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Events

Take Our Survey!

Dear 3E Links Readers –

As you know, for the last 5 months, Sustainable Pittsburgh has provided a link to the new outdoor recreation website called WallsAreBad.com in each issue of 3E Links. WallsAreBad.com is an online resource developed by a large group of local outdoor recreation and amenities organizations who, as part of a larger Walls Are Bad outreach campaign, are working hard to promote the abundance of outdoor recreation amenities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Ultimately, these groups aim to build a culture that embraces the outdoors, simultaneously benefiting the people and businesses of our region.

Sustainable Pittsburgh has served as the liaison between representatives of this group and GBL, the local marketing firm hired to conduct the campaign. We are looking for feedback to ensure the site is meeting the needs of its visitors.

Please take 5 minutes of respite from your busy day and complete our quick and easy online survey on what you like/don’t like about the new WallsAreBad.com website at the following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gm8bcTm38NE0MKahkiBz4g_3d_3d

If you have not yet visited WallsAreBad.com, please feel free to do so, then come back and take our survey!

With your helpful feedback, we’ll work hard to incorporate your suggestions by adding onto and improving this valuable regional outdoor recreation resource.

Thank you kindly for your participation.

Resources

State of Black Pittsburgh: Opportunity Fair and Town Hall Meeting

Thursday, November 6
3:00 pm - 9:00 pm; Keynote at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Mellon University Center
Free
Contact: 412-227-4802 or www.ulpgh.org

Presenting Esther L. Bush's State of Black Pittsburgh with Special Keynote Guest, Tony Brown of Tony Brown's Journal. Particiate in the Opportunity Fair from 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm. Exhibitors will share information regarding jobs, education, finances, and family. A Community Discussion is scheduled from 5:40 pm - 7:00 pm, which includes breakout sessions on "Curbing Violence in Our Communities" and "Building Linkages with People of African Descent in Pittsburgh".

Brownfield Public Meetings

Thursday, November 6
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Smith Township Municipal Building

Friday, November 7
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
New Eagle Social Hall

Contact: Susan Morgan or Tyler Linck at 724-228-6875

The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington will host public meetings to provide details of the Brownfield Assessment Program. All meetings will be Open House format. Representatives from the Redevelopment Authority and Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. will present information about brownfields and answer questions such as what is a brownfield, what are the details of the Brownfield Program, how brownfields are affecting the community and what are the benefits to property owners in redeveloping their brownfield properties. Participation from those attending will assist the Authority in determining potential brownfield locations. In addition to the public meetings, details of the Redevelopment Authority's plans for redevelopment of brownfields are available on the Authority's website: www.racw.net.

Low- Cost Municipal Transportation Improvements

Friday, November 7
9:00 am – Noon (8:30 am registration)
Anderson Library of Penn Hills, 1037 Stotler Rd., Pittsburgh 15235
Contact: Anita Lengvarsky at alengvarsky@localgovernmentacademy.org or 412-237-3171
More information

As state funding dries up and PennDOT focuses more on bridges, municipalities are left to maintain traffic signals, mitigate congestion, and accommodate bicycles and pedestrians. How do municipalities handle transportation issues when taxpayers are demanding improved services without large tax increases? The purpose of this seminar is to present low-cost transportation improvements that municipalities can pursue with solutions that reduce congestion, reduce vehicle emissions and encourage alternative modes of transportation. The seminar also includes an update on the SPC’s traffic signal optimization program that will greatly assist municipalities.

Participants will learn:
- Solutions for traffic congestion
- Tools for traffic safety
- How to get started
- Funding options

An Apple Festival

Friday, November 7
The Union Project, North Negley and Stanton Avenues, Highland Park
7:00 pm - Master Apple Grower, Lou Lego – comparing Apples to Apples, plus comparison of fresh fruit and ciders.
Fee: $10

Saturday, November 8
The Union Project, North Negley and Stanton Avenues, Highland Park
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Fee: $5 adults, $3 for kids
Event flyer

Buy Fresh, Buy Local. This Apple Festival features The Third Annual Pro-Am Apple Pie Baking Contest, music, food, and more. (Pie contest rules are available at www.slowfoodpgh.org.) Join Master Apple Grower Lou Lego as he compares Apples to Apples. Lou has over 100 varieties of apples on his own farm and has a USDA grant to compare them one to another as far as all their essential qualities go: sweetness, tartness, pie-making, storage, juice and cider, drying. . .all those things we wish we knew about. Following his presentation at will be a tasting of apples and ciders for comparison. The Apple Festival is sponsored by Allegheny Group, Sierra Club; Slow Food Pittsburgh; East End Food Co-op; the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture; and PA State University Agricultural Extension Service.

