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Events

Resources

Celebrate the Season of Giving

Please Support Sustainable Pittsburgh (SP)

Please support sustainability by joining as a member of Sustainable Pittsburgh. SP works to accelerate the policy and practice of sustainable development in southwestern Pennsylvania.

For twelve years, SP has been at the forefront of promoting our region’s transition to a more sustainable economy. Evidence is mounting that this change is taking hold. Sustainability pays. And not only that, sustainability pays in ways that promote best practices for businesses and communities. Be on the lookout in the mailbox for information about joining SP. Of course, you’re always welcome to join online at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org and click “Join Sustainable Pittsburgh” to learn more.

Sustainable Pittsburgh is effective in educating and engaging business and community leaders on sustainable practices. For example, on January 13, SP's Champions for Sustainability (C4S) business network is partnering with the Rachel Carson Homestead Association to convene leaders in the growing field of Green Chemistry to highlight the opportunities and challenges facing our region and our country. The first roundtable will discuss Preventing Pollution by Design. Click here for details. Moreover, many businesses, municipalities and nonprofits are capitalizing on the cost savings found in implementing more sustainable practices in operations. SP’s Sustainable Solutions consultancy deploys teams of multidisciplinary professionals to conduct a Sustainability Assessment, or in other words, “extreme sustainability makeovers!” Learn more at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org/services.

We wish you a happy holiday and sustainable new year!

Below are photos taken from this week's 6th annual Regional Equitable Development Summit, entitled, "Going Regional in Addressing Blighted and Abandoned Properties"

TOP PHOTO: Panelists from left to right: Moderator Irene McLaughlin, Mark Minnerly, Director of Real Estate at The Mosites Company; John Kromer, Sr. Consultant at the Fels Institute, University of Pennsylvania; Michael Kohlman, Director, Beaver County Tax Claim Bureau; Jacqueline Parker, Deputy Secretary, Community Affairs and Development, PA DCED; Kendall Pelling, Project Manager, East Liberty Development; and Joanna Deming, Director of Outreach and Education, Housing Alliance of PA.

About 175 attended this year's Summit.

Resources

Green Chemistry Roundtable Series: Preventing Pollution by Design

Presented by: Sustainable Pittsburgh's Champions for Sustainability & Rachel Carson Homestead Association

Wednesday, January 13
7:30 am – 10:00 am
Alcoa Corporate Center, 201 Isabella St, North Side
Registration Fee: $30.00
More information and registration

Don't miss the first of the Green Chemistry Roundtables for 2010. Champions for Sustainability, Sustainable Pittsburgh sustainable business network, in collaboration with the Rachel Carson Homestead Association, will hold a series of roundtables that will convene leaders in the growing field of Green Chemistry to highlight the opportunities and challenges facing our region - and our country. The guest speaker for Session #1, Preventing Pollution by Design, will be John R. Ehrenfeld, author of Sustainability by Design. Click here for more information.

Reed Smith Spring 2010 Speaker Series: Diversity and its Discontents: Lessons from Higher Education

Thursday, January 21
Noon to 1:30 pm
School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning, Oakland
Lunch is provided.
Registration is not required.
www.crsp.pitt.edu

The Center on Race and Social Problems, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh announces the Reed Smith Spring 2010 Speaker Series. The January 21st lecture, Diversity and its Discontents: Lessons from Higher Education, features Marta Tienda, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University. The mission of the center is to conduct applied social science research on race, color, and ethnicity and their influence on the quality of life for all Americans. The lecture series provides an opportunity for faculty, students, and community members to engage in race-related discussions of mutual interest. Additional dates and speakers are listed below:

Monday, February 15
Vincent Hutchings, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
Wedge Politics: The Structure and Function of Racial Group Cues in American Politics

Tuesday, March 16
Abby L. Ferber, Associate Professor of Women's and Ethnic Studies, University of Colorado
'There is more to me than white': Moving from Whiteness Studies to Privilege Studies

Wednesday, April 7
Jonathan M. Hurwitz, Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Justice in America: The Separate Realities of Blacks and Whites

Pine Creek Watershed Conservation Plan Public Meeting Dates Scheduled

Thursday, January 28, 2010
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Rose Barn in North Park
Backup date is Thursday, February 4 if there is a meeting cancellation due to weather.

As reported in the October North Area Environmental Council (NAEC) Newsletter, NAEC and the Pine Creek Watershed Coalition (PCWC) are developing a Pine Creek Watershed Conservation Plan. The Pine Creek Watershed includes Bradford Woods, Etna, Franklin Park, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana, Marshall, McCandless, O’Hara, Pine, Richland, Ross, Shaler, and Sharpsburg.

