Sustainability News
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Trending: Single-Use Plastics Continue to be Tossed – By Brands, Nations Imposing Bans
“World Oceans Day (June 8) prompted several new commitments, including an agreement between five of the G7 countries to reduce plastic waste in oceans. The Ocean Plastics Charter was endorsed…
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How Much Does a 2-Bedroom Apartment Cost in Your State?
“For people earning minimum wage, the situation is untenable. At $7.25 an hour, they would need to put in roughly 122 hours per week, every week of the year—or magically,…
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Philadelphia Considers Construction Tax to Pay for Affordable Housing Needs
“‘Philadelphia’s City Council is weighing a proposed 1% tax on construction to raise millions of dollars for affordable-housing programs,’ reports Scott Calvert. ‘The construction tax would apply to most residential,…
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A Community Framework for Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
“How much money will it take to prevent one opioid overdose death? How about 10, or 10,000? “Across the country, state, local and tribal governments are filing suit against the…
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How The Future Of Pittsburgh’s Riverfronts Could Be Decided By Zoning
“The RIV aims to juggle a number of different goals, from restoring the ecological health of the 35 riverfront miles to protecting water-dependent industries’ use of the rivers, as well…
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The ‘Head Tax’ Failed in Seattle; Cities Still Want the Tax to Support Housing, Transit
“‘In a stunning reversal without parallel in Seattle’s recent political history, the City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to repeal a controversial head tax on large employers like Amazon,’ reports Daniel…
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“DEP Connects” Wants to Hear From You! Please Complete Their Survey
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched a new initiative to connect with residents in their communities to discuss topics of local interest. “DEP Connects” events will be held…
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The Precipitous Fall of Seattle’s ‘Amazon Tax’
“The largest three percent of Seattle’s businesses would have been subject to the tax, charged with paying $275 per employee per year. The tax was dubbed the “Amazon Tax” because…
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New Index Uses Data from Suppliers to Rate Brands and Retailers
What if rating brands and retailers, and not just suppliers, is the key to better supply chains? That is the goal behind a new index from Better Buying. The index…
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Hazelwood Green’s public space moves forward with designer announcement
“Within this sprawling former steel mill site, Hazelwood Green‘s two-acre public plaza is meant to be “an adaptable and innovative gathering and event space for those who work, reside in…
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Sustainability governance is integrated governance
“The bottom line is it pays for companies and boards to champion the adoption of strong board governance. A systems-level approach drives sustainability commitments and performance. Given the sustainability risks…
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Reconstruction planned for East Liberty apartments with rents expected to remain affordable
When the project is complete, it will offer a mix of units affordable to returning tenants, including those using Section 8 vouchers, along with market rate units. “‘They (MOIP) were…
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Is It Time to Reconsider Traffic Stops?
“While traffic stop interactions with the police may be shrugged off as brief inconveniences for whites, for black Americans, they can lead to humiliation, violence, and even death. This has…
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Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge – up to $200K in grant funds available
The Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge is a design competition taking place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania—presented by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM!—to develop new ideas for making play easy and…
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After long delay, Pa. building codes get an update
“Pennsylvania’s building codes will be updated this year for the first time in nearly a decade, after a state review board adopted a suite of changes to modernize standards for…
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Building great places through small-scale manufacturing: technical assistance workshops
“Smart Growth America is once again soliciting applications for a new round of free technical assistance for communities interested in using small-scale manufacturing as a strategy to create economic opportunity,…
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Bringing IKEA full circle: Retailer unveils ambitious climate goals
“Swedish furniture giant IKEA has promised to outlaw single-use plastic products across its entire product range and in-store eateries by 2020 and ensure zero emission home deliveries as standard by…
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World Environment Day 2018: ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’
“June 5 is marked by the United Nations as World Environment Day, a day set aside since 1974 to promote “worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.”…
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A Year After Trump’s Paris Pullout, U.S. Companies Are Driving a Renewables Boom
“For its next phase, Google wants to locate all of its clean-energy projects in the same grid regions as its data centers, even though that will mean prodding policymakers in…
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Pennsylvania adopts new controls for cutting methane from shale gas wells
“The two general permits will apply to new natural gas wells tapping the Marcellus and Utica shales, and new compression and processing stations built along pipelines. Both permits will go…
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Job Opening at KEEA – Western PA Program Manager – June 15 deadline to apply
The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) is hiring for a full-time position in Pittsburgh or the Western PA region. All candidates must apply no later than Friday, June 15th to…
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Activists point to ‘green’ sewer fixes to handle sewage, runoff
“Alcosan has awarded $18 million to back 61 green projects, and is now weighing its third round of grant applications. From Etna to Dormont, Homestead to the Hill District, the…
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Southwest Pa. Commission proposes $4.9 billion in transportation projects over next 4 years
Almost all of the items have been made public through the planning process in recent years, so there are few surprises. The current proposal calls for spending about $2 billion…
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Cameras to provide constant monitoring of visible air pollution at Mon Valley plants
“Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab is expanding the focus of its Breathe Cam network of air pollution-capturing cameras to include three U.S. Steel Corp. facilities in the Mon Valley: the…
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Trucost’s New Evaluation Tool Will Help Companies Align Strategy with the SDGs
“Trucost says that the SDG Evaluation Tool will allow companies to determine which SDGs are most relevant to their business operations, supply chains and products, identify opportunities to create business…
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Exclusive: Pope convenes Big Oil, investors to talk climate change
“Pope Francis is hosting a gathering next week at the Vatican with executives of major oil producers and investment firms to talk about how the companies can address climate change,…
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European Union moves to ban single-use plastics
The European Commission on Monday proposed banning single-use plastic products such as cotton buds and plastic straws and putting the burden of cleaning up waste on manufacturers in an effort…
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Unilever’s Sustainable Living Brands Delivered 70% of Turnover Growth in 2017
“Unilever has today revealed its fourth consecutive year of growth for its ‘sustainable living’ brands, which delivered 70 percent of its turnover growth and grew 46 percent faster (a slightly…
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Mars to shift to 100 percent renewable energy for its Australian operations
“Confectionery maker Mars is to shift entirely to renewable energy for its Australian operations in just over a year as part of a company goal to reach carbon neutrality from its global operations by…
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EPA Said to Seek End of California’s Authority Over Auto Mileage
A draft Trump administration proposal to ease automobile efficiency standards is said to call for revoking California’s unique authority to set its own limits, a move that would set off…
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Parking Is Sexy Now. Thank Donald Shoup.
“The High Cost of Free Parking, Shoup’s 2005 book, is often called “revolutionary” for turning an otherwise dry academic topic into a high-stakes urban issue. In the 500-page follow-up, Parking…
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RBS introduces new energy financing policies to support low carbon transition
“Energy supplies are changing rapidly as coal becomes a declining part of the mix and attention turns to cleaner forms of energy to support the Paris Climate Agreement and national…
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The Plastics Pact
“The New Plastics Economy aims to move away from the current ‘take, make, dispose’ plastics economy towards one based on circular economy principles. The vision for such a system is…
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Port Authority moves to final design for Pittsburgh-to-Oakland bus system
“The authority finished more than a half dozen followup meetings last week on the $195.5 million system that will put electric buses on exclusive traffic lanes between Downtown and Oakland….
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Sharpsburg, Etna, Millvale will share $2.3 million Hillman grant for energy alternatives
“The Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization, Etna Economic Development Corp. and New Sun Rising will share equally in the multi-million dollar grant from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation to benefit the community-led,…
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Johnstown’s Comeback Could Get An Energy Boost From Sun
“Cashaw has worked on this with another resident, Tom Schuster. They’re calling it “Re-energize Johnstown,” part of a broader effort to reinvent the community as industry jobs wane. . ….
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Mapping the Rapid Loss of America’s Agricultural Land
“‘American Farmland Trust, which since 1980 has been attempting to save agricultural land in the U.S., has compiled a huge assessment of the movement of farmland between 1992 and 2012,’ according to…
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Why diversity in sustainability matters, and what you can do
“Queta González helps organizations develop strategies to increase equity, diversity and inclusion in her role as director of Center for Diversity & the Environment in Portland, Oregon. She said organizations that…
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City council approves ‘3.0’ version of climate action plan
“The Climate Action Plan 3.0 details goals for the city through 2030, including a fossil fuel-free fleet, divestment from fossil fuel companies, zero waste and half the energy and water…
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Wolf’s fracking-health record hammered by new industry opposition group
The state has identified over 300 cases in which oil and gas development has impacted a private water supply, and a statewide health registry has recorded over 200 complaints related…
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Anheuser-Busch orders 800 Nikola hydrogen electric trucks
“Anheuser-Busch and Nikola announced today that the potent-potable giant has placed an order for 800 hydrogen fuel cell trucks. It’s part of A-B’s desire to move its fleet entirely to…
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Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study
“The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study. Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of…
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Planet or Plastic
“Planet or Plastic? is National Geographic’s multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic trash crisis. Come to this page often to learn more, find out what you can…
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The epic “Planet or Plastic?” Nat Geo cover is just the beginning
“It’s a simple question. ‘Planet or plastic?’ Since it was unveiled yesterday, National Geographic‘s new magazine cover of a plastic bag-as-iceberg has stopped many people in their tracks by conveying…
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Impossible to Ignore’: Why Alaska Is Crafting a Plan to Fight Climate Change
“In the Trump era, it has mainly been blue states that have taken the lead on climate change policy, with liberal strongholds like California and New York setting ambitious goals for…
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How Cities Can Ensure Better Rentals for Everyone
“Today, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) released a new report, Better Rentals, Better City: Smart Policies to Improve Your City’s Rental Housing Energy Performance, which aims to inform city leaders on…
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Board rules state met environmental requirements in allowing Mars drilling wells
“Two wells at the heart of the dispute were drilled years ago, beginning in 2015. But the appeal remains relevant as courts slowly sort out the level of review expected…
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Water shortages to be key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns
“Some of these hotspots were previously undocumented or poorly understood: a region in north-western China, in Xinjiang province, has suffered dramatic declines despite receiving normal amounts of rainfall, owing to…
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A climatic tipping point: Environmental disclosure goes mainstream
“Investor interest in climate change has increased significantly since the TCFD recommendations were published. Since December, the number of TCFD supporters has more than doubled to more than 300 organizations,…
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White House, EPA headed off chemical pollution study
“Scott Pruitt’s EPA and the White House sought to block publication of a federal health study on a nationwide water-contamination crisis, after one Trump administration aide warned it would cause…
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WiFi? Street repairs? Parks? Cities let residents choose how to spend their tax dollars
“For a week in September, they let residents as young as 14 cast ballots online or by paper at the municipal building and community events. In the end, 346 people…
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Where are the Trees Going in Allegheny County?
“‘If you think of the Allegheny County Park System — so that’s North Park, South Park Roundhill Park, Harrison Hills — the park system is about 12,000 acres. Looking at…
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Meet 5 startups disrupting supply chains and materials
“At the heart of many of the startups’ innovations is a desire to make businesses operate more efficiently, enabling logistics companies to more easily track goods or helping manufacturers to…
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Governor Wolf Announces $118 Million Volkswagen Settlement to Fund New Air Pollution Reduction Program
“Eight grant and rebate programs will be available over the next five years, with as much as $39 million available for disbursement in year one. Programs will be rolled out…
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Can You Guess What America Will Look Like in 10,000 Years? A Quiz
“What would happen if the current growth trend in greenhouse gas emissions continues for the rest of this century before reversing? It’s a question worth pondering, especially with a president…
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Jeff Bezos’ Sustainability Catch-22
“Amazon has proved itself in the last couple of years as one of the most effective forces in shaping consumer behavior, at least in this part of the hemisphere. This…
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Food for thought: Food security, population growth & over-farming
“The system he has developed to do this is called ‘3D Ocean Farm’, a polyculture vertical farming system under the water’s surface which grows a mix of seaweed crops and…
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ER visits for asthma dropped 38% the year after one of Pittsburgh’s biggest polluters shut down
“A soon-to-be-published study undertaken by the Allegheny County Health Department found emergency room visits for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) dropped by 37.9 percent in the region the…
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Frick Environmental Center Earns Sustainability Certification
“Frick Environmental Center is the first municipal building free and open to the public in the U.S. to achieve Living Building Challenge certification. . . . To qualify, the building…
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$1.5 Million Grant for Innovative Ideas to Solve Income Inequality
“The latest proposal for innovative solutions comes from The Alliance for the American Dream, an initiative of Schmidt Futures, which has granted $1.5 million to the University of Utah ‘to…
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Allegheny County seeks public input on new air-monitoring plan
“The 2019 Air Monitoring Network Plan, an annual report that describes how and where the county is monitoring air pollution, is available here . . . . “The Liberty monitor,…
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Wimbledon announces ban on plastic straws for 2018 championship
“The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced it will use recyclable paper straws for the 2018 Wimbledon tournament, in a bid to prevent more than 400,000 plastic straws…
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New study shows pollution risk from school, transit buses
The report, “Electric Buses: Clean Transportation for Healthier Neighborhoods and Cleaner Air,” shows that if Pennsylvania transitioned its entire fleet of around 2,400 transit buses to all-electric vehicles, it could…
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Why farmers only get 7.8 cents of every dollar Americans spend on food
“For every dollar consumers spend on food, only 7.8 cents goes to farmers — a record low that reflects shifts in how Americans eat, according to the Department of Agriculture. . ….
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Social investment fund calls for $3 billion in making Pittsburgh a city for all
“We’re talking a $3 billion investment in many areas, including pre-K for all kids, doubling the fund for affordable housing, ensuring all residents are within a 10-minute walking distance of…
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Pa. House advances bill to ease rules for conventional oil and gas drillers
“In at least one instance, the bill would roll back measures that were included in the first oil and gas law from 1984: It would erase a requirement that before…
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This Pittsburgh program is tackling climate change, inequality and your neighbor’s energy bill one light bulb at a time
A 15 percent reduction in utility costs could make a huge difference in Pittsburgh, where the median house was built in 1912 and residents are responsible for paying the sixth-highest…
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Notes on p4 2018: provocative talks and solid research about Pittsburgh’s future
“While the advances that robotics, automation and artificial intelligence can bring to Pittsburgh are welcome, ‘we are also clear-eyed about what the rapid deployment of these technologies could mean for…
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Businesses Are Buying More Renewable Power Than Ever Before
“There are several reasons clean power is attractive. Renewable energy is often the cheapest source of electricity. Long-term contracts to buy clean power from wind and solar farms can also…
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How U.S. Fuel Economy Standards Compare With the Rest of the World’s
On Monday, the Trump administration formally declared that Obama-era fuel economy rules for automobiles were too strict and would likely be weakened in the months ahead. So how strict are…
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Mayor Bill Peduto Describes In-Progress Plan To Combat Disparity In Pittsburgh
“People have already been squeezed out of the city, away from public transit and their jobs, said Laura Wiens, a public transit activist who opposes the Amazon bid. . ….
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Pittsburgh’s Stunted Progress
“Experts and local advocates are not certain that the gas, petrochemicals and plastics industries – and the emissions they’ll inevitably vent – will be compatible with continued growth in the…
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Will the environmental rights amendment broaden our horizons?
“Gail Murray began her testimony by taping the text of the amendment to the podium. It read: ‘The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the…
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4 steps to walking the talk through SDGs disclosure
Early reporting on the SDGs can lay the groundwork for a robust approach for future SDG related disclosure and prevent a company from lagging behind peers. Reporting against the SDGs…
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In Pittsburgh, ‘what we look for and aspire to be’
“In 2014, a coal processing chemical spill in Elk River, W.Va., produced a $151 million settlement between West Virginia American Water and Eastman Chemical. But the settlement didn’t leave the…
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Westmoreland Authority Turning to Solar Power
“Sunnier times could be ahead for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. “Officials announced Wednesday they will build a solar energy generating plant to provide a portion of the power…
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New Jersey Jacks Up Renewable Energy and Saves Nuclear
“US climate hawks have not had much to celebrate lately, with the Trump administration lurching backward and states finding it more difficult than expected to move forward on their own….
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How Lansdale, PA Residents Came Together to Save Their “Other” Train Station
“Lansdale, Pennsylvania, a small town situated 28 miles north of Philadelphia, is home to two historic train stations. One is the beloved Lansdale passenger station, a brick building constructed in…
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Why Every Local Government Needs a New Operating System
“Local-government officials have been on an app binge of late. For the past five years or so, cities and counties everywhere have used technology and advanced data techniques to establish…
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Can Cities Make Water Affordable? Detroit Offers Hope, and Disappointment
“Almost four years ago, Detroit shut off water for more than 30,000 households who were months late on their water bills. “The United Nations got involved, saying the shutoffs were…
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Make Pittsburgh’s airport even smarter
“The Pittsburgh International Airport is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University to create the ‘smartest,’ most technologically advanced airport in the world, yet its natural-gas power proposal utterly fails to realistically…
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Intuit hatches plan to help customers and employees buy clean power
“‘This program is a game changer, not just for Texas electricity customers,’ RPD CEO Eric Alam said in the press release introducing the effort. ‘Thanks to Intuit’s leadership, we expect…
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The shipping industry is finally going to cut its climate change emissions. That’s a big deal.
“The strategy embraced by a committee of the International Maritime Organization would lower emissions from container ships, oil tankers, bulk carriers and other vessels by at least 50 percent by…
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A Pittsburgher’s guide to making every day Earth Day
“How to ‘speak up for the trees,’ rid yourself of those pesky blue bags, and use electricity sustainably.” FULL STORY published April 18, 2018 via The Incline
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Pittsburgh’s air quality among worst in nation, study says
Allegheny County in particular received straight F grades for ozone, daily particulate matter levels and long-term particulate levels, making it the only county outside of California to receive straight F’s…
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The Next Phase of Business Sustainability
“Today, more than 90 percent of CEOs state that sustainability is important to their company’s success, and companies develop sustainability strategies, market sustainable products and services, create positions such as…
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Will Pittsburgh flourish as a hub of eds and meds or gas and petrochemicals? Can we have it both ways?
