Environmental Management Systems, Public/Private Partnerships, Hazardous Waste Management, Municipal and Solid Wastes. Pollution Prevention, and many other topics.
