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Events

Resources

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Resources Continued

Playground of the Future Lunchtime Lecture

Tuesday, December 16
Noon
Schenley Park Cafe and Visitor's Center, Oakland
Free
Contact: Kelsey Livingston at khliving@andrew.cmu.edu

This lunchtime lecture, hosted by the Playground of the Future team, will focus on developments in playground design around the world and their impact on the future of play. This lecture is free and open to the public, and is intended to begin a discussion about the future of playgrounds in Pittsburgh. The Playground of the Future team is a Master's student project at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, mentored by the staff of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. The team of four students spent the semester researching current developments in playground design and prototyping their own ideas for the future of playgrounds. During the course of their research, they have discovered many playground concepts which excite children to explore the world around them, to think creatively, and to be active in their play.

Corporate Workshops on Carbon Emissions and Life Cycle Assessment

Thursday, January 29 - "Corporate Carbon Emission Inventories"
Friday, January 30 - "Carbon Footprinting and Life Cycle Assessment for Corporate Decision-Making"
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business, Oakland
Cost: GDI Consortium Members can participate in both workshops free of charge. Cost for non-members is $1,000 per workshop, $1,600 for both.
More information

Business executives have noted that issues related to corporate and supply chain carbon emissions are a top priority for managers to address in the coming months. To assist managers in targeting issues related to carbon management, the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon and the CMU Tepper School of Business Executive Education Center are offering two workshops in January 2009.

The workshop on Corporate Carbon Emissions Inventories will focus on challenges with estimating carbon emissions, including setting the boundary for different activities within a company and along its supply chain, examining options to register and disclose carbon emission reduction efforts and how these connect to potential future regulations.

The workshop on Carbon Footprinting and Life Cycle Assessment for Corporate Decision-Making will focus on the basics of life cycle assessment as a tool for estimating carbon footprints. We will discuss various software applications available for LCA projects, including the Green Design Institute's free on-line Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment tool.

Both workshops are designed as stand-alone seminars, but together provide an encompassing perspective of corporate carbon emissions issues.

Contemplating Governing: A Course for Potential Candidates for Local Office

January 2009
3 locations in SWPA: Green Tree Borough, Butler Township, Donohoe Center (Greensburg)
All sessions held at 6:00 pm
Program Fee: $45 per person
Pre-registration is required.
For more information call 412-237-3171 or visit www.localgovernmentacademy.org

Contemplating Governing is an introduction to serving in local government. These sessions will help individuals decide if local government service is right for them and encourage responsible campaigning. This program will provide citizens the opportunity to consider the challenges, requirements, opportunities, and reasons to serve in local elected office. The course seeks to inform the office seeker as they embark on the campaign process.

This 3-part program will include information on:
• Overcoming obstacles to running and meeting legal requirements
• Understanding the Pennsylvania local government environment including powers and duties of various boards and commissions such as City and Borough Councils, Township Commissioners or Supervisors, School Directors
• Measuring board effectiveness
• Determining what is a responsible campaign pledge
• Understanding local government taxation and services
• Local government’s important role in community sustainability

These sessions are being held prior to the first day to circulate and file nomination petitions on February 17, 2009. Upon successful election, the program fee will be credited towards the tuition of the 2009 - 2010 Newly Elected Officials Course.

Resources

Material Scientists Develop Decontaminating Wipe

Material scientists have developed a decontaminating wipe that can neutralize a number of hazardous chemicals including organic solvents." According to "Seshadri Ramkumar, assistant professor at the nonwoven and advanced materials laboratory, Texas Tech University...the new non-particulate material will reduce the number of civilian and military casualties that are exposed to toxic chemicals and chemical warfare." The professor "used a needle-punching nonwoven process to construct a non-particulate layered composite with an inner layer of activated carbon fiber, which decontaminates personnel and equipment." The research, "published in 3 December issue of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research," focused "specifically on the chemical blister agent sulphur mustard and showed that the novel dry wipe's adsorption efficiency is significantly higher than that of particulate activated carbon and similar to that of US military med-kits.