“Pennsylvania tax breaks to Shell can eventually add up to $1.65 billion. The state of New York — where fracking is not allowed — will invest at least the same…
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Covestro’s manifesto for a sustainable, clean economy
“Having hit a number of previous green targets well ahead of schedule, Covestro is on course to cut its 2005 emissions in half by 2025. It also has committed to…
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Sustainable Pittsburgh sets sight on clean energy future with new initiative
“The environmental nonprofit, along with CEOs for Sustainability and the Power of 32, has announced the launch of Renewable Energy for the Power of 32 (RE4P32). The goal? To accelerate…
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How Corporations Can Maximize the Environmental Benefits of Their Renewable Energy Purchasing
“With 100 percent renewable energy starting to look like an achievable goal, many companies are asking what could be next. A common theme is increasingly thinking not only about how…
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Catapulting New Jersey Into the Clean Energy Future
“Championed by Senate President Steven Sweeney, S2314 is one of the most ambitious bills in the country and, if passed, will catapult New Jersey to the front of the pack…
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EPA threatens Pennsylvania with sanctions for failing to reduce soot pollution in Allegheny County
“‘This is not the first time the ACHD has failed to submit a State Implementation Plan on time,’ Filippini said. ‘By failing to submit on time they not only put…
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REI to enforce sustainability standards for vendors
“‘This effort to advance sustainability across an entire vendor base is among the most comprehensive in the U.S. retail industry,’ Adam Siegel, senior vice president of research, innovation and sustainability…
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Port Authority begins new round of eastern neighborhood meetings on service changes
“The first in the Port Authority’s series of meetings to revisit proposed transit service changes to eastern Pittsburgh neighborhoods and the Monongahela Valley will begin Thursday in Rankin. “New authority…
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Pittsburgh will be part of Smart Cities Collaborative on transportation issues
“Pittsburgh was selected Thursday to be among 22 cities that will work together on transportation issues through a group known as the Smart Cities Collaborative. . . .Mr. Brooks said…
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Economic inclusion becomes a sustainability imperative
“. . . Public companies ranking in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity are 35 percent more likely to have above-average financial returns, and those in the top…
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Black Tech Nation wants to make entrepreneurs of color less rare and get their startups funded
“Those entrepreneurs shared their stories of discrimination at a panel during Inclusive Innovation Week at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science on Tuesday evening. The event was hosted by…
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McDonald’s unveils plan to phase-out plastic straws
“McDonald’s will start phasing out plastic straws from UK restaurants from May, with the fast food giant ready to trial paper and biodegradable alternatives in response to consumer demand.” FULL…
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Saving Energy, Saving Lives: The Health Impacts of Avoiding Power Plant Pollution with Energy Efficiency
“Pollution from power plants harms public health, contributing to heart attacks, respiratory conditions, asthma attacks, and premature death. Energy efficiency can benefit health by reducing power plant pollution. This report…
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Residents ask whether the proposed Shell ethane pipeline is an acceptable risk
“The question of what is an ‘acceptable risk’ loomed large over the first of three public hearings on a proposed Falcon ethane pipeline meant to deliver the natural gas liquid…
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Report released today reveals opportunities for harmonization in sustainability and corporate governance reporting
Today, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) released its second report as part of a series called Insights from the Reporting Exchange. …
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What’s in the Congressional Spending Bill for States and Localities
“In the federal spending bill that President Trump signed on Friday, several government programs are getting funding boosts, including two that the White House sought to eliminate a year ago. “Community Development Block…
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Emerging Theory Suggests Benefits for Crime Reduction
“Neighborhoods struggling with physical decline and high crime often become safer simply when local residents work together to fix up their neighborhood. … “Research from cities across the United States…
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Putting Home Energy Upgrades on the Air
“Rocky Mountain Institute has teamed up with the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) to supply the nation’s TV newscasters with materials about home energy upgrades that they can use in their broadcasts,…
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VIDEO: More Than 100 Cities Get 70% or More of Their Energy from Renewables
“Complete with a nifty interactive map, a new analysis published by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) details which cities are walking the talk when it comes to the full —…
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We Can Be: Stories of Community & Possibility
“Give your life a healthy dose of inspiration by listening or subscribing to The Heinz Endowments’ new weekly podcast “We Can Be.” Hosted by Endowments’ President Grant Oliphant, the podcast…
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Creating an ‘urban village’ Downtown: Group plans fund to help recruit boutiques over chains
“The Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corp. is working with the city, developers, landlords and other stakeholders to create an ‘urban village’ filled with cafes, bookstores, boutiques and other shops —…
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In Praise Of ExxonMobil’s Reporting Transparency
“In order to assess the magnitude of the corporate community’s concerns about the complexity, cost, and litigation risk of integrated reporting, we decided to see how hard it would be…
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Brands & Social Activism: What Do You Stand Up For?
2017 will be remembered as the year that corporate social responsibility (CSR) was redefined. Although CSR will always be grounded in business operations – from water conservation to supply chain…
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Pittsburgh Bike Share is expanding and hoping to get more minority and low-income riders on bikes.
“Officials at Pittsburgh Bike Share, also known as Healthy Ride, recognize this disparity, and are tackling it head-on with a recently announced expansion. By the end of 2018, Healthy Ride…
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Poll Finds Broad Support for Clean Energy in PA
“The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, showed that more than 7-out-of-10 voters in the state would support a switch to clean, renewable sources of power such as wind…
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Ceres on Corporate Sustainability: “Turning Point” Research Effort Results
“Says the Ceres researchers: In looking at the 600+ companies for the best examples on sustainability leadership, a key finding is that ‘sustainability’ is now overseen by senior executives in…
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See the list of the top 10 polluters in the Pittsburgh region. Then take action.
“The PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center has released the Toxic Ten, a report citing 10 industrial facilities as the worst air polluters in Allegheny County. Using national and local data on air quality, including information…
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The case for merging sustainability, risk and compliance
“However, working with risk and compliance teams is one of the more promising avenues that you can use to drive the sustainability agenda, and the advantages of ethics beyond compliance…
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Bike to the Future: Portland Uses Bikes to Rethink 70 Years of Strip Malls
“It’s the hybrid nature of Gateway’s business strip — its north face looking toward the first half of the 20th century, its south toward the second half — that has…
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Audience cheers on teen-chef teams in McKees Rocks cook-off
Mr. DeGori had a long career as an executive chef in hotels before moving into the field of health care nutrition in 2001. “I’ve done a lot over 30 years,…
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Three Ways Pittsburgh Can Become an Incubator for Sustainable City Solutions
“Pittsburgh is a city where sustainable ideas and discussion are welcome. Moreover, it’s a city keen on sharing its ideas with the world. We want to develop policies and design…
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Fifth Third Signs Power Purchase Agreement to Achieve 100 Percent Renewable Power
“Fifth Third Bancorp announced that it has become the first Fortune 500 company and first bank to sign a power purchase agreement to achieve 100 percent renewable power through a…
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High schoolers team up with Pittsburgh chefs to compete in Steel Chef Cookoff
The show is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Father Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks. It’s the culmination of an eight-week culinary job-training program run by Focus on…
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Uber Launches Service To Get People To The Doctor’s Office
“Transportation is, indeed, a barrier to good health care. Affordable access to a vehicle is consistently associated with increased access to medical care, according to a study. Around 3.6 million…
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600 Companies, More Senior Executives Commit to Sustainability Policies
“Record numbers of the largest and most influential companies in the US have been found in new research to be committing themselves to ambitious sustainability policies. . . . “Jerry…
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Environmental group says it will sue over inactivity on Allgheny County air pollution permits
According to the council’s October 2016 petition, the health department failed to process operating permits for 22 of the county’s 32 major air pollution sources within 18 months as the…
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Calling All Students! Climate Multimedia Challenge
CMU’s Steinbrenner Institute and PPU’s Center for Media Innovation are issuing the “Pittsburgh 2050” challenge to students of colleges that are part of the Higher Education Climate Consortium (HECC), part…
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Green jobs are alive and well, and these 6 companies prove it
“How are corporations pushing for growth in careers related to sustainability? Six companies, in particular, provide a useful roadmap. Each has led the charge by building out leading-edge programs and…
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Our teens are in crisis; here’s what we can do
“The saddest part of this story, the climax of an unsuccessful adolescence, is the inability to get mental-health services when needed. Whether one is a concerned parent seeking help for…
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Tree canopy loss in Allegheny County ‘significant’
“‘It’s a significant change,’ Mr. Erb said. ‘As the trend continues, we are losing parts of our natural system of stormwater management, which could lead to more flooding and landslides,…
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Arctic temperatures soar 45 degrees above normal, flooded by extremely mild air on all sides
“While the Eastern United States simmered in some of its warmest February weather ever recorded Tuesday and Wednesday, the Arctic is also stewing in temperatures more than 45 degrees above…
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Sustainability, change leadership and collaboration: From the why to the how
“Understanding and driving change, preparing for an uncertain future and building coalitions are key competencies that increasingly will be required of sustainability practitioners. Moreover, their teams need to be smart…
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Pittsburgh air quality among poorest, study says
“‘The avoided health harms in that one-year period would average more than $70 per person in cities: the cost of avoided harms would be highest in Pittsburgh, where they would…
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Will these popular corporate sustainability programs survive the next U.S. budget?
“Meanwhile, the White House released a budget proposal (PDF) that would reduce funding for many clean energy, conservation and environmental programs and eliminate others. . . . The good news, is…
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Coke plant pollution linked to “asthma epidemic” in Pittsburgh-area elementary school
“Perhaps most striking—the researchers’ testing was the first asthma diagnosis for 15 percent of the students with asthma, meaning the children were living with the disease untreated. . . ….
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Eight things to know about the president’s budget and infrastructure plan
After promising the release of an infrastructure plan since the early days of his administration over a year ago, President Trump finally released his long-awaited plan for infrastructure investment. Since…
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How to Make Sustainability Every Employee’s Responsibility
You can also consider the indirect effects of sustainability — using indicators like employee retention and customer loyalty rates — to make a continued business case for sustainability. Using statistical…
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Minorities Have Dominated Millennial Urban Growth
“Despite the impression that young white people have reshaped cities’ demographics, research shows that non-white Millennials account for the greater part of that growth. . . . “Looking at the…
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It’s official: Sustainability strategies boost revenue
“The survey found the potential to expand revenues was the most important factor when deciding to implement sustainability strategies, with 39 percent of respondents citing revenue growth as a priority….
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Florida teachers union presses state pension to sell shares in gun manufacturers
“The president of the Florida teachers union is asking the state pension fund to divest itself of its shares in the manufacturer of AR-15 assault rifles, which was the weapon…
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Input Needed: Advocating and allocating parks funding
The secret is out: Pennsylvania’s state parks are some of the best around. And if you want to keep them that way for the next 25 years, your help is…
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Chemicals in Everyday Products Rival Cars as Source of Air Pollution
Releases from chemical products, including ones we use every day in our homes, are as much a cause of air pollution as automobile emissions, according to a new study that…
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Regulating air quality faces new challenges
“It’s frustrating that there is someone heading up the EPA who doesn’t believe in the mission of the agency,” Minott said. “It’s fine to revisit regulations to make sure they…
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Healthy Ride Pittsburgh – Provide Input for 2018 Expansion
Please help Healthy Ride complete the 2018 expansion process by commenting on this map. To make a comment, click on a proposed station and enter your comment directly on the…
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Stunning new research finds fracking a major source of carbon pollution in Pennsylvania
A new study finds that the methane escaping from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry “causes the same near-term climate pollution as 11 coal-fired power plants.” And that is “five times higher than what oil…
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On-Demand Shuttle System Envisioned For Four Mile Run Area
The small, on-demand shuttles wouldn’t run on a fixed schedule, but show up when they were needed. People could use smartphones or station kiosks to say where they were and…
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Here’s a simplified approach to sustainability goal-setting
“As a first step, companies should understand which sustainability issues are aligned with the business strategy and where goals create financially material business value. For example, a water-intensive industry such…
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Mixed-use developments make housing more expensive, says study
“A new study by a School of Planning researcher at University of Waterloo shows mixed-use development might be increasing income inequality. “Data collected between 1991 and 2006 in Toronto showed…
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Submit comments to DEP for more protective water quality standards
A message from Conservation Voters of PA: “Pennsylvania has some of the most polluted waters in the country, and that’s in part because several dangerous chemicals aren’t considered “toxic” by…
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Americans increasingly want to live in walkable cities
According to the National Association of Realtors, 62 percent of millennials prefer living in walkable communities that have short commutes, even if this means living in townhouses or apartments. Meanwhile,…
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Turning food deserts into oases
“As the recent Rand study makes clear, we don’t have to accept the status quo. Government and philanthropy should double down on their investments and work with business owners, banks…
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Find Your Ride Today!
Do You Need A Ride? Does Someone You Know Need A Ride? Let Heritage Community Initiatives’ Travel Navigator Find a Transportation Solution Designed Just for You -Customized travel solution based…
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Bringing Change to the Food System with Blockchain
Under the current agricultural system, it’s the norm for both the farmer and consumer to be disconnected. Neal raises flocks of 50,000 turkeys a couple times a year on his…
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Pedestrians First: A New Tool for Walkable Cities
The new tool, Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City will facilitate the understanding and the measurement of the features that promote walkability in urban environments around the world at…
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New Maps Show How Urban Sprawl Threatens the World’s Remaining Biodiversity
“The conclusion is the overwhelming majority of these cities have not adopted long-term planning visions or mechanisms that include biodiversity values or, if they do, then they do not make…
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National Solar Jobs Census
“In the five-year period between 2012 and 2017, solar employment grew by 110% overall or 16% annually, adding 131,000 jobs. Within this period, solar employment grew nine times faster than…
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Patagonia Steps Up Environmental Activism With ‘Dating Site’ For Grassroots Projects
So he launched Patagonia Action Works, which Chouinard describes as a “dating site” that connects individuals with opportunities to support and get involved with grassroots environmental groups. It matches people with events and…
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Why a Big Utility Is Embracing Wind and Solar
“Xcel, Colorado’s biggest power company, has pitched a plan to regulators that will involve replacing two large coal-burning units with renewable energy and possibly some natural gas. The company expects…
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Pittsburgh – Energy efficiency can clean the air we breathe (third part of video series)
“Pollution from dirty power plants and steel mills is part of Pittsburgh’s history. Will Allen, founder of the Will Allen Foundation and former Pittsburgh Steelers player, remembers what the city…
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Air Quality Still A Challenge
“Recent concentrations of fine particulate and ground level ozone air pollution follow a familiar trend: Both improved last year, but not enough to meet federal health-based air quality standards.” Read…
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Exxon Reports on Climate Risk and Sees Almost None
“Neither the energy efficiency of the global economy, nor the carbon intensity of the energy produced to drive that growth, is likely to improve fast enough to stop emissions from…
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Urban Planning Trends to Watch in 2018
“Here’s a humble suggestion for 2018: in the likely event that it is difficult to keep track of worldly concerns amid a steady stream of game-changing news, now is the…
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Density’s Next Frontier: The Suburbs
The reality is that most of the housing stock and most of the land area of America’s metros is made up of relatively low-density suburban homes. And a great deal…
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Environmental groups seek more time to review Shell Falcon pipeline impact
“According to the petition cover letter by PennFuture president and chief executive officer Jacquelyn Bonomo, the cracker plant ‘sets the stage for southwestern Pennsylvania to become the country’s newest Cancer…
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Super Bowl LII Will Be The First Zero-Waste Big Game
Making sure those extra bins will actually be filled required other tweaks throughout the stadium. Aramark, in advance of the game, converted over 70 different products–from draft beer cups, to…
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Study highlights concerns over planned route of Shell pipeline
That picture shows a massive undertaking. According to FracTracker, the pipeline will run through 25 municipalities in three states. As part of the process of securing easements for the pipeline,…
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Black Tech Nation officially launched to support Pittsburgh’s black tech community
Everyone wanted to know what she would do next. No one had gathered this group together before, not like this. She learned a lot about Pittsburgh: people wanted research on…
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Davos 2018: Technology Can Help Transform Our Food Systems — Just In Time
“Imagine a world where your smartphone could scan an avocado and provide real-time information on its freshness, nutritional content, its carbon footprint and where and how it was grown ….
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Despite Trump’s Antipathy, Companies Sign Up For Clean Energy Contracts In Record Numbers
The increase in activity was driven by sustainability initiatives and the increasing cost-competitiveness of renewables, BNEF said. The International Renewable Energy Agency reported earlier this month that the cost of…
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Announcing Renewable Energy for the Power of 32
With the goal of accelerating the uptake of large scale renewable energy for the region, Sustainable Pittsburgh, CEOs for Sustainability, and the Power of 32 are launching a promising new…
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How to Save a Town From Rising Waters
Louisiana’s Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement Project is the only government-funded climate relocation in the country—and a test case for more to come. Read more
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The journey of the blue bag
In fact, the blue — or any color — plastic bag you put out on the curb gums up the machines at the sorting facility. Because the city doesn’t require…
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Comment period extended on the Clean Power Plan
The initial public comment period about repealing the Clean Power Plan has been extended to April 26, 2018. The initial comment period now overlaps with a new comment period that…
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What you should know about setting ambitious yet realistic sustainability goals
The key question companies should be asking is not “What is the balance between ambitious and realistic?” The key question is, “What’s the problem I’m trying to solve, what is…
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Holding local water polluters accountable. How can you help?
