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Events

A Sustainable Holiday Gift

Transformation to a sustainable economy requires all the skill and disciplines the world can muster -- policy, politics, incentives, education, leadership, rebellion, love, and the arts. Contributing to the cause, we asked former Sustainable Pittsburgh board member, Richard St. John to reflect with poetry on the issue of the day. Best holiday wishes for all people, our planet, and prosperity.

Reading Shaw’s Play, St. Joan

at the Solstice, on a Greyhound, Heading Home

The year comes round again, with its own dark
fairness. Out on the turnpike, flecks of sleet.
Lightning through night clouds, ghostly, then stark.
Echo of thunder. In the paper at my seat,
reaping what we’ve sown:
flicker of war in the Congo and Sudan,
late-season hurricanes, tainted meat.

All around me, whispered conversations of the poor.
Two rows up, a solitary reading lamp.
We’re making good time, but where?
The bus outruns its headlights in the dark,
sucking diesel fuel.
I turn back to Joan of Arc, where the French cause seems lost, too.
No one believes in her. But Joan insists:
“God speaks to me. I hear his voice.”
“That’s your imagination,” they reply. “Of course,
she says, “isn’t that how God speaks?”

It’s snow now – giddy, dizzy flakes
are multiplying everywhere.
They clean the air;
like once when I was lost in abstract
speculation, and a good friend asked:
“Can’t we cut the crap
and just agree we’re all together on this bus?”

At the service stop
we pile out - all of us
laughing. Woman in a burka holds her daughter up,
who points at the wildering white, amazed.
“Jesus, it’s beautiful…”
a guy with a Rasta cap and dreadlocks says
as he catches a snowflake on his outstretched hand.
The year in its fairness comes round again.

Richard St. John

December 2008

Richard St. John is Executive Director of Autumn House Press, a non-profit corporation whose mission is to publish and promote poetry and other fine literature. His book of poems, The Pure Inconstancy of Grace (Truman State University Press, 2005), is available here.

Send us your thoughts on the poem and we'll share ours too: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org

Our next issue of 3E Links will be on January 8, 2009. Best wishes for a healthy new year.

Resources

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.

Warren Miller's Children of Winter

Saturday, January 10
1:30 pm - Matinee Showing - $6
Perfect for families and includes an inspirational talk with Chris Anthony (one of the athletes from Children of Winter.)
8:00 pm - Evening Showing - $10
Includes the feature film Children of Winter and a unique behind the scenes film about the making of Children of Winter.
4:30 PM - VIP Option - $55
Includes a tapas, craft beer tasting and meet and greet with Chris Anthony before the Evening Showing.

Carnegie Library in Homestead
More information

Deep powder. Huge airs. World-class cinematography. It’s all part of Warren Miller’s Children of Winter, the world’s largest action sports film, which is set to music by Radiohead, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Beck and others. Shown in crystal-clear high definition, the film tour crisscrosses the nation and nine countries worldwide. Join Venture Outdoors in bringing the excitement to Pittsburgh for the first time.

LED Advertising Signs: Public Meeting

Wednesday, January 14
5:30 pm
City Planning Commission Conference Room (First Floor)
200 Ross Street
More information

This past summer considerable controversy arose when Lamar attempted to place a LED advertising sign (billboard) on the new Grant Street Transportation Center. As a result of that controversy City Councilman Burgess, working with the City Law Department, crafted legislation that defines regulations for LED advertising signs. Join the City Planning Commission at this public meeting to discuss the new LED sign legislation and its impacts.

A Special Program for SWPA Planners, Developers, and Elected Officials

Exploring Suburbia - Regional trends, Cultural forces and Changing economies
An exhibition viewing (final weekend) of: "Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes" at Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center
Saturday, January 17
8:30 am - Noon (8:30 continental breakfast and networking; 9:00 - 10:30 panel; 10:30 exhibition tour)
Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, parking in adjacent lot/garage (for a modest fee)
No fee to attend
For more information and to register, click here

In today’s expanding metropolitan areas, the lines between urban and suburban are rapidly blurring. Population growth, changing demographics, and transportation patterns are among the many factors that city planners, designers, developers, and elected officials confront as they prepare for sustainable growth in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Come attend this exhibit tour and panel discussion about the challenges and successes of the suburban design, how suburbs are evolving, and the cultural and regional implications of these shifts.

Featuring:
- Continental breakfast and networking
- Panel discussion featuring local elected officials
- Exhibition tour by Tracy Myers, Curator of Architecture, The Heinz Architectural Center, Carnegie Museum of Art, and co-organizer of the exhibition.

Presented by:
The Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art
Sustainable Pittsburgh - Sustainable Community Development Network
Local Government Academy - Newly Elected Officials Course Alumni Association

Climate Change Legislation - What to Expect from the New Administration and Congress

Thursday, January 22
7:15 am - 11:00 am
Westin Convention Center Hotel
Cost: $45 Pittsburgh Technology Council Member/Catalyst Connection Client; $90 Non-Member
More information

The issue of climate change and the anticipated global regulatory response of global regulators has been a primary concern for the business community as well as a main discussion point in the recent presidential election. Join the Green Technology Network for an informative discussion with national experts on climate change policy. Learn what the projected impact could be to this region's companies from SAIC's Assistant Vice President and Senior Policy Analyst, Michael Mondshine. Tom Dower, a former member of Senator Arlen Specter's staff and co-author of the Bingaman-Specter "Low Carbon Economy Act," will provide attendees with an inside perspective on what direction the new Congress and Administration will lean toward when writing climate change legislation.

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.