Researchers At University Of Maine Test New Wind Turbine Design

Noting that "building the ideal wind turbine for offshore waters is no simple feat," the AP (12/9) reported, "At the University of Maine's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, researchers are designing, manufacturing and testing windmill blades and towers in search of a solution." The center said that it "is working with a number of companies on developing wind turbine technology that is suitable for conditions that are found where waters are hundreds of feet deep, out of sight from land. Out there, waves can swell 40 feet high and winds can roar at 80 mph or more." Researchers said that "such a wind turbine must be big -- a 300-foot tower from the water to the hub of the turbine with blades that are 200 feet long," and "strong, because of the powerful offshore winds and waves -- even the threat of hurricanes." Also, the turbine "must resist corrosion associated with an ocean environment." While "deep-water energy farms are years or even a decade or more away," Habib Dagher, director of the center, "is convinced they're an answer to the nation's future energy needs."

More

EU Agrees Renewable Energy To Provide 20 Percent Of Needs By 2020

EU governments and the European Parliament agreed Tuesday on a bill obliging Europe to use renewable sources for 20 percent of its energy needs by 2020. This "goal, which will require major efforts from most member states, is part of a wider EU climate change package which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and make 20 percent cuts in energy use." While "the total package will be thrashed out by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. . .agreement on the renewables target will make that task a little easier." The AP notes, "The deal will mean significant European investment in wind, wave, solar and, where possible geothermal power.

Green Revival Mainly Focused On Rebuilding Physical Infrastructure

For weeks, there's been a growing chorus. . .pushing for building the economic revival around 'green jobs.'" Until now "the focus seems to be mainly on rebuilding physical infrastructure: insulating leaky low-income housing, building wind turbines, improving the clunky electrical grid and the like." But, Revkin noted, "for such an initiative to be green at a scale sufficient for the atmosphere to notice, my sense is it will need to focus just as much on rebuilding the country's intellectual infrastructure." Also, "spending on basic R and D for military projects has hit about $80 billion a year, far more than the country spends on all other basic R and D combined. What might happen if a president sought not to shrink the military research pie, but simply devote more of it to transformational technologies related to harvesting, storing, or moving energy?" After all, Revkin continued, "the Pentagon has already concluded that improved energy technology and efficiency are prime objectives." Notably, "a host of experts in technological innovation agree that research money, alone, is insufficient. But without it, there's no pipeline of ideas for entrepreneurs and investors to turn into products.

Manufacturer of the Year: Sustainable Category Award

Ray Yeager, president and CEO of Ductmate Industries Inc. in Charleroi, likes to say that Ductmate, a HVAC accessories company, was a leader in “green” practices before anyone knew the meaning of the word. The company was founded in 1978, one year before the second oil embargo, with a focus on energy-efficient products for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in commercial buildings.

New LEED Rating System Resets The Bar For Green Buildings

LEED 2009, the long-awaited update to the internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building certification program, has passed member ballot at the U.S. Green Building Council, and will be introduced in 2009 as the next major evolution of the existing LEED rating systems for commercial buildings.

Changemaker: Lisa Schroeder, Riverlife Task Force

“In many ways,” she continues, “they all discovered that the rivers offer a place where the community can gather at anytime. As such, the rivers become a whole new urban center. Coinciding with the drive for people to move back to cities, rivers are now seen as an urban resource second to none. So our task at Riverlife has been to restore the green edge of the rivers to Downtown.”

Andy Hannah: Advice to our Next President

I recently returned from a Department of Energy trade mission to the Middle East. The UAE has a self-awareness about the fragility of their good fortune that I wasn’t expecting. For example, they understand that the oil profits they have become accustomed to have created a way of life that is not sustainable. They understand that to maintain this prosperity, they must take those profits and build a sustainable source of commerce. Their solution is to become the financial services and energy technology center of the world by spending tens of billions of dollars each year to build infrastructure, attract talent and develop technology (from institutions like MIT). They are focused on becoming the world leaders in these areas. The United States must learn from and recognize this ambition, and take an equally focused approach on clean technology and renewable energy.

