Plastic Fantastic by Diedra Krieger

The French call it en plein air—painting outdoors. But Monet and Renoir would scarcely recognize Philly's version of it. The second annual Art In The Open takes place June 9-12 along the banks of the Schuylkill (roughly from Fairmount Water Works to Bartram's Garden) and offers much more than easels and landscapes. The highly interactive Art In The Open festival includes video installations, kayak tours, dance performances, costume-making workshops, and sculptures such as the one pictured above, made from more than 6,000 post-consumer water bottles and due to be installed on the lawn near the Fairmount Water Works. Check out the events page for a full listing and calendar.

More media clippings arrived in the wake of last week's announcement regarding PWD's Green City, Clean Waters plan:

American Rivers:

"Green City, Clean Waters is Philadelphia’s plan to develop sustainable water management and minimize costs for water treatment caused in part by stormwater runoff from the city’s broad expanse of pavement, rooftops and sidewalks. These commonplace hard city surfaces allow rainfall to run off excessively fast, leading to flooding and erosion. Hard, urban surfaces also hold oils, metals and sediment that rain will wash to storm drains and streams, necessitating difficult and expensive treatment."

Treehugger:

"In case you weren't keeping track, implementing smart design results in a) more efficient use of water b) less pollution, and c) a greener, more enjoyable city to stroll through. That, friends, is a good ol' win-win-win."

Wednesday's agreement between the Philadelphia Water Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to approve PWD's Green City, Clean Waters plan drew widespread media attention. Here's a roundup of some of this week's articles:

Philadelphia Inquirer:

"The 25-year plan, which has been hailed as a national model, envisions green roofs on office buildings, porous pavement on city streets and parking lots, and plants and trees with tubs of gravel below ground to hold water and stall runoff in a storm. All would be designed to let rainwater seep back into the ground rather than gush into an aged sewer system where it mixes with raw sewage and overflows into streams and basements."

Associated Press:

"'Philadelphia's visionary approach ... is great for the environment, and for the economy,' said Brian Glass of PennFuture, an environmental group. 'It will save Philadelphians real money, while making the city of brotherly love a more vibrant place to live, work and play.'"

Grid Magazine:

"Green City, Clean Waters, which will work with Mayor Nutter’s GreenWorks program, is considered to be the most comprehensive plan in the nation. All cities with combined sewer overflows are required by the federal Clean Water Act to create long term control plans."

National Resources Defense Council Staff Blog:

"When Philadelphia first proposed its Green City, Clean Waters program in 2009, NRDC commissioned a review by independent experts, which found that the city’s plan was based on solid—even conservative—projections of how much sewage pollution it could prevent through widespread use of green infrastructure."

Earth Times:

"During the review process, it was realized that water quality goals could be met more cost effectively by integrating green and grey infrastructure solutions. Additionally, implementing green infrastructure solutions could have multiple benefits, including mitigation of the heat island effect, improved air quality, increased groundwater recharge, and job creation."