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Events

REGISTER NOW - Sustainability and Healthcare Series Workshop 3

Understanding Patient and Family Centered Care for Sustainable Healthcare

Thursday, October 6
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
New Hazlett Theater, North Side
Cost: $25 for C4S/Sustainable Pittsburgh Members for full event
$30 Nonmembers for full event
Students: Special Rate
Opening video screening is free
Light Refreshments Provided
More information and registration

This third workshop in a five-part series on Sustainability and Healthcare focuses on policy—-and how it can lead to a more sustainable healthcare industry. Innovative programs are being developed in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), signaling this recent legislation is a key driver of policy change in America.

“Understanding Patient and Family Centered Care for Sustainable Healthcare” features an abbreviated screening of Remaking American Medicine along with two panel discussions focused on PPACA’s impact on healthcare institutions and individuals, respectively. The event provides an opportunity to understand how shifts in the healthcare system to more patient and family centered practices present challenges to healthcare institutions, individuals, and the traditional role of corporations as the gateways to access and management of healthcare benefits.

Southwestern Pennsylvania’s leading position in the delivery and quality of healthcare will continue as this region’s patients and organizations begin to understand the sustainability-related benefits and responsibilities that come from policy innovations that: increase access to healthcare, require greater community engagement, rest upon better communication practices, stand upon measurable, improved health outcomes, and challenge current service practices. The event ends with a call to action for attendees to become more aware of their rights and responsibilities in this dynamic period for healthcare services.

Who should attend?
This event is open to all individuals working in the healthcare industry, in addition to individuals interested in learning more patient rights, equity, and advocacy.

These Sustainability and Healthcare workshops advance the mutually reinforcing agendas of sustainability and healthcare. The emphasis for each event involves articulating the health outcomes, healthcare benefits, and business case, as well as best practices, resources, examples, and how to get started. See what happened at previous Sustainability and Healthcare workshops:
Strategic Environmental Solutions - July 21
Making the Business Case - June 2

Events Continued

Resources

Information Forum: Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission –
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Update and CMAQ Program Development and Management

Monday, September 19
9:30 – Noon
Regional Enterprise Tower, 31st floor
No fee to attend
Pre-registration to: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or (412) 258-6642. Please provide full contact information.
Please note that photo identification is required to enter the Regional Enterprise Tower. Please allow extra time for security in the lobby.
Webcast Available: This forum will also be available as a live webcast. Space is limited. Please contact Tom Straw (tstraw@spcregion.org) at SPC by noon Thursday September 15 if you are interested in logging on to the forum.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is now focused on developing the region’s 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP serves to identify needed regional transportation investments over a four-year period that support the region’s Long Range Transportation and Development Plan within fiscal constraint. A visible element of the TIP development process will be the recommended program of projects for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ).

The CMAQ Program is a federal program that funds transportation projects that a) reduce congestion, b) remove vehicles from the roadway or c) otherwise enhance vehicle emissions and reduce air pollution. In the past, the SPC region has funded diesel retrofit projects for truck fleets, railroad locomotives and marine vehicles; as well as highway improvements, rail line extensions, busways and a myriad of other project types.

One key component of the program is that the benefit of any project selected for funding must stay within the same region. So, while SPC may be able to fund rail switching equipment that stays in a more or less prescribed location, it may not be able to fund diesel retrofits for vehicles that are free to travel across state lines, for example.

Learn about these important regional processes for prioritizing needed transportation improvements by attending the event on September 19. Gain insight in what it takes to get a project ready for the TIP and in particular learn about the CMAQ funding process and project eligibility.

This information forum, being presented by SPC in cooperation with Sustainable Pittsburgh, is timely given that both the TIP update process and CMAQ project selection process are just beginning. At the forum, staff will highlight TIP update activity, present the process and schedule for developing and managing the CMAQ Program, and engage participants in a lively Q&A session including opportunity for attendees to discuss potential project ideas in an informal, rapid-fire session with SPC staff.

