Events

Resources

A viable transportation system is critical to our region’s prosperity. But once again, public transportation and other transportation priorities are threatened by lack of funding. There is a narrowing window of opportunity for the Governor and General Assembly to act to assure a permanent and reliable source of funding for public transportation in urban, suburban and rural areas and to address the current backlog of highway and bridge repair projects identified in the current and proposed PENNDOT Twelve Year Programs and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

If you have not already done so, please endorse or participate in the 2006 Transportation Funding Initiative whose goal is to develop a stable and reliable source of funding to maintain and expand the Commonwealth’s transportation system. Over 400 organizations and individuals have endorsed to date.

http://www.sustainablepittsburgh.org/TFI

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Resources Cont.

Champions of Sustainability on WDUQ 90.5 FM Primetime Broadcast Schedule

Sunday, June 11 at 6 pm & Monday, June 12 at 7 pm
Judith Bell, President of PolicyLink & Radhika Fox, Senior Policy Associate, PolicyLink
Topic: "Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda For Rebuilding America's Older Core Cities"

Sunday, June 18 at 6 pm & Monday, June 19 at 7 pm
Anne Canby, President of the National Surface Transportation Policy Project
Topic: "Transportation: The Key to a Prosperous Future"

Sunday, June 25 at 6 pm & Monday, June 26 at 7 pm
David Soule, Associate Director, Center for Urban and Regional Policy, Northeastern University
Topic: “Overcoming Deal Breakers to Urban Redevelopment for Regional Prosperity”

Listeners are invited to offer comments via region@wduq.org

Champions of Sustainability is a public lecture series presented by Sustainable Pittsburgh - which affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.
These Champs broadcasts will soon be available on Sustainable Pittsburgh's website together with the past 30+ Champs programs.

This radio series is supported by Mellon Financial Corporation and the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation.

The World Is Flat

Wednesday, June 14
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Omni William Penn Hotel
Cost: Members $25. Non-Members $35, Students $15
Reaction Panel:
Moderator: Court Gould, Sustainable Pittsburgh
- Siddarth Chandra, Director University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center
- Ken Cuccinelli, Chairman, Quest Fore, Inc.
- Maxwell King, President, The Heinz Endowments
- Brian Rabe, Director Global Customer Support, Kennametal Inc.
(Please pay at the door, by cash or by check made payable to “The Economic Club of Pittsburgh.”)
Video presentation of Thomas L. Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times and author presenting his best-selling book "The World Is Flat"
Followed by local reaction panel and audience Q&A. Video presentation of Thomas L. Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times and author presenting his best-selling book "The World Is Flat"

Followed by local reaction panel and audience Q&A.

Space is limited - reservations required: Please make your reservations by email to reservations@econclubpgh.org by June 9 . If you discover you cannot attend or arrange for an associate to attend, please cancel by June 13 or you will be billed for the cost of the luncheon. Call (412) 762-2671 for cancellations.

Presented by: Economic Club of Pittsburgh in cooperation with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Sustainable Pittsburgh, and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh

Nations, regions, and cities the world over are just beginning to comprehend the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to step up as leaders in the global economy. Their role in the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, is creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization. And with this "flattening" of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner? What is the Pittsburgh region's play in this fast changing environment? What must our business, civic, and government leaders do to ensure our relevance and competitiveness in the fast changing global economy?

Join in viewing a video presentation of Thomas Friedman presenting the key insights from his brilliant new book as he demystifies the brave new world, making sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before our eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt.

After the video presentation, a reaction panel of local business and civic leaders will provide insights on what's at stake and steps the Pittsburgh region can take to compete in leveled economic world where Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda are next-door neighbors.

Sierra Club Monthly Meeting - Pennsylvania's Small Farms Fight Back Against Sprawl

Wednesday, June 14
7:30 pm
Phipps Garden Center, Fifth and Shady Ave.
Squirrel Hill
Free and Open to the Public
Info: Donald Gibbon at 412-362-8451 or dongibbon@earthlink.net

Suzy Myer, founder of Image Earth and consultant to the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, will share the exciting work PASA is doing to restore the traditional role of small farms in OUR food chain. Fitting hand-in-glove with the Sierra Club’s “Sustainable Consumption” and “True Cost of Food” campaigns, Suzy’s presentation will help to connect the dots in this complex subject.

