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Events

Technology for Sustainability

The current issue of the Pittsburgh Technology Council's TEQ Magazine features a column by Sustainable Pittsburgh. The piece raises a challenge to the local tech industry to develop a set of Technology for Sustainability principles to further elevate the sector to hasten innovations that simultaneously advance social, environmental, and economic imperatives. Read the full article.

Find the green actions!

In advance of the next official Green Workplace Challenge (GWC) competition, individuals are invited to flex their sustainability muscles by participating in Sustainable Pittsburgh's GWC Infographic contest.

Anyone can take part in this fun exercise! The contest ends on March 18.

To play, identify green actions pictured in the 2014-2015 GWC infographic shown below. One point is awarded per each green action spotted in the infographic.

Notice anything wrong with an action that is portrayed? Tell us what's wrong and what should be done and you will earn 2 points!

Tweet your answers to @pittsburghgwc with the actions' brief descriptions and hashtag #FindGWC2. Don't have Twitter? Email the actions to: gwc@sustainablepittsburgh.org

Prizes
(1) $50 gift certificate to Construction Junction for most points earned
(1) $25 gift certificate to Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse for the runner up

Feel free to share the contest information with friends and colleagues! Good luck!

Click the image below to enlarge

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Resources

Inspire Speaker Series: The Story and Power of Place

Thursday, March 10
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm (4:30 pm - networking and refreshments)
The Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium at Hill House’s Kaufmann Center, 1825 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh 15219
More information and registration

Join Sustainable Pittsburgh, Green Building Alliance and p4 Pittsburgh for an evening of thought-provoking inspiration. What makes Pittsburgh unlike any other place? Topography? Accent? Cuisine? Black and gold? These, plus many other, deeper aspects. On March 10, hear how we can express our uniqueness in a way that captures the spirit of who we are, where we are and where we’re headed.

Joel Glanzberg will share his life’s work on creating a symbiotic relationship between human existence and natural systems, and the role of mindfulness and self-reflection in understanding our place in the complex world around us. Valerie Goodwin will share how fabric, paint and thread can be used to map narratives through three lenses: the personal narrative, the fictional map narrative, and the political/sociological narrative. Local speaker Majestic Lane will talk about moving beyond placemaking to sustaining and growing places that also promote equity and inclusion.

Child care (for children ages 5 and up) is available during the lecture in partnership with the Environmental Charter School. There is no charge for this service for up to two children per attendee, but space is limited. Children will also receive dinner in addition to learning activities. Anyone interested should email Andrew Ellsworth at andrewe@gbapgh.org with their child's name and age after registering themselves.

"Climate Change: Health Risks and Opportunities"

Tuesday, March 15
4:00 pm
William Pitt Union, Ballroom, 3959 Fifth Ave
Free and open to the public but space is limited
More information and registration

Featuring:
Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH
Professor and John P Holton Chair in Health and the Environment
Director, Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

How can we protect human health from the effects of climate change? Award-winning professor Jonathan Patz will relate the historic outcomes of the UN Conference of the Parties meeting (COP21) to his more than two decades of research on the health effects of climate change and show how a low-carbon economy can offer large public health opportunities.

10th Annual Farm to Table Local Food Conference

Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19, 2016
10 am - 5 pm both days (related events scheduled before and after each day)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
More information

The conference provides consumers with two days of networking and educational opportunities. Seasonal cooking demonstrations, gardening, and information about the nutritional value of local food are presented by local experts. Meet with other Locavores to discuss ideas about where their food comes from and where to find businesses and organizations who can provide them with healthy food and healthy lifestyle choices. Stop by to see the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant booth.

Poetry and Race in America: How the Humanities Engage with Social Problems

Interactive Workshop
Sunday, March 20 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Kelly Strayhorn Theater Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Avenue

Readings and Moderated Discussions:
Monday, March 21 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, University of Pittsburgh
More information
Facebook event page

Two departments at the University of Pittsburgh will combine artistic forces for a landmark event, giving the community a chance to explore the most profoundly vexing problem in America—race—through the insight and writings of six acclaimed African American poets.

“Poetry and Race in America: How the Humanities Engage with Social Problems,” sponsored by University of Pittsburgh Press (UPP) and the new Center for African American Poetry and Poetics (CAAPP), will feature poetry readings and a moderated discussion. Participants include three generations of award-winning black authors from the Pitt Poetry Series.

In order to maximize the presence in Pittsburgh of these esteemed writers, several will also participate in a special interactive workshop on Sunday, March 20, in partnership with the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater’s Penn Avenue Poetics program. Hosted by Janera Solomon, executive director at the Kelly-Strayhorn, this event invites everyone to discover contemporary poetics in practice.

