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Events

Legislative Alerts

Resources

Walls are Bad.

Don't you think? They pose barriers and prevent us from going in any direction we like. They keep us out. Trap. Limit. Force.

But what about the outdoors? Fresh air, trees, grass, rivers, streams. Life. Outdoors = Good.

Walls Are Bad is a marketing campaign supported by a number of local organizations and facilitated by Sustainable Pittsburgh aimed at increasing awareness of, and participation in, the many outdoor recreation amenities here in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Why promote an active, outdoor lifestyle?
Because it's good for the health of our children and families; it gives our region a competitive advantage in terms of attracting and retaining talent; and it gives us all a better appreciation of the planet.

Whether you think you're young or old, whatever your experience level, there is something Outside for you. Biking, hiking, paddling, camping, climbing--you name it. This region is a treasure trove of outdoor amenities.

Want to learn more? Visit wallsarebad.com.

Resources Continued

Town Hall Meeting

Tuesday July 1
7:00 pm
Monroeville Municipal Building, 270 Monroeville Boulevard, Monroeville PA 15146
RSVP to 412-344-5583

Congressmen Jason Altmire and Tim Murphy are co-hosting a Town Hall Meeting. Topics for discussion are: Healthcare, Energy, Local Economy and jobs, and Veterans Issues.

Celebrate and Build Local, Sustainable Markets

Thursday, July 17
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
121 7th Street, 5th Floor, Pittsburgh PA, 15222
(Cool warehouse space between Penn Avenue and Ft. Duquesne Blvd. in the Cultural District)
Registration Information
- $20 for C4S/ Sustainable Pittsburgh Members; $25 for non-members
- Deadline: July 15, 2008
- Register online at www.C4SPgh.org/know.html
Contact: Matthew Mehalik at mmehalik@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6644

Come celebrate what our local market champions are accomplishing in our community—making the links that are good for business, for our neighborhoods and people, and for the environment. Seven of our region’s entrepreneurs will share their stories of how they are creating value by acting locally and sustainably. They are creators of new products, services, and jobs using innovative strategies for engaging with their neighborhoods and their surroundings.

Stay for opportunities to talk and network with panelists and other business leaders to learn how you can become involved in shaping our region with an emphasis on local markets. Discuss important questions on how you can help transform Pittsburgh through entrepreneurial action, sustainable practices, and support of local businesses.

Enjoy live music from “Jim Donovan's Drum the Ecstatic,” sample local beverages and food, and craft new networks on the local market scene!

Jim Donovan is a founding member of the former Pittsburgh band Rusted Root!

PROGRAM
5:30 pm – 6:50 pm -- Panel of local market entrepreneurs and champions
- Bonnie Siefers, Owner, Jonäno – Fair trade and organic clothing manufacturing
- Ward Payne, Owner, Simpatico Espresso – Organizing the local coffee trade scene
- David Eason, Owner, Isadore Foods – Supplying local foods from local farms
- Janice Donatelli, ARTEMIS-- New markets for high-quality, environmentally responsible, green building products
- Keith Somers, Children's Community Pediatrics – GIL -- Promoting children’s health and development emphasizing community
- Danielle Crumrine, Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest—community connections to foster local business
- Andrew Butcher, CEO, GTECH Strategies-- Growth Through Energy and Community Health

6:50 pm - 8:30 pm -- Meet and discuss opportunities for supporting and organizing the region’s local businesses and entrepreneurs with panelists and other businesses

Specifier's Showcase: Featuring Brian Emery, Territory Manager for CertainTeed FiberCement

Friday, July 18
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Green Building Alliance, 333 East Carson Street, South Side
Free
Advance Registration required.
More details

At each Specifier's Showcase, the Green Building Alliance (GBA) features a product that embodies the innovation and environmental responsibility GBA values as an organization. CertainTeed FiberCement Siding is made using a combination of pre-consumer recycled fly ash, Portland cement; wood fiber, of which a majority comes from sustainably managed forests, and specialty additives. The enhanced green formula creates an environmentally friendly, lighter-weight, lower-density product with the most authentic-looking grains and textures. It has a Class A (Class 1) flame spread rating, is impervious to wood-boring insects, resists damaging effects of salt spray and UV rays, will not rot, and consistently outperforms wood siding. There will be a brief networking period beforehand from 8:00 am to 8:30 am.

