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Events

More updates on 10th annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference

The 25 conference presenting partners are pleased to announce more additions to the already impressive speaker lineup. This Conference
is also approved for 5.5 CM Credits for AICP members!

Beth Osborne, Assistant Secretary, US Department of Transportation will join Mariia Zimmerman, Deputy Director, HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities; and John Frece, Director, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; in providing the federal perspective and expectations on sustainable community development and regional planning.

Elizabeth (Liz) Hersh, Executive Director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, will join a panel discussion comprised of local, state, and federal officials to deliberate action steps for what needs to be pursued in terms of program, structure, policy, and practice for regional collaboration and investing in sustainable communities. Caren Glotfelty of The Heinz Endowments will facilitate. Local panelists include:
- Steve Bland, Port Authority of Allegheny County; Transportation Funding Crisis
- John Schombert, 3 Rivers Wet Weather; Water & Sewer Infrastructure
- Doug Hill, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; Marcellus Impacts

The Smart Growth Conference presenting partners are hosting the downtown location for the October 15 Car Free Friday celebration. Each month Car Free Fridays highlights a different neighborhood or municipality in southwestern PA to promote ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION – bicycling, walking, ride share, and transit. This month's featured neighborhood is Lawrenceville.

In hosting a conference with the theme of building more sustainable communities, it's only logical to have a Car Free Friday at the same location. If you are a car free commuter on October 15, stop by between 7:30am and 10:00am at the Car Free table outside of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The setup will be next to the convention center parking garage. Be rewarded with discount vouchers from local businesses and be entered in a raffle. Bicyclists receive the added bonus of breakfast and coffee, courtesy of Levy Restaurants. Be sure to read the full details at the Car Free Fridays Web site. Special thanks to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for its support as well. Car Free Fridays is a program of Bike Pittsburgh.

Last but not least, immediately following the conclusion of the Conference, a Power of 32 Community Conversation will be held from 4:30pm - 6:00pm in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Ballroom. Attendees of the Smart Growth Conference are encouraged to stay and apply insights from the day. The public at large is welcomed too. Power of 32 is a regional visioning initiative engaging residents across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in creating a shared vision for the region's future. More information is available here

.

Resources

Participate in the Tipping Points for Sustainability Competition!

DEADLINE for Submissions EXTENDED: Friday, October 1
More information

In step with the 10th annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference, the Tipping Points for Sustainability Competition is seeking input on what YOU think accelerated southwestern Pennsylvania on the path toward sustainable development over the last ten years.

Per the 14 Sustainable Community Development Essentials, (launched at the 2009 Smart Growth Conference), individuals are invited to identify and submit the significant tipping point(s), in other words, game changing moments, from the last ten years that are points of departure whereby the policy and practice of these "Essentials" were accelerated for the region.

- What is the systems change, the good, that has come from it?
- What did that tipping point put in motion; what we should have learned and how we should be applying this today?

Tipping points can be: policies, acts of leadership, mishaps, demonstration projects, an event, etc. A committee of judges will review the submissions to pick the top winners and award prizes. Winners will be announced during the 10th annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference on Friday, October 15. The grand prize winner will receive a free iPad, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Technology Council!

SAVE THE DATE: October 13 is Pittsburgh's Day of Giving!

Wednesday, October 13
12:00:00 am Midnight until 11:59:59 pm

Mark you calendars for Wednesday, October 13! The Pittsburgh Foundation's Day of Giving is just around the corner. This is a true Day of Giving, a 24-hour period during which any gift contributed in that time will receive a prorated share of the available matching monies. This means that every donor will be matched. New and improved, this one-day event takes lesson's learned from last year's Matching Day to minimize--if not eliminate--glitches in the system.

More information to come. Be sure to bookmark www.pittsburghgives.org to ensure quick access on October 13. We certainly hope you will choose to support Sustainable Pittsburgh, in addition to the many other worthwhile organizations listed on the site.