REGISTER NOW: Transportation Funding Issues Facing Pennsylvania - Lunch with PennDOT Deputy Secretary Jim Ritzman

Tuesday, September 20
11:30 am - 1:00 pm (Lunch will be served)
Rivers Club, 301 Grant Street, One Oxford Centre, Suite 411
Cost: $20
Please RSVP by September 15 at http://www.otma-pgh.org/TFAC-Lunch
Flyer

Join the Southwestern Pennsylvania TMAs - ACTA, OTMA, and PDP - for a discussion with PennDOT Deputy Secretary, Jim Ritzman, about Transportation Funding Issues Facing Pennsylvania.

This event is sponsored by Airport Corridor Transportation Association, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, and the Oakland Transportation Management Association. Co-Sponsors for this event are Allegheny Conference on Community Development and Sustainable Pittsburgh.

Current Trends in Sustainable Communities
4th Annual Sustainability Conference

Thursday, September 22
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Phipps Conservatory
ASCEE/EWRI/Sustainable Pittsburgh (C4S) Members: $120
Non-members: $150; Students: $30
Breakfast and Lunch Included
All attendees will receive a certificate for 6.0 Professional Development Hours
For more information: including registration, visit www.asce-pgh.org or contact Bob Dengler at (412) 922-5575 or rdengler@GFNET.com
To view the flyer, see page 4 of this newsletter

The Pittsburgh Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Environmental Water and Resources Institute (EWRI), and Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Champions for Sustainability (C4S) are hosting a daylong conference on Current Trends in Sustainable Communities. The conference features keynote PA Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer. Topics include: ASCE’s Institute for Sustainability Report Card for Engineering Projects; Sustainable Infrastructure in Masdar City, United Arab Emirates; Marcellus Shale Impacts and Opportunities; and Sustainable Transportation Community Assessments. The conference ends with a presentation and tour of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory.

REGISTER NOW - Sustainability and Healthcare Series Workshop 3
Understanding Patient and Family Centered Care for Sustainable Healthcare

Thursday, October 6
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
New Hazlett Theater, North Side
Cost: $25 for C4S/Sustainable Pittsburgh Members for full event
$30 Nonmembers for full event
Students: Special Rate
Opening video screening is free
Light Refreshments Provided
More information and registration

This third workshop in a five-part series on Sustainability and Healthcare focuses on policy—-and how it can lead to a more sustainable healthcare industry. Innovative programs are being developed in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), signaling this recent legislation is a key driver of policy change in America.

“Understanding Patient and Family Centered Care for Sustainable Healthcare” features an abbreviated screening of Remaking American Medicine along with two panel discussions focused on PPACA’s impact on healthcare institutions and individuals, respectively. The event provides an opportunity to understand how shifts in the healthcare system to more patient and family centered practices present challenges to healthcare institutions, individuals, and the traditional role of corporations as the gateways to access and management of healthcare benefits.

Southwestern Pennsylvania’s leading position in the delivery and quality of healthcare will continue as this region’s patients and organizations begin to understand the sustainability-related benefits and responsibilities that come from policy innovations that: increase access to healthcare, require greater community engagement, rest upon better communication practices, stand upon measurable, improved health outcomes, and challenge current service practices. The event ends with a call to action for attendees to become more aware of their rights and responsibilities in this dynamic period for healthcare services.

Who should attend?
This event is open to all individuals working in the healthcare industry, in addition to individuals interested in learning more patient rights, equity, and advocacy.

These Sustainability and Healthcare workshops advance the mutually reinforcing agendas of sustainability and healthcare. The emphasis for each event involves articulating the health outcomes, healthcare benefits, and business case, as well as best practices, resources, examples, and how to get started. See what happened at previous Sustainability and Healthcare workshops:
Strategic Environmental Solutions - July 21
Making the Business Case - June 2

Creating Sustainable Communities Conference

Thursday, November 3
7:30 am — 4:00 pm
Point Park University
Registration: $30
Questions? Contact Hannah Hardy at (412) 481–9400 or hhardy@pecpa.org Registration information and conference schedule will be available in late August at:
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/conservationscience/sustainablelands/conferences/index.htm
This conference qualifies for 5 recertification credits for the PLNA Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and the PLANET Landscape Industry Certified Technician, as well as 5 continuing education credits through ASLA.

Join conference organizers at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh for a conference that promotes green infrastructure, healthy communities and low-cost land management practices for government officials, park managers, landscape architects, planners and anyone else interested in balancing human needs with natural resource protection.