DCNR 2009 Grants Workshop

Thursday, February 19
9:00 am - Noon (check in at 8:30 am)
Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh North
Free
Continuing Education Credits available for this workshop. For more information, including registration, click here.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) in partnership with the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society (PRPS) is proud to present the 2009 grant workshops for the Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) which is funded in part by the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund and Growing Greener funds. These workshops will feature the new DCNR e-Grants application process and “the Greening” of the C2P2 grant program. Grant applications are due in Harrisburg on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 4:00 pm.

Resources

California officials launch 'Green Chemistry' initiative

"Most of the green stuff that is marketed is not really green," Gorsen said. "With this plan, we are moving from 'claims of green' to 'metrics of green.' Maybe a company did one thing to make their product green, but their overall footprint is not good. We'll look at how green is green. And how to compare this bottle of shampoo to that bottle of shampoo." . . Gorsen said industry leaders such as Patagonia, Levi Strauss and Wal-Mart that are already using environmental score cards to rate products are enthusiastic about a footprint database. "It will give a competitive advantage to companies that are ahead of the curve," she said.

Ice melting across globe at accelerating rate, NASA says

Using new satellite technology that measures changes in mass in mountain glaciers and ice sheets, NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke concluded that the losses amounted to enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay 21 times.

More

You Can't Go Green Without Adding a Little Blue

If you're seeking the green holy grail called sustainability, you'd better be sure it's filled with water. Many companies are hyper focused on carbon footprinting, green buildings, and energy saving treasure hunts; however, the sustainability landscape is evolving, and these green issues will become table stakes. A new, blue dimension of sustainability -- one that affects capital costs, consumer values, and environmental integrity -- is on the horizon and rapidly approaching: water.

E Lane @ Carnegie offers affordable green housing option

Starting at $199,900, the single-floor units are stylishly designed with sustainable bamboo flooring, low VOC paints and Energy Star appliances. . .Just four blocks from Carnegie’s main business district, the community will consist of four paired two-bedroom dwellings and a single unit with a centralized edible garden/orchard sited on the natural grade of a re-claimed in-fill urban lot.

Australia vows 5-15% CO2 cut, unveils carbon trading scheme

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the carbon scheme was vital for Australia, which has the fourth-highest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world, and five times more per person than China, due to its reliance on coal for electricity. "Without action on climate change, Australia faces a future of parched farms, bleached reefs and empty reservoirs," Rudd told the National Press Club. But some carbon market participants said the system, details of which Canberra unveiled on Monday ahead of approval by parliament expected next year, may fall far short of what's required in the global fight against climate change.

Microfinance – Banking on the poor

As the global financial system buckles, microfinance institutions continue to grow on the back of their record for low risk and solid returns. . .While large banks such as Citigroup, Standard Chartered, HSBC and Deutsche Bank cite their microfinance funding as part of their sustainability programmes, local banks are looking at microfinance as simply safe business, given the high returns. Bank of the Philippines Islands, for example, decided to expand its microfinance business after it reported a 30% drop in its revenues in the nine months ending September 2008. The bank will form a mobile microfinance bank in partnership with Globe Telecom, the second largest telecommunications firm in the Philippines.

City releases stimulus package wish list

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today released a list of 110 projects totaling $1.07 billion for which the city could seek federal stimulus package support. Tops on the list, dollar-wise, were water projects, including the need for $180 million to make changes needed to reduce the flow of sewage into the rivers. Another $252 million would go for installing new disinfection systems in the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority's plant, constructing tanks and eliminating a microfiltration plant at the Highland Park Reservoir, and replacement of old or undersized water mains.

Keeping it in the driveway

Following that thought, we need to rebuild highways and bridges, but there isn't much need to add capacity for traffic that may never arrive. The question of the stimulus plan should not just be whether projects are "ready to go" but whether they are based on growth and driving patterns that remain realistic. "Do we really need highways to nowhere?" Mr. Puentes asks. When I asked about the Mon-Fayette Expressway, that billion-dollar-plus toll road that ends well south of Pittsburgh, he called it "a great example of a roadway project we may need to rethink." We are about to enter a transportation funding crisis because highway funding is dependent on state and federal gasoline taxes. The rates haven't risen in years and, with people driving less and buying less gasoline, there aren't as many tax dollars coming in. The federal highway trust fund is expected to fall $8 billion to $9 billion short, Mr. Puentes said.

The Road…Less Traveled: An Analysis of Vehicle Miles Traveled Trends in the U.S.

An analysis at the national, state, and metropolitan levels of changing driving patterns, measured by Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) primarily between 1991 and 2008, reveals that. . .

Americans Drive Less, Creating a Problem

In short, many Americans, by choice or by default, did what the people who worry about the climate and U.S. dependence on petroleum wanted them to do. They burned about 5% less gasoline in August than a year ago, according to Energy Information Administration data. . .By jamming the brakes on driving, rediscovering mass transit and walking past Hummers to buy compact cars like the Honda Fit, American consumers caused big trouble for powerful interests. The question now is how will those interests respond?

Pennsylvania falling behind in push for building green, some say; Pittsburgh remains leader

States as diverse as Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland all have passed major green building legislation in the past 18 months, Sota said, and, in some instances, Pennsylvania has failed to keep pace.

PPG Industries sees growth in making of wind turbines

The Downtown-based company supplies the mushrooming industry of wind turbine-powered energy with fiberglass wind turbine blades, as well as coatings for these blades and the towers they go into. A relatively new dedicated business to the multinational paint, coatings and glass manufacturer serves as a one-stop shop for makers of wind turbines.

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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