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Events

Resources

Sustainable Solutions for the Region’s Businesses and Communities

Where can Western Pennsylvania’s businesses and communities go to find out how to save money by reducing their environmental footprints? Resources for becoming more sustainable in the way work gets done are available and growing.

Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Sustainable Business Solutions (SBS) and Sustainable Community Solutions (SCS) provide sustainability assessment services to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s companies and communities. The results of the assessments save money in operations, conserve resources, and enhanced civic stewardship.

There are many rewards to participating:
- Reduce operating costs through efficiency increases (energy, water, manufacturing, and other systems)
- Avoid costs of hauling away "non-products" not sold or recycled
- Turn environmental and social opportunities into bottom line benefits
- Design products, packaging, facilities, systems -- and business alliances -- through new opportunities
- Engage internal and external stakeholders to drive innovation
- Shorten time to market
- Stay ahead of new regulations
- Increase credibility to profit from consumer demand for socially conscious and "green" products and behavior

Click here for more information.

Resources Continued

Coal Mining Threat to South Park?

Saturday June 14
10:00 am
South Park High School Auditorium, 2005 Eagle Ridge Road, South Park

In the westernmost section of South Park is a serene area known as Sleepy Hollow. Apparently there is a proposal to mine this area and create level ground for playing fields. To inform the public on “proposed soil testing, coal removal and recreational reuse of land in the Sleepy Hollow area of South Park” the County is holding a public information session. All interested in protecting natural areas open to the public are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Port Authority’s Connect ’09 Regional Open Houses

Tuesday, June 17 - 6:00-8:00 PM - Western Communities
Carnegie Borough Building - Take the 33X, 100, 31E, or 33F

Monday, June 23 - 6:00-8:00 PM - Allegheny Valley/Eastern Suburbs
CCAC (Boyce) Gymnasium - Take the 67A and 77B

Tuesday, June 24 - 11:00 AM-2:00 PM – Central Pittsburgh
YWCA - Take any route into Downtown Pittsburgh

Tuesday, June 24 - 6:00-8:00 PM - North Hills
West View Firemen’s Banquet Hall - 398 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh, PA 15229
(Take the 11D or 500)

Wednesday, June 25 - 6:00-8:00 PM - South Hills
Bethel Park Fire Hall - 5213 Brightwood Road, Bethel Park, PA 15102
(Take the 47L Rail)

Thursday, June 26 - 6:00-8:00 PM - Mon Valley
CCAC (South) Gymnasium - 1750 Clairton Road, West Mifflin, PA 15122
(Take the 51E or 55M)

As a component of the Port Authority’s Connect ’09 initiative, the Transit Development Plan is intended to revitalize the Port Authority’s bus service –- to help the service better match current demand, to make it simpler, faster, more direct, and to implement innovative practices and services. Meeting your transportation needs is important to the Port Authority. Please attend one of these regional Open House meetings and tell the Port Authority where you need to go! For more information, please visit http://tdp.portauthority.org.

Finding Hidden Opportunities: Understanding Infill, Redevelopment and Replacement

Tuesday, June 17
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh Green Tree, 101 Radisson Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Fee: $50
Register Online at www.palocalgovtraining.org or send registration and fee (checks made payable to ‘PSAB’) to: The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, 2941 N. Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110

This course covers three important topics for ensuring coordinated community growth: infill, redevelopment, and replacement. This intensive, six (6) hour course will provide an interactive and practical approach to understanding and applying the principles and relevant information needed to begin (or continue) discussions of updating community development codes: making certain that new building styles, types, and development patterns are appropriate and compatible with surrounding buildings. Numerous “real-world” examples from throughout the Commonwealth will illustrate specifics including facts/statistics in comparison to required standards.

BikeFest

June 27-July 6
Click here for more information.

BikeFest is Pittsburgh's biggest cycling event for cyclists by cyclists. It's Bike Pittsburgh's annual celebration of all things bicycling, showcasing Pittsburgh in all of its uniqueness and beauty. It is not an organized event, but a framework for volunteers and organizations to organize bicycle-themed events themselves. Whether you ride everyday, the weekends, or just always wanted to try, BikeFest has an event for you!