The Fully Sustainable Nonprofit

Monday, November 10
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, Downtown
Fee: $40 ($30 if payment is received by Nov. 3)
For information or to register call Ivana Spehar at 412-397-6009 or e-mail spehar@rmu.edu.
You may also register online here.

In this wide-ranging panel discussion, we will consider sustainability as a holistic approach to nonprofit management. Court Gould, Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, will present the philosophical concept of the fully sustainable nonprofit. He'll be followed by Chris Siefert, Deputy Director of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, who will talk about green building, Scott Leff, Associate Director of the Bayer Center, who will discuss financial sustainability, and Dr. Barbara Baker, President of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, who will explore the sustainability of an organization's brand.

Creating a Sustainable Organization

Thursday, November 13
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township 16066
Registration information

An Interactive Forum for the HR Professional, CEO, CFO, Sustainability Director and...the list goes on.
Companies all over the world are embracing sustainability as one of the most important factors for staying competitive. With world-class experts both speaking and facilitating interactive sessions, this is an opportunity for participants to:
• Better define what sustainability means for your organization
• Improve your sustainability strategies - to increase profits and satisfy all stakeholders: employees, customers, vendors and shareholders
• Learn how local and national organizations have profitably implemented sustainable practices
• Understand how to build and maintain an adaptable sustainability culture
• Learn how to modify HR processes and functions to support sustainability

This is your chance to learn how companies such as Wal-Mart, Giant Eagle, Bayer MaterialScience LLC and many others have implemented sustainable practices into their operations. Matt Mehalik of Sustainable Pittsburgh will be a featured speaker. Event presented by HR Leadership Forum and Duquesne University.

16th Annual Pennsylvania Community Forestry Council Conference: Healthy Trees - Healthy Communities

November 13 -14
Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA
Fee: $100 for both days or $75 for one day.
Register online at http://www.pittsburghforest.org/communityforestryconference
Reserve your room by October 22nd to receive a discounted rate.
ISA and ASLA continuing education credits available!
Contact: Danielle Crumrine, Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest at 412-362-6360 or danielle@pittsburghforest.org or Mark Remcheck, Extension Educator, Urban Forestry Allegheny County Cooperative Extension at 412-473-2540 or mar15@psu.edumar15@psu.edu
View the Conference Brochure

Tree commission members, arborists, architects and landscape architects, municipal DPW staff, students, educators, elected officials, and anyone who cares about creating healthy & sustainable communities should attend this conference. Featured keynote speakers include: Thomas Hylton, President, Save our Land, Save our Towns, Inc. (Day 1) and Ray Tretheway, Executive Director, The Sacramento Tree Foundation (Day 2).

Celebrate America Recycles Day at “Hard to Recycle” Collection

Saturday, November 15
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Lower level parking lot of the Mall at Robinson (100 Robinson Centre Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205)
Contact: PA Resources Council at 412-488-7490 ext. 236 or visit www.prc.org

To celebrate America Recycles Day locally, the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) has partnered with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and the Mall at Robinson to host a “Hard to Recycle” Collection. The event allows residents to drop off their freon and non-freon appliances, e-waste, televisions, tires without rims, ink and toner cartridges, cell phones, compact fluorescent light bulbs, mixed paper, and cardboard and all materials will be recycled or refurbished. Please note there are fees associated with some items! For more information on fees, visit http://www.prc.org/community_collections.html.

What Are Sustainable Communities, and How Do We Get There?

