3E Links readers are early adopters of sustainable policies, products, and practices, and the people who educate their friends and family about the benefits of sustainable development. Be sure to pass your issue of 3E Links along to friends and colleagues. Subscribe by e-mailing info@sustainablepittsburgh.org

Events

Smart Transportation for Focused Growth: Best Practices

The Urban Land Institute in partnership with the ULI-Pittsburgh District Council, PennFuture, Sustainable Pittsburgh, 10000 Friends of Pennsylvania, and the Local Government Academy is convening a panel of experts to discuss the importance of sound land use policy in setting transportation priorities.

Our region's economic competitiveness depends on smart choices for transportation and transit investments.
Monday, June 11, 2007
8:00 AM until 11:00 AM
The Rivers Club
Oxford Centre ~ 301 Grant Street, 4th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Program Presentations by Keynotes:
Douglas I. Foy, President, DIF Enterprises and former Secretary, Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development
Secretary Allen D. Biehler, PA Department of Transportation
Guest Panelists:
- Stephen G. Bland, CEO, Port Authority of Allegheny County
- Robert Dunphy, ULI Senior Resident Fellow, Transportation
- Jim Hassinger, President & CEO, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Sponsored by The Heinz Endowments

Registration

Information.

Resources

Executive Breakfast: Leadership Under Pressure

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
8 am - 9:30 am
The Rivers Club, Downtown
Fee: $25
Contact: 412-397-6814 Register

Choosing When There Are No Good Choices. The struggles of funding our public transportation system has been front page news for months. Yet in the midst of all the data and decisions, there is always the human element---Port Authority CEO Stephen Bland moved to Pittsburgh to face those challenges and unpleasant choices. Under the scrutiny of intense media attention, Bland has tried to listen to the stakeholders in the transit conundrum and make equitable decisions for all.

How does someone lead in the face of incredible pressure? What makes someone try to see the human side of a situation, when the very existence of a essential system is in jeopardy? As an executive, what would you do? Bring your thoughts and ideas to a breakfast, where Bland will be interviewed by Jerry Cozewith, Executive Director for the Greater Pittsburgh Office of The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Leading may be lonely, but it can be always humane.

Get aboard the Good Schools PA bus to the Capitol!

Tuesday, June 5
Miracal Mile Shopping Center, Monroeville
Depart Monroeville at 6 am -- Depart Harrisburg 1:45 am

Reserve your seat

Together we can raise our voices and make sure that our kids are a priority during the budget negotiations. It’s up to all of us to make certain that Pennsylvania’s unfair and unjust system of public education funding is no longer ignored at the state capitol! Won’t you please consider joining Good Schools PA on Tuesday, June 5th? A bus will be provided by Good Schools--free of charge to you--and will depart from Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville at 6:00 AM. (If you are coming from another direction and can meet us at a turnpike exit east of Monroeville, we can discuss this possibility.) The day at the capitol will begin with a briefing across the street from the capitol building. Legislative visits will follow. Finally, we'll be part of a rally and press conference in the Rotunda of the Capitol. The bus will depart from Harrisburg at 1:45 PM.

SPC Seeks Public Input

May 21 - June 21



Public Comment Info

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission seeks comments from the public on important draft documents prior their adoption including the 2035 Transportation and Development Plan for SWPA (Public Comment Period: May 21 - June 21, 2007)

Funding for Local Governments

Thursday, June 7, 2007
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM (8:30 registration)
Comfort Inn Pittsburgh East Conference Center - Penn Hills
699 Rodi Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15235
Cost: Free

In an effort to help local governments identify and access potential sources of funding, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and the Local Government Academy are pleased to host the 2007 Funders’ Conference. The program will feature funding agencies together in one place to share how they can be of assistance. Our goal is to bring together those who seek grant funding and those who provide grant funding in order to gain a better understanding of each other. This one-day workshop has two features designed to help our communities learn about the resources available:
- In the morning, these agencies will present their grant programs and discuss the different types of projects they support.
- In the afternoon, you will have the chance to talk directly to these agencies about projects in your community, and ask specific questions about grant funding.

Resources

Allegheny County officials plan 128-mile greenspace along the region's rivers

The 128-mile riverfront park would cover the banks of all four rivers -- the Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio and Youghiogheny. Officials said it will take several years to secure 30-35 miles of riverfront to close all the gaps between recreational areas. The banks of the Ohio River could prove toughest, they said.

The World's Fastest Trains

Want to get from Paris to London in just over two hours? How about Barcelona to Madrid in two and a half? Take the train. As roads and airports get slower, trains are going ever faster. How fast? Think 125 mph (201.12 km/h) and up, according to the International Union of Railways. And more are on the way.

GE reports $12B in environmental revenues

GE has demonstrated that “going green” is good for the bottom line. The company reports that global revenue from the its “ecomagination” portfolio of energy efficient and environmentally advantageous products and services reached $12 billion in 2006, a 20 per cent increase over 2005, with back orders exceeding $50 billion.

In Vancouver, civic leaders see a livable city

Vancouver's strategy of density and transit is a stark contrast to the Atlanta region's road-oriented sprawl. In the 1970s, Vancouver residents waged a 10-year battle to keep freeways from its urban core. They successfully defeated a plan that would have run a highway through its Chinatown and run along its downtown waterfront. Now a traffic light at the edge of city limits signals that the interstate from Tijuana to Canada has come to a stop and is now a city street. "We are the only North American city of any significance without an interstate at its core," said Gordon Price, an urban affairs professor at Simon Fraser University, who used to serve on Vancouver's City Council. Instead of the city drying up economically and becoming inaccessible and unlivable, downtown Vancouver has become one of the most thriving urban areas in North America...The Vancouver model only works if communities follow four guiding principles: protect green spaces, develop in compact areas, increase transportation choices and build complete communities. A complete community includes grocery stores, drugstores, liquor stores, schools, jobs and a variety of homes, including units designed for families.