Bridging Our Past —Connecting Our Future The National Land Conservation Conference

September 18–21, 2008
Pittsburgh, PA
Details

Resources

Going green: New report shows thousands of potential jobs created as focus shifts to environment

"With regards to green jobs, there are a lot of different things going on, different areas we could be working in, whether it would be us bringing on an additional person to foster local economic initiatives where we actually could lower our carbon footprint. The more we can buy local, rather than having products shipped in from outside the area, the more we have reduced energy costs and we have lowered the carbon footprint. We also advocate wind power energy but we want to generate it locally to use locally. "We are talking about doing a new strategic plan and these issues need to be front and center in a very public way. I believe more global systems are going to be in trouble and we will have to learn how to depend more on each other. We need to be talking about this and looking at what we can do to protect local economy and contribute to global sustainability,'' Krajovic said. . ."This report demonstrates that given the right strategies, green jobs can be the engine that allows us to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift a lot of people out of poverty" said Van Jones, founder and president of Green For All. "With good policies and strong investments that prepare people who most need work for the work that most needs to be done, green jobs can fight poverty and global warming pollution at the same time."

Coal may hold solution to gas prices

Coal-to-liquid proponents insist that the technology would strengthen national security and be a cheaper alternative than current petroleum. Estimates vary widely, but Richard Bajura, director of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy at West Virginia University, said liquid coal could be produced for $60 to $70 a barrel. Last week, oil prices approached $140 a barrel. But environmental activists say it's foolish to pump resources into a technology that would emit greenhouse gases at a higher rate. "We're trying to decrease our global warming. What if we went to a fuel that doubled carbon emissions?" said Elizabeth Martin Perera, climate policy specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We're going in exactly the wrong direction, just digging the hole a lot deeper and making the problem a lot worse."

More

Tindo: The World’s First Solar Electric Bus

The Adelaide City Council’s electric solar bus is the first in the world to be recharged using 100% solar energy, and will be used everyday by the people of Adelaide through the Adelaide City Council’s free Adelaide Connector Bus service. Tindo – the Kaurna Aboriginal name for sun - is the culmination of the Council’s eight-year project to deliver a pure electric community bus. International research suggests people strongly prefer electric buses to those powered by other means, such as diesel engines. Electric buses can operate in busy City streets and residential neighbourhoods in a clean and quiet manner, which makes them very popular with both passengers and the public.

Global Warming Solutions That Work: Cutting-Edge Efforts to Curb Global Warming Pollution

This report details more than 20 examples of cutting-edge policies and practices that communities, states and countries are using to reduce global warming pollution. These examples show that while actions to reduce global warming pollution require commitment and creativity, they also bring with them other benefits-—reduced dependence on fossil fuels, cleaner air and healthier communities, economic growth and new jobs. America should learn from these initiatives by adopting public policy “best practices” that can achieve similar benefits nationwide. The United States—-as well as individual states—-should foster further innovation by adopting mandatory caps on global warming pollution, coupled with policies that will promote the transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy system.

Ready to work: The region needs to match students with jobs

While parents, teachers and students rightly focus on the value of a college education, there are jobs that go begging for lack of vocational training, math proficiency and other learning that does not require a four-year degree from an ivy-covered campus. With the goal of filling such jobs with local applicants, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development launched the Pittsburgh Regional Compact last fall. The compact aims to bridge the gap between employers who say they have trouble finding skilled and qualified employees for certain openings and students who want solid jobs after high school but aren't necessarily college-bound.