Monday, November 17
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Monroeville Public Library Gallery Space, Monroeville
Contact: Mark Hudson, Adult Services Librarian, at 412-372-0500 ext. 13 or hudsonme@mac.com

Come join a lively community discussion with Court Gould of Sustainable Pittsburgh to explore what sustainability is about -- its promise and potential. There is growing excitement about sustainable communities, and the mantra of simultaneous wins in economy, social equity, and environment sounds appealing. But what does sustainability mean, how can we assess if a community is on the right track, and what's the best foothold for accelerating the path to sustainability? We'll explore these questions and benefit from your ideas about practical steps the community can take for making sustainability the new business-as-usual.

cityLive! Pittsburgh's DNA

Tuesday, November 18
6:30 pm
New Hazlett Theater, North Side
More information

Our city was transformed in the past by physical interventions that changed its DNA forever. Big and small, planned and organic, each has had an everlasting impact. What are the 10 biggest changes that we have seen? Are these now embedded in Pittsburgh's blueprint? What will, or should, the next 10 be. Speakers include John Rahaim, Mark Minnerly; moderated by Eve Picker.

2nd Annual Cycling Specific Winter Lecture Series

Walls are Bad: Southwestern PA's Outdoor Network & How You Can Get Involved
Wednesday, November 19
7:00 pm
Trek of Pittsburgh, Shadyside
Contact: 412-788-8735 or visit www.trekofpittsburgh.com for a full schedule.

Stay motivated this winter as Trek of Pittsburgh cordially invites you to its Winter Lecture Series, where cycling is the topic and mysteries are unveiled by industry professionals in casual evening presentations. Join Ginette Vinski of Sustainable Pittsburgh as she shares information on cycling and outdoor resources available through Walls are Bad, an initiative supported by many outdoor organizations and other nonprofits in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Walls are Bad. Fresh Air is Good. Complimentary refreshments will be provided. Bicycles welcome on the premises.

"The Impacts of the Foreclosure Crisis on Local Government”

2008 Wherrett Lecture on Local Government
Friday, November 21
8:30 am
William Pitt Union on the University of Pittsburgh campus
RSVP: GSPIAIC@pitt.edu or 412-648-2282 by November 4

The Innovation Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development are proud to announce that Dr. Susan Wachter will present the fall 2008 Wherrett Lecture on Local Government. Dr. Wachter is Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and author of over 150 publications. Additionally, she is the former Assistant Secretary of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, former President of American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and coeditor of Real Estate Economics, the leading academic real estate journal.

6th Annual Public Officials Design Charrette (PODC)

MUNICIPAL LEADERS, take note.
Finalized Date and Times:
Friday, November 21
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Greentree Municipal Building
Free; lunch will be provided.
Open to limited number of municipalities.

Municipalities in SWPA, this is for you:
Free expert consultation on pressing sustainable community design challenges and opportunities.

Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network, AIA Pittsburgh, and the Local Government Academy are now welcoming interested municipalities to propose to be "clients" for this free, half-day, hands-on, charrette-style consultation.

How it works: Up to five municipalities will be selected to benefit from the assistance of a team of pro bono experts. The municipality identifies a pressing sustainability challenge or opportunity and we assemble a team of experts to be on hand to work through the issue and generate practical solutions. Issues may relate to: main street revitalization, infill development, transportation access, energy efficiency or resource conservation, community development, a social or human service concern, community or green space, etc.

Are you an interested municipality? Please call 412-258-6643. We'll discuss your needs and determine if there's a good fit. All that is required is attendance from your municipality to include at least one elected official, a municipal staff person, and one community leader.

The Sustainable Workplace: Efficient, Healthier, Innovative and Cost-Effective.

Wednesday, December 10
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Fee: $40 ($30 if paid by Dec.3)
For information or to register call Ivana Spehar at 412-397-6009 or e-mail spehar@rmu.edu.
You may also register online here.

Learn how you can apply sustainability policies and practices in your day-to-day decision making and office to accelerate innovation.

