Free Trees at City-County Building

City employees are scheduled to hand out free saplings until 1:00 today, unless supplies run out sooner.

Up to 1,000 Pittsburgh residents will receive free dogwood trees on the portico of the City-County Building on Grant Street. The small trees are handed out on a “first come, first serve” basis.

Pittsburgh’s Urban Forester Lisa Ceoffe says the effort is part of the TreeVitalize Pittsburgh program, which aims to plant 20,000 trees across the city by 2012.

“I’m really happy and proud to say that at the end of this spring season, we’ll be close to 10,000 trees, and that’s since the start of the program, TreeVitalize, in 2008,” says Ceoffe. “These trees are a way for residents to participate in our overall count. They can go online, register the tree, and basically feel like they participated in greening the city.”

Chris Josephs of Forest Hills says the program is a step in the right direction.

“It’s a reinforcement of our increased awareness of our environment, which is always good,” says Josephs. “Pittsburgh is on the forefront of the greening of buildings. Myself has always been interested in helping the environment. I think it’s a way forward and it’s a merit badge for our city.”

Cathy Sweeney of Edgewood came with her granddaughter to get a tree for their yard.

“We’re going to plant it, and watch it grow,” says Sweeney. “It takes a long time, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Pgh. Program Aims to Reduce Blight

Neighborhood organizations in Pittsburgh will have a chance to tidy up some vacant lots in their communities, thanks to a new grant program created by the city using federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

The Vacant Lot Clean Up Grant Program will give four or five community groups about $10,000 each to help transform blighted lots into gardens and parks. The 3,400 lots eligible are all Pittsburgh-owned properties in the 30 city neighborhoods that qualify for Community Development Block Grants.

Pittsburgh’s Director of Neighborhood Initiatives Kim Graziani says the grants will provide enough money for each group to clean up about 11 lots. Graziani says while some community groups do this kind of work already, funding is hard to come by.

“Helping folks to provide funding for that not only shows that we appreciate the work; we also want to provide opportunities for folks to have jobs doing this kind of work,” says Graziani. “It really shows a level of investment and pride in these lots that is really hard to attain at the city level.”

Graziani says city residents know which lots in their neighborhood need to be cleaned up the most, so the city is allowing community groups to propose a plan rather than requesting certain lots be revamped.

Proposals must be submitted by April 18 so contracts can be finalized in early May. The grants cover the 2011 growing season of May through October.

More information can be found at the city’s website.

Green Infrastructure Database in Development

The local nonprofit 3 Rivers Wet Weather is developing an online tool to help property owners decide where to place green infrastructure.

The online database will help anyone from residential property owners to municipal planners decide where their green infrastructure project would be most effective in reducing sewer overflow.

3 Rivers Wet Weather Executive Director John Schombert says one of the website’s tools will give private property owners a cost-benefit analysis for each site they’re considering.

“The value of the system also is that we will connect people to the marketplace so they can find the plants and the contractors and the designers, perhaps for more elaborate rain-gardens, that will help them develop their site,” says Schombert.

Schombert says the website will also include a more technical application to be used by municipal engineers for public green projects.

He says the region is very prone to sewer overflow, with overflow events happening about 75 times each year. Schombert says in some parts of the region, just one-tenth of an inch of rainfall can cause overflow.

“[For] half our recreational season, we show impacts in the rivers from wet weather overflows that affect recreation, and even potentially can affect water supplies.”

Schombert says the website will also serve as an overall document of the location and effectiveness of green infrastructure in the region. The online database is slated for completion by March of 2012.

Solar Expert: New Energy Standards Needed in PA

A new report finds Pennsylvania is the number-two state in the country, when it comes to jobs created by solar power. But an industry advocate says the picture will change quickly, if state lawmakers don’t pass new energy standards next year.
The National Solar Jobs Census shows California is the runaway leader for solar jobs, with about 36-thousand. Pennsylvania comes in second, with an estimated 67-hundred employees working in the industry.
Maureen Mulligan, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Solar Energy Industries Association says the state’s 2004 alternative energy portfolio is a main reason for the strong showing.
But she warns the solar industry is now producing more power than the measure requires Pennsylvania utilities to purchase, so the legislation needs to be updated.