PNC Wins 2008 Global Sustainability Award

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) has won an inaugural Sustainable Cities Award. Sponsored jointly by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Financial Times, the award recognizes PNC's long-standing leadership in environmentally friendly building.

Is there any reason to merge the city and county?

The report found that consolidated governments can provide "unity of leadership, increased planning and development capacity, simpler regulatory procedures for business, and reduced intergovernmental competition." The Nordenberg report recommends a step-by-step approach for achieving those goals. The approach begins with intensified efforts to merge duplicate functions that both the city and county provide and ends with the voters being asked to decide if they want to merge the city and county completely.

Business Roundtable’s S.E.E. Change (Society, Environment, Economy) 2008 Progress Report

We created S.E.E. Change, in part, to move Business Roundtable beyond its traditional policy role by demonstrating the evolving role and contributions of corporate America to the betterment of society and the environment. We wanted the world to begin seeing the value of the innovation and technology that business can bring to creating a better world. I am convinced we are doing the right thing. Not only are we building a stronger business community, but we also are beginning to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. I hope you will browse through the examples in this report to see how some Business Roundtable members are fully integrating sustainability into their business models and have already established sustainability business goals in the tens of billions of dollars.

Region’s largest solar array unveiled at Ross senior housing complex

“This effort is necessary if we are to meet the challenges that lie ahead of us,” says Ernie Sota, president of Sota Construction. “We’re going to be seeing 30 to 40 percent increases in electricity in the next few years. These efforts start with better insulation and tighter buildings, little steps that make a building green and result in quality construction. Otherwise you end up with a solar powered Humvee.”

A Business Guide to Climate Change

Businesses can make money, reduce their long-term risks, and discover new opportunities by dealing with climate change issues, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA has partnered with a wide range of industry groups to prepare a newly released resource guide for businesses. Among the partnership programs featured in the guide are:
* Best Workplaces for Commuters (www.bestworkplaces.org), which provides technical assistance and certifies employers based on traffic-reducing and productivity-improving employee benefits.
* Combined Heat and Power Partnership (www.epa.gov/chp), which assists businesses in establishing cogeneration systems.
* Waste Wise (www.epa.gov/wastewise), which helps companies set goals and implement plans to reduce solid municipal waste.
Dozens of other partnerships may be searched by sector, including agriculture, transportation, product labeling, energy, waste, pollution prevention, water, technology, regulation, and more.

Regional and Collaborative Approaches to Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Management in PA

This brief report highlights working examples of collaborative municipal and regional approaches to water resources and infrastructure management discussed at the conference, as well as the lessons they offer Pennsylvania policymakers.

Pittsburgh’s Classy Cab goes green

Not the color green, but sustainable green, and DeLucia has taken the first step by rebuilding his entire fleet to run on propane, electricity and hydrogen fuel cells. . .“I’ve been doing this for more than 25 years and decided with everything going on to take the lead in converting my fleet to green,” says DeLucia. “I have to with the cost of fuel. It’s my contribution to fighting city air pollution.”

Arts festival recycling wasn't a waste

As a result of the systematic changes, such as the distribution of eco-friendly products to food vendors that could be either recycled or composted once customers were finished eating, only 16.4 percent of the festival's waste was sent to landfills, compared with 85 percent last year, Mr. Walsh said.

Climate action: Pittsburgh has a progressive plan for the future

That's because local leaders have had the foresight to generate the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan, a 102-page road map for reducing municipal carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent before 2023. . . The ideas range from narrow to sweeping, short-term to long-range, and some are already in the works. . .Community action could include planting more trees, pairing recycling cans with trash receptacles, offering city incentives for renovation over demolition of existing structures and seeking a supermarket "fuel perks" program for public transit.