“Some of the problem plants are located in the region and sit along main waterways. The Cheswick Generating Station, located on the Allegheny River in Springdale, has had an expired permit…
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World Economic Forum: 11 leading brands commit to move towards new plastic economy
Today the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the list of leading brands, retailers, and packaging companies working towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or…
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Report: World’s most successful companies have a larger proportion of women in senior roles
More successful companies tend to have a larger proportion of women in senior management roles, new research by McKinsey has found. Between 2011 and 2015, the most gender diverse quarter…
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Here’s what happens when inclusion is factored into Amazon’s list of 20 HQ2 city finalists
“In a browning America (by 2044, whites are projected to no longer comprise a racial majority in the United States), Amazon won’t miraculously create a more diverse workforce. However, by targeting…
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To elevate from outdated 2009 codes, AIA PA Calls for Action to upgrade the Uniform Construction Code
The PA Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council (UCC RAC) is currently re-evaluating the 2015 ICC codes for adoption in Pennsylvania. The Review and Advisory Council’s report is due…
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Companies from DuPont to Microsoft drive social innovation
“Investors are taking notice, too. Significantly, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with over $6 trillion in assets, is calling upon companies to determine their sense of purpose. “In his…
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America’s Freshwater is Getting Saltier. And That’s Not Good.
“A new study finds that the freshwater we rely on for drinking water and industry is getting saltier. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,…
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The State of Green Business, 2018
“But the pressures are being felt in the United States, too. In a report to its clients in November, Moody’s Investors Service explained how it incorporates climate change into its…
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Food Column: Give a toast to Phil, learn to make real prosciutto, join in global potluck
Pittsburgh Local Food Match-Up 2018: Supporting a Resilient Food System: Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Department of City Planning present a food industry networking event for farmers, small-scale food producers, chefs,…
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More investors are putting their money where their beliefs are
“‘The managers that we use would reach out to Fortune 500 companies like the Michael Kors clothing company and ask about their procedures,’ said Mr. Bernstein, who manages the socially…
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Sustainable Pittsburgh is hiring: Communications & Program Assistant
The Communications and Program Assistant will be responsible for supporting the communications and marketing needs of the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant (SPR) program, assist with restaurant recruiting/onboarding with SPR, and further…
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Donate Unneeded Items to a Local Nonprofit
More than 50 million tons of durable goods get tossed each year, with less than 20% of it recycled or reused. Many of these goods could be put to productive…
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Help Wanted: Pittsburgh-based Environmental Health Reporter
Environmental Health News is looking to shine a light on the environmental health challenges and opportunities confronting residents of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. If you’re capable of writing fearless stories…
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Help Wanted: Learning Coordinator
Green Building Alliance’s (GBA) Learning Coordinator will assist in delivery of GBA’s Green & Healthy Schools Academy, support successful delivery of all GBA educational event activities, and support GBA’s sharing…
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2017 Sustainability Conference – Engineering a Sustainable Economy: Innovating Solutions for the 21st Century
On November 16, 2017, the Environmental Water Resource Institute Chapter (EWRI) of ASCE-Pittsburgh and Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Champions for Sustainability (C4S) came together for the 9th Annual Sustainability Conference. The conference was…
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A Hazy Future: Pennsylvania’s Energy Landscape in 2045
FracTracker published an extensive survey of the energy industry’s forecast on the oil and gas industry in the state this week. Among the takeaways: – Industry estimates the need for…
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Tesla says solar roof production has started in Buffalo
Tesla is collaborating with its longstanding battery partner, Japan’s Panasonic Corp, to manufacture solar products at the Buffalo factory. There are about 500 employees working at the site currently, Tesla…
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Is your workplace up for the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge?
“‘Participating in [last year’s competition] helped us grow our positive social and environmental performance and it’s great to be a part of the larger effort to make that impact in…
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Sustainable Business Challenge Not Just About Saving Water, Pushes Companies To Embrace Diversity
“DAVIS: Your goals are based on sustainability, but not just in terms of energy consumption or the environment. You also focus on fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces. Can you tell me a…
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Allegheny County Health Board makes polluting more expensive
“A new health-based penalty formula for calculating and assessing civil fines in air pollution cases was announced Wednesday at a meeting of the Allegheny County Health Board. “Jim Kelley, the…
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Paper: Northeast could be second U.S. petrochemical hub
EIA data shows that in the northeast region, natural gas production of 20 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day in 2017 should double in the next 35 years, accounting for…
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Pittsburgh Presbytery opposes Beaver County cracker plant
“‘We can’t ignore environmental issues any longer, especially in our region, where air quality is one of the worst in the nation and we have a fossil-fuel industry looking to…
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Soil power! The dirty way to a green planet
“Rattan Lal, the director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State University, estimates that soil has the potential to sequester carbon at a rate of between 0.9…
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Company planning to drill for gas at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson mill
“More than 21,000 people in the communities of Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Duquesne, East Pittsburgh, Forest hills, Munhall, North Braddock, North Versailles, Rankin, Turtle Creek, Wilmerding, Whitaker and West Mifflin…
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Tax Bill to Preserve Critical Credits for Wind, Solar and Electric Vehicles
Despite the oil and gas industry’s push against renewable energy, the bill now headed for a vote in Congress keeps the incentives, but also includes Arctic drilling. Read more
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How kid-friendly urban design makes cities better for all
“Most importantly, it suggests a child-friendly lens can help leaders, planners, and designers envision a better city for everyone, one that offers a wealth of social benefits (society gains $8…
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Historic Clean Air Act lawsuit victory announced
Today the statewide citizen-based environmental group PennEnvironment announced that it has garnered what is believed to be the largest citizen suit penalty of its kind in Pennsylvania history. The federal…
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The Sidewalk to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
“That’s the point where the process moves beyond the fairly basic siting and programming issues and gets down to the level of design. Which is where everything starts to fall…
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Better Transportation Outcomes by Using Apps like Waze
App’s like Waze are providing local governments with data to examine traffic flows through their communities. Municipal or regional planning agency crews typically deploy traffic counting equipment in specific areas…
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Are Public-Private Partnerships Driving Modernization?
Ten years ago, public-private partnerships created the first bikeshare program. Other cities were soon to follow, leading the way for local governments to embrace business partnerships, proving that it could…
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Using Front Porches as a Venue promotes Walkable Model Communities
Overlapping the public and private sphere can be difficult, but utilizing front porches as a venue can create better community connections. In Atlanta, organizing concerts on over 100 porches did…
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Greenprint is a Tool for Green Planning in Parks
“What’s a greenprint?” Now, what it is and how to start one can be found at the Greenprint Resource Hub, which defines a greenprint as a strategic conservation plan that…
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The Suburbs are Tapping into Geothermal
Although geothermal energy accounts for just 0.4 percent of total energy generation in the US, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration, geothermal may be the way of the future. It…
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ING to stop funding utilities which rely too much on coal
ING by the end of 2025 will stop funding any utility company which relies on coal for more than 5 percent of its energy, the Dutch bank said on Tuesday. …
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Slippery Rock named sustainable town
The “silver” certification means that Slippery Rock has been making progress on community design and land use, energy efficiency, health and wellness, intergovernmental cooperation, recycling and waste reduction, fiscal controls,…
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Half of firms are braced for climate change impact
The poll found many companies are expecting climate impacts to hit their value chain within only a few years. Some 25 percent of respondents said they were already experiencing impacts,…
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How the Trump administration did the impossible — getting solar and oil lobbyists to unite
“Within hours of Energy Secretary Rick Perry releasing a proposal to overhaul the country’s power markets to advantage unprofitable coal and nuke plants, Wetstone was busy pulling together a team…
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Chemical in soft plastics causes key changes in human placentas, Pitt study reveals
“There’s new evidence that the chemicals known as phthalates in plastics and other products alter two key hormones and a molecule that mediates inflammation in the human placenta. . ….
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Raw sewage flows into Pittsburgh’s rivers. Is there an environmentally friendly fix that won’t break the bank?
“RAND’s report also provides a more accurate glimpse into the present problem and just how bad it may get. “‘We found that sewer overflows were actually higher in the 10-year…
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City to offer free child care to employees on certain days
“‘Data shows that family friendly workplace policies reduce costly turnover and boost productivity. By offering at-work child care to our employees, the City is investing in its employees and ensuring…
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Hear them out: Give air quality hearings public access to the max
The Allegheny County Health Department says it’s been working hard to establish better rapport with environmental groups and others concerned about air pollution here. It should demonstrate that spirit of…
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Thomas L. Friedman: Meanwhile, as Trump world turns …
“Bottom line, the Indian energy economy is rapidly transitioning to a ‘decarbonized, digitized and decentralized’ system, said Mr. Kolli, enabling better quality of life while meeting big energy needs —…
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300 Scientists Oppose Trump Nominee: ‘More Dangerous Than Climate Change is Lying’
“As scientists and scholars, we are alarmed by Ms. Hartnett White’s actions and statements, particularly, her recent assertion that carbon dioxide is not a harmful pollutant,” the scientists wrote in…
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Moody’s Warns Cities to Address Climate Risks or Face Downgrades
“Coastal communities from Maine to California have been put on notice from one of the top credit rating agencies: Start preparing for climate change or risk losing access to cheap…
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Report Report: Climate risk, greener electronics, sustainable seafood
The Report Report is a monthly wrap-up of recent research on sustainable business and clean technology, produced by Corporate Eco Forum, a by-invitation membership organization comprised of large, global companies that…
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How Bourbon and Big Data Are Cleaning Up Louisville
“On the other side of town, Christy Brown, the wealthy philanthropist who feels lonely in her social class, acknowledges that Air Louisville leaves many questions but not a lot of…
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Denny’s board chair — and Penn Hills grad — considers herself ‘agent of change’
“What helped drive her success against the odds as a female and a minority, she said, was a sense of being an agent of change who could accomplish meaningful things…
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Something in the air: Violations cannot stand at local U.S. Steel plant
Polluters must come to see the error of their ways, if necessary by the public reminding them that they are undermining the image of the new Pittsburgh and sabotaging their…
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T4America releases set of four simple principles to inform and evaluate any potential plans for federal infrastructure investment
“Any potential federal infrastructure plan needs to do more than just pour money into the same old system for planning and building transportation projects, because that broken system fails to deliver the…
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Sustainability Pioneers: Finding Our Power
The 10th and final episode of Sustainability Pioneers follows how one of the world’s most sustainable buildings, the Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh, rises from the ashes, and how the…
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Register for the Newly Elected Officials Course!
Designed specifically for local elected officials in Pennsylvania, the Newly Elected Officials Course is a comprehensive program that grants elected officials a head start in all aspects of governing, including leading an efficient…
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‘No is no is no’: A tiny township’s fight against oil and gas waste disposal
Grant Township is not alone in its opposition to hosting a disposal well, but it is probably the most persistent. Residents’ efforts have given their cause an aura of both…
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U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant accused of excessive emissions
“The Environmental Protection Agency and Allegheny County Health Department have issued a notice of violation for air pollution at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant in Braddock in what could mark…
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Resources for residents & health care providers in caring for people exposed to toxic industrial emissions
The Environmental Health Project (EHP) is a nonprofit, evidence-based, public health organization that assists and supports residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond who are being impacted by unconventional oil and…
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Pittsburgh’s Microgrids Technology Could Lead The Way For Green Energy
“‘This is really a first step in the direction we want to take for larger scale installations,’ he added. He imagines expanding what he’s created here to cover whole neighborhoods,…
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Michael Bloomberg: ‘Nothing Washington can do to stop’ action to curb climate change
“The group called “America’s Pledge” released a report detailing how local and state governments as well as private companies will work to meet the U.S.’ pledge on climate action stemming from…
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Summit seeks local action on sustainability goals framed by U.N.
The UN’s wide-reaching agenda for sustainability includes eliminating poverty, achieving gender equality, developing affordable and clean energy systems, reducing inequality, providing safe cities, and taking action on climate change. In…
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Final Budget Bills Littered With Bad Environmental Riders; A Budget That Failed To Address ANY Environmental Shortfalls
“The Senate and House Thursday finished work on the final pieces of the budget revenue package to deal with the state’s $2.2 billion budget deficit and fund the FY 2017-18…
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Environmental groups urge tougher rules enforcement on Clairton Coke Works
“‘Over the past seven years, the health department has entered into 10 consent agreements with U.S. Steel, and none of those have resulted in (the company) operating the Clairton Coke…
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Corporate renewable energy sourcing tool launched
EUROPE: A platform has been launched to bring together sellers and corporate buyers of renewable energy. Read more
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Pruitt guts EPA science panels, will appoint new members
“Pruitt said he will name new leadership and members to three key EPA advisory boards soon — the Science Advisory Board, Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Board of…
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Brian O’Neill: Stopping straw waste is just the start
“My Sunday column largely concerned my loathing of the common practice of restaurant servers plunking plastic straws in our water glasses. It’s as if we’re children, and it’s reached the point…
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Could Development Be Shaping Health In The Hill District?
“The RAND data suggest that neighborhood investments are linked to higher quality of life. “‘You can’t understand diet without understanding transportation, and you can’t understand diet without understanding access to…
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How Mars and Walmart illustrate the future of sustainability
In September, the global food manufacturer overhauled its business operations, vowing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and improve employee working conditions. CEO Grant F. Reid said he anticipates a…
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Going Local: Taking the Global UN Sustainable Development Goals to Pittsburgh with THINC30
“People who use their ‘purpose’ and drive change around their passions can do great things, including pulling up cities. And when we harness that type of change occurring in cities,…
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Pennsylvania bill closes the borders to out-of-state solar credits
Pennsylvania electric utilities will soon have to buy home-grown solar power to satisfy a state mandate that they get a sliver of their power from solar generators. The bill passed by…
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Wilkinsburg to show off vacant properties
“‘Vacant Properties Week is a way for us to share information with the community and those interested in acquiring and rehabbing vacant properties in Wilkinsburg,’ Ms. Evans said. “Building on…
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4 rules for effective corporate governance
“Successful integration and effective management of sustainability at a company requires having committed leadership, clear direction and strategic influence — and none of this will happen without a robust governance…
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Pittsburgh becomes first U.S. city to offer free bike share to transit riders
“Last Thursday, Pittsburgh’s bike share program Healthy Ride announced the first six months of the project, where those who own the regional transit system’s ConnectCard can access bike share for…
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These 5 U.S. Towns Are Powered Entirely By Renewable Energy
“Over the past decade, five locations ― Aspen, Colorado; Greensburg, Kansas; Burlington, Vermont; Kodiak Island, Alaska; and Rock Port, Missouri ― have successfully made the switch to 100 percent renewables….
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Sign the Petition: Get the Lead Out, Pittsburgh
This spring, Allegheny County appointed a task force to assess the risk of childhood lead poisoning and develop a recommendation to prevent lead exposure. The six-month deadline for the task…
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Energy’s Big Shift
“Coal-fired power plants, many of which are aging toward retirement, generated nearly half of the nation’s electricity in 2007. Today, they produce 30 percent and, for the first time, are…
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PJM says plan to subsidize coal, nukes, “not workable”
Supporters of the subsidies, including Perry, point to the 2014 Polar Vortex, a cold snap that taxed the power system and threatened blackouts. But PJM’s Ott says even some coal…
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Study: Pollution kills 9 million a year, costs $4.6 trillion
“Environmental pollution – from filthy air to contaminated water – is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger or natural…
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Three-quarters of companies don’t acknowledge climate risks
“Investors and regulators around the world may be increasingly vocal in their demands for listed firms to report on climate-related risks, but a clear majority of companies remain deaf to…
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New Talks on Paris Climate Pact Are Set, and That’s Awkward for U.S.
“The Trump administration has declared it will abandon the global climate change pact and make no effort to meet its voluntary target to curb planet-warming emissions. On Tuesday, President Trump…
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Tax Uber and Lyft to Pay for Transit? Chicago Might
The city of Chicago is already taxing rides with transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. Now mayor Rahm Emanual wants to raise those fees and spend the extra money…
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My company’s carbon footprint is the size of a small country. We need to act.
“Without a doubt, our society has done some excellent work to address climate change in recent years. But after a week of engaging with global experts in a range of…
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Down the Stream
In the next 50 to 100 years, communities will not just have to react to random weather events, but brace for frequent and intense storms that are a direct result…
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Rabble: Investing in Urban Revitalization in Detroit
Detroit company Rabble has debuted a new crowd investment platform allowing community advocates to invest in affordable housing in urban communities where people of color and other underprivileged groups have…
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Cleveland Police Diversity Training Aimed to Combat Biases
“The Cleveland police department will participate in a three-year research study aimed at identifying the most effective ways to combat subconscious police biases against people of different races, genders and…
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Sidewalk Cafes: A Powerful Tool for Walkability
Enticing residents to walk in their community is fueled by curb appeal. With sidewalk cafes, people’s desire to walk is enhanced, which can increase patronage and public health. Not to…
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New Mapping Brings Tourism to Businesses
Traditional maps, with concentric circles superimposed over the top of maps that are time-based, will show you how long it will take you to arrive at your destination. The “time…
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How to Keep Young Families Downtown
How do cities keep young families downtown, rather than suburbs? A family-friendly design includes bigger housing, amenities for families, and a safe, welcoming public realm. The space needs to grow…
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Would you Let your Child Bike Here?