"Solar is in this state of limbo, and until the requirement is increased in year 2013 and 14, we’re going to have a very flat market here in Pennsylvania, unless the legislature acts, and acts now."

York County Democratic Representative Eugene DePasquale says a strong solar industry helps other portions of the economy.

"Obviously the installation has to happen locally. So local contractors are the ones – local electrical workers, other local contractors are involved in the installation of this, as well. Which helps the local economy. So this is good for job growth – both locally, and in the manufacturing sector. It’s good for the consumers who install it."

Advocates also credit solar grants and rebates in the expiring federal stimulus package with boosting the solar economy. Mulligan says the solar industry still needs government incentives and assistance, as it develops into a mainstream source of energy.

Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities to Hold Alternative Fuel Event

Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities is taking part in Odyssey Day this year, a nationwide event to help educate people others about alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.

Odyssey Day occurs every two years and is part of a West Virginia University program, National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium. Fleet managers, municipalities, corporations and others gather to learn about the new technologies that contribute to solving our nation’s growing energy security and environmental issues. More than 125 sites across the country will join together to further this cause.

President of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, Rick Price says they are part of the cause because the Western Pennsylvania area makes up a large part of vehicle fuel usage.

He says at the event, there will be a number of presentations talking about alternative transportation and technologies that would lower the use of oil-based fuels. There will be over 20 alternative fueled vehicles on display, with representatives there to answer questions. “We have natural gas, propane, flexible fuel, hybrids, electric and bio-diesel vehicles.”

Price says anyone involved or interested in alternative fuel projects should attend the event. “The idea of what Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities is about is we’re trying to reduce the amount of fuel we use here in the United States.”

The free event will be held at the West Hills Center of the Community College of Allegheny County on October 15 from 10 am to 1 pm. No prior registration is required.

Green Building Process Scrutinized

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have received a $2 million federal grant to investigate the actual environmental effects of “green” buildings.

Led by Pitt engineering professors Melissa Bilec and Amy Landis, the study aims to make sure green buildings are performing as well as they can.

Bilec says every new structure, including any green building, has an environmental footprint from the materials used to build it to the last day of its existence. That total environmental effect constitutes a building’s life-cycle assessment, or LCA.

Bilec says one of the goals is to expand the scope of LCAs to include the building’s effect on the people who live or work in it.

“[We’re] really trying to connect people with their buildings. Right now, 90% of our time is spent inside, but we really know very little about the environment that we occupy, from the air quality to the energy usage or the water usage. So that’s what we’re trying to do, is connect people with the indoor environment.”

Another component of the study is a survey of architects, contractors, and other people in the construction process to determine the weaknesses of the LCA.

Bilec says the team will ultimately submit new recommendations to the United States Green Building Council.

Airport Cuts Energy Usage for One Hour

The Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) took part in a regional energy conservation test program at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) today from 2 to 3 pm. The energy conservation project is called PJM Demand Response.
Airport Spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny says this is an effort to “lighten the load” on the electric grid in the Northeastern part of the country. She says lights, air conditioning, electric walkways, escalators and other devices will be switched off in some areas of the airport. Ultimately, they’d like to save about 2,000 kilowatts.
Jenny says this will not impact flights and will have minimal affect on passengers and employees. ACAA has implemented a customer service plan for the hour long power outage, such as having extra employees around to help people with disabilities. She says only one train will run to and from terminals, which may cause minor delays.
Jenny says, “It’s a project where if we do meet the amount of energy savings that we set as our goal, there is some financial incentive—we’ll get some type of reimbursement.”
Jenny says several companies are participating in the program in 13 states, with the goal of saving nearly 3,000 megawatts.

Open Contest Seeks Best Use of Elec. Car Batteries

Carnegie Mellon University researchers are turning to the public to find the best possible way to use electric cars’ batteries.

The college’s electric car program, ChargeCar, announced its “ChargeCarPrize” contest last week. The person who comes up with the best system for distributing energy from electric car batteries wins an electric car.

Assistant Professor of Robotics Illah Nourbaksh says eight “secret drivers” will have driving habits like distance and altitude recorded by a GPS system.