EVENT ORGANIZERS: Allegheny County, Allegheny County Conservation District, City of Pittsburgh, Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Friends of the Riverfront, Pa. Environmental Council, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Western Pa. Conservancy

SAVE THE DATE: 11th Annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference “Smart Growth is Smart Business”

Tuesday, December 13
Downtown Pittsburgh - Location TBD
Featuring: Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView

This year's conference will launch a 'businesses for smart growth' initiative in southwestern Pennsylvania. Filling a strategic gap, the event will solidify the bottom line business case and economic imperative for regional smart growth and galvanize business constituency.

Business leaders around the nation increasingly recognize that regional growth and development patterns -- guided by principles of smart growth and sustainability -- improve quality of life, lessen the cost of doing business, increase profitability, help reduce tax and infrastructure costs, and contribute to talent recruitment and retention.

Time is ripe for a business initiative focused on advancing our region's goals for more efficient and sustainable development to spur economic prosperity and extend this region's signature livability to more persons. The bottom line business case of smart growth is apparent.

Mark your calendars as the Smart Growth Conference is an invitation to address the ways smart growth is smart business:
- engage the private sector in harnessing smart growth market opportunity
- explore innovative means of ensuring financial feasibility of sustainable development
- channel the pattern and character of growth and development to improve productivity and hasten regional sustainability that protects and enhances business investments
- opportunities to have an impact on state, regional, and local planning and programming
- incentives to level the field for development and redevelopment to revitalize our existing communities
- the new economics nexus of land use, transportation, housing, and development

Keynote speaker Henry Cisneros is the executive chairman of CityView, an urban institutional investment firm which finances commercial and residential developers. His governmental experience and dedication to America's cities are important features of CityView's "Smart Capital for Smart Growth" strategy focused on urban solutions. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Dallas and San Antonio, CityView has invested in and developed more than $2 billion in real estate assets for 45 projects in 30 markets across 13 states since 2003. CityView is one of the nation's premier institutional investment firms focused on urban real estate, incity housing, and metropolitan infrastructure and is a fully-integrated operating company with an active management approach. Prior to establishing CityView, Henry Cisneros served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and was the four-term Mayor of San Antonio, Texas.

The 11th Annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference is presented by:
Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Green Building Alliance; NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Pittsburgh Chapter; Pittsburgh Technology Council; Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission; Sustainable Pittsburgh; Urban Land Institute Pittsburgh District Council

Permeable Pavement Workshop - Morning Session

Thursday, September 15
9:00 am — 12:00 pm (Registration begins at 8:30 am; continental breakfast provided)
P.H. O’Neill Room, 23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $95; $50 for students
3 CEUS available
To register:
Contact Mary Ann at (412) 263-1000 or email mvf10@psu.edu
Please make check payable to: Penn State
Mail to: The Penn State Center; Liberty Center
1001 Liberty Avenue; Pittsburgh, PA 15222
You may attend morning or afternoon sessions, or both. Details on afternoon session listed below.

Porous pavement is environmentally friendly and one of the best tools in Stormwater Best Management Practices for parking lots. Although porous pavements have been in use since the 1970s, only within the last two decades has it gained a wider popularity for use in construction of both roadways and parking lots due to environmental characteristics. This technical session will examine the structure, design, and maintenance of porous asphalt, both in roadways and in parking lots. No structure is without its challenges, making it important to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of porous asphalt. Proper materials for construction of porous asphalt layers and the challenges in maintenance of such pavements will be discussed.

This session will be led by Mansour Solaimanian, Ph.D., P.E., Senior Research Associate, Geotechnical and Materials Engineering; Director of the Northeast Center of Excellence for Pavement Technology, The Pennsylvania State University.

Permeable Pavement Workshop - Afternoon Session

Artful Stormwater Mitigation
Thursday, September 15
12:00 pm — 4:00 pm (Registration begins at 11:30 am; lunch provided)
C.F. Fetterolf Room, 23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $95.00; $50.00 for students
3 CEUs available
To register:
Contact Mary Ann at (412) 263-1000 or email mvf10@psu.edu
Please make check payable to: Penn State
Mail to: The Penn State Center; Liberty Center
1001 Liberty Avenue; Pittsburgh, PA 15222
You may attend morning or afternoon sessions, or both. Details on morning session listed above.