10th Annual Southwestern PA Smart Growth Conference:
Regional Collaboration: Investing in Sustainable Communities

Friday, October 15
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown Pittsburgh
Lunch provided.
Early registration: $25; After 9/23: $45. Free for elected officials.
For exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities contact: cgould@sustainablepittsburgh.org
Click here to REGISTER.
Enter the TIPPING POINTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY Competition! More information here . Deadline to enter September 24.

For this 10th anniversary, the conference will be a milestone for the high stakes surrounding the region's capacity building for smart growth. Focus will be on alignment with the Obama Administration's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (comprising federal DOT, EPA, and HUD) in supporting integration of housing, transportation, water infrastructure, energy conservation, and land use planning and investment. As such, this one-day, conference will identify barriers and solutions to cross-jurisdictional coordination for regional smart growth and sustainable community development policy and implementation. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan hit home the need and opportunity of our times in recently stating, "Our challenge now is to bring that holistic view of community development into the mainstream -- to help build sustainable neighborhoods, communities and regions that are as interconnected as the challenges they face."

The conference will again serve as a public input session to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's process of updating the region's Long Range Transportation and Development Plan. This update will be distinguished by addition of enhancements appropriate to a regional sustainable development plan per the six "Livability Principles" prioritized by the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The conference will feature:
- John Frece, Director, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Beth Osborne, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
- Mariia Zimmerman, Deputy Director, HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
- Representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will discuss the U.S. government's interagency partnership to support and promote sustainable communities.
- Keynote address by Peter Calthorpe, Principal, Calthorpe Associates - Urban Designers, Planners, Architects
- Allen Biehler, Secretary of PA Department of Transportation
- John Hanger, Secretary of PA Department of Environmental Protection
- SPC public process per the region's sustainable development plan
- Four pressing issues interwoven in deliberations: Transportation Funding Crisis, Water & Sewer Infrastructure, Marcellus Impacts, Affordable Housing
- Panel strategy session with: Steve Bland, Port Authority of Allegheny County; Caren Glotfelty, The Heinz Endowments; Elizabeth Hersh, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania; Doug Hill, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; John Schombert, 3 Rivers Wet Weather
- Formal presentation of competition results – “14 Essential Tipping Points for SWPA Sustainable Community Development" (Learn how to enter the competition) - Launch of the online Sustainable Community Essentials Rapid Assessment
- Learn what federal and state agencies are looking for in capacity and qualification for sustainable community investment
- Identification of actionable steps whose implementation will position our region to accelerate sustainable development and be a priority place for investment
- Crafting of a summary of participants' input and resulting action plan for presentation to the candidates for Governor, other candidates and incumbents, and community leaders

Southwestern PA is a contemporary proving ground for hastening the new American dream found in revitalizing livable, sustainable communities through smart growth policies that discourage sprawl, congestion and pollution. Come be part of continuing the region's sustainability renaissance for economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity rich communities. More than a one-time event, the conference will be a point of acceleration and innovation for the region's positive path.

Peter Calthorpe has been named one of twenty-five "innovators on the cutting edge" by Newsweek Magazine for his work redefining the models of urban and suburban growth in America. Starting practice in 1976, he has a long and honored career in urban design, planning and architecture, combining his experience in each discipline to develop new approaches to urban revitalization, suburban growth, and regional planning. His early published work included technical papers, articles for popular magazines, and a number of seminal books, including Sustainable Communities with Sim Van der Ryn, and the Pedestrian Pocket Book with Doug Kelbaugh. The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream, published in 1993, introduced the concept of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and provided extensive guidelines and illustrations of their board application. His latest book with William Fulton, The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl, explains how regional-scale planning and design can integrate urban revitalization and suburban renewal into a coherent vision of metropolitan growth.