Legislative Alert - Historic Preservation

The Historic Preservation Incentive Program (HB 221) is now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill provides incentives to buyers and sellers of historic homes, homes in historic neighborhoods, or commercial properties in downtown areas when they are refurbished and used again. Among merits: - Preserves the heritage of Pennsylvania in both the commercial and residential building sectors; - Offers true economic value through private investment in reusing historic buildings; - Because it sets a priority for Main Street and Elm Street programs, helps to revitalize communities, reduce blight, increase property values and tax revenues, and add new jobs to downtown business districts. . .

Pass blight bill

Cities across Pennsylvania long have struggled with some absentee landlords whose properties serve as anchors for blight rather than for community progress. Local governments need all of the tools possible to ensure that property owners meet their obligations to themselves and their neighbors.

A new school funding formula at hand

Pennsylvania's method of funding our public schools is outdated, broken and ineffective. And now, finally, it may be abandoned. When Governor Rendell introduced his plan for education in the 2008-09 budget proposal, he outlined a new school funding formula that advances the principles of accountability, adequacy, equity, efficiency and predictability - principles identified by the National Council of State Legislatures as essential building blocks of an effective system of public education. Tell your legislators that there is no more important priority this spring than for the General Assembly to enact a permanent school funding formula and fully fund it in six years with at least $2.6 billion in additional state funds.

Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs

Across the nation, the realization is taking hold that rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs...In a recent study, Mr. Cortright found that house prices in the urban centers of Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Portland and Tampa have fared significantly better than those in the suburbs. So-called exurbs — communities sprouting on the distant edges of metropolitan areas — have suffered worst of all, Mr. Cortright found.

MetroPolicy: A New Partnership for a Metropolitan Nation by Bruce Katz

First, metro areas are the engines of national prosperity, and they are at the cutting edge of policy action. Yet, despite all their energy and effort, metros cannot go it alone and ultimately require a dependable national partner to succeed and prosper. Second, our federal government has gone fundamentally adrift, and is out of step and out of synch with the dynamic changes underway in the country. We are a MetroNation economically, but we do not act like one politically, governmentally, or administratively. Finally, our MetroNation demands a MetroPolicy. We need to fundamentally reimagine and remake the partnership between the federal government, states, localities, and the private and voluntary sectors to unleash the unfilled potential of metro America and resolve our most critical national challenges.

Video - Blueprint for American Prosperity: We are a Metropolitan Nation

Our economy, our individual opportunities, and our quality of life all depend on the health of our metropolitan areas. From east to west and north to south, all across America our metro areas face similar challenges and opportunities. Watch the video to find out more.

Intergovernmental Cooperation Success Stories

Welcome to the LGA Intergovernmental Cooperation Success Stories wiki. Use this wiki to create a body of knowledge on Intergovernmental Cooperation in Pennsylvania. Focus on success stories and create a new page for each example. Initial success stories case studies developed by Sustainable Pittsburgh, as facilitator for the Promoting Regionalism committee of the Annual Smart Growth conference.

PennFuture call to action

Just this morning, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee doubled the amount of solar required to meet the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, and raised the requirement for renewable energy in the AEPS Tier 1 from 8 percent to 10 percent, thanks to an amendment offered by Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) to SB 25. This means Pennsylvania's electricity suppliers must dramatically increase the amount of clean, renewable energy provided to their customers. SB 25 is now a bill that can be embraced by the green energy entrepreneurs, environmental leaders and all who want to help grow Pennsylvania's 21st Century energy economy.

Green Building Alliance Call for Action

Several bills are currently pending in the General Assembly, which, if passed alone or incorporated into the final omnibus energy package, would promote the green building sector and subsequently create green jobs and reduce energy usage and green house gases. Special Session HB 4 requires that new PA buildings and major building renovations be built to green standards. Over 20 states already have similar legislation passed into law. Special Session HB 5 would create a tiered tax credit program for structures that are built green. This bill has already unanimously passed the State House and is currently pending before the Senate. Finally, Special Session HB 1 contains language creating a $25 million grant program for green building projects. Such a program would allow PA to be on the forefront of high performance building legislation and foster the in-state industry.

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

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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 Giant Eagle Foundation
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