Bringing stormwater mitigation to a level of design through providing amenities is usually challenging when working in many municipalities. Although through the decades stormwater management has been thought of as utilitarian dealing with infiltration and runoff as well as scientific through restoration of natural hydrology, designers have begun to recognize the value of placemaking through artful rainwater techniques. However, as Stuart Echols points out, “to ensure enthusiastic use of these systems, they must also be designed as landscape amenities that add value to land development. This integrated approach is particularly timely because new federal regulations discourage large centralized end-of-pipe stormwater design, but most designers are unsure how to create more effective solutions.” In this technical session, learn effective strategies through alternative site design technologies and implementation methods by integrating stormwater management and artful design.

This session will be led by Stuart Patton Echols, R.L.A., Ph.D., Associate Professor Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University.

Allegheny County Exec Forum

Thursday, September 15
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm. Audience must be seated by 7:15.)
Pittsburgh CAPA school, corner of 9th Street and Ft. Duquesne Blvd, Downtown Pittsburgh
For information, call the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh office at (412) 261-4284.
Citizens interested in submitting questions in advance should email info@pgh.lwv.org

Allegheny County Executive candidate D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald will respond to audience questions at a public debate at Pittsburgh CAPA school on Thursday, September 15 from 7:30 to 8:30 PM. Vince Sims, WPXI anchor and reporter, will moderate. The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh and the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) want citizens to be informed voters. PCNC concurs with that goal and will broadcast the event live.

Co-sponsors for this event include Action United; the Alleghenians, LTD; A+ Schools; Carlow University; the Disability Rights Network of PA; the Hill House Association; Just Harvest; NAACP Pittsburgh Unit; the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh; the W. PA Black Political Assembly; and Zeta Phi Beta.

Vermicomposting Workshop

Saturday, September 17
10:00 am to 11:30 am
Boyd Community Center
Cost: $45/person, $55/couple
For more information or to register contact Sarah at (412) 488-7490 x236 or saraha@ccicenter.org or visit http://www.zerowastepgh.org/ZW-PRC-adultEdu.html.

While they require more care than bin composting, worms produce a product (castings) that is considered an especially good soil amendment and nutrient source, and if sheltered from the cold can maintain production year-round. Learn about the benefits of worm composting. You will be provided with a bin, clear instructions, and worms. You will go home with a complete, ready-to-use vermiculture system, knowing how to house, feed, harvest and care for your own worms! Easy, odorless, rewarding.

Solar 101

Saturday, September 17
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Harrison Hills Environmental Education Center, Natrona Heights
Cost: $20/person, $25/couple
For more information or to register contact Sarah at (412) 488-7490 x236 or saraha@ccicenter.org or visit http://www.zerowastepgh.org/ZW-PRC-adultEdu.html.

This workshop discusses the ways that Solar Energy is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life in Pennsylvania. Participants will learn the various ways in which Solar Energy is captured to generate energy for homes, businesses and remote systems by viewing a passively heated home. The workshop will discuss the current and future economics of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems and the incentives currently available to make those systems more affordable.

5th annual Buy Fresh Buy Local® Farm Tours

Saturday, September 17
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Farms throughout southwestern PA
Cost: $10 per carload

The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) is pleased to host its 5th annual Buy Fresh Buy Local® Farm Tours in Western Pennsylvania during its Local Food Month celebration! The exciting Buy Fresh Buy Local Farm Tour in Southwestern PA provides a “look behind the barn” with plenty of family-friendly activities and the opportunity to shake hands with the farmers that grow your grains, harvest farm fresh produce, bottle your milk, and raise the animals that provide SWPA residents with healthy, local foods.

Passes are $10 per carload, and can be purchased at the first farm you visit. The same pass can be used to access all farms on the tour! Tour-goers are invited to visit farms in Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, Washington, Fayette and Somerset Counties. Tips for taking the tour, google maps to help you plan your route, and more information can be found online at www.buylocalpa.org/farmtour. The 2011 Buy Fresh Buy Local® Farm Tour is sponsored by Eat’n Park. Turner Dairy Farms, the East End Food Coop, and Fertrell. All proceeds benefit PASA’s work building vibrant, regional food systems.

