Invest in a more Sustainable Pittsburgh. Become a 2016 member or donate today!

Events

21 PGH-Area Restaurants Earn Sustainable Designations--and counting!

Kudos to the first 21 restaurants that earned designation as a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant! Several more are working on their designation.

A Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant demonstrates commitment to managing the social and environmental impacts of its operations as central to its strategy for business success. Details on how each restaurant is pursuing sustainable policies and practices are found on each restaurant's profile, available at sustainablepghrestaurants.org.

The next time you're looking for a place to eat out, consider visiting one of these fine establishments!

Platinum: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, The Porch at Schenley

Gold: Casbah, Dinette, extraVEGANza Pgh, Franktuary Lawrenceville, Habitat Restaurant, Square Cafe

Silver: 52nd Street Market, Bella Sera Catering~Venue~Bistro~BBQ, Bluebird Kitchen, Chateau Cafe & Cakery, Red Oak Cafe, Senti, Sorrento's Pizza Roma, Steel Cactus, Sushi Fuku, Tender Bar+Kitchen, The Pittsburgh Juice Co

Bronze: Legacy Cafe, LLC, Peter's Pub

Connect with Sustainable Pittsburgh:

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING?

Your financial support allows Sustainable Pittsburgh to perform its role of accelerating the policy and practice of sustainability for the region through our policy efforts, performance programs, advocacy, convening, and partnerships. Become a contributing member today:

Resources

In The Air - Visualizing What We Breathe

Open through February 26
Pittsburgh Filmmakers
477 Melwood Ave., Pittsburgh 15213
More information

Photographers Brian Cohen, Scott Goldsmith, Lynn Johnson and Annie O’Neill have spent the last year recording people and places that illustrate the environmental, social and economic effects of air quality in Western Pennsylvania. An accompanying book designed by Brett Yasko with essays by Reid Frazier will expand on and provide context to the visual work. In addition to the exhibition and book, the project will also have an online presence, air.thedocumentaryworks.org. This team has gathered materials that describe the variety of issues at the heart of the air quality subject; highlighting the relationship between the health of the community and the health of its environment.

WEBINAR: Connecting Hard-to-Serve Populations with Jobs: Promising Practices for Successful Reentry

Thursday, January 21
Noon - 1:15 pm
Free; registration required.
For questions or more information, please contact Faith Weekly at 502-568-9216 or email faith.e.weekly@stls.frb.org
More information and registration

This Exploring Innovation in Community Development webinar series from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will explore workforce development programs that have successfully connected hard-to-serve individuals with good jobs that help them transition to stable, productive lives. Each webinar will present effective models and best practices that offer ex-offenders, disconnected youth and immigrant professionals the skills needed to obtain quality jobs with the possibility of career advancement.

This first webinar in the series, on Jan. 21, will highlight successful reentry solutions for those previously incarcerated. Presenters will share two promising practices that are helping ex-offenders gain marketable skills and get back to work.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto: "State of the City"

Tuesday, January 26
Noon - 1:30 pm
School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning
Lunch provided; registration not required.
www.crsp.pitt.edu - 412.624.7382

The University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Center on Race & Social Problems, invites you to a special presentation by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto: "State of the City." Bill Peduto has served as mayor of the City of Pittsburgh since 2014. He previously worked for 19 years on Pittsburgh City Council as a staffer and member of council representing District 8, and he resides in the Point Breeze neighborhood of the city.

Climate Change Series: "Monitoring Groundwater Variability from Space"

Wednesday, January 27
4:00 pm
University of Pittsburgh, Alumni Hall, Connolly Ballroom, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland
Reserve a seat at tinyurl.com/climate-rodell

The University of Pittsburgh Honors College in cooperation with Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, The National Aviary, and the NAS/NAE Science & Engineering Ambassadors Program presents "Monitoring Groundwater Variability from Space", a lecture by Matthew Rodell.

Groundwater is a vital resource and a useful indicator of climatic variability. Though somewhat well monitored in the U.S., most nations’ water level records are sparse or unavailable. Since 2002 NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission has delivered gravity field observations which have been used to infer variations in total terrestrial water storage, including groundwater, at regional to continental scales. Join the hosts as Dr. Rodell describes how GRACE is being used to monitor variability and trends in groundwater resources worldwide.

Celebrating creative reuse, transformation & sustainability: Re:NEW Info Sessions

Saturday, January 30
2:00 pm
Carnegie Museum of Art Theater
Registration

Monday, February 1
6:00 pm
Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center
Registration
View overview For more information, visit renewfestival.com.
Questions? Contact Carin Mincemoyer

Artists, craftspeople, performers, and organizations: please attend to learn the many ways you can apply to be a part of the brand-new Re:NEW Festival, a month-long celebration of creative reuse, transformation and sustainability. As Pittsburgh experiences a resurgence, this collaborative new festival reflects the city’s forward thinking arts and culture, creative industries, and sustainable technologies. A key pillar of the Re:NEW Festival is the North American premiere of Drap-Art, the International Festival of Recycling Art, held annually in Barcelona. This international exhibition, curated by Founder and President Tanja Grass, will set the stage for dynamic programming, including art exhibits within both conventional galleries and alternative urban spaces, immersive public art, tours of reclaimed industrial sites, markets of upcycled goods, films, performances, and environmental trade expos that showcase the festival’s themes of creative reuse and transformation.