Denmark’s cities are designed to make children and adults feel safe while bicycling. Making cycling safer through education and redesigned bike lanes improves public health and reduces CO2 emissions, noise…
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Fighting Urban Blight with Dainty Dwellings
Tiny homes in Detroit are part of a rent-to-buy housing program giving low-income residents the chance to achieve home ownership. A nonprofit, Cass Community Social Services, has designed an innovative…
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Building Inclusive Cities
“These two papers reflect a six-month long collaboration with three metro areas to address one key challenge we heard consistently from many of you: that in order to take action…
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EIA: US energy-related CO2 emissions down 1.7% in 2016; carbon intensity of economy down 3.1%; transportation emissions up
US energy-related CO2 emissions decreased by 89 million metric tons (MMmt), from 5,259 MMmt in 2015 to 5,170 MMmt in 2016. Although real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.5% over…
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Clean up our future: Pennsylvania can thrive on renewables and energy efficiency
“Natural gas is not the end game. Indeed, an economic vision based on a finite fossil fuel is inherently unsustainable. Rather, natural gas must be positioned as a transition to…
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How Trump’s proposed cuts to the EPA could imperil the Pittsburgh region’s environment and public health
“The Trump administration wants to gut funding for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental advocates say the deep cuts would drastically undermine protections for public health and the environment….
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Less power use and meat-eating, more trees and public transit: What you need to know about Pittsburgh’s new climate plan.
By 2030, if the plan is successful, Pittsburghers and Pittsburgh businesses will use half as much water and electricity and eat half as much meat. They will throw away 90…
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Clean Energy Is Approaching a Tipping Point
“The cost of renewables is plunging faster than forecasters anticipated just a few years ago as as technologies like gigantic wind turbines arrive on the market. . . . “The…
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Brian O’Neill: Don’t trade our air for a budget deal
“Normally I’d say don’t hold your breath, but in this case do just that. You may need the practice. This bill intends to create an Air Quality Permit Advisory Committee,…
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GM to Power 20% of Global Electricity Load with Clean Energy
“General Motors announced this week that all of its Ohio and Indiana manufacturing facilities will meet their electricity needs through 100% renewable energy. GM is buying a total of 200…
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The Reality Of Pittsburgh’s Air Quality
“We are not meeting federal standards for fine particulate matter, ozone, or sulfur dioxide, and there have been persistent violations of a hydrogen sulfide state standard at one of the…
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Trump administration, under legal pressure, reverses itself on measuring greenhouse gases from cars and trucks
Following a lawsuit by California and seven other states, the Trump administration on Thursday reversed course and instituted new regulations requiring that greenhouse gases from cars and trucks be measured…
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Buckle your seat belts: The car revolution is upon us
France and the United Kingdom recently announced that they will ban the sales of gasoline and diesel-engined cars from 2040. The lower house of the Dutch parliament has passed a…
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‘Making Your Future’ initiative strives to connect ‘makers’ to area manufacturers’ growing needs
The Making Your Future initiative was designed to help thousands of people find a career in manufacturing with a desired outcome of connecting qualified employees to the 30,000 -plus job…
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Capturing the next economy: Pittsburgh’s rise as a global innovation city
Brookings recommends launching a new initiative—the InnovatePGH partnership— to adopt and advocate a new narrative for Pittsburgh’s economic future and to issue a call to action. Comprising public, private, and…
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Sustainable Pittsburgh Announces Winners Of The 2016-17 Green Workplace Challenge
Sustainable Pittsburgh Thursday revealed the top scorers of the 2016-2017 Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge during an evening celebration at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. A…
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Here’s who won Green Workplace Challenge awards
“The results of this year’s Green Workplace Challenge are further demonstration of growing commitment to sustainable business practices,” said Autumn Secrest, Green Workplace Challenge program manager at Sustainable Pittsburgh. “With…
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Lower Merion Sustainability Efforts Get ‘Gold’ Certification
The township said it was given a Gold-level certification of sustainability from Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program, which is administrated through Pennsylvania Municipal League in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh. “Lower…
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Evidence Mounts for Green Bonds Outperforming Conventional: HSBC
The findings are likely to deliver a boost to advocates of responsible investing, who argue that one can both put capital to use for good and earn a healthy return….
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Lead Task Force – Request for Information
The Allegheny County Executive’s nine-member commissioned Lead Task Force is issuing a request for information to elicit science-based information and policy recommendations from the public. If you are interested in…
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How Cargill’s employee summit put sustainability on the menu
“Getting broad internal buy-in on sustainability is a challenge most companies face. Whether the impetus for sustainable business comes from the top, bottom or middle — there are good examples…
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Clean Jobs Pennsylvania 2017
There are nearly 70,000 clean energy jobs in Pennsylvania, according to a new report released in August 2017 by E2 and the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA). Read more
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Will McKinley Park upgrades improve the struggling Beltzhoover community or leave its longtime residents behind?
In the end, according to many people shepherding changes in McKinley Park, renovation isn’t just about improving trails and picnic areas – as much as residents welcome those amenities. This…
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Sustainability finance lessons, from Adidas to Starbucks
“Last year, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) released two financing guides that focus on innovative ways to secure capital for energy and…
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Shell agrees to install fenceline air monitors at Beaver County ethane cracker plant
“After a two-year legal battle, Shell Chemical Co. has agreed to install continuous air monitors on the fenceline of its petrochemical complex in Beaver County. “The chemical company reached a…
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Help Wanted: Green Infrastructure Program & Policy Manager
The Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority is seeking a dynamic program and policy manager for our green infrastructure (GI) initiatives. This exciting role includes addressing institutional and technical challenges and…
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Looking to address ‘inequities’ with farmers markets, Pittsburgh eyes a study of its own
In an effort to broaden the reach of city-run farmers markets and elevate their role in the local food chain, Pittsburgh officials have been asked to fund a study of…
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What does it take to grow a sheep herd in coal country?
The vision for this new program — launched this summer through a coal assistance grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission — feeds into a much bigger goal long sought by…
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Fuel-cell power plant to open in Pittsburgh
A fuel-cell power plant will be built in Pittsburgh at the NRG Energy Center. Danbury, Conn.-based FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) made the announcement Wednesday about building the facility using solid oxide fuel cells….
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Why diversity is the key to unlocking sustainability
As corporate sustainability professionals, we must lead the cultivation of a more inclusive, equitable world for all. We not only must steward the environment but also explore ways to meet…
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A Colorado city in the Smart Cities Collaborative partners with Uber for a “quicker way to deploy transit to our residents”
Lone Tree, Colorado, one of the 16 members of our Smart Cities Collaborative, successfully launched a new pilot project last week. The small Denver suburb is evolving their existing fixed-route circulator…
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RGGI states, boosted by Trump’s Paris withdrawal, to make deeper carbon cuts
Nine northeastern states that make up the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative said Wednesday they plan to increase the rate at which carbon emissions are cut at their power plants, proposing a…
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Charlottesville effect: Rep Frankel wants Pa.’s hate crime laws expanded
“‘We want a comprehensive reaction to [the events in Charlottesville], and one of the ways to do that is to finally address hate crimes in Pennsylvania in a comprehensive way,’…
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Can Charlottesville awaken Pa.’s legislature?
“‘We as legislators have limited capacity to do something other than speak out. But this is one thing we can do that has substance and is a good way to…
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Help Wanted: Director, Energy Science, Technology, and Policy (ESTP) Professional Master’s Program
Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering seeks a Director for the Energy Science, Technology, and Policy (ESTP) Master’s Program. Launched in 2009, ESTP is a leading energy-focused masters-level graduate program…
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Development Banks Pump Billions into Clean Energy
“Development banks are bucking a general downward trend in clean energy investment. “The institutions, ranging from Germany’s KfW Group to The World Bank Group, pumped a combined $55 billion into…
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US cities are starting to expand transportation options for low-income residents
A variety of pilot projects and programs peppered around the country are aiming to make transportation services that have typically targeted more affluent neighborhoods available to low-income communities. Most of…
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Triboro Ecodistrict will expand Millvale’s nationally-recognized model to Sharpsburg and Etna
“In May, when Millvale was awarded a prestigious national environmental planning award from the American Planning Association (APA), jury chairman W. Shedrick Coleman told NEXTpittsburgh that Millvale’s ecodistrict should ‘serve…
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First-Ever Lawsuit Over ‘Inadequate’ Climate Risk Disclosure Could Set New Precedent for Businesses
“After failing to properly disclose the risks posed to its business by climate change in its 2016 annual report, Australia’s Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) is being sued by shareholders. The bank’s…
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Petition: Tell the CDC “America Needs a National Fracking Health Risk Registry!”
The Southwest PA Environmental Health Project urges you to sign a petition to #StandUpforScience: “A new CDC Director means new public health priorities. With the change in leadership and major…
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Sustainability, innovation key to developer’s plans for former Hazelwood LTV site
“Within the next week or so, RIDC plans to award a contract to begin the remediation of the site — the next step in plans to house three buildings geared…
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NSF funds research to help predict structure for electric power transmission
“Penn State researchers have received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop a system that will assist the power industry in siting new transmission lines to accommodate a broad…
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Peco bill to hook Chesco man’s solar array into grid: $45K
“He meticulously researched solar panels, took an online certification course, and, with an electrician, crafted detailed plans, down to the font size of lettering on the electrical service panel. “But…
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To Create A Carbon-Neutral Restaurant, First You Have To Measure The Footprint
“While lots of online calculators are available for restaurants to try to track their footprint and impact, most only cover surface level math for daily operations, things like kilowatt-hours of…
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It’s time to reimagine carbon
It’s time to reimagine our relationship with carbon, the element most critical to life on Earth — and yet now increasingly demonized as the main chemical culprit in accelerated climate…
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What are Pittsburgh’s most significant inequalities? Program comes to the Steel City to measure them and spur change
What are the most significant inequities in Pittsburgh? And are we making progress on eradicating them? A project called Equality Indicators, which began at the City University of New York, aims…
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New Jersey is cutting food waste to address climate change
New Jersey has enacted a new law which requires the state to develop a plan over the next year to reduce food waste by half by 2030. The bill echoes…
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Sustainability could unlock $1bn for auto, industrial companies
Interdependent business strategies focused equally on growth, profitability and sustainability and trust are better placed to compete in future markets than one-dimensional strategies, according to new Accenture research. The company…
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Beaver County residents get little assurance on concerns about Shell cracker plant
More than 100 concerned residents of Beaver County attended a community meeting hosted by Royal Dutch Shell in the town of Beaver Tuesday night, hoping to get their questions answered…
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Does Air Quality Matter To Young Workers?
As their due date neared last fall, Ryan Poling and his wife faced a difficult decision. Did they want to raise their daughter in Pittsburgh, the city in which they’ve…
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Fossil fuel subsidies racking up trillions in health costs
G20 governments spent $444 billion on oil, gas and coal subsidies in 2014 alone. A new study by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) estimates that the use of those…
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Pa. Senate votes to trade environmental oversight for gas severance tax
“A wide-ranging proposal that places more state environmental oversight in the hands of private individuals and political appointees came up for a Senate vote Thursday morning, less than a day…
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What Will the Shell Cracker Bring Along with It?
“’You’re like the Saudi Arabia of the natural gas industry,’ Ron Whitfield, IHS Markit’s VP of economics and country risk consulting, told a group in April in Pittsburgh. ‘That’s probably…
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Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project to train new activists in Pittsburgh, Pa., with support from The Heinz Endowments
The Climate Reality Project announced today that the organization will hold its 36th Climate Reality Leadership Corps activist training in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from October 17-19, with the generous support and…
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Chattanooga Goes Green with Zero-Emission Car Sharing
“From being one of the first cities in the nation to offer free rides on electric buses, to starting one of the first electric vehicle ride-share programs, the Chattanooga Area…
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Sharpsburg puts their safe transportation Vision front and center
“Brittany Reno, Sharpsburg Borough Council member and sponsor of the bill says that ‘as Sharpsburg residents have been having more in-depth conversations about what we love about our community and…
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Sign-on Letter – Please confirm by 2pm TODAY
Last week, Speaker Turzai introduced a proposal to balance the state budget that relies on special fund transfers. His proposal does not highlight which special funds should be utilized; however,…
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What artificial intelligence means for sustainability
“This analysis below, which measures mentions of AI in corporate sustainability reports and CDP filings, can help us start to answer the question: What does AI mean for sustainability? ….
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How Do You Measure Inequity In Pittsburgh?
While there are plenty of similar anecdotes of families struggling to get by in the city, researchers are trying to quantify the equity gaps in things like jobs, transportation and…
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How CSR execs redefine the future of the workforce
When an overwhelming majority of the workforce values good health and living a simple yet balanced life, it’s time we take stock of business’ role as enablers and catalysts. As…
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Brian O’Neill: Don’t hold your breath for better air in Pittsburgh
“The good news is that this was the first warning the DEP issued for Pittsburgh this year, and there was also just one last year, on May 25. That said,…
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There’s literally a ton of plastic garbage for every person on Earth
“’I think for me that’s the single most surprising thing, the implication of the large growth rate,’ said Roland Geyer, one of the authors. Another surprise, he said, is how…
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Ambridge residents worried that Shell pipelines could endanger water supply
“Mr. Schmetzer and other local residents asked the authority to adopt a Source Water Protection Plan, which would track threats to the water supply and help ensure that it is…
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Environmentalist Patricia DeMarco’s new book puts Pittsburgh at the center of creating a sustainable future
“There are ways that we can thrive as an economy and as a society without destroying [nature], but rather preserving it. So then the pathways become things like renewable energy…
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On mobility, purpose, partnerships, SDGs and more
The Report Report is a monthly wrap-up of recent research on sustainable business and clean technology, produced by Corporate Eco Forum, a by-invitation membership organization comprised of large, global companies that…
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Sustainability Watch: Ecosystem Health
“Bird counts in the Pittsburgh area have improved in recent years and limited data suggest that fresh water mussel populations are also doing well – two encouraging trends that offer…
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Trump’s Order May Foul U.S. Drinking Water Supply
According to the EPA, about two thirds of U.S. stream miles only run seasonally or after rainstorms. The EPA estimates that one in three Americans—about 117 million people—draw all or…
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GM, Michelin put brakes on deforestation linked to rubber
In Southeast Asia, which supplies 90 percent of the world’s rubber, this demand has translated into rapid deforestation and predatory land grabs from small farmers, as the lucrative demand for…
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Are We as Doomed as That New York Magazine Article Says?
“In a widely shared article, David Wallace-Wells sketches the bleakest possible scenario for global warming. He warns of a planet so awash in greenhouse gas that Brooklyn’s heat waves will…
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The right to ‘know what goes up your nose’
“Shell still hasn’t committed to installing fenceline monitoring at the Beaver Country cracker site. How it worked in other communities and why environmentalists say it’s essential.” Read more
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As Others See It: Clean coal? It’s not here yet
“Much of the government’s complex web of energy programs, tax breaks and other incentives could be eliminated if Congress fostered markets in which the best low-carbon technologies were profitable and…
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Funds Available + Info Sessions from Heinz Endowments Youth Philanthropists
The Heinz Endowments’ Youth Philanthropy Summer interns have released four requests for proposals (RFPs) for grants totaling $100,000: Cooking Up Community – Focusing on food literacy, nutrition education and cooking…
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Sustainability Watch: Internet Access
“The digital divide is narrowing in Western Pennsylvania, if only slightly. Fewer people in the Pittsburgh MSA reported a lack of internet in their households in 2015 than in the…
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The Uninhabitable Earth
Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think. Read more
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Ross could benefit from concept called ‘mixed-use overlay district’
“For Ross to continue to position itself as a desirable, attractive community, we need zoning rules that support what people want — places where they can live within walking distance…
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Pittsburgh “Food Bucks” program helps food stamp shoppers buy more fruits and veggies
“For every $5 shoppers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables using their ACCESS cards, The Pittsburgh Food Bucks program — funded by the Hillman Family Foundation and the U.S. Department…
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Air pollution exposure may hasten death, even at levels deemed ‘safe,’ study says
“The analysis found no sign of a “safe” level of pollution, below which the risk of dying early tapered off. . . . “The findings suggest that even though federal…
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Free Assistance Opportunity for Innovative State DOTs
“Accelerating Practical Solutions is an opportunity for six state DOTs to win a one-day workshop with expert transportation staff. The workshops will bring together DOT staff, MPOs, consultants, local governments,…
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How a 110-year-old logistics company is repackaging sustainability
“Ed Rogers joined the United Parcel Service (UPS) 23 years ago in the corporate industrial engineering department, bringing with him more than a decade of experience as a U.S. Air…
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Imagining a Citizen-Led Smart City
The buzziest of buzzwords in urban planning is the “smart city”—a metropolis laced with wireless sensors that track everything from weather and water flow to gunshots and foot traffic. The sensing…
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Developing Mitigation Strategies to Combat Stormwater Challenges
Cities and larger metropolitan areas are at the forefront of efforts to reduce and develop responses to climate change. RAND Corporation took an in-depth look at stormwater management in the…
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The Vision of Highways Creating Clean and Renewable Energy
Just past the Alabama border, in a bit of rural Georgia filled with manufacturing plants and distribution warehouses, there’s an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 85 where new technologies are being…
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Text Messages Engage Residents in Community Planning
As communities work through the planning and development process, residents are increasingly able to make comments via text message. City officials can receive a digital response to “what’s missing” in…
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Making the circular economy more accessible and more attainable: WBCSD’s Practitioner Guide to the Circular Economy
“Many companies still struggle to fully grasp the concept of the circular economy, its implications on their business and the initial steps needed to get started. For many, the circular…
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Diversity of Pittsburgh Region Counties
“The demographic portrait of the seven-county Pittsburgh region’s population is becoming less white and more diverse, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. “From 2011 to 2016, Allegheny County’s…
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Sustainability Watch: Cost of Living
Despite rising costs, southwestern Pennsylvania continues to rank as one of the least expensive places to live overall among the 16 Pittsburgh Today benchmark regions. This brief is a summary…
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Atlanta Advocates Campaign to Set Aside Some Transit Funding to Keep Housing Affordable Near New Lines
“‘For 40 years, low wealth communities and communities of color… have subsidized MARTA,’ said Smith. ‘Without this affordable housing strategy, we’re actually positioning these people who have invested in MARTA…
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Highland Park’s first ‘green’ stormwater system completed
“The first, and so far only, green infrastructure solution to flooding in Highland Park’s valleys is completed along Negley Run Boulevard — a 1,100-foot bioswale that will intercept an estimated…
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Creating a Better Community Through Text Messages
“As cities make their data more transparent and accountable, this project in New York found one way to use technology to engage the residents in the planning process—by prompting locals…
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Western Pa. CEOs want to improve environment, quality of life
“The body’s 17 founding members span a wide range of company types and sizes — from data security startup eLoop LLC to commercial real estate firm Oxford Development Company to…
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Business leaders want Pittsburgh to become leader in sustainability
“The concept of achieving sustainability has become so critical to doing business effectively, said Mr. MacCleary, that investors seek out company goals in annual sustainability reports or on corporate websites…
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America Is Now a ‘Second Tier’ Country
SPI produces the report in part to help city, state, and national policymakers diagnose and (ideally) address their most pressing challenges. The group’s chief executive, Michael Green, said America ‘is failing…
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Share input on the region’s Transportation Improvement Program and Active Transportation Plan
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), the region’s official transportation planning organization for Southwestern Pennsylvania, is actively seeking public input on the region’s Transportation Improvement Program and Active Transportation Plan! SPC…
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CMU Kicks Off New Quarterly Report To Track Carbon Emissions From Power Plants
“Along with reporting the total amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by all electricity plants, the quarterly Power Sector Carbon Index will break down the data by…
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National public-transit conference Rail-Volution coming to Pittsburgh in 2018
“‘We have chosen Pittsburgh for its significant investment in public transportation,’ said Bartholomay. ‘But also because it has opportunity. We can learn what is possible in an area experiencing a…
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Pa. Supreme Court upholds broad interpretation of Environmental Rights Amendment
“In a landmark environmental decision, a majority of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court justices established a broad interpretation of the Environmental Rights Amendment to the state constitution Tuesday, cementing in place the…
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How midsize cloud player Akamai buys clean power
“Renewable energy demand among large U.S. companies is significant and growing quickly, according to a December analysis by the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a clean energy trade group. The report…
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How Autonomous Cars and Buses Will Change Urban Planning
The driverless vehicle shows promise as one of the biggest technological breakthroughs since the assembly line. The safety benefits alone have prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation to propose a…
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The Future: Roads of Recycled Plastic
Quick and easy to install, cheap, and remarkably durable—plastic roads could be the greener alternative. Plastic is more resistant to temperatures, as well. The 33 million tons of plastic waste…
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Wind and solar in March accounted for 10% of U.S. electricity generation for first time
“For the first time, monthly electricity generation from wind and solar (including utility-scale plants and small-scale systems) exceeded 10% of total electricity generation in the United States, based on March…
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What can Pittsburgh, by itself, do on climate?
