Sep 29: Bioneers Monday: Healing the Nature of Our Cities

September 29:  Pittsburgh's second Bioneers Monday:  an evening of film, discussion, and merriment around Bioneers, a forum connecting ecology, health, spirit, and social justice.  This time, a talk by the founder of L.A.'s Tree People: "Healing the Nature of our Cities."  Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
(6-8 p.m. at the Riverview Park Chapel Shelter;  free, but RSVP to rsvp@pittsburghforest.org )
    http://bioneers.org/
    http://www.bioneerstopittsburgh.blogspot.com/
    http://www.pittsburghforest.org/bioneers

Sep 27: Day of Action on Green Jobs

September 27:  Day of Action on Green Jobs.  Gathering, service projects, meals, and rally.  Help harvest sunflowers grown on vacant land in Larimer, and learn how to produce biofuel from them;  harvesting, garden tours, and workshops on nutrition and urban agriculture at Healcrest Urban Community Farm in Garfield;  educational tabling, workshops, petitions, music, theater, multimedia, speakers, and rally in East Liberty.  (9-4, starting and ending at East Liberty Presbyterian Church)

http://www.mwalliance.org/conference_page.php?page=Industry%20Events

http://events.greenjobsnow.com/greenforall/events/show/7500

Sep 27: Western Water Workshop

September 27:  Western Water Workshop on how to protect headwater streams and wetlands in Pennsylvania.  Speakers include Cindy Tibbott, Zelda Curtiss, John Hines, and Myron Arnowitt. (10-3 at CCAC's Boyce Campus;  free, including lunch, but you must register by calling 717-232-0101.)
    http://alleghenysc.org under Special Events, or 610-282-3611

Sep 27: GASP and Good Friends

September 27:  GASP and Good Friends, a fundraising event for the Group Against Smog & Pollution, an organization that works hard to make the air in our region more breathable.  Join us to celebrate our accomplishments, and enjoy drumming, music, puppets, arts & crafts, a silent auction, and fine picnic fare;  meet animals from the PA Wildlife Center, share a nature story with the Allegheny Front, and participate in a silent auction.  (2-6 pm at Riverview Park's Chapel Shelter;  $20, $10 age 6-10, under 6 free;  RSVP with the form on our web site and/or call 412-325-7382)
    http://www.gasp-pgh.org/  
    http://jackknightmusic.com/
    http://www.janelleburdell.com/
    http://www.pawildlifecenter.org/
    http://www.healthyhomeresources.org/
    http://www.pittsburghparks.org/Riverview53.php

Sep 27: Household Hazardous Waste collection

September 27:  Safely dispose of common household chemicals, from aerosol cans and compact fluorescent bulbs to paint and pesticides.  (9-1 at the former amphitheatre site in Station Square; $2/gallon, cash only).

http://www.swpahhw.org/

Sep 27: GASP and Good Friends

September 27:  GASP and Good Friends, a fundraising event for the Group Against Smog & Pollution, an organization that works hard to make the air in our region more breathable.  Join us to celebrate our accomplishments and enjoy drumming, music, puppets, arts & crafts, a silent auction, and fine picnic fare;  meet animals from the PA Wildlife Center, share a nature story with the Allegheny Front, and participate in a silent auction.  (2-6 pm at Riverview Park's Chapel Shelter;  $20, $10 age 6-10, under 6 free;  RSVP with the form on our web site and/or call 412-325-7382)
    http://www.gasp-pgh.org/  
    http://jackknightmusic.com/
    http://www.janelleburdell.com/
    http://www.pawildlifecenter.org/
    http://www.healthyhomeresources.org/
    http://www.pittsburghparks.org/Riverview53.php

Sep 26: Debate watching party on the South Side

September 26:  Join Pittsburgh Women for Obama to watch the first presidential debate on issues of foreign policy and national security.  (8 p.m. at the Pgh Federation of Teachers, 10 S. 19th St. on the South Side.  Bring an appetizer or dessert to share.)

RSVP to pgh.wfo@gmail.com or visit

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsx4tm

Sep 25: Vermicomposting workshop

September 25:   Vermicomposting workshop -- worms can eat your garbage, even if you don't have any outdoor space.  (7-9 p.m. at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library;  $45 includes everything you need to get started at home.)  
    http://www.prc.org/community_adultedu.html or 412-488-7490 x325

Sep 25: Ohio River Watershed Celebration

September 25:  7th Annual Ohio River Watershed Celebration:  cruise the Ohio River and learn about "Innovative Energy for a Green World."  The RSVP date is past, but there are still a few spaces available on the Networker Cruise.
    http://www.streamrestorationinc.org/education/riverboat2008.pdf

