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Events

Resources

Expecting Future Generations?
Accept only Sustainable Development.

Accelerating sustainability is certainly an art and science. When Sustainable Pittsburgh was presented with opportunity to participate in a recent poster session, we endeavored to create a poster that has a long shelf life. We're pleased with the result and want you to give you a copy. Here's the image. We have this beautiful, glossy, 16 x 27.5 inch poster waiting for you. Hang it in your home or office and inspire discussion among family, friends, and coworkers. We're confident it will be a conversation starter that leads to thinking on the interdependence of economy, equity, environment.

Stop by Sustainable Pittsburgh’s office in Suite 1335 in the Regional Enterprises Tower (old Alcoa building) on 425 Sixth Ave., Downtown, to pick up your free poster.

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Resources Continued

Pittsburgh Green Drinks

Friday, June 15
5 - 9 pm
Bossa Nova - 123 Seventh Ave.
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Info: www.greendrinks.org/

This month's host, the Mayor of Braddock John Fetterman will share his new launch in converting the Mon Valley's steelmaking heart into the Greenest Place in the Pittsburgh area by converting the Enterprise Zone into a Green Enterprise Zone. In addition to his unique economic development approach, his sustainable methods include reuse of existing structures as major agents of economic conversion for his community.

Monessen Community Developement

Tuesday, June 19
5:30 pm
Orchard Christian Fellowship Hall
721 Schoonmaker Ave.
Monessen
Contact: 724-684-4142

Guest Speaker Tay Waltenbaugh, CEO Westmoreland Human Opportunities, will present on Monessen Community Development.

Energy Efficiency Workshop For Universities and K-12 School Districts

Tuesday, June 19
8:45 am - 2:30 pm
Regional Learning Alliance
850 Cranberry Woods Drive
Cranberry Township
Free
Register by June 14: gmcumber@state.pa.us or 814-332-6352

Learn how to save money while gaining energy efficiency for your college or school. Topics of discussion by speakers connected to the education system include: Pittsburgh School District’s Energy Efficiency Success Story; Northwest PA Collegiate Building Assessment; “Lighting Efficiencies and Energy Management”; “It’s Not Expensive Being Green: Lessons from Our Lady of Sacred Heart High School”; How Energy Conservation Will Save you Money; and Technology and Maintenance Opportunities Abound.

Are We Hedging Our Bets?

Wednesday, June 20
12 - 2 pm
Point Park University Ballroom
210 Wood St.
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Cost: $12 (includes lunch)
RSVP by June 15: www.lpinc.org or 412-392-4505

Join special guest speaker Eileen McNulty, CFO PA Gaming Control Board, and panelists Jon Delano, Money & Politics Editor, KDKA TV; Dr. Rafael Engel, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work; Reverend David Gleason, Chair, Social Impact Committee Gaming Task Force; and the Honorable William Peduto, Pittsburgh City Council; for lunch and a lively discussion regarding the social and economic impact of gaming on the region. Moderator: Bill Flanagan, Executive Vice President & Chief Public Affairs Officer, Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

BikeFest 07

June 29 - July 8
www.bike-pgh.org

BikeFest is Bike Pittsburgh’s annual celebration of two wheeled madness, showcasing Pittsburgh in all of its uniqueness and beauty. It is not an organized event, but a framework for organizing bicycle-themed events. Whether you ride everyday, the weekends, or always wanted to try, BikeFest! has an event for you

Resources

Sustainable Dream Jobs: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Seasonal Landscaper:
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Community Gardens & Greenspace department has an opening for a Seasonal Landscaper, based in Pittsburgh. Position will work full time for approximately 9-10 months each year, and an abbreviated schedule in the winter. This position will assist in spring installation, summer maintenance and fall clean-up of community garden and greening projects. Candidates will have a basic understanding of horticulture and landscape techniques. A background and understanding of urban beautification and/or greening projects helpful. Good computer skills with ability to use word, outlook and excel software is required. Must be able to work a flexible schedule, be able to work long hours as needed, have a valid drivers license, and be able to lift up to 50 lbs. Position provides excellent benefits and a competitive hourly wage.

Volunteer Coordinator:
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Community Gardens & Greenspace program has an opening for a highly motivated individual to coordinate all dimensions of volunteer management. More than 4,000 volunteers are used to create beautiful flower gardens to enhance communities of all sizes and locations throughout 19 Pennsylvania counties. The position reports to the Senior Director of Community Gardens & Greenspace Program and is based in downtown Pittsburgh. Responsibilities include recruiting, training, coordinating assignments and information management, building relationships, and ensuring recognition and retention of a large array of individuals and groups of volunteers and garden stewards. The position requires extraordinary communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, strong organizational and task management skills, and excellent computer skills.

What Pittsburgh Can Teach the Country

A city down on its luck has an optimistic young leader. The scene there mirrors our national situation.

Transit workers rally for state funding

"It's not just a Pittsburgh and Philadelphia problem,'' said Port Authority union President Patrick McMahon. "This affects Reading and Wilkes-Barre and Scranton and Altoona and Erie. People need transit to get to work, doctors' appointments and for shopping.''

The wayward can is my quarry

I figure these cans are my small blow against our skyrocketing trade deficit and rampant energy consumption. The United States exports hundreds of millions of pounds of scrap aluminum each month, but only about half the cans produced are recycled.