But just as Paris was only a down payment on the fossil-free-fuel world we need, Pittsburgh must do more. “We can’t wait for the feds,” says Court Gould, executive director…
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New research may resolve a climate ‘conundrum’ across the history of human civilization
There are several important points we can take from the Baker study. First, climate models are able to simulate climate changes over the history of human civilization fairly accurately. Second,…
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Scientists just documented a massive recent melt event on the surface of Antarctica
In the Antarctic summer of 2016, the surface of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest floating ice platform on Earth, developed a sheet of meltwater that lasted for as long…
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Robust Stormwater Management in the Pittsburgh Region
This report provides an independent study of how the stormwater management and sewer overflow problem in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan region could grow with future climate, land use, or population…
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The New Plastics Economy – Rethinking the future of plastics
After a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value, or $80–120 billion annually, is lost to the economy. A staggering 32% of plastic packaging escapes collection systems, generating…
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Larimar Community Among Two New Partners Selected for National Equity-Focused Resilience Program
“The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) today announced two community-based organizations joining its Partnership for Resilient Communities (PRC). The organizations will implement projects to make underserved neighborhoods more resilient to…
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Fundraising for Renewable Resources Exceeds Conventional Energy
“Renewables-focused funds have raised $5 billion this year, outstripping fundraising targeting conventional energy for the first time, according to a Preqin report WEdnesday. Fundraising for conventional energy has fallen signifcantly…
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SEPTA approves big solar project
“This solar project, along with other exciting new initiatives such as a new fleet of battery-electric buses to arrive this fall, demonstrates SEPTA’s enduring commitment to environmental improvement,” said Jeffrey…
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VIDEO: Does History Repeat Itself?
“The present moment parallels some of the 20th century’s most trying times. What lessons will we take from history as we try to solve today’s challenges?” Read more
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Does Air Quality Matter to Young Workers?
“Like Dixon and Poling, it took Boone a while to realize there was an air quality problem. Boone, who moved to the city in February 2016, first noticed a smell…
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After the Paris exit, a call for citizen investors
Given the combination of this immense challenge and an equally immense opportunity, it’s time to answer our nation’s call. Just as “citizen soldiers” traditionally answered the nation’s call during wartime,…
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The (Secret) Copenhagen Model for Regenerating Cities
“Thirty years ago, the city of Copenhagen was experiencing 17.5 percent unemployment, an outmigration of population, the loss of manufacturing, the decline of taxing capacity, and an annual budget deficit…
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Exxon Shareholders Approve Climate Resolution: 62% Vote for Disclosure
“Sixty-two percent of shareholders voted for Exxon to begin producing an annual report that explains how the company will be affected by global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under…
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Reminder: June 15 deadline for solar discounts with Solarize Allegheny
“Solarize Allegheny began in February 2015 and since that time, nearly 1,000 people have signed up for solar quote through its program. Fifty (50) people have gone solar so far…
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The 9 (or 10) keys to successful sustainability leadership
As the first chief sustainability officer of Owens Corning, and one of the first in the world, I’ve seen many things work really well — and many things not so…
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Trump to pull U.S. from historic Paris climate agreement
“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord but begin negotiations to reenter either the…
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Please take the Survey: Pittsburgh Food + Dining
Your input is needed for a short survey about how people in Pittsburgh make dining choices. You can contribute your insights by filling out the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/1705gen23 All input…
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Values, Innovation and Transparency Key to Future Corporate Sustainability Leadership: New Survey of Experts
Unilever continues to be seen as the global leader on sustainability, receiving nearly half of total mentions cited (45%, up two points from 2016). Unilever holds this dominant position for the seventh…
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The Region’s Top 10 Air Polluters
“The following is a list of the 10 facilities within the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area that released the greatest volume of toxic chemicals into the air in 2014 and 2015…
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Urban Planning Can’t Happen Without Black People in the Room—Yet It Does
The places we live even affect our bodies at the molecular level. Children from crime-ridden neighborhoods have higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, which is linked to learning problems,…
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Meet four Allegheny County women breaking glass ceilings as they run for mayor
“They clinched the Democratic primary nods in Bellevue, Carnegie, Duquesne and Wilkinsburg — and could become first-term mayors. . . . “They won by defeating one (or more) challengers in…
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Energy Companies Urge Trump To Remain In Paris Climate Agreement
“Ben van Beurden is the CEO of Shell, the giant energy company. Even though he’s in the business of selling fossil fuels, van Beurden tells NPR’s Ari Shapiro the U.S….
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Many Allegheny County cities, municipalities unprepared for shale gas drilling rebound
“Mr. Shields said his review of zoning ordinances in 130 Allegheny County municipalities found 56 with no zoning ordinance specific to oil and gas drilling and development, while another 30…
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Statement on 2018 budget proposal: “Communities need a partner, not austerity measures”
“There’s a lot of puzzling logic in this budget, but one point stood out to me above the others. It was the budget’s justification for cuts to transportation. Despite a…
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ATI-Allegheny Ludum Harrison plant to get more lenient air pollution permits
Allegheny Technologies Inc. could get more lenient air pollution permits for its steel mill in Harrison but still has to pay $50,000 in fines for violating its existing permits, according…
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Making America inefficient: the budget’s gory details
The deeply-divided Congress was already going to have trouble passing the 2018 appropriations bills. This extreme budget proposal certainly won’t help. Yet energy efficiency programs have always been about common…
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Gas numbers in opposite directions
Natural gas production in Pennsylvania amounted to a record 5.1 trillion cubic feet in 2016, keeping the commonwealth second only to Texas as a gas producer. The industry achieved the…
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EPA remains top target with Trump administration proposing 31 percent budget cut
S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, said in an interview that he was amazed the administration had not shifted course from its first proposal…
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Bill defining coal mining pollution advances in Pa. Senate
A bill that will make it harder to challenge underground coal mining permits because of their potential to damage streams advanced out of a Senate committee on Monday. The bill…
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Virginia Moves to Regulate Power Plants’ Carbon Pollution, Defying Trump
McAuliffe issued an executive order directing state environmental regulators to begin creating a market-based carbon-trading program. The mandatory cap-and-trade program would become the third in the country, after California’s statewide…
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Philadelphia aims to cash in on solar job boom
On a rooftop in Bryn Mawr, Delaware County, four men are working to install 18 solar panels on top of a four-bedroom house. They wear safety harnesses and helmets, lowering…
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“Walk Proud” on Crosswalks that Celebrate Pedestrians
Pedestrian crosswalks are taking on a life of their own! Creative designs are specifically tailored to celebrate pedestrians and walkability, while protecting them from inattentive motorists. Beyond that, the new…
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Clues Emerge in the Search for Affordable Housing
The search for affordable housing continues, as prices continue to rise nationwide. A key challenge to the quest for affordable housing is that existing homeowners want the price of their…
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Building Towns and Cities for Healthy Lifestyles
Getting enough exercise considerably reduces health risks and improves mood, strength, and quality of life. An increased overall quality of life sounds appealing, so why are a large number of…
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Self-Driving Technology and the Driverless City
At the center of self-driving technology, Pittsburgh is perched in the midst of what could be the future for cities across the US. Among the fears stirred by autonomous vehicles,…
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A private bond market emerges for low-income community development
The sale of $150 million in S&P-rated bonds caps years of work by community development financial institutions—with federal support the Trump Administration wants to eliminate. If you need an example…
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California is about to revolutionize climate policy … again — The state’s cap-and-trade program would be replaced by a new, sleeker one.
The changes that SB 775 proposes for the state’s carbon trading program are dramatic — and, to my eyes, amazingly thoughtful. I know some environmental groups have reservations (on which…
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The Rebirth of Shopping Malls-A New Possibility
Shopping malls can take up massive amounts of space. So with interest in them waning and many of them falling victim to vacancy and disrepair, what can be done? Taking…
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From Sewage Fumes to Vehicle Fuels!
What would you do if you could convert sewage fumes and use it for your public vehicles? Innovations, as such, are becoming a reality in Portland, Oregon. Adding to the…
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Finding Pennsylvania’s Solar Future
Clean, renewable solar energy is a vital to economic growth, environmental protection, and electrical grid resiliency in Pennsylvania. Finding Pennsylvania’s Solar Future is a 2017-2019 statewide planning project being led…
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Taking Blight into Your Own Hands
In the Pittsburgh’s Northside, neighbors took matters into their own hands under the State’s Blighted and Abandoned Property Conservatorship law by acquiring a deteriorating and dangerous property next to their…
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Will Gas Drilling Company Overturn The Way DEP Has Calculated Penalties For Nearly 40 Years? We’ll See
Sometime after June 12 the PA Supreme Court will schedule a hearing on one of the most important environmental cases in recent decades– will EQT drilling be successful in overturning…
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How housing policy over the last century has made Pittsburgh what it is today
This timeline of housing policies in Pittsburgh outlines many of these historic issues and attempts to shed light on how the city has evolved. For instance, urban renewal projects in…
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ACEEE City Energy Efficiency Scorecard
This report ranks 51 large U.S. cities on what they are doing to save energy in five key areas. Click on the map to go to database.aceee.org, where you can…
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DEP and 100 supporters urge high court to reverse limits on pollution fines
Nearly 100 Pennsylvania elected officials, environmental groups and businesses signed on to legal briefs this week to support the Department of Environmental Protection in a state Supreme Court case that…
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PhD Research Survey Request to SPI Readers: Would triple bottom line accounting accelerate investments in building energy efficiency?
Rohini Srivastava, LEED AP BD+C at Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics and DOE CBERD Researcher, is currently conducting a survey to understand how knowledge of longer term…
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Frack Off!
“In 2013, Long discovered that a drilling company sought to dump its wastewater into an abandoned gas well two and a half miles from her home. She and her mother,…
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Two more states successfully raise taxes & fees to invest new dollars in transportation
“Because of the same declining revenue sources that required the federal government to beg, borrow and deficit spend to fund the FAST Act in 2015 through 2020, states are increasingly…
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My defining moment? Earning a permanent seat at the table
But my defining moment as a CSO is definitely not to tell my CEO to tell someone else what they should do. It is to earn a place at his…
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3 big ways sustainable design will shape future cities
“By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, so our cities need to adapt to sustain this population influx. While digital transformation and the Internet…
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Under pressure, Trump punts on Paris climate deal
“Across industries, he said companies have different rationales for getting more involved in policy advocacy that once might have been considered well outside the scope of day-to-day business. “‘If you’re…
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Calling all CSOs: This is your defining moment
You start with this because your CEO needs to know that the situation we face right now represents a starkly moral issue for each of us as individuals. Even more…
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Sun instead of coal? Group wants owner to build solar array at shuttered Shenango Coke Works
“When a trio of Pittsburghers traveled to Boston this week to ask the leaders of DTE Energy to put a solar array in place of the company’s shuttered Shenango Coke…
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Patenting invention: Clean energy innovation trends and priorities for the Trump administration and Congress
“At just the moment when the U.S. clean energy innovation enterprise may be hitting a flat spot, the Trump administration has proposed draconian federal budget cuts that raise new concerns…
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Understanding in Order to Prepare: Ethane Cracker Risk and Disclosure
Highly-industrialized operations like petrochemical plants carry risks, including the possibility of large-scale disasters. In an effort to best prepare, stakeholders must understand these risks. The planned Shell ethane cracker and…
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Asthma at ‘epidemic’ levels in region’s schools, experts say on World Asthma Day
Ms. Buford said half of all schools in the U.S. have poor air quality, and school districts should have strategies in place to address the problem, including high-quality air circulation…
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First global standard for sustainable procurement hits the market
“The first standard of its kind in the world, ISO 20400 aims to help companies make better purchasing choices throughout their supply chains by establishing guidelines for companies to judge suppliers on…
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Taming air pollution: The region’s century-old challenge
“This is the introduction to a series of articles that will examine air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania, from where we are today in the struggle to tame air pollution to…
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Sustainability Dispatches: Virginie Helias, P&G
“At this time, we had a vice president of sustainability. He was a toxicologist — amazing at the science, but the connection with the business was loose. I flew to…
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3 ways to help your board get wiser about sustainability
“Meanwhile, BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager overseeing $5.1 trillion, told portfolio companies in the energy and real estate sectors that it expects a company’s “board to have demonstrable…
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Shale gas threat to forests can be eased by consolidating infrastructure
“So if Pennsylvania is to have core, interior forests left after shale-gas development ramps up in coming decades, policies regulating placement of well pads, pipelines, access roads and other infrastructure…
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Exxon released 10 million pounds of air pollution in Texas
“The judge ruled in favor of the Sierra Club and Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, finding Exxon violated the Clean Air Act 16,386 times between October 2005 and September 2013. “The…
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What it was like “Living Downwind” of Shenango Coke Works
“Members of Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN), the neighborhood group credited for taking down Shenango, don’t want people to forget how bad it was before the plant’s owner, the…
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The surprisingly short list of U.S. metro areas achieving inclusive economic growth
“These patterns indicate a “high-road” economic development strategy that prioritizes both high-skilled, innovative sectors like technology and middle-skill traded sectors like manufacturing and logistics can facilitate inclusive growth. This balance…
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Is employee activism on sustainability nearing a tipping point?
“A new survey shows that nearly two-thirds of those who work for large U.S. corporations want their employers to actively take on environmental and social issues. Full stop. “The survey…
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Pittsburgh 2030 progress report shows participation growth, millions in energy savings
“’We completed energy reduction projects across the system — energy and water use notably,’ he said. ‘Over the last three months, we’re averaging 25 percent [energy reductions] a month over…
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Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan receives National Planning Achievement Award for Environmental Planning – Silver
“The plan addresses six categories — energy, water, food, mobility, air, and equity. It has been instrumental in improving residents’ quality of life and changing the perception of water from a…
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Pitt professor tells local crowd that Shell will affect air quality
From Fabisiak’s perspective, one ethane cracker plant’s emissions are equivalent to 36,000 automobiles each traveling 12,000 miles a year. Or in simpler terms, it would represent a 25 percent increase…
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UN Environment launches Young Champions of the Earth Competition
“Today, on International Mother Earth Day, the United Nations Environment Programme will launch Young Champions of the Earth, a new initiative to spot young, talented people between the ages of…
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When You Think Monaca, The Borough Manager Wants You To Think ‘Green’
“Nearly 10 years ago, the manager of the Borough of Monaca started making the municipality a little more environmentally friendly. “90.5 WESA’s Mark Nootbaar spoke to Borough Manager Mario Leone…
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24 heads of Pittsburgh environmental groups unite to urge action: “We need your help.”