A Watershed Conservation Plan is a combination of watershed research and public opinion that works to restore, maintain, and enhance watershed resources. Local citizen participation in the planning effort is key to ensuring that the Watershed Conservation Plan responds to their community’s needs and concerns. Projects recommended in the plan will become eligible for future state and federal funding.

The first round of public meetings was held in June 2009 to provide input and identify issues and concerns related to the study. Using the information from these public meetings, public survey results, interviews with key watershed stakeholders, and the continued coordination with the plan’s study committee, draft management strategies and action plans are now being developed. The January 28 meeting is an additional opportunity for the public to provide input on the content of the management strategies and action plans and to prioritize them in a manner that will benefit not only the natural elements, but also the social fabric of the watershed. The meeting format will include an approximate 20-minute presentation of the watershed plan, management strategies, and action items. Following the presentation, several workshop areas will be set up, and the public will be invited to participate in a prioritization exercise and will discuss in small groups the strategies and action plans.

Sign up now: Permaculture Design Course

January 31, 2010 - Introduction Workshop
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Lipp Homestead, West View
Cost: $30

Course Details:
75 hour Permaculture Certification Course (Weekends and 2 evenings)
February 20-21, 9-5 PM
February 15, 6-10 PM
February 27-28, 9-5PM
March 13-14, 9-5 PM
March 17, 6-10 PM
March 20-21, 9-5 PM
Cost: $1200; Early registration by Jan 1, 2010 $1000
To register contact Darrell Frey at defrey@bioshelter.com or call 724-376-2797

Permaculture design is an ecological design system that incorporates principles of ecology, sustainable technologies and earth care ethics. Completion of a Permaculture certificate course entitles the participant to offer goods and services as a Permaculture consultant.

Where: LIPP Homestead is a 1.3 acre site in West View, two miles from the City line and just off of 279N. A 5000 foot organic garden space, stream, and original 1898 farmhouse and dairy house are what remain of the Lipp family farm. Course participants will work to increase the sustainability of the site through the application of ecological design principles and practices. A day will be spent at Three Sisters Farm and Bioshelter. Course leader Darrell Frey has been practicing and teaching Permaculture since 1986. Other guest presenters will participate.

Resources

Report targets blighted property

Southwestern Pennsylvania needs similarly intrepid homebuyers and a regional strategy to eliminate blighted properties that hurt property-tax revenues, drain home values and expose neighbors to the risks of arson and drug-using squatters, land use experts said at a conference Tuesday in Oakland organized by the nonprofit Sustainable Pittsburgh.

Help Wanted: Land Stewardship Coordinator

Allegheny Land Trust needs a Land Stewardship Coordinator. The coordinator manages the stewardship activities of the organization’s properties which includes reviewing properties to identify physical characteristics/needs, developing and managing land management plans, and coordinating volunteers to ensure proper care. If you have a strong commitment to the environment and land conservation, are experienced with GIS and GPS and various computer application programs, are skilled in planning and records management and have the ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of individuals both written and verbal, this may be the job for you. A degree in natural science, environmental education, civil engineering or landscape architecture or a related field and 2 years of experience including environmental work is required. Ability to work off-hours and walk over steep, rugged terrain, lift 50 lbs and operate small power tools is necessary.

Tear Down That House

The federal government should reimburse cities and towns who hire people from the unemployment rolls to tear down these structures, clean up the properties and, if there is no immediate buyer for them, to turn them into green spaces.

More

City needs open-space cadets

The City of Pittsburgh's planning department is undertaking a first-ever comprehensive space and land inventory, starting with a call for neighborhood folks to get involved in planning the use of our great outdoors. Volunteers are wanted for a "Green Ribbon Committee" to contribute information to a city-wide plan for open space, which includes parks and recreation areas, riverfronts, wooded hillsides and vacant lots. Just think, you can be a wonk outdoors! To apply, write to planner Andrew Dash. The deadline is Jan. 8. You can take part less formally, too. There will be community meetings throughout the city, events held in parks and interviews and surveys in which you can sound off on the ideas of riverfront use, urban agriculture, use of vacant properties and ways the open envronment can better serve the disabled, children and the elderly.

Consortium Of Universities, Companies Receive Major Federal Energy Research Contract

Three companies and a consortium of five universities have received a major federal contract for energy research that could be worth nearly half a billion dollars over the next five years, with much of the money flowing into the Pittsburgh region. Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University, Penn State and Virginia Tech will provide researchers for the effort, which will support the work of the National Energy Technology Laboratory. . .and fund everything from carbon capture techniques to cleaner power production. Engineering firm URS Corp. and consultants Booz Allen Hamilton and KeyLogic Systems will provide a range of support and analytic services. The new contracts will at least double previous energy research funding from the federal government.