“Disparities in Healthcare for Minorities: Institutional or Personal”

Monday, September 19
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
School of Social Work Conference Center, Room 2017 Cathedral of Learning
Lunch is provided; registration is not required.

Join the Center on Race and Social Problems in the School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, in its first of the Fall 2011 Speaker Series. During the academic year, the center hosts a monthly series of lunchtime lectures. These talks provide an opportunity for faculty, students, and community members to engage in race-related discussions of mutual interest. This particular presentation features Jeannette South-Paul, Department of Family Medicine Professor and Chair, University of Pittsburgh.

The Third State of the Watershed

Saturday, September 24
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
UPC/Class Building, the Former Center for Creative Play, 1400 South Braddock Ave, Pittsburgh 15218
Tickets: $10 for NMRWA members and students with a valid ID; $25 for all others
More information and registration
Parking is on site.
A continental breakfast and lunch will be included.

Join the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association (NMRWA) and keynote speaker, George Hawkins, General Manager of DC Water, for a morning of fascinating presentations on the issues of clean water and the importance of green solutions.

Stay for the afternoon workshops on stream sampling, native seed collecting, rain garden construction, and a bicycle tour of NMRWA's green infrastructure projects. Bring your bikes and helmets!

Resources

Telling the Truth About the Environment and Our Economy

The CEO of Michigan's Clean Light Green Light recently said, "EPA has opened the doors to innovation and new economic opportunities. By spurring entrepreneurs who have good ideas and the drive to work hard, the EPA has helped give rise to countless small businesses in clean energy, advanced lighting, pollution control and more, which in turn are creating jobs."

It's time to recognize that delays of long-expected health standards leave companies uncertain about investing in clean infrastructure, environmental retrofits, and the new workers needed to do those jobs. These are potential opportunities for engineers and scientists, as well as pipefitters, welders and steelworkers. Pledges to weaken or slow proposed standards, many of which have been developed over years and with industry input, prevent businesses from investing in those jobs.

More

Panasonic, Fujisawa, Others Cooperate on Sustainable Smart Town Project

Specifically, the company plans to preinstall its solar power generation systems and home-use storage battery systems across the town, including homes, various facilities and public zones, which would be the first of its kind in the world. Panasonic intends to replicate Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town as a business model in other parts of Japan and overseas.

Commission sues Consol over fish kill

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has sued Consol Energy for mine discharges that caused a massive fish kill on 30 miles of Dunkard Creek along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border in 2009. . . According to the lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Monongalia County, discharges of chloride pollution from Consol's Blacksville No. 2 and Loveridge mines exceeded daily federal discharge limits for seven months before and after the fish kill. "Defendants knew and willfully disregarded the risk to aquatic life and the waterways, which they knew would be affected by the discharge of substances at levels toxic to aquatic life," the lawsuit says in making a case for punitive damages. "Defendants' actions were willful, wanton and malicious and/or reckless and/or with criminal indifference to the public rights of others."

Jobs vs. the Environment: Can A Middle Ground Be Found?

"The question of just how much environmental regulation hurts jobs is a particularly delicate one as leaders in Washington debate the best ways to address the nation’s stubbornly high unemployment rate (9.1 percent in August of 2011).

Can a middle-ground be found on this debate? It may be spelled-out in President Obama's upcoming speech on Thursday, Sept. 8. In any case, "Republicans are pushing for a rollback in environmental regulations that they say saddle companies with onerous costs that curtail jobs without leading to significant improvement in environmental or public health....." In addition, they are targeting labor and health care regulations.

"For now, the Obama administration is moving ahead with plans for a number of other environmental rules, including regulations governing industrial emissions that cross state lines and toxic air pollution from power plants and factory boilers.

In issuing new regulations, the administration says it weighs job creation and economic growth as carefully as it does health, safety and environmental impacts, a commitment enshrined in an executive order signed by the president earlier this year."

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 ($1,000 and up) in 2011 from:

Allegheny County - Dan Onorato, County Executive
Bayer Corporation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
BNY Mellon
Dollar Bank
FedEx Ground
The Heinz Endowments
Highmark
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Pashek Associates LTD
Pittsburgh Quarterly
PNC Financial Services Group
Port Authority of Allegheny County
UPMC


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