Simulation of green infrastructure in Philadelphia (Green City, Clean Waters)

That title quote from EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson—in reference to Philadelphia's forward-thinking strategies in stormwater management, green infrastructure and sustainable development—appeared in an article this morning in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It's also the reason that Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner Howard Neukrug and Deputy Mayor for Transportation Rina Cutler were invited by the EPA to travel to Rio de Janeiro (not pictured, above) this week to advise and observe Brazil's own green infrastructure initiative: a massive undertaking with a $200 billion price tag. PWD's Green City, Clean Waters plan was cited as a national model at the forum in Rio.

PWD Commissioner Howard Neukrug with Watershed Hero Award recipients

Yesterday, the 10 Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center interns who discovered and investigated a fish kill in Cobbs Creek (see our previous post) were presented with Watershed Hero Awards by the Philadelphia Water Department. PWD Commissioner Howard Neukrug thanked the students for their environmental stewardship and Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony H. Williams was also present to acknowedge their hard work. 

The 10 students spent the summer working along Cobbs Creek conducting water quality tests and learning about the stream ecosystem as part of the Philadelphia Youth Network's internship program. The high school students' interests vary widely, from Kamal Gatewood (who particularly likes robotics) to Josephine Horne (who plans to major in psychiatry in college), but all shared an enthusiasm for the creek and readily identified any trees in view, including the Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica) pictured in the background. 

Check out the Watershed Hero Award certificate (made by PWD's Katie Shafer) after the jump.

Large Pacu at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Photo: I, Omnitarian

Here's another fish story via the Schuylkill Action Network: An article in last weekend's Mercury reported that a 22-year-old fisherman caught a pacu—a South American freshwater fish related to the piranha—in the Schuylkill River near Pottstown on Aug. 1. The angler, Josh Carmean, initially thought he'd hooked a two-pound catfish until he examined the fish's teeth.

"Pacu and piranha have similar teeth, but their jaw alignments are different. The piranha also have pointed, razor-sharp teeth with a pronounced underbite, while pacu have squarer and more straighter teeth with a less severe underbite. Also, sources reveal, the pacu are much larger than piranha, some reaching up to 60 pounds or more in the wild.

Pacus are also known to 'eat anything,' according to Deep Sea World zoological manager Matthew Kane. Though not the aggressive carnivores like piranha, the pacu's crushing jaw system can be hazardous. They are often sold to home aquarium owners as 'vegetarian piranhas.'

The pacu may have gotten a bad name as a result of owners illegally releasing them into wild waterways. Once in those waterways, like the Schuylkill River, they can dominate other species vying for available food and other resources, even displace some by introducing exotic parasites or diseases."

Pottstown is upstream from Philadelphia on the Schuylkill, the same river that will host the 2011 Philly Fun Fishing Fest on September 10. Did we mention that registration is free and now open? Might there be a special award to the angler who lands a pacu?