Presented by Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network in collaboration with: 3 Rivers Wet Weather, 10,000 Friends of PA, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, CONNECT, Green Building Alliance, Group Against Smog and Pollution, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Local Government Academy, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 10, District 11, and District 12, Pennsylvania Resources Council, Remaking Cities Institute, Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County, Southwest Chapter of the Pennsylvania Planners Association, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Pittsburgh, Young Preservationists Association

Sponsored by:
The PNC Financial Services Group
Michael Baker Corporation
Hill House Economic Development Corporation

Additional support provided by:
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Heinz Endowments

Media Sponsor:
90.5 DUQ FM

Post Smart Growth Conference - Power of 32 Community Conversation
Continuing the regional dialogue, immediately following conclusion of the October 15 Smart Growth Conference, a Power of 32 Community Conversation will be held from 4:30 - 6:00 pm in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Ballroom. This regional visioning session is open and free to residents of the 32 county region. Pre-register by calling 866-431-3622 and refer to the post Oct. 15 Smart Growth Conference Community Conversation. Attendees of the Smart Growth Conference are encouraged to stay and apply insights from the day. The public at large is welcomed too. Power of 32 is a regional visioning initiative engaging residents across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in creating a shared vision for the region's future. Through the Power of 32, we can think differently about our region's challenges—our role in the global world, our quality of life, and our opportunities—and act in ways that set a new direction for the future. Please join with other champions of smart growth and sustainability in this important opportunity to share your ideas about the future of the Power of 32 region. Input gained in the community conversations held around the region will by synthesized and vetted toward creation of a shared regional action agenda.

Post Smart Growth Conference - Power of 32 Community Conversation

Friday, October 15
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm (immediately following the conclusion of the 10th annual Smart Growth Conference)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center Ballroom
Free and open to the public
Pre-register by calling (866) 431-3622 and refer to the post Oct. 15 Smart Growth Conference Community Conversation.

This regional visioning session is open and free to residents of the 32 county region. Attendees of the Smart Growth Conference are encouraged to stay and apply insights from the day--continuing the regional dialogue. The public at large is welcomed too. Power of 32 is a regional visioning initiative engaging residents across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in creating a shared vision for the region's future. Through the Power of 32, we can think differently about our region's challenges—our role in the global world, our quality of life, and our opportunities—and act in ways that set a new direction for the future. Please join with other champions of smart growth and sustainability in this important opportunity to share your ideas about the future of the Power of 32 region. Input gained in the community conversations held around the region will by synthesized and vetted toward creation of a shared regional action agenda.

Mother Earth News Fair

September 25-26, 2010
Festival hours: Saturday from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Seven Springs Mountain Resort
One-day tickets are $15. Two-day tickets are $25. Children 17 and under are FREE!
More information

Join MOTHER EARTH NEWS at Seven Springs Mountain Resort for the first annual MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR - a fun-filled, family-oriented sustainable lifestyle event, featuring hundreds of practical, hands-on demonstrations and workshops from the leading authorities on:

Renewable Energy
Small-scale Agriculture
Gardening
Green Building
Green Transportation
Natural Health

You'll enjoy a vast eco-friendly marketplace, organic local food and beverages as well as outdoor equipment and livestock demonstrations.

Power of 32 Public Meetings

Saturday, September 25
2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Dormont Public Library, 2950 West Liberty Avenue, Dormont, 15216
Register here
For more information, contact: yvettey@powerof32.org

Sunday, September 26
6:00 pm
Jewish Community Center Room 202, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15217 (Squirrel Hill)
Please enter from Forbes Avenue garage or from Darlington.
Register here

Power of 32 is a nonpartisan, regional visioning initiative bringing together 32 counties in 4 states to develop 1 common vision. This summer, they are holding Community Conversations throughout the region to engage residents in a discussion about our strengths and challenges and to learn what your vision is for this region.

Please join one of the final Community Conversations this week! They will be in Dormont on Saturday and Squirrel Hill on Sunday. To find other events across the region or for more information, visit: www.powerof32.org.

Best Practices Summit on Urban Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

Thursday, September 30
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Children's Museum Theatre (Lower Level, 10 Children's Way - See http://tinyurl.com/2brb9wa for directions. Free parking will be provided.)
RSVP to Andrew Dash of the Department of City Planning at (412)255-0760 or andrew.dash@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

As part of the Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Plan (OpenSpacePGH), one of the initial chapters of PLANPGH, the City's Comprehensive Plan, the City invites you to The Best Practices Summit. This Summit will bring together a panel of experts in an intensive working session to identify successful models and strategies that can be tailored to Pittsburgh’s open space, parks and recreation challenges. These experts bring experience from around the country and provide a diversity of perspectives, addressing the full spectrum of urban and open space issues, ranging from economic development to land stewardship to contextual design. This session will be a panel discussion, open to the public, where panel members share their most inspiring and transformational ideas. Come hear the ideas put forth by the panel, based on their work in cities across the country, and play a part in transforming the City's Open Spaces, Parks, and Recreation system. Discuss how those ideas can be applied to Pittsburgh!