5th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Equitable Development Summit

"The Employment Goal - Inclusion in the Workforce: Positioning Our Region to Prosper and Compete"
Thursday, December 11
8:30 am - 12:30 pm (8:00 am - Registration and Continental Breakfast)
Twentieth Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland
Fee: $10 Sustainable Pittsburgh members; $15 non-members
Register online
Contact: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642
Keynote: Radhika Fox, Associate Director, PolicyLink

Deploying talents of all residents and unleashing the benefits and innovation that come from diversity in the workforce are essential for a region and businesses that strive to secure a competitive edge. Our region, with its stagnant population growth, can ill-afford to leave behind anyone not working to his or her potential.

This year's Summit builds on the momentum from last year's discussion from which a leadership group came together to identify actions to address our region's equitable development. Rising to the fore is the regional economic benefit derived from enabling all African-Americans and others of color to participate fully in the workforce and to live to their productive potential. As southwestern Pennsylvania comes together and more than ever acknowledges that prosperity is directly linked to ensuring all residents are contributing through good jobs and opportunity, it is apparent that ongoing disparities in employment in communities of color are incongruous.

During the Summit, Radhika Fox of PolicyLink will present a draft of a landmark framing paper, specific to southwestern PA, that substantiates this reality and economic imperative. This work will illustrate the bottom-line business benefit and productive role a fully employed diverse population stands to play in the economy. It will serve to catalyze much more than a lip service response concerning a targeted employment agenda.

By rotating through four facilitated breakout groups, Summit participants will have the opportunity to help shape the paper and to advance partnerships and practical steps the region will take to remove barriers and to seize on inclusion in employment as a vital part of our economic development strategy and success among business and industry.

Breakout Group facilitators:

Human Resources: Surmounting Barriers (Randy Brockington, Allegheny County Department of Human Services)
Business Case for Diversity (Victoria Chester, Highmark and Joe Massaro III, Massaro Corporation)
Workforce Training: Goals, Outcomes, Coordination (pending)
Outreach Strategy: Community, Media, Political (Allen Kukovich, Southwest Regional Office of the Governor and Bob Oltmanns, Skutski & Oltmanns)

PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by Lifting Up What Works. Radhika Fox is a senior associate at PolicyLink and principal author of Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities; Expanding Housing Opportunity in Washington DC: The Case for Inclusionary Zoning; and Regional Equity and Smart Growth: Opportunities for Advancing Social and Economic Justice in America.

Presented by:

Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Center on Race and Social Problems, University of Pittsburgh
Coro Center for Civic Leadership
Falk Foundation
Heritage Health Foundation, Inc.
Local Government Academy
Mon Valley Initiative
Remaking Cities Institute
Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network
The Black Political Empowerment Project and Coalition Against Violence
The Innovation Clinic in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs: Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership
Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative

Sponsored by:

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Richard King Mellon Foundation

Resources

Pop City Green Report with the latest sustainable news

The ever widening swath of green continues to spread throughout our region with a number of new initiatives, programs, even a glog.

Thoreau Is Rediscovered as a Climatologist

On average, common species are flowering seven days earlier than they did in Thoreau’s day, Richard B. Primack, a conservation biologist at Boston University, and Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, then his graduate student, reported this year in the journal Ecology. Working with Charles C. Davis, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard and two of his graduate students, they determined that 27 percent of the species documented by Thoreau have vanished from Concord and 36 percent are present in such small numbers that they probably will not survive for long. Those findings appear in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Pittsburgh hires new sustainability coordinator

Lindsay Baxter, the City's first sustainability coordinator, will be charged with implementing the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan (PCAP) recommendations and forming a green steering committee. "Ms. Baxter will help us meet the challenge to take our City to the next level of green," Ravenstahl said. "We've made great strides to reduce our City's carbon footprint, and we will continue to do what it takes to help our region create green collar jobs and improve our residents' quality of life."

Pennsylvania's new initiative to get more people outdoors

In one of the new programs, Adventure Camp, urban kids from Pittsburgh and Erie are recruited to spend a week outdoors. "These are kids who had never been out of the city," said Ms. Lambert. "We taught them things like fishing and kayaking and biking and Leave No Trace ethics with the hope that they'll take that knowledge [home] and make connections of their own, maybe come back and bring their families. We're trying to attract a whole new audience."