Sep 25: Women's Health & the Environment conference

September 25:  "Women's Health & the Environment:  New Science, New Solutions," a conference featuring nationally renowned environmental scientists, writers, and activists who will share new science and discuss the health effects of toxins in air, water, food, and personal care products.  Sponsored by the Heinz Endowments and UPMC.
(8-4:40 at the David Lawrence Convention Center downtown;  free, but space is limited and you must register soon!)
    http://www.womenshealthpittsburgh.org/

Sep 25: "Toward a More Peaceful World" at CMU

September 25:  "Toward a More Peaceful World"  Harriet Fulbright is president of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, which seeks to promote world peace and nonviolent conflict resolution through international collaborations and education.  Her lecture will emphasize the importance of international education, with examples of lives transformed by study abroad.  (4:30pm in Gregg Hall (Porter Hall 100))

http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-development/uls/

Sep 24: "Tough Times for the American Worker" at CMU

September 24:  "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker."  New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse will discuss his new book which details how life has grown tougher for America’s workers, young and old, middle-class and low-wage, white collar and blue collar, male and female, and what this painful trend will mean in this fall’s elections.  He also examines how much of the American workforce is working more but earning less. Wages have stagnated, health and pension benefits have grown stingier, and job security has shriveled.   (4:30pm in Gregg Hall (Porter Hall 100))

http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-development/uls/

Sep 23: Obama Technology Policy talk at CMU

September 23: A talk about Barack Obama's technology policies 

by Mike Nelson, Obama's technology advisor, a visiting professor 

at Georgetown University, chair of the Information, Computing, 

and Communications Section of the AAAS, and one of the principal 

architects of technology policy during the Clinton administration.

(7-9 p.m. in the Alumni Concert Hall in the College of Fine Arts 

at CMU. Free parking in the Morewood lot and in the main 

parking garage after hours. Free tickets are available at the 

University Center Information Desk, but they'll also be filling 

unticketed seats after 6:50 p.m.)

Sep 21: NMRWA Stream Restoration Tour

September 21:  Stream Restoration Tour.  NMRWA's outreach coordinator Lisa Brown will lead an informative tour of the amazing transformation of Nine Mile Run by the Army Corps of Engineers.
(9:30-11:30 a.m.;  meet at the parking lot by the former Center for Creative Play on Braddock Avenue.)
http://www.ninemilerun.org/get_involved/events/ or 412-371-8779

Sep 21-27: Local Food Week

September 21-27:  Local Food Week -- Celebrate the harvest all around town with events from special local dinners at area restaurants, farm tours, a cooking demo by Chef Bill Fuller, the annual Art Harvest festival at the East End Food Co-op, a showing of the film King Corn, a vegan potluck at Joseph Beth Booksellers, and many other events.  All of the associated events are listed at 
    http://www.buylocalpa.org/event/chapter/southwest
Other sites of interest for local food growers and seekers:
    http://eastendfood.coop/
    http://urbanfoodworks.org/
    http://www.foodroutes.org/
    http://www.buylocalpa.org/
    http://www.localharvest.org/
    http://www.pasafarming.org/
    http://www.slowfoodpgh.com/
    http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/
    http://www.growpittsburgh.org/
    http://www.farmersmarketalliance.com/

Sep 21: Co-op Art Harvest

September 21:  Art Harvest at the East End Food Co-op -- Join a fresh crop of local artists at the third annual Co-op Art Harvest. A community day of local food, live music, kid’s activities and handmade art for sale. All activities take place right in front of East End Food Co-op.  The Co-op Art Harvest is part of Local Food Week!  Check out more info about other Local Food Week events. 

(12-5 p.m. at the EEFC, at 7516 Meade Street, Pittsburgh 15208, in Point Breeze; 412-242-3598)

http://eastendfood.coop/

Sep 20: ALCOSAN Open House

September 20:  ALCOSAN Open House.  Visitors will enjoy tours of the 56-acre treatment plant, river life aquarium displaying fish from the Ohio River, games, educational exhibits, and hands-on environmental activities.  (9-4 at the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority)
    http://www.alcosan.org

Sep 20: Nine Mile Run History Tour

September 20:  Nine Mile Run History Tour.  Join Environmental historian Zachary Falck and NMRWA's Lisa Brown for a morning walk through Frick Park and the Nine Mile Run restoration area.
(9-11:30 a.m.;  meet in Duck Hollow, off of Old Brown's Hill Road).
    http://www.ninemilerun.org/get_involved/events/

Sep 20: Rachel Carson Legacy Conference: Green Chemistry

September 20:  "Green Chemistry:  Solutions for a Healthy Economy." Second annual Rachel Carson Legacy Conference will feature leaders in green chemistry, health, environmental and medical research, and industrial research and applications and will focus on economic development, informed consumers, better regulatory tools, and a healthier future as we work toward designing the toxicity out of product and processes.  Sponsored by the Rachel Carson Homestead Association.
(8-5 at Duquesne University;  $25, students $10.  Although online registrations are closed, they have made allowances for walk-in registration as well.  Don't miss it!).
    http://www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org

Sep 18: Farm Stand Demo

September 18:  Farm Stand Demo at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Farm Stand aims to encourage participants to use fresh produce, with cooking demonstrations and samples.  (10-11 at the Hill House Farm Stand, 1835 Centre Ave. 15219)
    http://www.buylocalpa.org/event/view/90

Sep 18: "Rhetoric of the 2008 Campaign" at CMU

September 18:  Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Professor of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications, on "What the Rhetoric of the 2008 Campaign Reveals and Conceals.   