Some of the Confirmed Panel Members are:
- Charles Jordan - Board of Directors of The Conservation Fund, formerly Parks & Recreation Director for the Cities of Austin and Portland, OR
- Kathy Abbott - Vice President of the Trustee of Reservations (Massachusetts), formerly Director of Conservation and Recreation for the Trust for Public Land
- Aaron Renn - author of the Urbanophile (www.urbanophile.com) and other articles in the Time, the Economist, New York Times, and others.
- Ron Golem - Principal at Bay Area Economics, formerly of the Presidio for the National Park Service
More information about all of the panel members, including their bios, and an agenda will be forthcoming.

About the Plan:
The Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Plan (OPENSPACEPGH) is one of the initial components of PLANPGH, the City's Comprehensive Plan. This planning effort will not only look at our parks and recreation facilities & programs, but will also look at the City's abundant open spaces, a unique resource consisting of our riverfronts, wooded hillsides, and vacant lots. This Plan will create the vision for the City's open space resources and opportunities over the next 25 years, and will include an action plan with measurable performance standards to determine what projects need to be undertaken, in what order, and who will be responsible so the City and its partners can best improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh.

Public Meetings: Regional Parks Master Plan Update

Saturday, October 2
9:00am
Colfax Elementary School
More information, including the schedule for meetings about Highland, Riverview, and Schenley Parks are available here.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is holding public meetings this fall in conjunction with its update to the Regional Parks Master Plan, originally released in 2000. The group would like to talk with you about your favorite park: what works, what doesn't, and what needs attention as the Park Conservancy plans for future projects.

October 2 is the first meeting, about Frick Park. It will begin with an open dialogue and then move into the park for a mobile workshop about finding the balance between people and nature.

Human Health and the Environment Workshop

Tuesday, October 5
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
CCI Center, 64 South 14th Street, Pittsburgh, 15203 (South Side)
Contact: Sarah Alessio Shea at saraha@ccicenter.org, by calling (412) 488-7490 ext. 236, or by visiting www.prc.org.
Register online

“You are nontoxic and biodegradable.
Deep down your home wants to be too.” Squeaky Green

The Health and the Environment Workshop is designed to heighten awareness and encourage action around the issue of carcinogens and toxins that people come into contact with daily in the environment through products used and food eaten. The workshop also focuses on the consequences of these toxins on health and how one can avoid exposure. The program provides the public with practical solutions such as safe alternatives and healthy lifestyle choices.

In an effort to reduce one’s exposure to toxins and to reduce the amount of toxins in the environment, all workshop participants will receive a non-toxic green cleaning kit. This workshop is presented by the Pennsylvania Resources Council in partnership with UPCI Center for Environmental Oncology.

Marcellus Shale: The Answer to Our Energy Needs or a Danger to the Environment? Featuring "Gasland" Director Josh Fox

Monday, October 11
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill, Katz Auditorium
No fee to attend
RSVP to Liz Roberts at (412) 992-5214 or lroberts@JewishFederationPittsburgh.org

Leaders from the natural-gas industry, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the environmental community will interact with filmmaker Josh Fox, offering a variety of perspectives on the Marcellus Shale issue.

Presented by the Hot Topics/Cool Talk and Environmental committees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, in partnership with the League of Women Voters and the Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee.

12th Annual 3 Rivers Wet Weather Sewer Conference

October 13-14, 2010
Monroeville Convention Center, Monroeville
Registration Fee: $70 on or before October 6 / $75 after October 6 (includes registration, handouts and meals for both days)
Register online via credit card or make checks payable to LGA
For general questions about the conference, contact 3 Rivers Wet Weather at (412) 578-8375.
For registration questions, call the Local Government Academy (LGA) at (412) 237-3171.
Conference Brochure

In preparation for a 2012 compliance deadline, communities now are completing feasibility studies analyzing alternatives for managing sewage and stormwater, from both a technical and an economic perspective. Efforts must intensify to consolidate the operation and maintenance of the sewage collection system for the long-range cost benefits, as well as the sustainability of the system.