Libraries are 'microcosms of community'

"Libraries are microcosms of the community -- a central anchor to our past, present and future," said Barbara K. Mistick, president and director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. "Our new location provides even greater access to the library and positions [it] as a cornerstone of this community's redevelopment. We are honored to be a part of its future."

U.S. to boost geothermal energy use on federal lands

"These federal lands ... hold a huge energy potential," said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. He said the geothermal areas that will be leased could provide 5,540 megawatts of electric generation capacity by 2015, enough to meet the power needs of 5.5 million homes.

Sustainability Reporting Grows Dramatically Among Multinationals

"More U.S. companies are beginning to see the link between profits and principles," Eric Israel, KPMG's advisory practice managing director, said in a statement. "Even in a difficult economy, we expect this trend to continue, as enhanced transparency and disclosure on non-financial matters will likely grow in importance."

George Soros on the Clean-Energy Economy

Last Friday [Oct. 10], in an interview with Bill Moyers on PBS, George Soros, who has made billions of dollars based on his ability to read the ebb and flow of markets, suggested that investing in alternative energy technologies, refurbishing aging electricity grids and pursuing household energy efficiency, among other green strategies, could yet save the global economy.

Future of green is not so black, say some

In the 1980s, a fall in the price of crude ended the first dawn of green energy, as the big economies, led by the United States, returned to their dependence on oil. . ."The old way of thinking about economy is up for negotiation, and the opportunities to build economies that incorporate both financial and environmental prudence are there to be taken," he said. "What's needed is political leadership that understands this link and is prepared to act on it."

Concentrated Poverty Report Released by Federal Reserve Board of Governors

In 2006, the Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve System partnered with the Brookings Institution to examine the issue of concentrated poverty. The resulting report,The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America: Case Studies from Communities Across the U.S., profiles 16 high-poverty communities from across the country, including immigrant gateway, Native American, urban, and rural communities. Through these case studies, the report contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of poor people living in poor communities, and the policies that will be needed to bring both into the economic mainstream.

Clean Water Referendum

With voter approval on Nov. 4, $400 million will be available to municipal water systems to provide more dependable drinking water and sewer services. The systems that deliver these services are aging and need repairs. With $400 million, Pennsylvania can invest in its economy by supporting 12,000 commonwealth jobs, strengthening our infrastructure.

The mortgage crisis has little to do with helping the poor

The bottom line is that discriminatory lending practices have resulted in minority homeowners holding risky subprime loans because conventional loans -- for which many were qualified -- were not made available. . .Rather than pinning the current financial crisis on the rules designed to end unfair lending practices, policy makers should work together to improve regulatory oversight for all lenders, promote access to credit for all qualified home buyers and prevent a repeat of the practices that helped create this crisis.

How to spend $3.92 Billion: Stabilizing neighborhoods by addressing foreclosed and abandoned properties

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), under which states, cities, and counties will receive a total of $3.92 billion to acquire, rehabilitate, demolish, and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned residential properties. These funds can stabilize hard-hit neighborhoods, putting them on the path to market recovery. This will only happen, however, if they are used in ways that are strategically targeted and sensitive to market conditions. This paper outlines 11 key principles that states, counties, and cities should follow as they plan for and use NSP funds.

The great green swindle

As consumers become more eco-conscious, companies will go to ever greater lengths to present themselves as environmentally friendly. Some make exaggerated or absurd claims, others resort to downright lies. Fred Pearce, whose new weekly Greenwash column launches on the Guardian website today, reports on a sinister trend - and appeals to readers to help stamp it out.

Americans Ready to Shift Public Funds to Support Transit

Even before gas prices spiked high above $4 per gallon this spring and summer, a Harris Interactive poll found last December that 81 percent of Americans would radically change federal outlays of the 1998 Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) from 79 percent for roads, 20 percent for mass transit, and 1 percent for biking and walking, to 37, 41, and 22 percent, respectively, in its 2009 replacement bill -- a crucial public opinion readjustment, with the potential benefits of a new funding formula quantified by the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) nonprofit in its Active Transportation for America: The Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking report, just presented to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democratic Chairman James Oberstar.

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