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Events

A special thanks to Sustainable Pittsburgh member The Gateway Engineers, Inc.

Podcast: The Business of Sustainability

In this PennFuture podcast, Sustainable Pittsburgh's executive director, Court Gould, gives a presentation entitled "Business of Sustainability." Gould details how sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility are becoming the norm among leading U.S. and international corporations. "Doing well by doing right" is a credo that many businesses are adopting, especially in light of the impacts of global warming. Notable companies that are taking steps to cut their contributions to global warming, while increasing their efficiency and profitability at the same time include: Wal-Mart and La-Z-Boy, both installing numerous solar energy projects at new stores; General Electric that unveiled its Ecomagination campaign in 2006 to cut greenhouse gas emissions; and John Deere that is now investing in wind energy development.

Listen online at:
PFuture07_BusinessSustainability101_WithCourtGould.mp3(takes a minute to load).

Resources

Pittsburgh: A More Humane Metropolis

Friday, March 23
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Omni William Penn Hotel
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
More information

This one-day course will explore new “pathways” by which Pittsburgh and other cities are becoming more “humane.” Topics to be considered will include urban stream and wetland restoration, urban gardens on vacant lots and school sites, promoting healthful outdoor activities (e.g. rail trails), brownfield reuse, environmental education, and designing people-friendly public spaces.

The workshop will involve a series of speakers and panels, and provide opportunity for informal conversation. Presenters and participants will include both local experts and invited speakers from other cities with significant experience to share. The program will balance practitioners, researchers, and citizen advocates from a variety of backgrounds and specialties. NGO staff and interested students are particularly welcome.

Public Forum: Learning from London

Saturday, March 24
3 - 5 pm
Carnegie Museum of Art Theater
Free with museum admission, reception follows
Info

As part of Gritty Brits: New London Architecture, on view in Carnegie Museum of Art’s Heinz Architectural Center through June 3, the museum is presenting a public forum on rebuilding post-industrial cities in innovative ways. Two London architects with works on exhibit, Sean Griffiths of FAT {Fashion Architecture Taste} and Níall McLaughlin will discuss their thinking when working through such challenges in cities across Britain. Pittsburgh cultural and civic leaders including Raymund Ryan, Carnegie Museum of Art curator of architecture and of Gritty Brits; Hilary Robinson, dean of the College of Art, Carnegie Mellon University; Jane Werner, director of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; and Pat Ford, City of Pittsburgh director of community and economic development, share their thoughts on the London projects and on moving forward in Pittsburgh with architecture that capitalizes on the city’s context and character. The audience is encouraged to join the discussion with panel members.

Public input sought on state budget

Monday, March 26
1 pm
Green Tree Borough Building, 10 W. Manilla Ave.

The panel's Economic Impact and Infrastructure Subcommittee will hold a three-hour hearing in Green Tree on Monday to hear from experts and take public testimony on the mass transit issue. The first two hours will consist of business leaders and transportation experts talking about transit, with the public speaking in the final hour.

Carnegie Mellon's Dickson Prize Award Ceremony honors Dr. Jared Diamond

Monday, March 26
4:30 pm
McConomy Auditorium (Carnegie Mellon University)
Pittsburgh (Oakland)
More Information

The Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education & Research is pleased to invite you to Carnegie Mellon's Dickson Prize Award Ceremony honoring Dr. Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. Dr. Diamond will give a lecture based on his most recent work, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Global Warming in Polar Regions: Is the Canary Singing?

Monday, March 26
7:30 pm
Carnegie Museum of Natural History auditorium
Cost: $10
To purchase tickets, call: 412-622-3288. Info: 412-622-3131

Energy expert, political scientist and author Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon will speak at Carnegie Museum of Natural History about global warming and how events in the Polar Regions have implications for all life on the planet. Dr. Homer-Dixon is one of the leading experts on issues related to climate change and was a top advisor to Vice President Al Gore during the making of An Inconvenient Truth, which won the Academy Award for best documentary.

Environmental Justice: A Weekend of Lectures, Analysis, and Discussion

March 30 - April 1
Adamson Wing, Baker Hall
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh (Oakland)
More

The Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research at Carnegie Mellon University will host an in-depth weekend program that will be devoted to the complex issues of environmental justice and the pressing problem that it has become in the United States and around the world. Please visit our website for all of the complete details about this important educational event Register your interest in attending at the website before the event reaches capacity.

Save the Date: Farm to Table: Nourishing a Sustainable Pittsburgh

Saturday, March 31
9 am - 4 pm
Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild
Pittsburgh (North Shore)
Contact: (412)563-8800 or ehagan@american-healthcare.net

This educational conference is aimed at helping Western Pennsylvania consumers understand the benefits of eating locally grown food. Businesses that grow, sell or prepare farm raised produce, livestock, and value added products will be featured. Organizations providing health and wellness opportunities will also be an integral part of this conference.