“Every month, the data that has been accumulated for the past month of driving gets tested against the best open algorithms that have been submitted to us so far on the website. And so we see for the past month, if any of these drivers were driving an electric car and they were using the algorithms that have been submitted, how efficient would they have been? How little energy would they have been able to use and still get a great commute done?”

Nourbaksh says combined with new supercapicitor technology developed by CMU, the best algorithm will allow electric car batteries to shrink. Since batteries are the most expensive part of the cars, that means prices will shrink as well.

“When they’re $45,000, they’re just something for the elite. If we can get that cost down so a new electric car is fifteen- or twenty-thousand dollars, then we’re talking about a much bigger demographic.”

Nourbaksh says the contest is slated to take up to 18 months, but it could finish early if “some genius” comes up with a great algorithm sooner than that. In the meantime, the algorithm that performs the best by the end of each month earns its author a $250 gift card.

Details on ChargeCarPrize can be found at ChargeCar's website.

County Office Building Roof Goes Green

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato unveiled the County’s latest green building effort today, a green roof covering half of the County Office Building.

The $620,000 project covers 8,400 square feet of the roof with a multilayered system that cools the building and absorbs storm water runoff.

Onorato says he hopes the stimulus-funded development sets an example for other downtown buildings.

“If we can get every flat roof downtown to do this, you’re talking millions of dollars saved on utility costs and you’re talking millions of gallons of water not going into the river and into the combined sewer overflow, which doesn’t have to go there, and increases capacity in our sewer systems and our treatment plants,” says Onorato.

Onorato says the county is projecting about $6,500 in cost savings for the month of July because of the green roof’s cooling effect on the building. The green half of the County Office Building’s roof was shown to be about 45 degrees cooler than the control half.

The green roof on the Office Building is composed of six layers. The bottommost layer is a waterproofing membrane that captures moisture. Above that is protective fabric and a root barrier, which prevents the plants from damaging the roof itself. Next comes a drainage mat to collect water. On top of the drainage mat there is a layer of polystyrene that helps contour the shapes of the landscape. Finally, on top are plants growing inside a pebbly “growth medium.”

“From the business perspective, to energy savings, to the cost of how we’re going to deal with combined sewer overflows, so natural systems are just really using mother nature and what mother nature has given us to solve environmental problems,” says Janie French, Director of Green Infrastructure at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

Green Party Candidates Decry Sestak Challenge

Green Party candidates Mel Packer and Ed Bortz jointly launched their campaigns for the U.S. Senate and House today.

Packer’s announcement was shadowed by a challenge to his petition by Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak, who is also running for the Senate position.

Packer says Sestak is attempting to find enough invalid signatures on his petition to boot him from the ballot this November.

“It’s as simple as somebody putting down a zip code instead of the date, it’s as simple as someone listing the address where they live now as opposed to where they were registered to vote,” says Packer. “A good lawyer can sit down and find those, and will likely find enough to knock me off the ballot. These are just technicalities, and it’s an undemocratic process, and Joe Sestak is taking advantage of it as opposed to facing me in the open arena.”

Packer says since he has only about 50 to 100 signatures more than the required 19,084, it will be easy for Sestak’s staff to find enough errors in the petition.

The Green Party candidate called for the Democrat to withdraw his challenge, calling Sestak a “political coward.” He says if the challenge succeeds in getting him removed from the ballot, he won’t mount a write-in campaign.

Bortz received about twice as many signatures as the required 4,887 and his candidacy has not been challenged by Democrat and incumbent Congressman Mike Doyle. Republican Melissa Haluszczak is also running for the seat.

New Energy Bill Lacks Emissions Caps

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has introduced energy legislation that would give Americans financial incentives for weatherizing their homes and driving natural gas cars.

But the environmental group Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future says an important piece of clean energy policy is missing from the bill – making it more costly to use fossil fuels.

PennFuture Federal Policy Manager Joy Bergey says the Senate has failed yet again to pass a cap-and-trade carbon emissions bill, despite nearly a decade of work from environmental groups.

Bergey says PennFuture wants a price to be put on carbon emissions.

“We need to make fossil fuels gradually more expensive, but then we also need to provide them the right market signals so that we bring more renewable energy into the mix – wind, solar, biofuels – making them more competitive.”