Montour Run Watershed Association Annual Dinner

Tuesda, June 27
6 pm
Airport Marriot Hotel
Parkway West at the Montour Run Exit
Cost $25. Dinner by Reservations Only.
Call 724-695-2454

Court Gould of Sustainable Pittsburgh will present a program titled "What's at Stake? Economics, Equity, and the Environment: Smart-Growth Planning" during the Montour Run Watershed Association's Annual Dinner.

May I Build Something in Your Neighborhood?

To most people's minds, real estate developers and neighborhood activists are the Mars and Venus of urban politics, meant never to talk civilly with one another, nevertheless get along. And no question, the history of building new things in old neighborhoods is filled with tales of broken promises, end-runs, threats and screaming matches. But some developers are reaching across that reservoir of mistrust these days. What they're finding is, if not open arms, at least a willingness to listen, talk and, in time, even work together.

Group to tout merging towns

Labor leaders need assurances that it won't result in privatization, layoffs, or erosion of pay and benefits, said Mr. Fawcett. uburbanites want proof that they won't be taxed to bail out the city. Any effort to merge them away would require reassurance that they will "not lose their identities," said Bruce Russell, 55, dean of Slippery Rock University's College of Business, Information and Social Sciences...The idea could gain momentum today, as 48 rising stars in business, academia and the nonprofit sectors fan out with municipal mergers on their minds. "If you get out there and explain it to people the right way," said Ms. Sandilla, "it will work."

Local government merger is hot topic for leaders

We need more efficient, more effective government," said Barbara McNees, vice chairwoman of the state-appointed Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority -- called ICA -- and president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce. he ICA has told the city to merge much of its purchasing, plus its payroll and tax collection, with the county this year. It hasn't yet weighed in on getting rid of the city altogether. County Chief Executive Dan Onorato would consider any level of government consolidation, from swallowing the city to creating a single countywide municipality, said his spokesman, Kevin Evanto.

Green Communities

Green Communities is a five-year, $555 million initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally healthy homes for low-income families. Created by Enterprise in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Communities will transform the way America thinks about, designs, and builds affordable communities. The initiative provides grants, financing, tax-credit equity, and technical assistance to developers who meet Green Communities Criteria for affordable housing that promotes health, conserves energy and natural resources, and provides easy access to jobs, schools, and services.

Port Authority wants riders to "dump the pump" and their cars in gasoline boycott

The Port Authority has joined other transit agencies across the nation for "Dump the Pump Day" in which motorists are being encouraged to ride buses and trolleys as a way to beat high gas prices. The gasoline boycott, scheduled for tomorrow, is a promotion spearheaded by the American Public Transit Association, representing the transit industry.

Report: No More Just Throwing Money Out the Window: Using Road Tolls to Cut Congestion, Protect the Environment, and Boost Access for All

In a statement issued today, Environmental Defense transportation director Michael Replogle says: "It’s time for America’s transportation agencies to maximize highway system performance rather than just trying to build more roads. Better traffic management, market incentives like time-of-day tolls, and new performance-based contracting methods are key to getting the job done."

Taking the Long View on Mayview

It could easily be mistaken for a college campus, or a gated suburban housing development.... Except for the “park at your own risk” signs, little in this landscape reminds one of the world outside. But the badge-bearing workers who bookend a line of residents belie the fact that this is a controlled environment: Mayview State Hospital, the largest mental institution in Western Pennsylvania. And these seemingly timeless surroundings may soon prove transitory. Some 30 long-time residents are being prepared for discharge by the end of June, so that as many beds can be permanently closed by the start of the fiscal year beginning July 1. And that group of patients, called “Wave 1” by officials, will be only the first of the facility’s 285 patients to be sent away.... Even so, the emptying out of Mayview means that the counties it serves — Allegheny, Beaver, Washington, Lawrence and Greene — may bear a bigger burden in providing for their mentally-ill residents. It takes not just money but finesse to coordinate the services needed by patients who can be volatile and vulnerable at once. Already, family members of some Wave 1 patients worry that the counties are ill-prepared for the housing and service needs, especially of those who have been hospitalized for many years.

Big Win for Affordable Housing Advocates

After a three-year struggle, the DC Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning celebrated a major policy win. In May 2006, the Zoning Commission issued a historic ruling to create a mandatory inclusionary zoning (IZ) program in the District of Columbia.