Environmental Stewardship Workshop

June 30, July 1-2
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Children's Musuem of Pittsburgh, 10 Children's Way - Allegheny Square, North Side
Cost: $130
Act 48 credits: One
Contact: Hal Kaufman, PA Resources Council, at 412-431-4449 ext. 246 or halk@ccicenter.org

The Environmental Stewardship Workshop will provide teachers the opportunity to explore the various “Green” features of The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) as many of the principles that will be covered in the workshop are demonstrated at the facility, which serves as a model of sustainable environmental practices. CMP is one of the largest LEED certified museums in the country, and demonstrates a variety of sustainable design principles throughout its facility. The museum uses 100% renewable energy for its electricity, has a PV array to power lights in its café, a water exhibit highlighting water conservation issues, low-flow fixtures are utilized throughout the museum’s restrooms, and no-irrigation landscaping is featured in their backyard exhibit.

The Wonderful World of Water Day Camp

South Hills
July 15 - 16
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Green Tree Nature Center, corner of Crestmont Drive and Hillcrest Avenue

Butler
July 29 – 30
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Jennings Environmental Education Center, a PA State Park located 12 miles north of Butler on Route 528

Contact: Nancy Martin-Silber at 412-431-4449, ext. 247 or nancym@ccicenter.org

The 2008 Wonderful World of Water Camps offer young residents, ages 7-12, of both Pittsburgh’s South Hills area and the Butler area, two fun-filled days of environmental learning. Day campers attending this free camp will:
o Explore watershed basics
o Learn how human activity on the land affects the quality of water in rivers and streams
o Learn what we can do to help protect and preserve our watersheds
o Hike the parks’ nature trails
o Conduct water experiments
o Make related crafts

Save the Date - Champions for Sustainability: Building Local, Sustainable Markets

Thursday, July 17
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

What are some strategic challenges for organizing sustainable local networks that support local industries? How are these challenges being overcome? How can you help transform Pittsburgh through sustainable practices, entrepreneurial action, and supporting local businesses?

Champions for Sustainability (C4S) is organizing an opportunity to meet others who are making a difference in the local economy by starting their own businesses, tapping into the growing green and sustainable market, and promoting local market choices. Stop by for an evening of networking, local food, beverages, music, and more! Details forthcoming at www.C4SPgh.org.

Resources

Indiana Borough might become third-class city

St. Marys Mayor Sally Geyer, a lifelong resident, said the former borough and township officials were successful in finding a way to consolidate services for fire and police protection, while creating a larger municipality that has seven parks. "Merging was probably the best thing we could have done," she said. City Manager Dave Greene echoed Geyer's sentiments, saying St. Marys has benefited from grant opportunities through the governor's office and having a larger profile that attracts new industries.

Meat CSAs catching on

"The meat CSAs are really taking off," said Kate Evanishyn, spokeswoman for Slow Food USA, a nonprofit educational group with 170 chapters nationwide. "They're not going to be as large as vegetable CSAs, but people want to take control of the meat-buying process, and of what they're putting into their bellies."

More

Shinier, Happier People - How three Rust Belt cities are changing

It may not be intuitive to link an area historically associated with steel mills, coal mining, and automobile assembly lines to sustainable development. But green growth is catching on in the Rust Belt, long an economically unendowed area of the country -- and its manufacturing-heavy past is coming in handy in emerging fields like biotech, nanotech, and hydrogen cars.

Nancy Pelosi Keynote Address at American Public Transportation Association Rail Conference in SF

But it is not enough to improve vehicle efficiency and promote biofuels. We must also address total ‘vehicle miles traveled,’ which are growing at two and a half times the rate of population growth. “In that regard, you are in the lead -– getting people out of their cars and onto light rail, trolleys, and commuter rail, for example. Already, public transit saves our nation 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year. “The fuel savings from using transit are magnified when we add in the ‘smart growth’ that springs up around transit, especially rail transit stations. People use transit for more of their daily needs, such as running errands, and the nation saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually. In San Francisco alone, use of the Muni’s system results in an estimated 25 million gallons in oil savings.