3 Rivers Wet Weather has planned this year’s conference agenda with these activities and goals in mind. Experienced industry professionals will be covering topics ranging from wet weather and its impact on affordability to green infrastructure alternatives and case studies from cities across the country. Conference organizers are also pleased to welcome Keynote Speaker Nancy Stoner, Assistant Deputy Administrator in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, to share wet weather developments at the EPA. In addition, more than 60 organizations will set up displays on sewer assessment and rehabilitation, new technologies and software, green alternatives, sewer system maintenance products and services, and sewer system planning.

ALCOSAN Public Meetings: Is untreated wastewater entering your source of drinking water?

Monday, October 18
Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department, 456 1st Street, Carnegie, 15106

Tuesday, October 19
East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15206 (East Liberty)

Wednesday, October 20
Bellevue Christian Church, 680 Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue, 15202

Thursday, October 21
Carnegie Library, 510 E. 10th Avenue, Munhall, 15120

Sewer overflows impact everyone, and everyone can contribute to the resolution of this critical problem. By participating in an upcoming meeting, you can learn what is being considered in your community to address the public health, environmental and economic impacts of untreated wastewater discharges into this region's rivers and streams. Meetings will be held from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm with a presentation given at 6:30 pm. These meetings will focus on the community-based potential solutions for each area as well as provide ALCOSAN's Annual Customer Information update.

Additional meetings are scheduled through November. For more information visit www.alcosan.org.

PIIN 2010 Public Action

Thursday, October 21
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15213 (Oakland)
Contact: PIIN at (412) 621-9230

This event brings together some 1000 Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) members and supporters committed to working together for greater justice and equity in this region, state, and nation. Local, state, and national public officials as well as candidates for public office partnering with PIIN will be in attendance also.

The annual Public Actions are opportunities to connect with and hear from constituents about the issues that matter to them the most. The following issues will be addressed at this meeting: transit funding and the proposed transit cuts; education - with a focus on Pittsburgh and Woodland Hills Public Schools, both of which are ranked in the bottom 10 percent in the Commonwealth; and racial profiling and racial diversity within the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

PIIN is an alliance of more than 40 congregations of other faith-based organizations working to realize shared values through civic engagement on issues identified by members.

3RiversBioneers Conference

October 22-23, 2010
Pittsburgh Project, 2801 N Charles St, Pittsburgh, 15214 (North Side)
Prices: Both days - $40; One day only - $30; Scholarships are available (choose scholarship option on registration page)
Limited space is available, so be sure to register as soon as possible.
More information

Join the 3Rivers Bioneers for this visionary event on October 22-23, where the group strives to cultivate sustainable communities in the Three Rivers Bioregion through actions revolving around social justice, ecological health, and innovative solutions.

At this year's 3RiversBioneers Conference, you can...
- Participate in a wide range of local workshops relevant to local communities; from models for supplying food and food education in food deserts to local stormwater legislation improvements to hands-on renewable energy workshops for kids and adults alike.
- Watch and listen to the inspirational stories and solutions from the National Bioneers Plenaries broadcast from San Rafael, CA including revered primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, urban forestry and stormwater guru Andy Lipkis, and many others on topics of civil rights, equitable economics, water stewardship, and indigenous knowledge.
- Converse and collaborate with a diverse Bioneers community during the conference and after.
- Engage w/ local food vendors, businesses, organizations, and artists and get their insight on solutions for the Pittsburgh region.
- Witness Pittsburgh's Youth meeting at the cross-roads of ecological restoration and social justice and learn how they seek to improve our world as they grow together.

Myron Orfield: "Metro Patterns and Regional Engagement"

Thursday, November 4
University Club, Oakland
More information to follow.

The first in the Innovation Clinic at GSPIA's new series of lectures on the Changing Nature of Civic Engagement in America.