(4:30 in the Adamson Wing, 136A Baker Hall).

Sep 17: Constitution Day Celebration at CMU

September 17:  Constitution Day Celebration at CMU.  Join Sara Rose (Staff Attorney of the PA ACLU) in a community conversation about our constitutional right to vote.  The University Libraries will display one of only four existing first editions of the Bill of Rights. (4:30 p.m. in the Posner Center on the CMU campus, under the French Curve roof garden).

Sep 17: Zany Umbrella Circus on Good Morning America

September 17:   Pittsburgh's own Zany Umbrella Circus is hitting the big time -- the ABC TV show Good Morning America, viewed by something like 5 million people, will be in town to film a segment with an interview and a live circus performance by these amazingly creative and socially-conscious Pittsburghers.  You can be part of the "studio" audience -- they'll be filming from 10:45 until 1 or 2 p.m. at the Penn Station Rotunda downtown (1100 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh 15222;  please plan to be there the whole time if you can, and let Ben know if you can attend at info@zanyumbrella.com so they'll know if they'll have a goodly crowd for the show -- it can be hard to gather folks on a weekday morning.)
    http://www.zanyumbrellacircus.com/

Sep 17: Farm Stand Demo

September 17:   Farm Stand Demo at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Farm Stand aims to encourage participants to use fresh produce, with cooking demonstrations and samples.  (9:30-10:30 at the Mon Yough Community Center Farm Stand, 50 Market Street in McKeesport)
    http://www.buylocalpa.org/event/view/89

Sep 17: Green tech workshop

September 17:  Green Technology Network:  Why Green is Good.  The Pittsburgh Technology Council is holding a free workshop on how businesses and organizations can go green, with keynote speaker Charles Lockwood, author of the Harvard Business Review article "Building the Green Way."  (7:30-noon at the Carnegie Science Center;  free, but you must register online)

Green Tech event

Sep 15: Bioneers Monday on Greening the Ghetto

September 15:  Pittsburgh's first Bioneers Monday:  an evening of film, discussion, and merriment around Bioneers, a forum connecting ecology, health, spirit, and social justice.  This time, a talk by the founder of Sustainable South Bronx: "Green the Ghetto."  Sponsored by the East End Food Co-op.  (6-8 p.m. at the Gemini Theatre in Point Breeze;  free, but RSVP to rsvp@pittsburghforest.org )
    http://bioneers.org/
    http://www.bioneerstopittsburgh.blogspot.com/
    http://www.pittsburghforest.org/bioneers

Sep 14: Book-signing by local autism author

September 14:  Book-signing with Pittsburgher Patricia Lemer, editor of Envisioning a Bright Future:  Interventions that Work for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Patty understands the relationship between toxins in the environment and in our bodies and how we are creating kids on the ADD-to-Autism spectrum.  (1-4 p.m. at Journeys of Life bookstore, 810 Bellefonte St. in Shadyside; 412-681-8755)
   

Sep 14: Orienteering at Deer Lakes Park

September 14:  Orienteering at Deer Lakes Park.  Get out into the woods with a map and compass for a cross-country treasure hunt in this competitive form of land navigation.  Instruction for novices will be available.  (Rain or shine;  start anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., finish by 3:30.  Russelton is about a half-hour from Pgh, in the North Hills;  use the main entrance of Deer Lakes Park to reach the Trout Picnic Shelter (look for red & white arrow signs).  $4 per map (family/group can share), loaner compasses available.  Questions to Jim at jlwolfe@atlanticbb.net )
    http://www.wpoc.org/

Sep 13: Steel City Big Pour

September 13:  It's sold out, but I thought I'd mention the 2nd Annual Steel City Big Pour anyway -- an evening of live music and art with local, organic, ethnic, and/or artisanal food and, of course, beer -- at Construction Junction in Point Breeze.  Whether or not you can go to this event, check out CJ the next time you have a home renovation project going.
    http://constructionjunction.org/