Global Warming 2007: It’s Time for Action

Saturday, March 31
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mercy Hospital - Sister Ferdinand Clark Auditorium
1400 Locust Street
Pittsburgh (Oakland)
Registration free but required: 1-800-321-7775 or Click here to register

Learn the latest on federal and state legislation, policies, and global warming science. Discuss what Pennsylvania can (and is) doing to slow global warming. Network with citizens across the region and state taking action on global warming. Hear experts and policymakers, including: United States Senator Bob Casey, Jr.; Angela Anderson, Director, Clear the Air; Jeanne Dworetzky, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority; Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Climate Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists; John Hanger, President and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future; Sister M. Christopher Moore, Provincial Minister, Felician Sisters of Pennsylvania; State Representative Jake Wheatley, Jr. (District 19) and other experts in global warming and clean energy policy.

Engineering Sustainability 2007 Innovations that Span Boundaries

Saturday, April 15 - Wednesday, April 18
Sheraton Station Square Hotel
Pittsburgh
Info

Conference topical areas will include: green building design and construction; sustainable distributed power for the built environment; design of more sustainable transportation grids; housing and water solutions for megacities; water solutions for the developing world; water intensity in industry; economics of sustainability; toward the "zero operating costs" building; and the intersection of technology and policy.

SAVE THE DATE!
Business Strategies in a Carbon-Constrained World

Wednesday, April 18
1 - 4 pm
Carnegie Mellon University
Chosky Theatre, Purnell Center for the Arts
Reception 4 pm
Regina Miller Gallery, Purnell Center for the Arts
No fee to attend
RSVP by April 13
412.268.5280 or mmgrelli@andrew.cmu.edu

Host: Dr. Jared Cohon, President, Carnegie Mellon University

Featuring: Pete Engardio, Senior Writer, Business Week

Panelists:
Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch Institute
M. Granger Morgan, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
William Rosenberg, Harvard University
Kevin Fay, VP of Environmental Health & Safety, PPG
And please check back for others soon to be confirmed…

For the Pittsburgh region, which is emerging as a leader in the policy, practice, and business of sustainable development, addressing climate change presents an economic opportunity and necessity. Challenge can create opportunity. The coming of a carbon-constrained future is drawing entrepreneurs at all levels and the Pittsburgh region is well-served to be out front of the changing landscape.

Business Strategies in a Carbon Constrained World will explore sustainable business strategies and highlight initiatives that address the challenges and opportunities inherent in climate change. Representatives from Environmental Health and Safety, Marketing, Public Relations, Finance, Research and Development, Real Estate, Strategic Planning, and Investor Relations departments are encouraged to attend.

Presented by The Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research at Carnegie Mellon in partnership with Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Sustainable Pittsburgh, and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.

Women’s Health and the Environment: New Science, New Solutions Conference

Friday, April 20
9 am - 4:30 pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Register Online

Join women – and men who care about the women in their lives – from around the region and beyond for Women’s Health & the Environment: New Science, New Solutions, a free day-long conference being held on Friday, April 20, 2007, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The conference features nationally renowned scientists, environmentalists and activists who will inform women – and men who care about women’s health – about environmental health risks and the protective steps they can take as they make everyday decisions about their health and lifestyles. This free conference is sponsored by: Teresa Heinz, The Heinz Endowments, and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.

2007 Nonprofit Summit

Thursday, May 10
8 am - 4:45 pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Cost: $100 for the first person and $75 for each additional person from the same organization
Register: Click to Register

The 2007 Nonprofit Summit is a follow up to the 2006 Summit, which consisted of an electronic town hall designed to increase participants' vision of their potential for collective community action. The 2006 Summit was devoted to thinking and planning; the 2007 Summit is focused on action. The 2007 Summit is designed to: contribute to the effectiveness of individual nonprofit leaders; help to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations; and build the collective strength of the nonprofit sector.

7th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference "Focusing Growth for Regional Prosperity"

Friday, May 18, 2007
8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Omni William Penn Hotel
530 William Penn Place, downtown Pittsburgh
No fee to attend

Featuring:
- Keynote address by Don Chen, Smart Growth America
- Public Presentation and Comment on Draft Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania (Project Region)
- Public input on work to date by the SWPA Smart Growth Community Committees
- Reaction panel featuring state, regional and local leaders

This year’s conference picks up from past Smart Growth Conferences in serving again as a public comment session to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's process of updating the region's Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania (called Project Region).

Attendees will also hear progress reports and provide input to the on-going work of the three Smart Growth Community Committees that were created in response to the regional priorities voted upon at last year's conference:
- Leveling the Field for Redevelopment (Diane Sheets & Laura Zinski)
- Promoting Regionalism (Commissioner Tom Ceraso & David Miller)
- Funding Public Transportation (Steve Bland & Mary Jo Morandini)

Toward addressing the challenges of revitalizing the region's communities, these committees are working on practical policy options and practices, the type of which will be necessary to realize the regional plan's focused growth strategy for regional development and prosperity.