“In an unprecedented show of collaboration, 24 leaders of environmental groups in the Pittsburgh region stood together today to proclaim the importance of environmental protection for our region. “’Even after…
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The $2 billion question: The Mon-Fayette extension is not the best use for this money
With so many of the region’s roads and bridges in poor shape, it would be an awful shame to waste a huge sum on a project that isn’t needed. The…
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United They Stand – 24 Pittsburgh Nonprofits Unite for Environmental Justice in the Age of Trump
“’Earth Day 2017 has a special urgency,’ said Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, Court Gould, ‘given the rollbacks that are being articulated at the Federal level that will have a…
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Pittsburgh region’s air gets failing grade again, but it’s getting better
“The report ranked the region the eighth worst of more than 200 metropolitan areas in the nation for long-term (annual) soot pollution; the 14th worst for short-term or daily soot…
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Kraft Heinz says shareholder proposal withdrawn because of company’s sustainability efforts
“The group’s proposal had called for the company, dually headquartered in Pittsburgh and Chicago, to issue a comprehensive sustainability report addressing its environmental, social and governance performance and goals. The…
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Realizing the development potential along rail corridors
“In 2007, the City of Charlotte, NC opened its Lynx light rail line and this week, the Charlotte Business Journal took a look at what’s happening along the line 10…
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New Study Identifies Nine of the Worst Highway Projects Across the Country, $10 Billion in Taxpayer Dollars Wasted
“A new report by the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund and Frontier Group identifies nine of the most wasteful highway expansion projects across the country,…
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Working Women – Key Indicators for Understanding Our Region
Women account for a larger share of the southwestern Pennsylvania labor force than the national average — the result of a decades-long upward trend in a region where women had…
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#LetsMakeASEEN: The Door Campaign
“‘I was really passionate about urban agriculture, but wanted to find ways to combine it with education so that students could see sustainable ways of improving their own communities while…
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Diana Nelson Jones’ Walkabout: This Cranberry golf course is so much greener than you think
“The 18-hole course is one more link in Cranberry’s impressive record of responding to its growth responsibly. . . . “The Cranberry Highlands Golf Course could have been just a…
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Cranberry, Millvale, Ross join Pittsburgh as towns going green
“Cranberry and Millvale belong to an exclusive club today. They are among six municipalities in the state certified as top models of governance by Sustainable Pennsylvania. The others are Pittsburgh,…
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Air pollution around the world takes a staggering toll
“’Studies of long-term exposure to air pollution demonstrate that people living in more polluted locations die prematurely, compared with those living in areas with lower levels of pollution,’ the report…
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Contemplating Governing – Registration now open
The Local Government Academy is offering the Contemplating Governing course on the following dates/locations: Community College of Beaver County | Thursday 4/20/2017 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Community College…
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Coal’s Last Kick – As clean energy rises, West Virginia looks past Trump’s embrace of coal to what comes next
“There’s almost zero reason to be completely optimistic,” says Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy. “It’s a disservice to coal-mining communities to tell…
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Feds issue license for proposed hydroelectric plant for the Highland Park Dam at Aspinwall
“Hydroelectric power could be fueling the homes and businesses being developed in the Riverfront 47 project along the Allegheny River in Aspinwall and Sharpsburg by 2020. . . . “One…
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Public sounds off on DEP’s environmental justice policies
“‘They talk about improving the EJ policies, but there’s no money in the state budget to do that,” she said. “So I have a lack of trust. I’m happy the…
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A Toolbox of Green Infrastructure Solutions to Flooding Risks
“‘Naturally Resilient Communities is an interactive tool featuring 30 case studies of places that rely on nature-based solutions to protect themselves against climate threats like flooding and coastal erosion,’ reports Krutika Pathi…
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An eviction in Polish Hill shows affordable-housing issues go beyond Pittsburgh neighborhoods like East Liberty and Lawrenceville
“Polish Hill has mostly been off the Pittsburgh-housing-boom radar. But housing prices there have skyrocketed, and rents have steadily risen over the past few years. Also, private developers are taking…
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Despite Improvements, Report Finds Pittsburghers Still Breathe Some Of The Worst Air
“According to the report, the Pittsburgh metropolitan area experienced 220 days of elevated soot pollution in 2015, more than any city east of the Mississippi. Pittsburgh also experienced 93 days…
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Overdue: The next Copernican mindset shift
“Now, at a time when most current sustainability models center around people, markets and capitalism, it is time to put natural cycles — particularly the carbon cycle — at the…
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Sustainability Pioneers: “Home Sweet Home”
“Millions of people in the most vulnerable regions around the world are already being forced to leave their homes because of climate change. Almost 40 percent of all the US…
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Can solar power fuel mass transit?
“After studying the technical and economic issues for a year, my colleagues and I concluded that BART could increase the amount of on-site solar by means of PV installations on…
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Power Sector Carbon Index shows big drop in CO2 emissions, but more needs to be done
“When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professors Costa Samaras and Ines Azevedo wanted to measure the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by US electricity producers, they found themselves moving into…
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The Sustainability Officer and Real Estate Operations
“Sustainability is becoming a big issue in commercial real estate. For real estate developers and owners, it typically involves considering factors such as location, site design, architecture, stormwater management, LEED…
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Rapid transit proposal gets positive reviews at sessions
“The general sessions followed about 20 meetings with neighborhood groups since the project was unveiled last month. The system will put electric vehicles on dedicated lanes to cut travel time…
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Rethinking the role of the corporate sustainability officer
“The corporate sustainability officer should be a C-level executive and engaged in the development and communication of the company’s long-term strategy. The thought — at least in some in some…
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PNC Park joins stadium lighting revolution
“The team announced last week the installation of new LED stadium lights at PNC Park, an upgrade that will reduce glare and provide more uniform on-field illumination, as well as…
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Pittsburgh Today and Tomorrow 2017
The 2017 Pittsburgh Today and Tomorrow report, produced by Pittsburgh Today, analyzes recent data to assess the Pittsburgh region’s standing compared with 15 other regions in key economic and quality…
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Chatham University Moves Some Endowment Investments From Fossil Fuels To Green Companies
Chatham University is inching closer to divesting its $80 million endowment fund of investments in the fossil fuel industry. At a recent meeting of the investment committee of the Board…
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Draft NEER Principles and Operating Rules Released for Public Comment
The National Energy Efficiency Registry (NEER) is a web-based platform that will help states document achievement of energy and environmental goals, disclose regulated entities’ compliance activities, and drive voluntary investment…
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Eyes wide open: The cons, and pros, of a big petrochemical plant
As part of that planning process, county officials and community representatives might want to make their own trip to St. Charles and Ascension parishes and gather their own insights into…
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State energy factsheet: Pennsylvania
This report provides a fact-based overview of Pennsylvania’s power sector. It presents key metrics, highlights recent trends and discusses the outlook and opportunities for clean energy. Read more
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Here’s what locals said about Trump’s executive order on coal
“We are extremely pleased that President Trump has, once again, followed through on his promise to preserve coal jobs and low cost electricity in the United States. Indeed, President Obama…
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Buffalo used to be a city filled with millionaires. It plans to get rich again by betting against Trump.
. . . “What you see is a flat, wide mat that lays right on top of the road surface. And as vehicles drive over it, they’re pushing pressurized fluid…
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In Pennsylvania, Trump’s climate order met with anger and relief
“But over the long term, without the [Clean Power Plan], Pennsylvanians will pay the price in worsened air quality, decreased public health, and pass on even more severe climate risks to…
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Highway Projects Won’t Save the Rust Belt
“Although transportation-focused efforts encourage business development in some areas, they often have a negative impact on the vitality of downtown areas, existing business districts and adjacent neighborhoods. While better roads…
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Pittsburgh & Purpose – Philanthropy for the 21st Century
Now, Pittsburgh is at the forefront of the Purpose Economy with a new kind of corporate philanthropy that leverages people’s skills and expertise to advance the greater good. Skills-based volunteerism…
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Meet 9 badass women fighting climate change in cities
As a woman who has chronicled the technology business for close to three decades (ahem), I’m used to being at briefings where the gender demographics are way out of balance…
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Take the Survey: Bus Rapid Transit
The Bus Rapid Transit project is intended to better connect communities in the Downtown-Oakland-East End corridor, and more specifically connect residents to job centers, educational opportunities, medical services, and cultural…
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How New York Created a Solar Boom
As it turns out, New York City—the region’s densest metropolis—is in the midst of a solar boom, with installations in the residential sector leading the way. In 2016, the number…
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Making water safe from street to tap
If a resident’s lead testing indicates 8 ppb or 12 ppb, they should not, and must not, conclude that they are “safe” from lead in water. In fact, no amount…
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Census finds continuing population slide for Pittsburgh region
The place that suffered the second worst decline in numbers among 382 metro areas has been lauded by national media as among America’s most affordable, friendliest, restaurant-rich, appealing places to…
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10 facts about water policy and infrastructure in the US
From the water safety crisis in Flint, Michigan to the near-disaster with the Oroville Dam in California, a string of water-related events have made headlines, and called into question the…
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Proposed Cuts to EPA Budget Would Be “Immediate and Devastating”
The Trump administration’s final budget request includes a 31% reduction in funding to the Environmental Protection Agency. Cuts would be applied to both EPA programs and to grants given to…
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High temps, higher stakes: The Administration owes us an answer to a simple but vital question
Over the long haul, science and truth will inevitably prevail, but if this administration reverses recent progress and abandons a U.S. leadership role, then accelerating climate change and incalculable damage…
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As Mon-Fayette Expressway faces critical vote, Peduto, Fitzgerald voice concerns
The future of the $1.6 billion Mon-Fayette Expressway faces a crucial vote Monday, and two top local leaders say they aren’t convinced the project should move ahead… The Southwestern Pennsylvania…
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Keeping Pa. clean when EPA goes AWOL
In-depth research by Earthworks on natural gas processing and compression facilities in southwestern Pennsylvania, including infrared videos and air testing at nearby homes, shows that these facilities pollute the air…
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“Permitted to Pollute 2017”
Permitted to Pollute is an unprecedented study of how state regulatory oversight of oil and gas operations, authorized by the Clean Air Act to protect air quality and public health,…
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Brian O’Neill: Taking blight into your own hands
This new state law provided the mechanism for what she describes “as a surgical strike on blight.” There’s remaining paperwork, but the house on Juniata now belongs to Ms. Rosensteel…
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PNC shareholder proposal seeks workforce diversity stats
PNC’s board of directors is recommending that shareholders vote against the resolution, saying the bank was “seriously committed to increasing gender and racial diversity in the workplace,” but that it…
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The Region’s Top 10 Air Polluters
The following is a list of the 10 facilities within the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area that released the greatest volume of toxic chemicals into the air in 2014 and 2015…
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Up in the Air
This is the introduction to a series of articles that will examine air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania, from where we are today in the struggle to tame air pollution to…
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It looks like this year will be big for investor activism
So far in 2017, shareholder resolutions specifically related to social and environmental issues have increased to 430 from 370 resolutions last year, according to As You Sow’s annual Proxy Preview….
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Doctors join forces, warn climate change is harming our health
Climate change isn’t just happening in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica where more ice is melting year after year. Its impact is being felt right here at home, and it’s…
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Survey: Tell PennDOT What You Think
Every two years, the Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission and PennDOT update Pennsylvania’s Twelve Year Transportation Program. The open public comment period is March 6 – April 19, 2017. During this…
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The Mythical Link Between Immigrants and High Crime Rates
A large body of research, however, finds no link between immigration and high crime rates, with some studies suggesting places with more immigrants actually enjoy slightly lower crime rates. Still, critics often contend that illegal immigration leads to more crime as research has generally failed…
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Inclusionary Housing Policy Attracts Millennials
The fact is, in many metro areas, people who never considered themselves “low-income” are finding themselves priced out of the housing market altogether. Teachers, nurses, cops and accountants are just a few of those feeling the squeeze. If you’re a millennial working in customer service and eyeing that studio apartment near work and a transit stop…
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When Street Parking Becomes a Pop-Up Bus Lane
One morning last December, cones and small signs popped up along Broadway, the main drag in working-class Everett, Massachusetts. The modest change, replacing a mile of curbside parking with a temporary bus lane, had big implications. After a week, city officials said riders were saving so much time on their morning commutes that the bus lane…
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Your Neighborhood Affects How You Age
Some older adults are living in neighborhoods that may be making them sick. These communities aren’t safe, they’re not walkable, and they lack good public transportation and other resources. The fact that people may be living in these neighborhoods for decades is troubling, as the impact of poor conditions accumulates over time and leads to chronic health problems. While “aging in place” usually has positive connotations…
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LISTEN: To the 23%, a New Podcast, Featuring Women in Government
Governing Magazine recently released the first podcast in their new series titled, “The 23%: Conversations with Women in Government”.
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The SDGs: How can we sustain our optimism?
Ordinarily, an email from someone I’ve never met, asking for answers to many difficult questions, would end up pretty far down on my over-packed list of things to do. But…
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Plan for Bus Rapid Transit system takes next step forward
It’s called Bus Rapid Transit, but officials say the proposal unveiled Thursday to use electric vehicles between Downtown and Oakland would address an array of issues that include neighborhood renewal,…
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NRDC issue brief: Clean Energy & Efficiency Can Replace Coal for a Reliable, Modern Electricity Grid
This brief makes the case that it is cheaper and cleaner to replace retiring coal-fired power plants with wind and solar power and energy efficiency upgrades than to saddle the…
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A $2.5 trillion asset manager just put a statue of a defiant girl in front of the Wall Street bull
The money manager said it would vote against boards if a company failed to take steps to increase its number of members who are women. State Street plans to send…
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Help Wanted: Executive Director, Local Government Academy
Local Government Academy (LGA), a non-profit organization that develops excellence in local government through education, is seeking an Executive Director to lead the organization’s long-term strategic direction, oversee program development…
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State Transportation Commission – Twelve Year Transportation Program Update
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the State Transportation Commission (STC) is in the Public Comment Phase for the Update of its 2019 Twelve Year Transportation Program (TYP). An…
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Better Mobility for All: Regional Transportation Alliance Releases Vision to Guide Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Transportation Future
The status quo is not good enough anymore. That’s the conclusion of a major, 18-month effort to develop a new transportation vision for the 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania that…
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Why investors have fiduciary duty for the environment
Corporate disclosure of environmental data continued to grow in 2016. This is unlikely to relent in 2017, given the added pressure created by the Paris Agreement on climate change. Four…
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Report: Pittsburgh’s economy ‘prosperous’ but leaving some behind
The median wage grew 7 percent overall, but it was uneven for various sectors. The median wage among African-American residents in Pittsburgh plummeted by 20 percent, putting the region near…
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For Corporate Sustainability Professionals, Trump is the ‘Black Swan’ Event
Sustainability executives from companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Starbucks Corp. spoke about continued plans for sustainability initiatives on stage, but conference attendees also talked about new…
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Shale gas driller fined $1.2M for contaminating drinking water in Westmoreland
More than four years after a WPX Energy Appalachia wastewater impoundment leaked and contaminated the drinking water of five Westmoreland County families, the shale gas company has agreed to pay…
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The Black Experience
Pittsburgh’s African-Americans often leave or languish in region Read more
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Sustainability Indicators: Unemployment Trends in Pittsburgh
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy suffered less during the last recession than most regions and one key reason was that unemployment was relatively stable when other places were reeling with more widespread…
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New Video: The Story of Microfibers
Most of us wear synthetic fabrics like polyester everyday. Our dress shirts, yoga pants, fleeces, and even underwear are all increasingly made of synthetic materials—plastic, in fact. But these fabrics…
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Why doesn’t Pittsburgh appeal to young African-American professionals? A report dives in
Lane, one of the founders of AANC, said the project was sparked by conversations about other cities. “Lots of us in government or community development got talking about the presence…
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State funding to DEP is inadequate, says advisory panel
In a letter sent Tuesday to state Senate Appropriations Committee chairs Patrick Browne and Vincent Hughes, DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council chairman William Fink says the cuts are threatening the agency’s…
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Doubling Down on Infrastructure
But the repair and replacement of these monumental infrastructure systems in their current configurations does not reflect social, environmental, and technological advances that have occurred over the last half century….
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How are metro areas prioritizing health and building more biking and walking projects?
This new paper, produced with the American Public Health Association, outlines four policy levers MPOs have at their disposal to help increase and improve active transportation projects to meet the demand,…
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Registration Now Open for Good Deeds Day PGH
Good Deeds Day is an international celebration of doing good! Since its launch in 2007, this annual tradition of good has attracted an ever expanding number of participants and four…
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Why the time is right to chart a new sustainability course
These visionaries deliberately disrupt their own business model, adopting plans to rethink and transform their entire industry. Other shifts include: turning away from viewing sustainability as a trade-off toward seeing…
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Cancer Rates Are Dropping — But Not In Rural Appalachia
“People don’t think a lot about their health, especially right now, with our economy,” said Ashley Teague, a regional cancer control specialist for the Kentucky Cancer Program. “They’re more worried…
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Former President Carter leases 10 acres of his farmland to build 1.3-megawatt solar power station
The single axis tracker (which tracks the sun) solar array installed on Carter’s property is projected to produce more than 55 million kilowatt hours of clean energy for Plains over…
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Pennsylvania confirms first fracking-related earthquakes
In April 2016, Texas-based Hilcorp Energy Company was fracking a pair of wells in the Utica Shale near New Castle, Pennsylvania when seismic monitors nearby detected five tremors, measuring between…
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Energy grid operator PJM to invest $1.5B in upgrading aging infrastructure
“The growing need to replace aging infrastructure, energy efficiency and the resulting reduction in the growth of demand for electricity are affecting transmission development,” Andrew Ott, PJM president and CEO,…
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Carbon is not the enemy- William McDonough
Let’s keep those carbon bridges open on all landscapes — rural and urban. Let’s use carbon from the atmosphere to fuel biological processes, build soil carbon and reverse climate change….