Bergey says by not promoting renewable energy, the Senate has allowed other countries like China to take the lead in developing clean energy technology. Bergey says these technological advances will be desired globally and could have sparked the United States’ economy.

Bergey says although some Republican Senators claimed that a cap-and-trade system would be a “job-killer” for fossil fuel industries, investing in renewable energy also would have created jobs.

Bergey says while PennFuture is grateful for a push to give $5 billion to the Home Star home weatherization program and $3.8 billion in tax credits for natural gas cars, the group will continue to advocate a cap-and-trade carbon emissions policy.

Senator Reid’s bill also contains a provision from Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey that would require companies to publicize the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, a process that helps drill natural gas wells. Environmentalists have expressed concern that the poisonous chemicals used in this process could leak into waterways.

East Liberty Library to Reopen Late August

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s East Liberty branch will reopen next month after more than a year of construction and renovation.

Carnegie Library Executive Director Barbara Mistick says crews have installed a 9,000 square foot addition that allows all library services to be housed on the first floor, including the children’s, teen, and adult sections.

Two main entrances will allow for both parking lot and pedestrian access.

The second floor will consist of three meeting rooms, which will accommodate the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council’s tutoring sessions. The basement will house the library’s Heritage Collection, including documents dating as far back as 1617.

EDGE Studios lead architect Anne Chen says the exterior of the building will now be visible from Baum Boulevard.

“The zinc panel that we used, we really love. I think it’s a beautiful kind of organic material. It has some depth to it, and some texture. It sort of reminds me of a metal velvet,” says Chen.

Chen says a new atrium also opens up the interior, while lighting hung at different levels sectionalizes the first floor space.

The building will be LEED certified as well. Evolve Architecture principal and green consultant Mark Mondor says more efficient water fixtures and modern window and heating systems will save the library money.

The changes are part of Carnegie Library’s Capital Improvement Program, which aims to refurbish or replace outdated libraries in various Pittsburgh communities. The total cost of the East Liberty renovation was $5.6 million. The library is slated to reopen August 27.

Pgh Receives Grant to Promote Volunteerism

Pittsburgh has been selected for a $200,000 Cities of Service Leadership Grant.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he doesn’t know how many cities applied for the award, but he thinks Pittsburgh was chosen for extensive efforts to green the city.

Mayor Ravenstahl says the money will be used to hire a Chief Service Officer, who will oversee and initiate city service projects for one two-year term.

The mayor says in addition to greening efforts, the CSO will also focus on connecting college students with Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The Cities of Service program was created last year to promote volunteerism in cities nationwide.

Former Connelly Tech Gets New Life

A former school building in Pittsburgh's Hill District is going green. Plans have been unveiled to turn the old Connelly Tech building, which was erected in 1929 but vacant for the last 6 years, into a lab for future technology.
The group Pittsburgh Green Innovators is in the process of purchasing the building from the school district and will begin renovations this fall. Green Innovators Vice President Deno de Ciantis says the building's power infrastructure will be deeply retrofitted...
"We're looking at geothermal, solar, wind and micro-turbines using different kinds of fuel. The integration of all those different energy systems will allow for a tremendous educational opportunity....as well as dealing with higher performance glazing and high performance materials."
Green roofs and wastewater treatment projects will also be employed.
De Ciantis says much of the infrastructure will remain in the open and control panels will be installed to allow all of the building's energy production and consumption to be monitored. The plan is for the building to become a lab for teaching sustainable building and maintenance techniques. Funds are in place to build out 80,000 of the building's 188,000 square feet of space. As more money becomes available, the other floors will be refurbished and rented to tenants.
Pittsburgh Gateways will do the work on the building with most of the money coming from grants and Gateways financing some of it. Pittsburgh Gateways Vice President Bill Miller says they will use all of the greenest construction practices available and strive for the greatest women and minority participation possible.

Summit to Address Green Solutions to Economic Woes

Local and national environmental activists will gather in Pittsburgh tomorrow for the Green Pathways to Prosperity Summit.

The summit is a pre-program of World Environment Day, to be held in Pittsburgh next month.

The meeting will be hosted by the Urban Green Growth Collaborative to showcase ways cities can reduce blight and unemployment through building a green economy.