Project Region: The Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Plan, will be the mechanism for connecting the region’s vision to an official, coordinated implementation program of projects and actions. Through Project Region, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission looks to raise the level of transparency in regional planning, and further improve its utility, by focusing on the functional rather than the jurisdictional/geographic aspects of desired improvements.

Come be part of this important regional planning process which represents a milestone in the region's heightened resolve to integrate and focus transportation and development for quality of life and competitiveness in the global economy.

Presented by:
PA Department of Community and Economic Development
Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development
Regional Coalition of Community Builders
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Sustainable Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics

Supported by:
Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Heinz Endowments

To register:
Call: 412-258-6642
Email: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org
To become a sponsor call: 412-258-6643

Save the Date! Great Outdoors Week 2007

Friday, May 18 - Sunday, May 27

Leading the region to fun and healthy lifestyles one week at a time!

The sixth annual Great Outdoors Week begins on Friday, May 18 thru Sunday, May 27, 2007!

While Great Outdoors is a great communications campaign to highlight the amazing number of outdoor happenings scheduled throughout the week, it is also a great opportunity to sample many fun ways to start a healthier lifestyle!

2007 Great Outdoors Week partners include: Bike Pittsburgh, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Rachael Carson Homestead, Rack ‘n Roll, REI, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Rowing Association, Venture Outdoors, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Everyone is invited to participate! To explore how to engage your constituents in taking part in Great Outdoors Week and reap year-long benefits, call (412) 258-6646 or kadams@sustainablepittsburgh.org.

Save the Date: Venture Outdoors Festival

Saturday, May 19
Pittsburgh's North Shore
http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/

The seventh annual Venture Outdoors Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, 2007. The festival is an all day event and is being held on Pittsburgh's North Shore - right in front of Heinz Field. As always, the goal of Venture Outdoors is to introduce as many people as possible to the wide variety of outdoor recreational activities easily accessible right here in Western Pennsylvania. Together with the region's abundant environmental assets & the rivers, the mountains, and numerous bike and walking trails - these activities demonstrate the terrific quality of life available to residents and visitors. We invite you to be a part of the excitement so please save the date!

Resources

Capturing the Cool Space Market: Promoting Cool Space with Public Policy

After six years of working to place businesses and organizations in cool space, Cool Space Locator has been collecting incredible amounts of data. All of this work with customers and clients, along with some economic data from the Carnegie Mellon Center for Economic Development (www.smartpolicy.org), have helped Cool Space Locator determine who makes up the core market for creative, urban space. The product is a report called Cool Deals: Capturing the New Market in Urban Commercial Real Estate.

The Cool Deals research report details the businesses and organizations interested in cool space, the offices they require, the location decision process, and the market's collective spending power. The E-Blast will feature a key finding each month through April. The full report is available as a PDF download from Cool Space Locator's website.

State official calls for financial incentives to merge school districts

Mr. Kotik, D-Robinson, has come to the same conclusion a number of educators have before: Small districts need to merge with larger, more affluent neighbors, achieving economies of scale and creating new districts that can actually fund themselves.

Green energy could leave coal in the dust

But just as the industry appears poised for a new round of prosperity, with more than 150 new coal-fired plants on the drawing board and industry plans to hire thousands of new miners, comes a move by one of the nation's largest energy company's to scale back its use of coal...Some observers believe it not only will deal a short-term blow to coal, but possibly could serve as a turning point that will lead other energy companies to pursue alternatives to coal, the source for more than half of this nation's electricity.

Retail, restaurant and residential to merge in new-style Simon development in Cranberry

Simon may pair its concept of retail, restaurants and residential with a separate 116-acre office complex planned for a contiguous site near Interstate 79 and Route 228....If it all comes together, the project will likely reflect trends in retail development that have influenced both Simon and other developers as they look to answer consumer demand for places that feel more like communities and have the added benefit of being used even when the stores may be closed.

Extra Port Authority transit funding explored

Currently, Allegheny County only provides $25 million from property tax revenues for its mass transit needs. Mr. Onorato is seeking a new source for the funds, and an increase to $35 million a year, to better match the amount the state provides.

Population drain continues in region

Allegheny County and most of the metropolitan region show continued trends of modest population loss, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Transit cuts to be aired

Numerous sources have said they don't expect management to recommend cutting as much as 25 percent of service hours as first proposed, which would have eliminated 124 of 213 bus routes. Nonetheless, they expect the cuts to be the biggest in the agency's 43-year history and to have a far-reaching impact on riders..."We've spent an incredible amount of time trying to do this in the best possible way," Mr. Bland said. "Unfortunately, people will be negatively affected, whether they are workers, students, businesses, what have you. But we have to take what we have and build for the future in a way that can be sustained."