Eaton Working To Capitalize On Demand For Energy-Saving Products

Eaton, long recognized as a traditional industrial company that makes electrical and power systems, has a green theme running through its facility in Moon, Pennsylvania, and is shaping its strategy to capitalize on the demand for energy-saving products. The company holds up its Moon offices and labs. . .as a showcase of what it can provide for customers who want sustainability in the form of cost-savings and efficient lighting, heating, cooling and computer power. The article chronicles the different measures the company has taken, including the completion of a $24 million expansion of the facility in the Cherrington office center that earned a LEED gold certification. According to John White, director of energy management and sustainability solutions, Eaton has realized energy savings of 30 percent since the building expansion was completed.

Copenhagen Business Day Attracts Unprecedented Interest

In Copenhagen, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) led a meeting between business leaders and ministers from developed and developing countries at which WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson issued a stark warning to the ministers: "You will not solve climate change without business at the table as an engaged, involved partner - Governments cannot deliver on the targets which are being talked about without business."

The Copenhagen Business Day, the third such gathering of its kind for global businesses, attracted unprecedented interest. Twenty-five chief executives, representing some of the world's largest businesses across multiple sectors, joined more than 400 participants, primarily from the global business community. The Business Day underlined five key messages from business to governments:

- Responsible business supports the need for action and is not standing in government's way.
- Trust needs to be built.
- Markets are crucial and key tools for implementation.
- New public-private partnerships are needed.
- Business must have a role in the design of the institutions and mechanisms that will be needed to deliver whatever political consensus is reached this week.

Senator Kerry Delivers Major Address in Copenhagen

John Kerry called on the conscience of the world's leaders to come to an effective agreement by the end of COP15. With an implicit nod to "the precautionary principle," Kerry challenged climate change deniers to prove that human beings have nothing to do with the melting glaciers, rising oceans and deserts expanding. Referencing the new climate scorecard C-ROADS, Kerry was blunt in saying that even if one took all "the best, latest offers of every country, and assumed they will be perfectly, completely implemented, they wouldn't be "nearly enough to get the job done."

Scepticism's limits

...what am I supposed to do the next time I wake up and someone whose name I don't know has produced another plausible-seeming account of bias in the climate-change science? Am I supposed to invest another couple of hours in it? ...Does the spirit of scientific scepticism really require that I remain forever open-minded to denialist humbug until it's shown to be wrong? At what point am I allowed to simply say, look, I've seen these kind of claims before, they always turns out to be wrong, and it's not worth my time to look into it? Well, here's my solution to this problem: this is why we have peer review. Average guys with websites can do a lot of amazing things. One thing they cannot do is reveal statistical manipulation in climate-change studies that require a PhD in a related field to understand. So for the time being, my response to any and all further "smoking gun" claims begins with: show me the peer-reviewed journal article demonstrating the error here.

New report shows Safe Routes to School initiatives succeeding

Safety improvements at relatively low costs to communities and schools can have profound effects on keeping children safe while also improving physical health and the environment. Deb Hubsmith, Director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership says: "This report shows examples of the power and promise of Safe Routes to School to help communities all across the country in addressing traffic safety risks and improve conditions for students walking and bicycling to school.”

The business opportunity in water conservation

In a world where demand for water is on the road to outstripping supply, many companies are struggling to find the water they need to run their businesses. In 2004, for instance, Pepsi Bottling and Coca-Cola closed down plants in India that local farmers and urban interests believed were competing with them for water. In 2007, a drought forced the US Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce its hydropower generation by nearly a third. Some $300 million in power generation was lost.

Ellen Goodman: Too many humans? Population control is too hot for global warming negotiators

As the U.N.'s Thoraya Obaid says, "There is no investment in development that costs so little and brings benefits that are so far-reaching and enormous." There are people still uncomfortable with the notion that there can be too much of a good thing: humans. But Mr. Engelman replies, "Our impact on the Earth is overwhelming. To say it has nothing do with our numbers is laughable." In Copenhagen, talk is centered on technological fixes and political trade-offs. Responses are crafted by scientists, governments, meteorologists, finance experts. The silence on population is rooted in the belief that the human problem is the most intractable. But maybe it isn't. What if we can lighten the burden on the planet while widening the chances for women? That's my kind of offset.

Sustainability Word Search

And a little something for the holidays, try out this "sustainability" word search on your next work break.

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

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Click here to access the 3E Links Archive. Use "Search" on SP's homepage for a great resource.

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 2009 from:

Bayer Corporation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Buhl Foundation
Dollar Bank
Falk Foundation
FedEx Ground
The Giant Eagle Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Dylan Todd Simonds Foundation
University of Pittsburgh
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