G-Tech Strategies Director of Green Technology Initiatives Khari Mosley says Pittsburgh can help begin another industrial revolution – this time with the environment in mind.

Mosley says while speakers will talk about challenges to a green economy, the focus of the summit will be discussing green solutions to urban economic problems.

He says the summit aims to reach an audience who wouldn’t normally be concerned with green initiatives – particularly those interested in the economy.

The Green Pathways to Prosperity Summit is free of charge and will run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, May 20, at the Pittsburgh Project: 2801 North Charles Street.

Wind Energy Grants

Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa has brought back 79 workers who were laid off from the Cambria County plant in November. That's due to a $7.8 million dollar federal stimulus grant with which Gamesa will install 19 two-megawatt wind turbines at the Chestnut Flats Wind Farm in Cambria and Blair Counties. The company will start up a second manufacturing line and hire an additional 50 workers.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell also announced grants for two other wind power projects: $10 million for Iberdrola Renewables' South Chestnut to install 23 two-megawatt turbines in Fayette County that will create 129 jobs; and $5 million for the Broad Mountain Wind Energy Center's installation of eight turbines in Schuylkill County which is expected to produce 43 jobs.
Since the federal Recovery Act was passed, Pennsylvania companies and communities have received more than $800 million for green energy projects. Rendell says according to the Pew Center, Pennsylvania ranks third for the growth of green jobs behind Texas and California...."it's clear that the stimulus is working; it's providing a lifeline to families, slowing job losses."

Rendell: Green Economy Can Lead to Secure Future

With much of the nation still feeling the lingering effects of the recession, Pennsylvania and the whole country can move toward a stronger economy if it commits to a green, sustainable future. That's according to Governor Ed Rendell who made the remarks at Aquar America's 1.1 megawatt Ingram's Mill Solar Farm in West Chester, one of the newest such facilities on the East Coast. Rendell says supporting a low-Carbon Economy leads to job creation and increasing renewable energy use which are important for a secure economic future......
"Too many people think that protecting the environment and improving economic competitiveness is an either or proposition. This is absolutely false."
Rendell said Pennsylvania's new Climate Change Action Plan forms a blue print to help businesses and households reduce energy consumption and cut expenses. Rendell says Pennsylvania generates a little less than 1% of the world's greenhouse gases but this plan would cut emissions by 42% from 2000 levels by 2020.
The governor says the Commonwealth has been recognized as one of the fastest growing states for wind energy production and will be among the top five in solar production by the end of 2010. Rendell says the state invested more than $900 million in new energy technologies between 2003 and 2008 in 560 projects involving 8,300 jobs.

Fayette County Changes Windmill Ordinance

Fayette County Commissioners voted 2-1 yesterday to allow windmills as a regularly permitted structure in agriculture, light industrial and heavy industrial zones, rather than a project that needs special permission.

Commissioner Vincent Vicites says this will open the door for green energy in Fayette County. He says he supports this measure because it helps his county do its part to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.

Vicites says right now there are just two windmill sites in the county – the completed Mill Run Project on Laurel Ridge, and the pending Iberdrola Renewables project on Chestnut Ridge.

Fellowship Program Returns

The Guyasuta Fellowship program is back for its 5Th campaign. The program is a policy forum where young people can work together to craft a white paper on a specific issue that will be presented to Pittsburgh City Council members at a post agenda meeting. The issue that the fellowship will be working on this year is the transition to a "green" economy and how Pittsburgh can work to help the city's disadvantaged and under served communities while building a more sustainable region. The program is trying to involve young people in participating in civic discourse and asks that you be a resident of the region with plans to remain for anywhere between two to five years and that you miss no less than two bimonthly meetings. The program was initiated in 2002 but was not active in 2007 and 2008.

Bioneers Conference

This weekend, October 16 through 18, the local "Bioneers" chapter is holding its first regional conference in the North Side. Three Rivers Bioneers Conference Coordinator Chris Farber says the national organization has many areas of focus, including green jobs, sustainability, the economy and the arts. But the one particular theme for the meeting in Pittsburgh will be about environmental restoration of water.

Ongoing exhibits and activities complement the program. This includes an urban chicken coop, art exhibits of recycled materials and spoken word performances.

For more information about the Three Rivers Bioneers, visit 3riversbioneers.org.