Green bounty in DN pages

There are a few good Earth to Philly-related items in the Daily News this week, and I wanted to be sure you caught them, so I tossed them into this roundup:

First, today's Features cover story is for all those who belong to CSAs or patronize farmers' markets and wind up with a bunch of produce they're not sure what to do with. Heck, it could even work for Michelle Obama. The point is helping you find the right ways of using and enjoying the fruits and vegetables of your labor.

And City Howl Help Desk continues to parse the finer points of how things get thrown away (or not) in Philly: Philadelphia citizen seeks a trash can for his block in Point Breeze neighborhood

From a couple days ago, Ronnie Polaneczky updates us on the inspiring West Philly student team that just got knocked out of X Prize competition:

According to X Prize senior director Eric Cahill, West Philly was eliminated because the mileage performance of their retrofitted Ford Focus came in "just a shade" under the required 67 mpg needed to advance.

"It was heartbreaking," says Cahill, noting how West Philly had captured the hearts of not just contest organizers but competitors, too. "The team was so impressive. The kids brought a level of passion and energy that inspired all of us. Everyone was pulling for them."

Cahill hopes that West Philly will mature and refine its technology, perhaps eventually licensing it to an automaker or start-up company able to mass produce affordable, environmentally kind cars to replace the gas guzzlers that are destroying the planet.

Lastly, there's no link to this one because it appears in an ad, but today is the day for SEPTA's latest fare hike. Obviously public tranportation should get better funding and be seen as a higher priority by more people... but still. As a SEPTA commuter I waited in line yesterday for my monthly transpass and after forking over $83, got it and took a look to see that its visuals consist of one big McDonald's ad.

Really, SEPTA? It's not enough that we have to pay more, we now have to be out there advertising McDonalds - one of the most certifiably un-green corporations on the face of the earth - every time we flash our transpass? If you're going to sell us all to the highest bidder as walking sandwich-boards, how come we don't get a kickback?