Resources

Win an iPad! Just tip off Sustainable Pittsburgh about what's made us a winner

If you like that list, you'll love the list of prizes, which includes a two-hour tour of historic Pittsburgh from the Young Preservationists Association, a free design for a community rain garden or bioswale from the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Penn State Center-Pittsburgh, free admission to the Pennsylvania Resources Council's backyard or vermi-composting workshop and Watershed Awareness/Rain barrel Workshop – and more.

Sustainable Pittsburgh Supports Gas Tax and New Energy Economy Innovation Fund

In supporting the tax on natural gas, Sustainable Pittsburgh advocates a portion of the tax be devoted to fund innovations that will hasten our transition to the new energy, sustainable economy. "Core to the principles of sustainable development is to invest in moving from reliance on nonrenewable to renewable resources. We must move from a conversation of only "spending" the severance tax to rather investing it in bridging to the future. We can ill afford to make the unsustainable mistakes of the past," said Court Gould, executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh. Click here to view the proposed New Energy Economy Innovation Fund.

Groups rally for Marcellus Shale gas drilling restrictions

And in yet another action Tuesday, House Republicans unveiled a four-part plan to promote the use of natural gas instead of gasoline. They called on state agencies to "transition" the 16,000 gasoline-powered vehicles in the state fleet to vehicles that run on natural gas. That would "reduce the commonwealth's reliance on oil and create a tremendous demand for the natural gas available right here in Pennsylvania," said Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York. Republicans also called for tax credits for companies that convert their fleets to natural gas and for financial incentives to local governments and mass transit agencies that do the same. Those three changes would cost about $60 million, they estimated. The GOP also called for building natural gas stations at every other service station along the Pennsylvania Turnpike so it's easier for drivers to refuel their gas-powered cars.

More

Governor Rendell Letter to the editor: Taxing natural gas extraction is justified

There is no evidence to support the specious case that if Pennsylvania begins to tax natural gas extraction, mining companies would pack up and leave. These companies can afford to pay a reasonable tax to cover the burden that our taxpayers are now shouldering for environmental protection and cleanup, emergency services for accidents, road repair and other costs that come from drilling sites.

More

What if there was a fire and nobody came?

We rely on volunteers for our fire protection-—and their numbers are falling: from 1985 to 2004, the number of volunteer firefighters fell by more than half from 152,000 to about 70,000. Some wonder if it’s realistic to rely on a volunteer force, as most towns in [Allegheny] County do. But an all-professional force would mean we’d have to pay for firefighting and the lowest estimate for the cost of converting to a professional firefighting force statewide is $6 billion.

Who Should Operate Your Community's Fire Department?

Vote now on the Allegheny Forum.

The Pittsburgh Foundation, together with support from funding partners, launched in July a comprehensive initiative to promote public discussion and feedback about municipal services in Allegheny County. The initiative is called Allegheny Forum and has been developed to provide public officials with opinions and ideas from citizens on improved efficiencies and cost-effectiveness among Allegheny County's 130 local municipalities, including the City of Pittsburgh.

More

Invitation to Comment

Stakeholders are invited to review and comment on the draft report Analysis of Emissions from Power Plants and Other Large Combustion Sources in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region. The report documents a series of data analyses to show the variability in emissions from electric generating units (EGUs) and other large combustion sources by time period, geographical location, type of fuel, type of combustion unit, and type of control technology. The report analyzes sources in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

The comment period will be open through October 8, 2010. Comments and questions should be sent via email to MARAMA at comments@marama.org and Ed Sabo of MACTEC at ejsabo@mactec.com. Written comments will be reviewed by the State Inventory staff, MACTEC staff and MARAMA staff and may result in changes to the draft report.

If you need assistance accessing the draft report, please contact Patrick Davis at pdavis@marama.org.

Proposals being accepted for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant

The Department of Environmental Protection (Department), Office of Energy and Technology Deployment announces an opportunity to apply for grants under a special electric vehicle infrastructure solicitation of the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (AFIG). The purpose of AFIG is to improve this Commonwealth's air quality and reduce consumption of imported oil through the use of homegrown alternative fuels that will help this Commonwealth's economy and environment. The Department is seeking applications for the installation and operation of eligible electric vehicle charging stations in densely populated areas of this Commonwealth.