Switching on to nanogeneration

The G8 summit has delivered an apparent consensus that action must be taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but uncertainty remains on the best way to tackle the problem. In this week's Green Room, Clemens Betzel argues devices that generate their own power must be part of the solution.

Presidential Candidates Weigh In on Climate Change

Historically, environmental issues have taken a back seat in national elections. But that appears to be changing. Climate change is moving to the front burner for many of the candidates vying for the Democratic and Republican nominations in 2008. The new awareness results from several factors: A growing consensus among Americans on the left and right that global warming issues must be addressed; concern over imported oil from the Middle East; and the newfound muscle of California's eco-voters, thanks to their state's early primary next year. Here, a guide to what the presidential candidates have said so far:

Good News, Bad News in Great Lakes Health Report

Levels of many toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes are diminishing, yet at the same time new chemicals of concern are being detected, according to the latest joint report from the United States and Canada...The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the Earth's fresh surface water.

Cities are the answer

Many of the world's most difficult environmental challenges can be addressed and solved by cities. This may come as a surprise to those who think of environmental issues largely in the context of wild places and open spaces. Cities, often congested, dense, and enormous consumers of resources, would not be the place one might first turn for environmental solutions. But in fact, cities are inherently the "greenest" of all places. They are much more efficient in their use of energy, water, and land than suburbs. They provide transportation services in a remarkably equitable and democratic fashion. They may be the best of all places for seniors to grow old. Development in cities helps to save natural areas and open space by relieving growth pressures on the countryside. And cities will, without question, be the pivotal players in fashioning solutions to the growing problem of climate change.

Every Little Bit Helps at UPS

You wouldn't think of something as benign as avoiding a left-hand turn could conserve fuel, but Atlanta-based United Parcel Service swears by it. In fact, the parcel carrier has technology in its systems that map this out routes that minimize the number of left turns the driver has to make. According to spokesperson Steve Holmes, avoiding left turns at intersections reduces idling which in turn lowers fuel consumption. "It seems small, but when you multiply it across 88,0000 vehicles making nearly 15 million deliveries every day during the course of a year, it adds up."

PA Association of Sustainable Agriculture Confrence to include photo exhibit on farms

A special feature of the 2008 PASA Conference will be a look at PA farms, farm products, and farmers through the medium of photography. The images are expected to be projected rather than hung individually. Not knowing ahead of time what the population is of photographers who would like to participate, Donald L. Gibbon, who is chairing this activity, would like to hear from people who think they would enter images to be shown. At this early point, jurying and prizes have not yet been arranged. If there are photographers who would be willing to help in this form of artistic examination of the joys, challenges, beauties, even the "downers" of being a farmer in Pennsylvania, please contact Don at dongibbon@earthlink.net or call 412-362-8451. You can see some of his photography work at www.donaldlgibbonphotography.com.

Students push for 'green' arena, casino

The two girls, who have used a blog and the Facebook site to spread the word about global warming, collected names for the petition at their school and four others: Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic, North Allegheny and Allderdice. "I think we could have gotten more if we had more time," said Ms. Valdes, a volunteer with the Sierra Club. "Not one person turned us down."

PA Transit chief gives $5B road slim odds

Macquarie Group, based in Sydney, Australia, is one of 48 groups interested in leasing the 359-mile main line of the turnpike. It conducted a traffic and revenue analysis of the proposed 24-mile section between Jefferson Hills and Oakland, said turnpike spokesman Bill Capone. Biehler, a Turnpike Commission board member, said results of the study soured Macquarie Group's interest and has him doubting that others would be interested.

Pennsylvania's Energy Independence Strategy

Join the Campaign for Energy Independence by contacting your state elected officials to urge their support for Pennsylvania's Energy Independence Strategy.

PEC releases Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council has released its Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania. If we maintain the status quo, Pennsylvania's GHG emissions are projected to grow roughly 10% per decade, through 2025 and beyond. However, Pennsylvania could lower and ultimately reverse this growth by joining other states in setting goals for reducing GHG emissions and adopting the necessary supporting policies. These policies must address every sector of the economy, including transportation, industry, buildings, agriculture, and forestry. In addition, these policies should also be designed to achieve other important goals: energy independence, cleaner air and water, economic development, and job creation.

Putting off difficult decisions will worsen transit problems

The General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell are flirting with a mass transit crisis in the absence of an agreement on how to address major funding shortfalls at 73 transit agencies around the state.

Regaining the lead on renewable energy

Already, 22 states --from Washington state to New Hampshire to right here in Pennsylvania -- have passed renewable energy standards, committing nearly half of our country's population to renewable energy targets as high as 25 percent of total energy by 2020. By creating guaranteed markets for renewable energy, these policies have helped to jump start new statewide energy economies and we are seeing evidence of the economic benefits.

Earth: A Graphic Look at the State of the World

"EARTH" is an integrated collection of over 110 colourful charts and maps (all viewable on the website) which make obvious the connections between apparently disparate topics - core statistics on forests, soil, fresh water and ocean fisheries are side by side with the numbers on climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, wealth and power, food supply and oil supply, military budgets, population density, health, poverty, access to clean water and life expectancy.

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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:

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