Mar 30: Endocrine disruptor talk at CMU

Environmental Distinguished Lecture Series: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Plastic: The Conflict Over Safety between Scientists and Government Regulatory Agencies, by Frederick S. vom Saal, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri. Part of the Environmental Distinguished Lecture Series entitled Toward Sustainability: Changing our Physical and Chemical Environment.

There is now compelling evidence that many plastic products contain chemicals that can both mimic and inhibit the activity of hormones that are essential for normal development and function in wildlife, experimental animals, and humans. One such “endocrine disrupting chemical” is bisphenol A (BPA), used to make polycarbonate plastic and the resin used to line metal cans, which was known to act as a synthetic estrogen as far back as the 1950s. One goal of the “Green Chemistry” initiative is to prevent these types of mistakes. BPA leaching is implicated as a contributor to the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, infertility, bladder-urethra disorders, breast and prostate cancer and neuro-behavioral disorders such as ADHD. Another example is the phthalates, plasticizers that can leach out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. Some phthalates block production of testosterone, which is required for normal masculinization of males.

Federal regulatory agencies have refused to acknowledge the hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and scientific review panels that express concern regarding harm to human health and the environment due to leaching of these chemicals from a wide array of commonly-used products. Instead, risk assessment panels for regulatory agencies such as the US FDA have deemed them safe, based only on a very small number of chemical industry-funded studies that used outdated methods and never lead to the conclusion that endocrine disrupting chemicals such as BPA pose a threat to animal or human health -- in stark contrast to hundreds of NIH-funded studies that virtually always report harm using state-of-the art methods to reveal molecular pathways mediating disease. In response to the failure of federal regulatory agencies such as the FDA to take appropriate action to protect the public health, legislative bodies are attempting to enact regulations to protect the public from specific chemicals such as BPA and phthalates, while the affected corporations are spending hundreds of millions of dollars fighting each piece of legislation rather than using this money to develop safer alternatives. This reveals the urgent need to restructure laws governing our federal chemical regulatory system, which has allowed thousands of chemicals to be used in household products even though they have never been tested for health effects and remain unidentified not only to the public but also to federal regulatory agencies.

Frederick vom Saal was a Peace Corps volunteer in Somalia and Kenya and then received a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Rutgers University and postdoctoral training in reproductive biology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is Curators’ Professor of biology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The focus of his research is the abnormal development of reproductive organs and metabolic processes due to exposure during fetal life to estrogenic chemicals in plastic. He has published over 160 articles, and has testified at hearings in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, numerous State legislative bodies, the EU Parliament, and at regulatory agency hearings in USA, Germany and Japan. He has served on the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals and on the NAS Committee on Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment, and is an elected fellow of the AAAS.

4:30-6 p.m. in Porter Hall 100 (Gregg Hall). Co-sponsored by the Institute for Green Science, CMU's Departments of Chemistry and Civil & Environmental Engineering, and The Shaw Group.

Mar 30: Free gardening class in Larimer

The Larimer Green Team is sponsoring a series of free gardening classes at the Kingsley Center, presented by local community gardener Carol Brand.

Tuesday March 23rd
Vegetable Gardening 101: Want to grow vegetables? Trying to avoid a previous gardening disaster? Learn the Basics using block planting in a 4 by 4 foot space.

Tuesday March 30th
Container Vegetable Gardening: No backyard? Learn to grow vegetables in pots on your balcony
Tuesday April 6th
Extended Season Vegetable Gardening: Start in spring and harvest your own vegetables into winter

6-8 p.m. at the Kingsley Association, 6435 Frankstown Ave in Larimer. The classes are free of charge, but please RSVP to Carol Brand at (412) 828 1601 so she can plan appropriately.

Mar 27: Economy/Environment event

Intersecting Crises: The Economy and the Environment. Presentations and open discussion led by Dr. Richard Wolff (Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Visiting Professor, New School of Social Research; author, Capitalism Hits the Fan), and Dr. Daniel Bednarz (President, Energy and Health Care Consultants).

2 p.m. in Mervis Hall room 104 (Katz Business School, University of Pittsburgh) Sponsored by the Green Party of Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Socialist Forum.

Mar 26-27: Farm to Table conference


Farm to Table Logo
Pittsburgh's fourth annual Farm to Table Conference will feature presentations by researchers and scientists about the benefits of eating local food, cooking demonstrations by chefs and dieticians, and a farmer's market including prepared foods.

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; Friday night food tasting 5-8 p.m., and networking breakfast for exhibitors and attendees on Saturday. $25 conference registration, $25 for the food tasting event. The conference will be held in downtown Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, in a riverside-view area. (To view the floor layout, visit the Convention Center website: www.pittsburghcc.com/cc/floorplans.html)

For more information and to register, go to the conference website.


Mar 25: Mountaintop Removal Mining talk at CMU

Eric Blevins, a member of the Appalachia community, is heavily involved in actions against the expansion of coal companies using mountaintop removal. He will be speaking about mountaintop removal and the efforts involved in the struggle to end it.