Funding is available for school districts, municipal authorities, political subdivisions, incorporated nonprofit entities, corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships incorporated or registered in this Commonwealth for the installation of eligible electric vehicle charging stations in targeted areas of high population density.

Project costs cannot be incurred before July 1, 2010.

The program guidelines and application instructions are available for download on the Department's web site at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us (click on ''DEP Programs'' and then ''Alternative Fuels'').

The application period will open on September 13, 2010. Applications must be received by 4 p.m. on November 12, 2010. Faxes and e-mails will not be accepted. Use staples only, no binding or cover pages.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Mike Baker at (717) 772-0796 or via email at michaelba@state.pa.us.

Aren’t We Clever?

What a contrast. In a year that’s on track to be our planet’s hottest on record, America turned “climate change” into a four-letter word that many U.S. politicians won’t even dare utter in public. If this were just some parlor game, it wouldn’t matter. But the totally bogus “discrediting” of climate science has had serious implications. For starters, it helped scuttle Senate passage of the energy-climate bill needed to scale U.S.-made clean technologies, leaving America at a distinct disadvantage in the next great global industry. And that brings me to the contrast: While American Republicans were turning climate change into a wedge issue, the Chinese Communists were turning it into a work issue.

Sun Belt Sprawl

This development at the base of the McCullough Mountain Range will soon have nearly 13,000 houses, including more than a thousand luxury homes that will surround sports clubs and are already advertised as affordable residential areas for the “up and coming.”

Happy Birthday Clean(er) Air: We Still Have a Long Way to Go

Clean-air regulation in this country has created trillions of dollars in economic value. This year alone, the benefits of clean-air programs are projected to total $110 billion. In a bipartisan gathering last week, EPA director Lisa Jackson said that the "total benefits of the Clean Air Act amount to 40 times the cost of regulation." Put another way, for every $1 they spend on regulation, this country gets back $40 in economic benefit. Clean-air regulation has also dramatically increased worker productivity, preventing 4,100,000 lost work days since 1970, and 31,000,000 days in which Americans would have had to restrict activity due to air-pollution-related illness. (Now that's good for business). It has also created entire new markets for automobiles and cleaner vehicles. Today's new cars, light trucks, and heavy-duty diesel engines are up to 95 percent cleaner than past models thanks to technology such as the catalytic converter. New non-road engines used in construction and agriculture have 90 percent less particle pollution and nitrogen oxide emissions than previous models. Finally, vehicle and fuel programs from clean-air regulations will produce $186 billion in air quality and health benefits by 2030 -- all this with only $11 billion in costs, a nearly 16-to-1 benefit/cost ratio.

GE’s Immelt: “We Have to Have an Energy Policy. It’s Stupid What We Have Today.”

Journalist Tom Friedman interviewed GE's CEO and Chairman Jeffrey R. Immelt on the last day of the GridWide Global Forum in Washington, D.C. "We have to have an energy policy. It's stupid what we have today," Immelt said. "Somehow we've allowed the whole discussion of clean energy investing to get wrapped up in green and climate discussions," he said. According to Immelt, in some ways, the smart grid is controversial. The customer isn't asking for it. It might add more cost at first. "In 1982, when I was selling plastic to the automotive industry, the IT guy installed Microsoft Outlook [and I didn't ask for it]," Immelt said. He went on to invoke the example of his parents, who don't know what the smart grid is. "They aren't saying, give me the smart grid," Immelt said. But they are typical American energy consumers who would like to save 10 percent on their energy bill. Some parts of the aging grid have no basis in the modern world. Immelt said the grid needs to be bigger and smarter. "A mentor of mine told me: 'To do something, you have to do something,'" Immelt said. "Business is business. At GE, we have the luxury [of R&D funding] and we will do that stuff. But as a country, you have to be good at stuff," he emphasized.