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Engaging the C-suite to reach global goals
Another supportive CEO is Unilever’s Paul Polman, who has embedded sustainable business practices into his company’s activities and has created added value throughout its supply chain: “The SDGs present a…
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Temperatures in the Arctic are skyrocketing — for the third time this winter
“As that sea ice moves northward, there’s a huge reservoir of heat over the North Atlantic,” Mr. Moore said. “As we lose the sea ice, it allows essentially this reservoir…
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A Formula for Disaster: Calculating Risk at the Ethane Cracker
While the site of the Shell cracker is worth attending to, it would be a mistake to limit assessments of disaster risk to the site of the facility alone. Shell’s…
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Sustainability Indicators – Recreational opportunities in the Pittsburgh region
Southwestern Pennsylvanians think highly of the parks, trails and other recreational amenities in the region and survey data suggest most base their views on firsthand knowledge. The accessibility and quality…
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New technical assistance opportunity for MPOs interested in performance measures
Today T4America is launching a new technical assistance program to help metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) go further with measuring and quantifying the multiple benefits of transportation spending decisions to help…
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Bloomberg/Sustainable Business Council: Consumer Energy Spending Plummets In 2016
American consumers spent less than 4 percent of their total annual household spending on energy in 2016, the smallest share ever recorded by the U.S. government, a new study finds….
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Alcosan to provide $9M to help stem sewage overflows via 32 municipal projects
Alcosan, its municipal members, the city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority are federally mandated to end illegal wet weather discharges into the region’s waterways from 53…
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Solar advocates see hope for the future after industry jobs grow in Pennsylvania
Solar installations in Allegheny County doubled from 51 in 2015 to 107 in 2016, according to a state database of power generating units. Solarize Allegheny has nurtured the sales of at least…
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The Allegheny Front: PA has a big problem with drinking water safety. Here’s how to fix it.
This week on The Allegheny Front, we dig deeper into Pennsylvania’s growing problem enforcing safe drinking water standards and chat with the climate change skeptic who’s shaping Trump’s environmental policy. Read…
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Help Wanted: Zero Waste Specialist
The Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit environmental organization, is one of the oldest grassroots environmental organizations (founded in 1939) in the Commonwealth. PRC’s mission is to lead…
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Sustainability Indicators: Water quality in SWPA
Levels of bromide and total dissolved solids have improved in the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in recent years. But the future is uncertain due to potential new sources. This…
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Why 98% of Companies Do Not Achieve Their Sustainability Goals
Many CEOs want to make a difference. Convinced that companies should play a positive role in environmental stewardship and social development, they declare sustainability a top priority, launch a transformation…
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Better Business, Better World report
The Business & Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) has now launched its flagship Better Business, Better World report. This report sets out to map the economic prize that could be available to…
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Sustainability Indicators – General Health Trends in Pittsburgh
The prognosis for residents’ health in southwestern Pennsylvania is mixed. Heart disease deaths declined over a recent 10-year period in Allegheny County, the most populous of the seven Pittsburgh Metropolitan…
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U.S. Clean Energy Jobs Surpass Fossil Fuel Employment
The recently published 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report by the U.s. Department of Energy shows that clean electricity jobs are no doubt the engine that drives America’s electric energy economy, outstripping…
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Blake introduces energy financing bill
Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, said the bill gathering bipartisan support would provide low-cost financing to meet pent-up demand to modernize commercial properties by installing solar panels, LED lights and…
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House Republicans Vote to End Rule Stopping Coal Mining Debris From Being Dumped in Streams
. . . It is that aspect of the law that frightens environmental groups that have fought for years for the coal-mining rule and another rule to restrict energy companies…
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The State of Green Business, 2017
Companies and markets dislike uncertainty, of course, so the coming year or two may see head-snapping policy shifts as the public and private sector grapple with two seemingly unstoppable forces:…
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Pitt to launch Master of Science in Sustainable Engineering program this summer
Answering a demand for professional programs that help students find sustainable solutions to regional and global engineering issues, the University of Pittsburgh this summer has designed a new Master of…
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Life After Shenango: One-year Anniversary of Coke Plant’s Closing
We have found that since Shenango shut down, the improvement in air quality has been significant. In the first quarter of 2015, the Health Department received 109 complaints from the…
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The irreversible momentum of clean energy
Since 2008, the United States has experienced the first sustained period of rapid GHG emissions reductions and simultaneous economic growth on record. Specifically, CO2 emissions from the energy sector fell…
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State Street Nudges Corporate Boards on Climate, ESG
Climate change is no longer listed as a top issue on the White House website, but it’s very much at the forefront for $2.47 trillion asset manager State Street Global…
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Hiring: Communications Director
Green Building Alliance is seeks to fill the position of Communications Director. This full-time position manages all strategic cross-departmental marketing and communications initiatives for Green Building Alliance. The Director is…
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Susan LeGros on holding energy companies to a higher standard
But the investment community looks really closely at environmental stewardship and they are very focused on the oil and gas sector. They are very much in favor of this kind…
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Sustainable investing goes beyond ‘pure imagination’
More than $8.7 trillion of investment capital is managed using ESG factors in U.S. markets. But Karp, a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF), a founding member of the…
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As OK frackquakes spiked, Trump EPA pick fought the EPA
Rachel Maddow reports on how Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt did not try to prosecute fracking companies for the sudden rise in man-made earthquakes, but instead went after the EPA,…
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How These Top Companies Are Getting Inclusion Right
When it comes to fostering an environment where employees feel encouraged to contribute, some companies consistently get it right, according to rankings like the DiversityInc Top 50, Great Place to…
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The Allegheny Front: Trump’s in. Here’s what he can (and can’t) do to environmental laws.
This week on The Allegheny Front, we explore just what President Trump can and can’t do to environmental regulations and preview a new PBS documentary about famed environmentalist Rachel Carson. Read more
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9 ways companies are making a difference, Citigroup to SolarCity
The world finally bid 2016 goodbye and welcomed 2017 with open arms. In the middle of all the cynicism, social upheaval and increasing materialism of last year, some companies took…
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2017 Call for Stories about Black Male Leaders
The honor is designed to provide recognition, funding and networking opportunities to black men who are helping to build prosperous communities. Application deadline: Feb. 21.
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USDOT rewrites congestion rule in response to outpouring of feedback
At long last, USDOT has finalized new requirements for how states and metro areas will have to measure traffic congestion and in the final rule — responding to the outpouring…
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How furniture is saving the planet
The SFC has grown from an initial 70 companies to more than 400 members. It has also partnered with the World Wildlife Fund and the American Sustainable Business Council, according…
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Earth sets a temperature record for the third straight year
Fifteen events caused $1 billion or more in damages, for a total loss of $46 billion. They were part of more than 200 weather and climate disasters the United States…
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Yes, Americans are divided – but not on the environment
The results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election exposed some deep rifts in the American psyche and leave many of us feeling more divided than ever as Donald Trump takes…
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Sustainability Indicators: Mobility Trends in Pittsburgh
An easy commute is hard to come by in the Pittsburgh region. Traffic delays are longer, transit use lags and transportation costs consume a significant share of household income in…
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Which Cities Are Gentrifying?
One possible explanation is that people with money simply like to live in walkable regions with strong downtowns. Another possible explanation is that inner-ring midcentury suburbs are declining everywhere, but…
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Brian O’Neill: Put methane in its place, not the atmosphere
It’s not often we see legislation that eases the way for the emission of methane and other volatile organic compounds we’d be better off not breathing, but America’s Largest Full-Time…
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Help Wanted: Living Product Challenge Manager
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) seeks a talented, high energy Living Product Challenge (LPC) Manager to join our staff. The LPC Manager will be responsible for the growth and…
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Uber Offers City Planners a Slice of Traffic Data
The site, dubbed “Movement,” curates GPS data from more than 2 million trips, and it could be a helpful tool for observing traffic patterns and reducing congestion. Uber claims that…
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With a record $1.4 trillion in sustainability assets, investors bail on fossil fuels
As President-elect Donald Trump puts together his fossil fuel-focused administration, the investment community is moving full speed in the opposite direction, instead putting their bets on emissions reductions and support…
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7 exceptional sustainability podcasts you should tune in to
A bumper crop of new green podcasts has materialized since my last round-up, so here is the 2017 edition of exceptional shows worth your ear. All the picks in the list…
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The expanding role of sustainability leadership
My respondents feel that as sustainability moves out from under the tent of segregated functions such as “supply chain,” “compliance,” “environmental health and safety” and “government affairs,” and into the…
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630+ Businesses to Trump: Support the Low Carbon Economy
In today’s letter addressed to the incoming Trump administration and Congress more than 630 companies and investors reaffirmed their support for U.S. policies that will accelerate a low-carbon economy and…
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Northern states need immigrants
They are the only answer to slow growth in industrial states like Pennsylvania Perversely, if the economy improves under Mr. Trump, one indication will be the accelerated decline of the…
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Parcel Scale Green Infrastructure Siting and Cost Effectiveness Analysis
About This Map: Potential green infrastructure project sites published here were estimating[sic] using planning-level siting criteria applied discretely to each parcel in the City of Pittsburgh. These criteria are summarized…
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Health Hazards of Wood Smoke Pollution
Dr. Brian Moench, M.D., Utah Physician’s for a Healthy Environment and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists Read more
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Shell to tie executive bonuses to greenhouse gas goals Company to screen future investments for ‘long-term carbon intensity’
Royal Dutch Shell plans to link part of its executive bonuses to greenhouse gas emissions and conduct more active screening of future investments to further efforts to reduce the energy…
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U.S. Dept. of Energy – Cabinet Exit Memo
The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz provides his report to the President of the United States in this Cabinet Exit Memo. Read more
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Apps, Intelligent Transportation Systems Improving Safety for Pedestrians
MAPS is one example of a booming group of technologies, ranging from apps to software in cars to connected infrastructure, that are poised to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in…
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China Is Pumping Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Into New Renewable Energy Projects by 2020
China has been pulling out all stops to create a clean-tech revolution. Last year, a Chinese firm topped a reputable global ranking for wind energy production for the first time,…
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Here’s why 2017 will be the year of the circular economy revolution
The seeds of many such partnerships came to fruition in 2016 — CE 100 came to the U.S., the Chamber of Commerce Foundation built a CE focus area for their membership,…
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Top 13 Clean Energy Developments of 2016
While certain events in the past year may have had some people scratching their heads, we can look back on 2016 with a lot of gratitude. We’re not just talking…
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And the Best Street Transformation of 2016 Is…
Last week we asked readers to choose their favorite American street transformation of 2016. Six finalists were in the running. These projects sped up bus trips for tens of thousands of riders (San Francisco), improved…
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Sustainability Indicators – Graduation Rates
High school graduation rates are improving in southwestern Pennsylvania overall. Yet, in a handful of districts, nearly a third or more students fail to graduate on time. This brief is…
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Sustainability Indicators – Racial Equity
The racial and ethnic demographics of southwestern Pennsylvania are changing, just as they are across the nation. The share of the population held by African American, Asian, Hispanic and other…
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Elizabeth Twp. Sustainable Certified
Elizabeth Township announced Friday that it is among high-performing municipalities recognized by the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification Program. Read more
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Eyes on Your Performance: Big Data + Market Forces are Driving Tech Innovation for Sustainable Enterprise
The sustainability genie is out of the bottle! Expectations for ESG performance are now widely held among investors, insurers, portfolio managers and customers. So much so that the U.S. Securities…
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I love Pittsburgh, but this air is killing us
Before making a decision to relocate, we researched different states and cities where our son’s needs would be met, determined to find a good place to call home where we…
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Costa Rica modernized without wrecking the environment. Here’s how.
Costa Rica has a long way to go, but it’s still a worthy role model for pulling populations out of poverty. If Namibia or Haiti could look like Costa Rica…
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Sustainability Indicators: Air Quality
The days when Pittsburgh earned the reputation as the “Smokey City” may be long gone, but the quality of the region’s air remains a concern. Air quality has improved across…
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BigBurgh tracks 170 free services for vulnerable populations
Since its debut last August, BigBurgh has provided a way for vulnerable and homeless populations in Pittsburgh to access various resources throughout the city. Now the app—actually a “mobile-optimized” web…
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Trump ushers in the next phase of sustainable business
As a result, the first phase of business sustainability — integrating these practices within core corporate functions — is inadequate for the scope of the issues we face. Using this model, we…
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From Smokestacks to Robots: the Pittsburgh Story and the Future of Work
These types of efforts, along with many others, are examined in our National League of Cities report, The Future of Work in Cities. The report analyses the shifting nature of…
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Close To $25 Billion Spent To Secure Green Infrastructure Worldwide In 2015
The report found that the $24.7B spent in 2015 either protected, rehabilitated, or created new habitat on 486 million (M) hectares of land – an area 1.5 times the size…
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3 reasons fossil fuel companies should reveal their reserves
Fossil fuel companies hold vast oil, gas and coal reserves that help determine their market value. These reserves are also the basis to understanding the potential climate risks of burning…
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Potter Township hearing on Shell cracker still not closed
After more than 10 hours of testimony, Potter Township supervisors went home Tuesday night without a vote on a conditional use permit for the Shell Chemical’s ethane cracker being built…
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Sustainability Indicators: Environmental Ethic
The environmental ethic among southwestern Pennsylvanians is complex. More than 86 percent of those who live in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area agree that individual citizens should be responsible for…
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The 4 pillars of a corporate sustainability program
These four principles can serve as guidelines for executives to develop more effective sustainability structures. Principle 1: Sustainability rests on a continuum Principle 2: Identify your core purpose Principle 3:…
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The Allegheny Front: Headwaters
In many ways, the Ohio River is an unsung resource for the region it serves. The Ohio’s near-thousand-mile course flows through Pennsylvania and five other states before emptying into the…
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“Growth, Carbon, and Trump: State Progress and Drift on Economic Growth and Emissions `Decoupling’’’
Entitled “Growth, Carbon, and Trump: State Progress and Drift on Economic Growth and Emissions `Decoupling,’’’ the new analysis offers an important perspective on where continued climate and energy progress may…
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Sustainability reporting in stock exchanges ‘comes of age’
By reporting on sustainability issues, companies tend to act more sustainably, Zhan said, explaining the incentive of a positive correlation between strong sustainable performance and financial performance. The private sector…
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Ellwood wins sustainability certification
The borough received recognition at the silver level of certification for meeting the program’s criteria, which tracks 131 policies and practices that define a sustainable community. To earn the designation,…
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Vote for your favorite UpPrize Idea
UpPrize is a social innovation challenge to solve some of the most important issues of our day. The sponsors of UpPrize are seeking to fund and support product or service…
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Audit: Vague guidelines led to improper spending of Pa.’s impact fees
Act 13 was deliberately broad but it has several flaws, the audit found. Its 13 “vague” guidelines for how local governments can spend impact fees do not clearly delineate what…
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Most States Are Combating Climate Change and Growing Their Economies
A new Brookings Institution report compares state’s recent economic growth to changes in carbon emissions. In all, 33 states and the District of Columbia achieved reductions in emissions while expanding…
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Millvale honored at state level for sustainability
Millvale is the first borough in Pennsylvania to attain the highest level in a program that recognizes achievement in sustainability. . . “Beyond saving tax dollars and making sure our…
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Car-Free Bridges: Are They the Future?
“A bridge should be about moving people,” says Veronica O. Davis, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Transportation Policy Committee. “To some extent, we’ve been using the…
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City of Pittsburgh and PWSA Release Draft City-Wide Green First Plan for Public Comment
Today, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) released its comprehensive draft City-Wide Green First Plan for public comment. The plan outlines how Pittsburgh intends…
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Resilience Generation (ReGen) Resources – Applications due Dec. 2
Resilient communities are comprised of both strong social networks and accessible resources enabling residents to address both chronic and acute shocks that may affect their health and well-being. For this…
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Can coal miners become solar technicians?