Proposed light-rail extension heading for ballot

The numbers might be enough to make voters dizzy: a full 50 miles of light rail, to be built over 20 years, at a long-term cost of $23 billion. Sound Transit is betting that when citizens say they want light rail, they mean it...The transit plan will be paired with a regional highway proposal as a single ballot question in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties, where sluggish commutes are a perennial irritant.

FasTracks speeding vertical use of land

When a new mixed-use development was proposed at the end of the light-rail line that will connect Golden with downtown Denver, outspoken critics focused on one element - the development's density. "Golden historically hasn't had any developments denser than 20 or 22 units to the acre, but that's suburban-type density," said Michael O'Hara, the architect in charge of the project. "The planning commission agreed that, to limit sprawl and infrastructure costs, it would approve 54 units to the acre...As metro Denver's FasTracks transit project prepares to bring rail service to metro cities over the next nine years, discussions like Golden's are becoming more common. And as young singles and empty-nesters rush toward lofts in the city, developers are getting more comfortable building up instead of out. Arvada Mayor Ken Fellman likes to tell his constituents, "If you don't like sprawl, you had better like density. When land is limited, you have to grow vertically." ..The Denver Regional Council of Governments is trying to fuel the trend by requiring metro communities to increase their density by 10 percent by 2030.

Proposal would eliminate Turnpike Commission

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in two years would cease to exist and would become part of a new transportation authority that would manage toll roads the Legislature authorizes, under a concept proposed today by the House transportation chairman.

Sprawl clashes with warming in California

The need to rein in sprawl has not received much attention from Schwarzenegger, who has garnered international attention as he has talked about creating more efficient cars, boosting solar power, and developing new carbon-trading markets for industry. But experts, including the governor's own climate advisers, argue that changing how housing is developed is key to meeting the emissions reductions that AB32 calls for. Those changes, aimed at nothing less than altering how and where Californians live and encouraging a car-crazy state to drive less, may be the most profound -- and difficult -- challenge for the state's global warming fight...Brown accuses the Inland Empire county of failing to consider how growth and new development will impact climate change, suggesting the passage last year of AB32 requires that the county detail strategies to help limit the growth of carbon emissions as it contemplates how to accommodate an expected 25 percent increase in population. Brown has asked a state superior court judge to require the county to redo its general plan, account for the amount of greenhouse gas emissions new developments could create, and provide strategies for lessening those emissions or mitigating them. The lawsuit could have significant impacts on Bay Area counties and outlying bedroom communities as they develop long-term growth plans. Brown said he would be watching other counties and would sue them as well is they didn't consider ways to help alleviate global warming.

Obesity: EU gives industry 3 years to self-regulate

The Commission is also urging the private sector to develop stronger advertising codes, the food and retailing industry to make greater efforts to reformulate foods and sport organisations to develop advertising and marketing campaigns to encourage physical activity focusing in particular on children.

Berkeley sets tough course for its residents to follow to help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

Six months after Berkeley voters overwhelmingly passed Measure G, a mandate to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, the city is laying out a long-term road map for residents, business and industry. It includes everything from solar panels at the Pacific Steel foundry to composted table scraps. While San Francisco, Oakland and other local governments in the Bay Area have approved policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Berkeley is the first to begin spelling out how people would be expected to reduce their carbon footprints.

Study: IDA Property Tax Exemptions Favor Wealthy Suburbs, Shortchange Older Areas in Buffalo-Niagara Region

Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) in the Buffalo/Niagara metro area are subsidizing job creation and investment, but not in areas that most need them. In Erie County, wealthy suburbs -- especially those with their own IDAs -- contain disproportionate shares of IDA-granted property tax exemptions, fueling regional sprawl. State law that regulates IDAs could be amended to ensure that IDA tax breaks don't undermine regional growth plans and support jobs and investment where they are most needed.

Peak Oil

Is it possible that the world has reached or is close to the point of maximum oil production? Some geological experts believe so and if their “peak oil” theory is correct, this would have enormous consequences for energy security and for world economy. 27

China and the US: GHG giants and the climate dance

The United States and China account for nearly 40 percent of the world’s man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental policies of these two nations will greatly influence the shape of any post-Kyoto climate change agreement. However, achieving a consensus between these two superpowers and the rest of the world has proven to be difficult. 92

PNC Named to Global List of 'Most Ethical Companies

PNC was one of 92 companies around the world selected for the list. Ethisphere magazine analyzed the companies over a six-month time period on a variety of factors, including companies' codes of ethics; litigation and regulatory infraction histories; investment in innovation and industry leadership; corporate citizenship, pan-industry effort participation; governance and transparency; public and trade partner perception analysis and ethics/compliance programs and systems.

The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation

Too often we hear that communities can't afford to create parks, preserve farms, conserve open space, and protect watershed landscapes. But at The Trust for Public Land we know conservation is not an expense, but an investment that pays many dividends, including economic ones. Does land conservation protect the bottom line? Leading experts in the field assert that it does. The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation presents quantitative and authoritative research on the economic benefits land conservation can bring to communities

For information on becoming a Member of Sustainable Pittsburgh, please visit our website.

3E Links is sent as a service to Sustainable Pittsburgh Members and interested parties and is being distributed for informational purposes. The information above was provided by or obtained from the organizing institution or one of its representatives. Our distribution does not imply endorsement. To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Click here to access the 3E Links Archive. Use "Search" on SP's homepage for a great resource.

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:

Dollar Bank
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
The Giant Eagle Foundation
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