China Winning Renewable Energy Race

Five miles off the coast of Shanghai, the Chinese recently completed the country's first offshore wind farm. The project was completed before construction on the first American offshore wind farm has even begun. The Shanghai project is not just another wind farm. It's the next generation in wind power technology and the latest example of how China is jumping ahead of the United States. Earlier this month, the accounting firm Ernst & Young named China the most attractive place to invest in renewables, knocking the United States out of the top position. The study ranked countries on such things as regulatory risk, access to finance, grid connection and tax climate. It cited the lack of a clear policy promoting demand for renewables in the United States -- a product of Congress' failure to pass an energy bill -- as one of the main factors for the dethroning. China has already surpassed the United States in the amount of wind turbines and solar panels that it makes. China is also gaining on the United States when it comes to how much of their energy comes from renewable energy sources. The country that leads in the renewable energy industry, is opening the door to more home-grown jobs. Cash is pouring in: From an investment point of view, the trend is clear. In 2009, nearly $35 billion in private money flowed into Chinese renewable energy projects, including factories that make wind turbines and solar panels, according to the research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The United States attracted under $19 billion.

Green groups take on Pittsburgh's illegal dumps

The focus this year has been on the 44 dump sites in Greenfield, Homewood and Beltzhoover. Half of Greenfield's 20 sites have been cleared, and Beltzhoover's 16 sites listed in the PA CleanWays survey are gone — thanks in large part to at-risk teens hired this summer to address the problem, McKinley said. "Litter leads to more litter, but the reverse is true, too," said Myrna Newman, Allegheny CleanWays' project coordinator. "When you clean it up, it shows that it's a piece of land that is cared for."

Does This City Make Me Look Suburban?

Travel + Leisure magazine confuses suburbs with small cities in a recent article called "Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit." The New Urban Network shows how they got it wrong. The article sets up the premise that suburbs are becoming cool: "Americans have a love-hate relationship with the ever-sprawling communities outside the country's big cities...Hollywood hasn't helped the suburban profile, typically portraying these communities as boring, conformist places, spiced up by a few desperate housewives here and there. Yet a number of suburbs around the country blow up the stereotype and are worth a visit on your next trip." New Urban Network took a look at the 10 "suburbs" cited in the article: "Only trouble is that seven of the ten suburbs are incorporated cities — Evanston, Illinois: Lakewood, Ohio; Bellevue, Washington; Roswell, Georgia; Alameda, California; Birmingham, Michigan; and Ashland, Oregon. Bellevue became a city most recently — in 1953. Of the three remaining, one is a town, West Hartford, Connecticut, and another is a township, Montclair, New Jersey — both have the density and street grids of small, traditional cities."

The American Parks Database

A new report from the Trust for Public Lands provides detailed and comprehensive data on city park systems in the U.S. NRDC's Kaid Benfield takes a look at this year's report. "The 85 largest U.S. cities have more than 1.4 million acres of city parks, according to data released earlier this month by The Trust for Public Land. The city park systems profiled in 2010 City Park Facts serve 58 million urban residents, offering 11,160 playgrounds, 9,167 ball diamonds, 1,349 swimming pools, 514 dog parks, and 400 public golf courses, among other facilities. The report includes statistics on urban park acreage, spending, staffing, and facilities. TPL releases the data annually through its Center for City Park Excellence."

Don’t let transportation get lost in the political shuffle; send a letter to your local paper

When President Obama announced his vision on Labor Day for investing in 21st century infrastructure, he put our country on the right path toward smart transportation reform — a path that could transform communities across America and create desperately needed jobs. But his bold vision to invest in safer streets, road and bridge repair, and high speed rail immediately came under fire from many of the usual suspects who prefer the current system of earmarks and oil industry tax breaks. We need to respond to these attacks on transportation reform – publicly and quickly – to show the country and our lawmakers that the plan’s supporters greatly outnumber its critics. Take 5 or 10 minutes and write a letter to the editor of your local paper today More

Transit unions text Washington to get better commute

Capitol Hill aides leaving Union Station on their way to work Wednesday will find a Jumbotron screen outside the train station asking them to help the country’s commuters. The screen, broadcasting text messages from worried subway riders and bus passengers, is part of a campaign by national transit unions to garner support for legislation that will give greater control over federal funds to local transit authorities. More

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