Sep 13: Storywalk in Frick Park

September 13:  9th Annual Storywalk.  Beginning With Books and Citiparks team up to bring books to life in Frick Park.  (Free; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the Blue Slide playground on Beechwood Boulevard.  Free parking and shuttle service from the Irish Centre at 6668 Forward Ave.)  
http://www.beginningwithbooks.org/
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/events/s_587295.html

Sep 13: Community Garden Tour

September 13:  Here We Grow Pittsburgh, Here We Grow! Community Garden Tour -- a guided tour of four community gardens, with presentations by members on their experiences and plans.  Tours begin at 11, 12, and 1 at the Union Project in Highland Park (Stanton & Negley Avenues;  $15 including lunch right out of the gardens).  The tour buses will go out rain or shine, unless there's thunder & lightning, in which case there will still be presentations indoors at the Union Project.
    http://www.growpittsburgh.org

Sep 12: Artist reception for the Sewickley Farm Show

September 12:  Artist reception for the Sewickley Farm Show, which features ten local artists interpreting ten regional farms.  (5:30-9 p.m. at the Sewickley Gallery & Frame Shop;  the exhibit runs September 6-27)  On Saturdays, the nearby St. James Farmers Market will include the farmers represented in the artwork as well as local food samplings, music, and creative activities for kids (on Broad St. from 9:30-1)
    pasafarming.org/
    http://tablemagazine.com/
    http://www.sewickleygallery.com/

Sep 11: Grow Pittsburgh's Produce Paparazzi

September 11:  Produce Paparazzi:  Summer Interns from Grow Pittsburgh's 2008 season capture the harvest.  Reception and exhibition at the Silver Eye Center for Photography
(7-9 p.m. at 1015 E. Carson St.)
    http://www.silvereye.org/
    http://www.growpittsburgh.org

Sep 11: Farm Stand Demo

September 11:  Farm Stand Demo at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Farm Stand aims to encourage participants to use fresh produce, with cooking demonstrations and samples.  (11:30-12:30 at the Hazelwood YWCA Farm Stand, 4915 Second Street, 15207)
    http://www.buylocalpa.org/event/view/88

CMU's University Lecture Series

September 11:   Carnegie Mellon's University Lecture Series kicks off this Thursday with "The Averaged American:  Citizens and Statistics in the 20th Century," a talk by Sarah Igo of the University of Pennsylvania.  (4:30 in the Adamson Wing, 136A Baker Hall at CMU).  The entire series is listed at 
    http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-development/uls/
and more detail on each event can be found in calendar entries at 
    http://tinyurl.com/5rmra6

Sep 10: Sierra Club: Bidwell and Green Burials

September 10:  Monthly educational meeting of the local Sierra Club.  This month's talks feature Gary Baranowski, director of the Horticulture Technology training program at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the Northside, where city youth learn marketable skills while growing orchids and hydroponic vegetables, and Pete McQuillen, who will speak about an alternative approach to the end of life, "Green Burials for Pittsburgh."  For information on the monthly meeting series, contact Don Gibbon at dongibbon@earthlink.net (though I'll be standing in for him this month while he's off on another adventure).

(7:30-9 p.m. at the Phipps Garden Center at 5th and Shady;  free)

    http://alleghenysc.org/?page_id=9

    http://www.manchesterbidwell.org/

    http://greenburialpittsburgh.org/

Sep 10: Bioneers radio series: Green-collar jobs

September 10:  "Green-Collar Jobs:  Laboring into the Next Economy" a program from the Bioneers radio series Revolution from the Heart of Nature, featuring Manuel Pastor, Maria Elena Durazo and Alexia Salvatierra.  Keep an ear out for future broadcasts of the Bioneers radio series;  the schedule hasn't been set yet.  (7:30-8 p.m. on WRCT 88.3, in conjunction with the local public-affairs radio show Left Out)  

    http://bioneers.org/

    https://secure.bioneers.org/node/1776

    http://leftout.info/

Sep 9: Green Jobs for the Steel City

September 9:  "Green Jobs for the Steel City:  Growing the New Energy Economy in the Pittsburgh Region," a panel discussion on local, state, and national efforts to create green jobs, boost the economy, reduced dependency on fossil fuels, and combat global warming.  Speakers include USW president Leo Gerard, Sen. Jim Ferlo, Rep. Chelsa Wagner, Rep. Matt Smith, County Executive Dan Onorato, Charles McCollester of IUP, Bill Cagney of IUOE Local 95, and Will Thompkins of the Pittsburgh Project.  Sponsored by the Blue-Green Alliance of the Sierra Club and United Steelworkers, Green for All, NRDC, Working America, League of Young Voters, PennFuture, and GTECH Strategies.   (7-9 p.m. at the Pgh Federation of Teachers at 10 S. 19th St. on the Southside).

    http://alleghenysc.org

    http://www.greenjobsforamerica.org/greenjobs/pennsylvania/