The Grid Academy Session IV: "Threats: Protecting the Grid"

Wednesday, March 30
7:00 pm
Yost Auditorium, Burnett Center, Washington & Jefferson College, 60 S. Lincoln St., Washington, PA 15301
The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.
Register

Developed by the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Program of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, this 4-session program explores the challenges and opportunities the U.S. faces in adapting its electric power system to meet changing demands, technologies, business models and threats. In Session IV, energy experts will describe the threats that the power grid system faces and the technology and strategy changes that need to be made to protect the system and the service it provides.

Featured Panelists
Steven Bossart
Senior Energy Analyst, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

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

David Tipper, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate Telecommunications and Networking Program

Moderator: Bill Flanagan
Chief Corporate Relations Officer, Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Host and Producer of WPXI-TV's "Our Region's Business"

Building Wellness: Creating Healthier Homes, Hospitals, and Offices with Microbiology

Tuesday, April 5
4:30 pm Lecture; 5:30 pm Cocktail Reception
William Pitt Union Ballroom, 3959 Fifth Avenue, Oakland
Register online by March 25 at engineering.pitt.edu/heinzlecture
Questions? Email mcsi@pitt.edu

The Heinz Distinguished Lecture Series, Featuring: Jessica Green

Jessica Green is an Alec and Kay Keith Professor fob Biology at the University of Oregon and professor at the Santa Fe Institute. She is also the co-founder and CTO of Phylagen.

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.

Read the latest issue.

PEC Bill Tracker

Here you’ll find information, analysis, important dates, and status updates on pending state legislation and regulation that affects environmental and conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

More

New Giant Eagle produce may not be good-looking, but it has personality

The region’s biggest grocer has begun selling select, discounted “ugly” produce as part of a pilot project at five area stores. The produce — chiefly misshapen or sometimes oddly colored — normally would be discarded for its unconventional looks. . . The idea is to fight waste — an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food gets thrown out globally each year — and at the same time, help consumers save money.

Diana Nelson Jones' Walkabout: Lawrenceville housing plan raises affordability issue in Pittsburgh

Thousands of houses made of real brick, with plaster walls, hardwood features, some even with stained glass windows and sweeping porches, are sitting out there, deteriorating while the suburbs are absorbing people who aren’t rich but who do not lack the capacity to own a home. . . Where possible, target five houses in one block, gather the requisite crew of unemployed neighbors, teach them how to do basic renovations and pay them for their work. Then sell the homes for a pittance to people who have the capacity to own a home. This, or some other remedy, is crucial to keeping Pittsburgh grounded in this mixed-use building boom.

Remaking Economic Development: The Markets and Civics of Continuous Growth and Prosperity

Leaders in cities and metro areas have an opportunity to remake economic development—to adopt a broader vision of economic development that can deliver continuous growth, prosperity, and inclusion in cities and metro areas. While some creative and committed leaders and organizations are embracing this version of economic development, it needs to be further scaled up. This requires understanding the purpose of economic development and getting both the markets and civics right:

Lawrenceville residents ask Allegheny County Health Department to strengthen McConway & Torley permit

Lawrenceville residents and environmental activists delivered a petition with nearly 1,000 signatures to Wednesday's meeting of the Allegheny County Board of Health, demanding the Health Department tighten regulations on a steel foundry in the neighborhood. . . “Considering McConway & Torley’s location in such a densely populated neighborhood of Pittsburgh, we support these efforts to reduce toxic emissions,” said Stephen Riccardi, of PennEnvironment, in a press release issued after the meeting. “We’re counting on the Health Department to issue these rigorous standards and protect public health.”

Funding Opportunities to Reduce Toxic Diesel Pollution

Whether you live near train tracks, work near a construction site, or are just standing in line for a bus, you are likely exposed to diesel emissions sometime during the day. Diesel particulate matter is a pervasive “toxic air contaminant” according to the California Air Resources Board, for which there is no safe level of exposure. Diesel particulate matter poses one of the greatest cancer risks from any toxic outdoor air pollutant in the region. In addition to causing cancer, diesel emissions are also linked to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, reduced brain function, and diabetes. Children are especially vulnerable as their bodies, including their lungs and brains, are still developing. . . The many funding programs which are currently available are an opportunity for our region to reduce these harmful emissions. GASP urges eligible groups such as school districts, school bus companies, municipalities, and fleet owners to take advantage of these opportunities.

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

Alcoa Foundation
ALCOSAN
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
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