Pittsburgh Wildlife Strategy & Urban Residents: Q&A with Scrap the Trap

In the past week, we’ve seen a groundhog in our yard, a raccoon on our back porch, and our regular opossum visitor. None of this is new. But it is early and as we are in the process of trapping, neutering/spaying & releasing feral cats, so this creates some challenges. Some of our neighbors have […]

7 Ways the City of Pittsburgh ‘Can’ Promote Use of Recycling Bins

The City of Pittsburgh is asking residents to stop using blue plastic bags for recycling and instead use blue bins or cans. It’s time to stop using blue Giant Eagle grocery bags to hold recyclables. Despite the longtime curbside tradition, using blue bags actually harms Pittsburgh’s recycling program. According to Pennsylvania Resources Council western regional […]

“Green” Things To Know During Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning Pittsburgh

I was browsing through the latest post from long-lost-cousin Jolie Kerr’s feature “Ask a Clean Person” on Jezebel when I realized that April is the month she’s designated to deep clean the bathroom. That reminds me of some very important Earth Day type reminders for all you cleaning freaks out there. First, do not dispose […]

Pittsburgh’s Second Annual ReuseFest – Saturday August 3 in Lawrenceville

The folks at the Pennsylvania Resources Council are teaming up with local non-profit groups to collect your extra “stuff” and get it into the hands of neighbors who can best reuse it. On Saturday, August 3, from 9-1, you can stop by the Goodwill parking lot in Lawrenceville with all of your reusable stuff. On […]

Earth Day 2013 – Lesbian Style

Monday, April 22 marks the 43rd official Earth Day in the United States. It is an important-to-me event because it brings back my very first “subversive” political action – posting Earth Day signs in 1990 (20th anniversary) when I was a college sophomore. We were ducking around Georgetown for hours committing acts of temporary vandalism. […]

Eco-Wednesday: Recycling Medication

Things you should not do with expired or unused medication:  Give to someone else to use or leave where someone else can access it without your knowledge (major source for overdoses and abuse by kids/teens) Put into the trash (poisons ground, groundwater and possibly wildlife that ingest it) Flush in toilet/down sink  (water system not […]