Robert Reich: With Gas at $4 a Gallon, We Need Public Transportation, But Why We Can't Get It

Problem is, the nation doesn't have nearly enough public transportation to handle the new demand. Even more absurdly, right now when it's needed the most, public transportation across the land is being cut back. This is because transit costs are soaring by the same skyrocketing fuel prices that are forcing people out of their cars, at the same time transit revenues are shrinking because most transit systems depend largely on sales taxes, now dwindling as consumer purchases decline in this recession. A survey of the nation's public transit agencies released last Friday showed 21 percent of rail operators now cutting back and 19 percent of bus operators.

Chemical Law Has Global Impact - E.U.'s New Rules Forcing Changes By U.S. Firms

Europe this month rolled out new restrictions on makers of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems, changes that are forcing U.S. industries to find new ways to produce a wide range of everyday products. The new laws in the European Union require companies to demonstrate that a chemical is safe before it enters commerce -- the opposite of policies in the United States, where regulators must prove that a chemical is harmful before it can be restricted or removed from the market. Manufacturers say that complying with the European laws will add billions to their costs, possibly driving up prices of some products. The changes come at a time when consumers are increasingly worried about the long-term consequences of chemical exposure and are agitating for more aggressive regulation. In the United States, these pressures have spurred efforts in Congress and some state legislatures to pass laws that would circumvent the laborious federal regulatory process.

U.S. Life Expectancy Reaches Record

For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday. The increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005.

PUMPing up Pittsburgh - Nonprofit's programs aim to attract more young residents to the area while keeping those who are already here

This summer, the draw is Stay and Play Fridays, the latest initiative of the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Program to encourage young people not only to stay Downtown after business hours -- but ultimately to stay in Pittsburgh. . . The region's job growth has picked up in comparison to many metro areas in the past year, and growth in the professional and business services arena where many young professionals gravitate actually has run well ahead, according to the nonprofit Pittsburgh Regional Indicators Initiative, which benchmarks the region against 14 other metro areas on a range of factors. . . But Ms. Mayes believes that the region must embrace more diversity to retain young people -- a theme many experts say is crucial if the region is to keep and lure the necessary immigrants to offset a stagnant population that is seeing deaths outpacing births.

LEED 2009 open for public comment

The USGBC Board of Directors has voted unanimously to open for public comment LEED 2009, a new version of the rating system that delivers against key environmental and human health impacts, and puts in place a transparent framework for weighting credits accordingly, based on the best available science. It is the product of thousands of hours of volunteer time and deep expertise generously given by representatives from every corner of the building industry.

Oakmont: Small Town America, Big Time Golf

One of the more exciting developments in Oakmont surrounds the future of prime real estate on the riverfront, the site of the Edgewater Steel brownfield. Two large development projects are planned. The River’s Edge of Oakmont touts a diverse mix of 170 single homes, city homes, condos and retail space on 28 acres on the south side of Oakmont. Rothschild, Doyno Architects designed the project, which recently won a region and urban design award from AIA Pittsburgh. The second project is the Edgewater by KACIN, a 241-unit riverfront development on 31 acres, which will include a mix of dwellings: single family homes, metro flats and townhomes. Both projects are pending final approval and construction is expected to commence this fall on Edgewater and next year on River's Edge. . .Both projects also plan to tie into with existing recreational facilities at Riverside Park, to the north, and the arboretum walking trail. . .The Three Rivers Heritage Trail, a proposed 37-mile greenway system, also has high hopes for a long and winding trail system that ultimately will run along either side of the Allegheny, including a northward extension that will connect from Pittsburgh through Verona and Oakmont.

Half of Papua New Guinea's forests gone by 2021: study

Half of Papua New Guinea's forests will be lost or damaged in just over a decade, speeding up local climate change, unless logging is dramatically reduced, a study released Monday found. . ."Papua New Guinea's forests are...of national and regional significance because of their carbon storage factors, they are critically important for the regional stability of our climate," he said. "And they also hold probably somewhere between six and 10 percent of the world's biodiversity.". . .Namah acknowledged that commercial logging contributed 176 million US dollars to the national purse each year. "But at the same time we understand that there needs to be control as to the logging activities in the country, there's a call for sustainable forest management," he told reporters via a telephone link.

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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 2008 from:

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dollar Bank
The Heinz Endowments
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Richard King Mellon 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