Advocates for renewable energy are typically consumed with matters such as technology development, cost competitiveness and policy support for deploying solar, wind and other renewables. But the social dimension of…
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The mission behind Mastercard’s SDG master plan
. . . One year ago, the company, which has made financial “inclusiveness” a key pillar of its long-term growth strategy, made a very public commitment to all 17 of…
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This stunning world map shows the awful state of air pollution
This three-dimensional interactive world map, produced by an award-winning French start-up company based in Beijing, makes it easier for everyone to gauge the depth of the problem. . . . “We…
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U.S. Voters Approve Billions for Transit and Green Space
In November, voters across the United States endorsed numerous state and local ballot measures approving additional funding for green space, land conservation, and public transportation… While transit measures received widespread…
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As population declines, Westmoreland County residents asked to reimagine their county
The plan will provide a policy agenda for quality-of-life issues such as land use, housing, parks, infrastructure, transportation and more over the next 10 to 20 years, according to a…
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Canada to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030
The move is in stark contrast to President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to revive the American coal industry. . . . Four of Canada’s 10 provinces still use coal-based electricity. Read…
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New Pitt Seed Grant Encourages Students to Get Their Hands Dirty for Sustainability
The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) has provided seed funding of $49,912 for a new research and education effort that will look at changes in soil moisture, particularly in…
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Sustainability Indicators: Regional Poverty
Poverty remains a stubborn problem for most regions in the United States and southwestern Pennsylvania is no exception. The rate of poverty in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Areas remained…
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2 Vanpool Groups Looking for Riders
CommuteInfo, the region’s one stop shop for ridesharing services, has two vanpool groups in need of riders. One vanpool begins in Sarver and goes to downtown Pittsburgh. Arrive for work…
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Covestro, WindStax to continue collaboration on sustainable business practices
Jerry MacCleary, president of Covestro’s North American region, and Ron Gdovic, founder and chief executive of WindStax, are the founding partners of CEOs for Sustainability. About 18 regional executives are…
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Open Letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Climate Action
As President, you will have the power to expand and accelerate these local initiatives which the people resoundingly supported. We call upon you and the federal government you will lead…
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Sprout Fund offers $100k for local projects during Trump’s first 100 days
Ryan Coon, program officer at the Sprout Fund, says 100 Days is a non-partisan initiative aimed at “developing a mechanism to help people support what is most important to them…
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Pittsburgh awarded $50 million in tax credits for new development
The NMTC program is intended to help “economically distressed communities” attract private capital for new developments. Of 238 applicants nationwide, only 120 had their requests granted. . . This is the…
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PNC Bank announces $100 million fund to acquire affordable rental housing properties
Pittsburgh’s biggest bank on Wednesday said it has closed a $100 million fund that will be used to preserve affordable rental housing for families and senior citizens. PNC Bank, part…
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Pitt Study Shows Buses Main Source of Diesel Pollution
Although public transportation like Pittsburgh’s Port Authority reduce the total number of vehicles on the road, the emissions from its buses are still a leading contributor to air pollution Downtown,…
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Beyond Reporting: 3 principles for weaving sustainability into communication
Sustainability leaders go “beyond reporting” by using more than traditional print and web mediums to communicate performance. The best follow three key principles: Be consistent; be repetitive; and be strategic….
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In Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods, a natural gas leak every 2 miles
When a Google Street View car carrying a methane-sniffing sensor drove around half a dozen Pittsburgh neighborhoods over the past year, it picked up 200 indications of gas leaking from…
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Explore 100 city solutions for a greener and fairer future
Here are 100 solutions from 61 cities which show how local governments around the world are taking the necessary steps to mitigate and adapt to climate change, while at the…
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Pittsburgh Joins the City Energy Project
Mayors from 10 U.S. cities today announced that they are joining the City Energy Project, a united effort to address their largest source of energy use and climate pollution: buildings….
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Sustainability Report indicator – Regional Housing Trends
More southwestern Pennsylvanians have been able to find housing that fits their budgets in the past decade, despite steadily rising home values and rents. But there are stark disparities in…
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Sustainable Investors Find the Positives in Trump Win
Even though ESG investors expect increased uncertainty and setbacks in the global fight for climate change, they also expect the election result to galvanize more private responsible investment. Read more
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PolicyLink – Our Response: Resistance!
After a moment of reflection, we are comforted by the strength, resilience, and unconquerable nature of the equity movement. We are also clear on our next steps. Our purpose —…
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Companies Grapple With Diversity Questions After U.S. Election
Diversity issues have come to the fore as the presidential campaign exposed and deepened bitter divisions on matters such as the treatment of women and minorities; the rights of lesbian,…
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B Inspired by the purpose-driven businesses of Pennsylvania
Now Philadelphia will host an international gathering of B Corps: The “Champions Retreat” is a private event for B Corps representatives, culminating in “B Inspired,” a public event on October…
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Sustainable Pittsburgh – Our air quality is a stain on the region
We cannot win the competition for investment, talent, business, job growth, etc., while perpetuating our indignant affair with a model for progress that is no longer legitimate in a world…
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Sustainability Report indicator – Regional Crime Trends
Public safety has improved significantly in Pittsburgh, with property and violent crime rates falling more than 20 percent from 2003 to 2014. But crime remains disproportionately high in some neighborhoods. …
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Video Footage from p4 Conference is Now Available
Presentations from the p4 Conference are now available on the p4 website. To view the video, click on the speaker’s name on the schedule. View here
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Doggerel, on cities – COP22: Cities, climate action, and scalable solutions
Last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Paris resulted in a historic agreement, with nations formally committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This year’s COP22 in Marrakech includes a conference…
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Regional Energy Use by Pittsburgh Today
In a region where coal was once king, nearly half of the electricity consumed today is generated from non-carbon sources. Yet, wind, solar and other renewable sources claim a tiny…
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Gov. Wolf: DEP To Begin Statewide Solar Energy Planning Project In January
Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday announced a statewide planning project, led by the Department of Environmental Protection, to put Pennsylvania in a better position to produce more solar energy and increase…
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The World Passes 400 PPM Threshold. Permanently
That all but ensures that 2016 will be the year that carbon dioxide officially passed the symbolic 400 ppm mark, never to return below it in our lifetimes, according to…
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The Allegheny Front presents Headwaters, series on future of our region’s water resources.
In many ways, the Ohio River is an unsung resource for the region it serves. The Ohio’s near-thousand-mile course flows through Pennsylvania and five other states before emptying into the…
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Clean Power PA Coalition Amasses Statewide Support for Clean Energy Program
The Clean Power PA Coalition today submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) featuring strong statewide support of the agency’s proposed Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP). Over 100…
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Scott and Brian Wolovich on the Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan and a more sustainable Pittsburgh
Recently, the Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan—which kicked off in 2012 and is now in its second phase of development—was one of five projects to receive a Planning Excellence Award from…
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Amish oppose use of drilling ‘brine’ wastewater on roads
There are 44 miles of dirt roads in rural Farmington Township, Warren County, hard against the New York state line, and it’s not uncommon to see horse-drawn Amish buggies clip-clopping…
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A How-to Guide on Job Searching with Disability
The apprehension on both sides contributes to unfortunate statistics: The Labor Department reports the employment-population ratio for people with disabilities was 20.8 percent in January 2013. Their unemployment rate was…
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Doctors call for state ban on drilling and fracking
The Pennsylvania Medical Society has called for a moratorium on new shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing and is urging the state to establish an independent health registry and start…
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Renewable energy projects outpace non-renewables added to global electric supply in 2015
It’s a development that speaks to a “transformation of global power markets,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. China, for instance — the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and greatest…
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Small business backs new climate disaster legislation
Small business owners are very concerned about climate change. Polling from ASBC found that nearly one in five already had been affected by climate change, and more than 30 percent…
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Is the Infrastructure ‘Time Bomb’ Beginning to Blow?
At first glance, a neighborhood with fewer large homes valued at $600,000 to $900,000 might look more fiscally sustainable than a neighborhood with more modestly priced homes. But Jeff Schug,…
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Pittsburgh Botanic Garden brims with life after abandoned mine cleanup
A “living museum” of plant collections and walking trails, the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden sits on land once used for farmland, strip mines and deep mines. It has since undergone work…
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Black church leaders stress issues of environmental injustice, stewardship
Organizers said Baltimore is known for inspiring discussion about racism across the country after the rioting last year sparked by the death of Freddie Gray, but few connect with issues…
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p4: tough talk about making Pittsburgh a more sustainable, inclusive city
It was an unsettling, in-another-person’s-shoes scenario that made the point and set the tone for a conference that was unlike any other in Pittsburgh. Straight talk about race. Uncomfortable questions…
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Vitali: Bill prevents municipalities from addressing plastic bag problems
Specifically, under the bill, H.B. 1280, municipalities would be prohibited from imposing a ban, fee, surcharge or tax on a single-use plastic bag provided by a retail establishment such as…
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Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’
I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is…
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p4 Performance Measures
The p4 Performance Measures project has been an intensive year-long process to develop an evaluation tool that will inform the prioritization of investments in real estate development projects located in…
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The Road to Sustainability
A new report commissioned by the nonprofit Sustainable Pittsburgh examines the region’s progress across more than three dozen environmental, economic, social equity, quality of life and performance indicators of sustainability….
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NETL partners with City of Pittsburgh & Regional Stakeholders to help design and implement a 21st century energy infrastructure
Under the memorandum, the Laboratory is helping Pittsburgh with: Creating social responsible networks of distributed energy generation and storage systems to increase resiliency, reduce carbon footprint, and improve efficiency Providing…
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Bus Rapid Transit system between Oakland, Downtown progressing
A consultant working for the agency has narrowed the possible path for the system to two choices, one using Fifth and Forbes avenues and the other through the Uptown neighborhood,…
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County late on permits for major polluters, groups say
Two of the permit renewals have been pending for more than 20 years. Others have been delayed for 19, nine, eight and six years, the petition said. The department also…
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Why we need to start giving a damn about the Ohio River
This week on The Allegheny Front, we kick off a new series exploring how the restoration of the heavily polluted Ohio River could be critical to the region’s future. Read more
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Arcadis ranks Pittsburgh among 15 most-sustainable U.S. cities
Pittsburgh received strong marks in the areas of education, gross domestic product per capita, ease of doing business and providing clean drinking water and good sanitation services. . . To…
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Pennsylvania shows the way toward a clean energy future
After hearing oral arguments last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is now deliberating on a case that could determine the fate of the federal Clean Power Plan (CPP)….
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A story of two girls: Why being black means more scrutiny and punishment in Pittsburgh schools
Why does Kelis Campbell feel pressure to work twice as hard as so many others? She realized it in the seventh grade. Simple reasons: She is black. And she is…
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Unique partnership pairs corporate professionals with area municipalities on sustainability projects
October marks the completion of a successful pilot program to provide corporate pro-bono technical assistance to municipalities on a diverse range of sustainability projects. The program matched corporate volunteer professionals…
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Why does Pittsburgh’s workforce lack diversity?
To diversify the region’s workforce and workplaces, Heuck said the city and county must accomplish three things: provide jobs that people want, have an affordable place for them to live…
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The new crosswalks at 11th and Penn are more than just pretty designs
The crosswalk project began as an effort to narrow and realign traffic lanes on 11th Street in order to slow drivers. Envision Downtown was also “able to include this more visual piece…
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This old mill town turned tragedy into economic opportunity
Millvale’s borough manager, Amy Rockwell, concurs that businesses interested in Millvale are also interested in the sustainable practices preached by the community. “Businesses seem to be focusing on sustainable practices…
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Secretary Foxx Participates in White House Frontiers Conference, Announces Nearly $65 Million in Advanced Technology Transportation Grants
Pittsburgh, PA, will receive nearly $11 million to execute elements of the vision it developed in its Smart City Challenge application, including deployment of smart traffic signal technology – proven…
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Cities turn a new leaf to count the ROI of trees
Pittsburgh takes its regional sustainability issues very seriously, as our column described last year. Sustainable Pittsburgh has been collaborating with a range of regional organizations over the last 18 years…
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Re:NEW Festival wraps up with tons on tap
A citywide celebration of all things creative reuse, sustainability and transformation, the first-of-its-kind Re:NEW Festival is gearing up for its final leg, with tons on tap over the next six…
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International art show features masterpieces from Pittsburgh Public students, teachers
From bottle caps blooming in a garden to men’s dress shirts recycled into messenger bags, the artwork of gifted students from Pittsburgh Public Schools represents the city’s creative talent as…
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Dine Out; Win Prizes! Now thru 10/9
Celebrate Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurants during the Re:NEW Festival – now through October 9! Check out international art exhibits, talks, tours, and workshops focused on creative reuse, sustainability, and transformation. While you’re…
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Almost One-Third of Major Sources of Air Pollution in Southwestern PA Do Not Have a Current Operating Permit
And while the stale permits sit, emissions could be increasing. The Environmental Integrity Project, working with GASP, analyzed emissions data for these sources and found that some facilities with expired…
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Business action on the SDGs: Insights from GSK
In this installment, Priya Madina, director of government affairs and global issues at pharmaceutical company GSK, shares how the business is eyeing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Read more
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The dos and don’ts of CR reporting
The rules and trends in sustainability reporting continue to change rapidly, particularly among Fortune 500 companies. As we approach the beginning of a new reporting cycle, our Corporate Responsibility team…
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Whose country is it, anyway?
Of course, there was a time, as recently as the 1950s, that the United States was for all practical concerns a white man’s country. White women were less powerful, too….
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2017 Rudy Bruner Award Call for Entries
Applications for the 2017 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence are now being accepted. The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) is a national urban design award that seeks to…
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European Union Ratifies Global Climate Deal
The European Union approved the ratification of the global climate deal, a step that is set to enable the most sweeping accord to combat pollution to come into force less than…
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What are the Secrets to a Long, Healthy Life? From Japan’s Longest-Lived Prefecture, Nagano
Among Japan’s 47 prefectures, Nagano has the longest average life expectancy for both men and women. It leads Japan not only in terms of average life expectancy, but has also…
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Why the SDGs are leading a global transformation
The way I explain them, the SDGs are nothing short of a diplomatic miracle. They have gifted the world with its first truly universal vision of a positive future. The…
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court rightly rules for transparency
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week struck down as unconstitutional several provisions in Act 13, the 2012 state law that revamped regulations in the oil and gas sector. Two of…
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New Map Illustrates Clean Energy’s Broad Reach in Pa.
E2’s Pennsylvania Clean Energy Map shows the location of clean energy businesses across the state as well as sites where renewable energy is generated. The purpose of the map is…
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To anyone who rides the bus in Pittsburgh: PA turnpike debt is threatening your commute
The Port Authority of Allegheny County could be in jeopardy of losing more than half of its annual funding in just six years, according to state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale….
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Our Region’s Water
An interview with Jeanne M. VanBriesen, Ph.D., P.E., the Duquesne Light Company Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental…
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The Future of the Headwaters
In a time when water shortage is a growing problem in the United States and across the globe, our region actually has an abundance of water. In fact, water is…
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Smell Pittsburgh App
We all deserve to live in healthy neighborhoods and communities. Pollution in Allegheny County still poses a significant threat, making the air we breathe dirty and people in our communities…
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Can Pennsylvania nonprofits and volunteers with clipboards increase voter turnout in the election?
Harris-Fulton is a volunteer with the Wilkinsburg Family Support Center, one of the nonprofits participating in a Western-Pennsylvania wide effort to get people representing minority populations to register and vote….
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Mayor Releases “Clean and Green” Plan for City
Mayor Peduto has just released the City’s Clean and Green plan! The city-wide, green-first plan not only fixes our region’s combined sewer overflow problem AND addresses our flooding issues, but…
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High court strikes down Pa. law on shale gas
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that Act 13, the state Legislature’s 2012 attempt to accommodate the shale gas industry is an unconstitutional “special law” that benefits specific groups or…
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Pittsburgh-area schools invested big money in crumb rubber fields. But how safe are they for your kids?
The concerns that prompted the federal study arise largely from a list of about 200 young athletes — mostly soccer goalies — who have been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after…
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Take the “Making Pittsburgh better for all survey” and make your opinion count
Got an opinion about those left behind in the new wave of prosperity in Pittsburgh? The Pittsburgh Foundation wants to hear from you. As part of their 100 Percent Pittsburgh—an…
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Pennsylvania Wastewater Plant Upgraded with GE Tech
Seeking to increase the wastewater treatment capacity at the Brush Creek sewage plant without expanding its footprint, Cranberry Township, Pa., turned to GE’s high-performance LEAPmbr membrane bioreactor technology for an…
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Pittsburgh Still the Whitest but Creeping Toward Diversity
Greater Pittsburgh remains the least racially & ethnically diverse of the benchmark regions, according to annual data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. But the region’s portion of whites is declining…
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A Giant Cheeseburger and the Fight Against Blight
There are about 27,000 vacant lots in Pittsburgh. And though vacant lots are often seen as the bane of many communities, this group of artists is trying to reimagine them…
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Pennsylvania extends drilling moratorium in its forests for 5 years
Pennsylvania’s five-year forest management plan nixes new oil and gas leasing and drilling in state forests and parks where the state controls subsurface mineral rights, and for the first time…
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We Have the Technology, Just Do Sustainable Development
That old commercial for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups spoke to the marvel of accidental synergies. “You got your peanut butter on my chocolate!” “You got your chocolate in my peanut…
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Why Pittsburgh should go all-in on equitable development
The development that is rapidly transforming some areas of the city could actually be part of the solution to ensuring everyone benefits from the region’s economic transformation. That’s the premise…
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How do you define the American dream? Ikea wants to know
We are still very small. We have 2.4 percent market share here in U.S. And we are a long way from having…market dominance in the American market. So our mission…
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Gov. Wolf Nominates Patrick McDonnell As DEP Secretary
“In his acting capacity and throughout his career, Patrick has been a dedicated steward of the environment and a leader in advancing Pennsylvania’s energy development in a responsible way,” Gov….
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2015-2016 Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard
Pennsylvania’s four largest citizen-based environmental advocacy groups have released the “2015-2016 Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard,” tracking state lawmakers’ votes on key environment-related bills during the current legislative session. The groups –…
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Earth posts hottest August on record and 16th straight month of unsurpassed heat
Record-breaking heat has never persisted on the planet for so long. Not only did Earth witness its hottest August on record, according to NOAA, but it also extended its streak of record-warm…
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Pittsburgh recognized as Biophilic City
Each Biophilic City is required to choose its aspirations and to monitor its own progress. Biophilic Cities will monitor Pittsburgh’s progress, too, but it is not regulatory. Among Pittsburgh’s commitments…
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Making energy conservation personal
The experiment took place in the fall of 2013, with alternating control and energy-saving weeks. When it was done, Rohan concluded that when everyone was minding their energy use, the…
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Could Shell’s Ethane Cracker Erase Recent Gains in Air Quality?
In fact, with a projected 522 tons of VOC emissions per year, the plant would be the largest source of VOC pollution in western Pennsylvania, according to the most recent data available…