Recycling Has Come a Long Way

Recycling and reuse businesses now employ about as many people as the auto industry, if not more, according to a 2001 "U.S. Recycling Economic Information Study" commissioned by the U.S. EPA and several states through an agreement with the National Recycling Coalition. At least 1.1 million people now work in the industry, more than triple the jobs in mining. BusinessWeek in February pegged the number of auto factory workers at about 950,000. Demand from industrializing China and India is helping spur the U.S. recycling industry, which now provides a "major source of raw materials," according to Jerry Powell, editor of Resource Recycling magazine.

State grants help fund five Canonsburg projects - Nearly $383,000 for Main Street program, demolition for new library

Canonsburg yesterday received nearly $383,000 in state money that will help fund five borough projects, including creation of a Main Street program and razing buildings to make way for a library.

10 Ways Global Warming Will Impact the Eastern US

Philadelphia City Paper presents 10 Ways.

Federal funds to be vital in McKeesport's face lift

This grant pays for the beautification of the area, which will include repairing and restoring the concrete sidewalks; replacing handicapped access ramps; installing and, in some cases, replacing street lighting, trash cans and benches; coordinating the styles of the traffic signal poles; and taking care of the trees in the area, including removing dead and overgrown trees and planting new ones, according to the grant application.

Report may offer road map to funding

A state transportation report due in November could help Western Pennsylvania leaders devise a strategy to raise the $3.5 billion still needed to complete the Mon Fayette Expressway...Other key backers, including county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, are not sure where the money will come from to complete the job. "I think we've done a good job convincing people that it's a worthwhile project, but the numbers are just so huge," Onorato spokesman Kevin Evanto said. "In the end, if it can't be built, then it can't be built."

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

For thirty-five years the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has been a leader of the corporate social responsibility movement. ICCR's membership is an association of 275 faith- based institutional investors, including national denominations, religious communities, pension funds, endowments, hospital corporations, economic development funds, asset management companies, colleges, unions, and publishing companies. ICCR and its members press companies to be socially and environmentally responsible. Each year ICCR- member religious institutional investors sponsor over 200 shareholder resolutions on major social and environmental issues. The combined portfolio value of ICCR's member organizations is estimated to be $110 billion...ICCR members have joined Co-op America in launching a consumer action on climate change to encourage the top three mutual fund companies in the United States -- Fidelity, Vanguard, and American Funds - to start taking climate change seriously.

'Carbon leaders' and 'carbon dogs' join gauges for climate investment

Socially conscious investors long ago hopped on the climate- change bandwagon, putting their money into companies that control greenhouse gases and shunning those that do not. But now, the pure profit-and-loss players are moving in, potentially raising the level of the game. They are betting that Washington will someday clamp down on emitters of carbon dioxide and other gases that are believed to contribute to global warming. And they are certain that there is money to be made in holding the shares of low emitters and shorting the shares of big ones...Innovest itself has for the last three years put together an annual Climate Leadership Index that ranks companies on how well they are controlling greenhouse gases. And this year Ceres, a coalition of environmentalists and investors, ranked 100 companies on the way their top managements are addressing climate change. But until now, such reports were meant as guides to socially conscious investors who want to punish companies that pollute and reward those that do not. The latest research puts the question in pure dollars-and-cents terms: who will make money from climate- change rules, and who will lose out.

Get tough / Lawmakers should take a hard line on mercury

DEP's rules make more sense. Pennsylvanians are subjected to the second-highest rate of mercury pollution in the nation. A poll by Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future found 80 percent want tougher limits and would be willing to pay slightly higher electric bills to cover the cost of pollution control devices. The state will look foolish if lawmakers pass legislation allowing coal-fired plants to comply with the lower federal standards. That's because Pennsylvania has joined a dozen other states in suing to have the federal rules overturned for being too weak. The PennFuture poll found something else that lawmakers should consider: Residents are less likely to vote for a lawmaker who opposes the DEP standards. Legislators should heed that and assure the physical health of the state's residents before granting the wishes of polluters.

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

Please review SP's regional assessments and vision/policies for the future: SWPA Regional Indicators Report, Citizens' Vision for Smart Growth, and Regional Policy Guidance Document by clicking on the links to our website.

The Transportation for Livable Communities project is a partnership of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the national Surface Transportation Policy Project to advance a sustainable transportation system for Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Sustainable Pittsburgh benefits from support in 2006 from:

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dollar Bank
The Heinz Endowments
Mellon Financial Corporation
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation


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