Mass transit hearings set next week

Two House Appropriations subcommittees will hold public hearings in the Pittsburgh area next week to gather information about mass transit funding and rising medical costs, including medical assistance for low-income people and nursing home and hospital costs. The panel's Economic Impact and Infrastructure Subcommittee will hold a three-hour hearing in Green Tree on Monday to hear from experts on mass transit and take public testimony on the issue. The hearing will start at 1 p.m. at the Green Tree Borough Building, 10 W. Manilla Ave.

Gore Warns Congress of ‘Planetary Emergency’

Mr. Gore, accompanied by his wife, Tipper, delivered the same blunt message to a joint meeting of two House committees in the morning and a Senate panel in the afternoon: Humans are artificially warming the world, the risks of inaction are great, and meaningful cuts in emissions linked to warming will happen only if the United States takes the lead.

The Growing Green Scene

According to the report Green Building Products: Verifying and Defining the Opportunity for Western Pennsylvania issued by the GBA in November 2006, no other U.S. city is as far along as Pittsburgh in becoming a center for EPPs. "It is widely recognized that the southwestern Pennsylvania region is at the vanguard of the national market shift towards green building.Over the past two years, Pittsburgh has been cited for its green building leadership in The Economist, Fortune, USA Today and The New York Times,” reads the report. Due to the leadership of the region in green building, the area is in a unique position to take advantage of the growing interest in building green. "Western Pennsylvania is the green building product manufacturing center and the GBA is poised to support that reality for years to come,” it says.

Rivers run towards 'crisis point'

Some of the world's major rivers are reaching crisis point because of dams, shipping, pollution and climate change, according to the environment group WWF. Its report, World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk, says the river "crisis" rivals climate change in importance. Five of its "top 10" are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included. "The world is facing a massive freshwater crisis, which has the potential to be every bit as devastating as climate change," said Dr David Tickner, head of the freshwater programme at WWF-UK.

Penn Future Podcast: Explorations in Niger, Impacts of Global Warming

Ag Maha speaks to the group (seated together around the fire in the evening) about the serious impacts of global warming on the Touareg people. He describes how desertification is increasing, that the traditional means for survival of their people are disappearing as rainfall decreases and agricultural production becomes less and less possible. As many people are recognizing, the impacts of global warming are affecting those people least equipped to deal with it, and the consequences are in fact life-threatening.

Canada to End Oil Sands Aid, Add Green-Car Rebates

"Environmental measures in this budget will improve the air we all breathe," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in introducing his annual federal budget on Monday. The provision allowing accelerated write-off of oil sands investments will be phased out gradually so projects that had counted on them can proceed. Existing developments will get the allowance; for new projects the provision will be phased out between 2011 and 2015. Flaherty announced a rebate of C$1,000-C$2,000 (US$850-$1,700) for purchases of new fuel-efficient vehicles. Examples of those eligible for the full rebate include the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid and a hybrid model of the Ford Escape SUV.

Tax energy use, not employment

In truth, taxation can be arbitrary. Many economists agree that it makes sense to tax gasoline (a "bad") more heavily than employment (a "good"). And there are several reasons why the US government should act on this good sense.

Kansas Utility to Offset Emissions

In a groundbreaking agreement that can serve as a model for environmental groups and utilities working together, the Sierra Club, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), and the Concerned Citizens of Platte County (CCPC) have agreed on a set of initiatives to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce other emissions for the Kansas City-based utility. Under the agreement, KCP&L agrees to pursue offsets for all of the global warming emissions associated with its new plant through significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and cut pollution from its existing plants in order to improve air quality in the Greater Kansas City metro area.

Riders crowd public transit systems

Ridership on public transportation jumped to the highest level in nearly five decades in 2006 as high gas prices and expanded bus and train service enticed people to park their cars. More than 10 billion trips were taken on buses and rail lines last year, the American Public Transportation Association says in a report to be released Monday. That's up 2.9% from 2005 and the highest level since 1957. Ridership rose three consecutive years through 2006 and increased 28% in the 10 years since 1996.

$4 Trillion Backs Latest Call for Action on Climate Change

For the first time, dozens of institutional investors managing $4 trillion in assets today called on U.S. lawmakers to enact strong federal legislation to curb the pollution causing global climate change. Joined by a dozen leading U.S. companies, the investor group outlined the business and economic rationale for climate action as they called for a national policy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions consistent with targets scientists say are needed to avoid the dangerous impacts of global warming.

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Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh Region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.

Sustainable Pittsburgh benefits from support in 2007 from:

Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Dollar Bank
The Heinz Endowments
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
University of Pittsburgh


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1335
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
E-mail SP