Equity Key For Regional Economic Growth

At the summit University of California at Davis associate professor of community and regional development Chris Benner delivered the keynote address on his research that suggests inequity hampers economic growth because the full development and utilization of a region's most valuable asset - its people - is constrained. Benner said that racial equity and inclusion are fundamental components of building prosperous and sustainable regions.

NEWS SUMMARY: Cities Cutting Back

Some groups, however, see the economic downturn as an opportunity for cities to try things differently. In a recent op-ed on the Project for Public Spaces website, Philip Myrick argues that "keeping and attracting people is the most important strategy in this new economic landscape." Myrick poses that the lesson of the current economic downturn is a need to focus on the local by investing strongly in placemaking, creating lively downtowns, and pride in local character. "In a down economy, it is tempting to cut back on these planning ideas," says Myrick. "But disregarding these principles in the name of saving money can create a downward spiral that causes a local economy to lose its competitive edge."

Some Green News

Rebecca’s leadership put her in the role of US Green Building Council board chair during 2008, and unfortunately put her on a national stage, to which she will be heading full time in January. It is a loss for the region but great stuff to have one of Pittsburgh’s green pioneers working to head up education for USGBC. Congratulations and best wishes to Rebecca.

The Dirty Side of Clean Coal

No place in the United States has seen the damage and the benefits of mountaintop removal like Appalachia, where one third of the nation's coal is mined. Today about 30 percent of all the coal coming out of the central and southern Appalachians comes via such surface mining. "There is no such thing as clean coal," Gibson said, talking to a group of journalists under the canopy of his forested knob, where the sylvan sounds of birds and wind carried an undertone of heavy machinery and tumbling rocks. "I want you folks to write what you see," he said. "And if you write truthfully, you will end one of the most barbaric practices on the planet.". . .Coal's benefits are considerable: cheap, plentiful energy that simultaneously injects cash into the poorest regions of the country. Coal holds such power that no U.S. administration – Republican or Democrat – has ever tried to stop mountaintop removal.

Supply chain ethics – Brands stay committed despite tough trading

Retailers who choose to ignore social and environmental performance in difficult times may make the mistake of failing to manage reputational risk. Lacy says: “What you don't want is a reputational disaster on top of a recession.” The global recession is going to prove an acid test of how serious companies are about sustainability. Ansett says: “Stakeholders will soon be able to determine if sustainability programmes are truly embedded into corporate organisations, or if companies have been white- and green-washing all along.”

Climate Change and Energy Policy - Advice to our Next President

At the October 20 Heinz Talks!, Climate Change and Energy Policy - Advice to our Next President, a panel of energy leaders, featuring Dr. John Holdren (7th annual Heinz Award in Public Policy), gave their bold and critical recommendations to our next president on the topic of climate change, energy policy and the impact these will have on our economic growth. Watch the video or listen to the audio of this sold-out event. This event was sponsored jointly with the H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Developing Nations Plan Emission Cuts, Shift Seen as Crucial to New Climate Pact

Several major developing countries that had long resisted making specific commitments to combat global warming are laying out concrete plans to curb their greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations climate conference here, a shift that could mark the most positive development in the slow-moving negotiations.

Miami Dade County madness, Parkland DRI headed to the County Commission

Barack Obama has said that he would start an infrastructure project that will dwarf Dwight Eisenhower’s highway program. If, indeed, we are going to have a once-in-a-half-century infrastructure investment, it would be great if the program would build on today’s emerging patterns. It would be great if Obama’s spending, instead of just dissolving into the maw of construction, would actually encourage the clustering and leave a legacy that would be visible and beloved 50 years from now.

How To Write The Next Transportation Bill?

Although we don't have a new Transportation secretary yet, we do know that the most important task that person will face will be guiding the reauthorization of the surface transportation law (SAFETEA-LU), which expires Sept. 30, 2009. The nation's transportation needs have changed and expanded dramatically since the Eisenhower administration launched the Interstate System in 1956. At the same time, the fuels tax that has funded the program since its inception can no longer serve as the sole source of revenue as people drive more fuel-efficient vehicles. What do you think the new secretary's top five priorities should be for updating the law to meet the nation's 21st-century transportation needs? Respondents include a remarkable mix of thought leaders.

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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
Highmark
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