Managing Uncertainty: The New Economics of the Power Industry

Wednesday, February 17, 2016
7:00 pm
Yost Auditorium, Burnett Center - Washington & Jefferson College, 60 S. Lincoln St., Washington, PA 15301
More information and Registration
PA, WV, and OH CLE credit is available for attorneys; W&J will provide certificates of completion of Professional Development Hours for applicable registrants.

Featured Speakers:
Dianne Anderson
Former Executive Director , Great Lakes Institute for Energy Innovation, Case Western Reserve University

Gregory F. Reed, Ph.D.
Director of Center for Energy and of the Electric Power Initiative; Professor at Swanson School of Engineering, U. of Pittsburgh

Energy experts will examine the issues that must be resolved to arrive at a new business model for the generation and delivery of electricity. The ultimate question is who is going to pay for the modern grid that we need? How do we set up the right incentives for those investments? Do we need to create new regulatory frameworks?

Energy Week!

March 14-18, 2016
Carnegie Mellon University
Agenda
More information and registration

Carnegie Mellon’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation invites you to attend its first Energy Week! This five-day celebration is designed to inform government, non-govermental organizations, business and industry leaders; faculty and students; and the general public about energy research, policy, innovation, education, and activities both at Carnegie Mellon and elsewhere in the region. Each day of Energy Week has a theme: energy research, policy, innovation, education (including an Energy Tech Expo), and Field Trips.

Resources

Energy Innovation

Energy Innovation (EI) is a biweekly newsletter of the Energy for the Power of 32 initiative. It features news and events that are accelerating sustainable development for the power of 32. View the latest edition of EI using the link below.

Subscribe to Energy Innovation.

Special Report: The Pittsburgh Regional Diversity Survey

Pittsburgh Today and partner organizations today are releasing The Pittsburgh Regional Diversity Survey, a new report showcasing the results of a survey that asked more than 3,500 southwestern Pennsylvania residents for their views on diversity in the workplace, region and their neighborhood.

Results from the survey indicate that, while most respondents of all races see value in racial and ethnic diversity, significant differences exist along racial lines in answers to many of the 54 questions which focus on diversity in the workplace and community.

More

Unique Commuter Survey Reveals Complexity of the 2015 Pittsburgh Commuter

The infographic below demonstrates the larger picture of commuting patterns into Downtown, Oakland, and other destinations: percentage of respondents that travel to each location and from where, how many days per week they commute, which modes they use, number of miles logged, respondents’ demographics, and more. . . In the coming months, GBA and its transportation partners will use this new dataset to better understand how Pittsburgh gets to work and school – and what planning needs to be put in place now to improve commuting to certain destinations, by specific modes, and to reduce environmental impact.

The Best Planning Apps for 2016

Every year, I survey a cross-section of planners to develop a comprehensive list of some of the most unique, useful, and the most ubiquitous mobile apps for planners. Over the course of this year we have surveyed planners about their professional use of mobile apps, what would they like to see in the future, and what apps either they themselves or their office is developing. I invite you to participate.

Doing Well By Doing Good: Passive House and Affordable Housing

Pennsylvania finds proof that Passive House standards can be built at affordable housing prices, after the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency incorporated Passive House benchmarks into its Low Income Housing Tax Credit application.

Petition to establish strong methane regulations in PA

By adopting strong rules to fight methane pollution, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can save lives, improve health, and help curb climate change. DEP must live up to its mission to ensure the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s citizens by enacting best-in-the-nation regulations to stop air pollution leaks from shale gas operations.

Please add your name to this petition to tell Gov. Wolf that we need strong rules to fight methane pollution!

These companies are figuring out how to take the toxics out of electronics

While HP is working to get PVC out of its power cables, it has taken on a number of other challenges as well, including eliminating halogenated substances. Apple, meanwhile, has eliminated its use of lead, reduced its use of brominated flame retardants and eliminated PVC from its power cords — although it won’t say what it uses instead, according to Smith, so independent observers cannot say whether the substitute is safer. It also has stopped using some solvents that are dangerous to workers during manufacturing, according to Joel Tickner, director of the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council, a project based at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. “There’s been a lot of writing about toxicity in the electronics supply chain. I think what’s new is global collaboration, stronger focus on purchasing, collaboration among electronics companies really starting to dig into their supply chains,” Tickner says. “That’s what Apple and HP are doing.”

New study finds positive economic development benefits associated with bus rapid transit projects

Bus rapid transit is a type of bus service that travels faster and more reliably by providing level boarding, triggering traffic signals, providing pre-board fare payment and running in dedicated lanes separated from traffic, among other typical characteristics. For the first time, a new peer-reviewed research study, unveiled this morning, provides compelling evidence that BRT — often with a price tag far lower than other transit investments — can provide ample economic benefits for cities large and small.

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

3E Links is sent as a service to Sustainable Pittsburgh Members and interested parties and is being distributed for informational purposes. The information above was provided by or obtained from the organizing institution or one of its representatives. Our distribution does not imply endorsement. To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Access the 3E Links Archive.

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 ($1,000 and up) in 2016 from:

Alcoa Foundation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Henry L. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Pashek Associates, LTD
UPMC


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
307 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1500
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
E-mail SP