Mountaintop Removal coal mining has been a major part of making coal powered energy so cheap. It is also working hard to destroy the landscape, ecosystems, and communities throughout Appalachia. It's a relatively new type of coal mining that began in Appalachia in the 1970s as an extension of conventional strip mining techniques. Mountaintop removal is occurring primarily in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. Coal companies in Appalachia are increasingly using this method because it allows for almost complete recovery of coal seams while reducing the number of workers required to a fraction of what conventional methods require.

Mountaintop removal includes clear cutting mountains, devastating the topsoil, vegetation, ecosystems,
biodiversity, and the communities in the area. The mountains are blast apart, dug into, and the waste is dumped into nearby valleys, burying streams and irrevocably changing the landscape

5 p.m. in Porter Hall 125B on the Carnegie Mellon campus; free and open to the public.

Apr 10: Sustainable Forestry Field Day

Join Troy Firth, Guy Dunkle and Susan Stout for some time in the woods, looking at common-sense strategies for sustainable forestry under the guidance of some seasoned professionals.

How can landowners manage their forests to ensure that there is room to grow for new seedlings of species they want to have in the long-term future? Natural regeneration is the heart of sustainable forestry, but deer, fern, and slow-growing, shade-loving shrubs and saplings can make the forest floor so dark that the seedlings you want just can't grow.

The program will start with a walk through a woodlot that was harvested last summer. The discussion during the walk will include identifying interfering vegetation that hinders germination and tactics for controlling it to allow for optimum growth of the desired species.. The participants will then return to the Firth sawmill for some classroom time before lunch.

After lunch, we’ll head off to another woodlot to learn about “worst first” tree selection, logging with horses and uneven aged silviculture. There will be opportunity to watch a couple of trees fall safely and see the horses work as the loggers skid some logs. This woodlot is also tapped for maple syrup, too, and there will be discussion around that.

The material presented on this day will help you recognize problems and address them in manners that emphasize both the long-term health and ecology of the woodlot and the overall return to the owner as priorities.

This Field Day is one of many conducted as part of the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s year-round educational program. Cost for the program is $15 for PASA members and $25 for non-members. Contact www.pasafarming.org for registration information or call 814-349-9856.

Presenters:

Troy Firth owns and manages several thousand acres of woodlots in PA. In addition to timber management and forestry education, Troy, assisted by Guy Dunkle, also runs a sawmill and produces maple syrup. The Firth family has managed some sections of these forests for over a hundred years. Firth Maple Products is the second largest producer of maple syrup in the state, marketing over 5,000 gallons a year, primarily to the wholesale market where it is used as sweetener.

Troy’s unique strength lies in his talent for conveying the integrative manner in which the various components – from tree selection and silviculture to the vital contribution of horse logging - work in synergy around forest restoration and stewardship.

The Foundation for Sustainable Forests was created by Troy and Lynn Firth in 2004. A 501c3 nonprofit, the Foundation was designed to protect and manage working forests as an example to private and public landowners. Since 2004 the Foundation has grown to include more than 400 acres of land in three Pennsylvania counties. The Foundation has received independent certification by the Forest Stewardship Council of the Rainforest Alliance.

Susan Stout is a Research Project Leader for the USDA Forest Service research group. She leads a team of 13 forest scientists in PA, OH, and NH who conduct research on topics from regeneration through forest fire physics to climate change. Susan’s been in her current position for 18 years, and has worked on problems of sustaining Pennsylvania forests from the Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Irvine, PA for 29 years.

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Firth Maple Products, 22418 Firth Road, Spartansburg, PA 16434 (in Crawford County); 814-654-7265. Organized by the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the PA Chapter of the Sierra Club. Financial support from the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds.

Mar 23, 30, Apr 6: Free gardening classes in Larimer

The Larimer Green Team is sponsoring a series of free gardening classes at the Kingsley Center, presented by local community gardener Carol Brand.

Tuesday March 23rd
Vegetable Gardening 101: Want to grow vegetables? Trying to avoid a previous gardening disaster? Learn the Basics using block planting in a 4 by 4 foot space.

Tuesday March 30th
Container Vegetable Gardening: No backyard? Learn to grow vegetables in pots on your balcony
Tuesday April 6th
Extended Season Vegetable Gardening: Start in spring and harvest your own vegetables into winter

6-8 p.m. at the Kingsley Association, 6435 Frankstown Ave in Larimer. The classes are free of charge, but please RSVP to Carol Brand at (412) 828 1601 so she can plan appropriately.

Mar 22: Recycling and toxins event at Carnegie Science Center

Beyond Paper and Plastic: A Closer Look at Recycling and Environmental Toxins, a free workshop hosted by Women for a Healthy Environment. We all know to recycle our paper and plastics, but what about other everyday items that contain harmful toxins?

At this workshop, you'll learn about why you should take the extra step to recycle items like light bulbs, batteries, ceramic tile, building materials, small appliances, cell phones, computers, printers, and many other items that your interact with each day.

Why is there a fee to recycle some of these items and not for others? Our speakers will address this question and any others that you raise.

BONUS: Attendees are encouraged to bring cell phones, alkaline batteries and inkjet/laser jet cartridges for proper, ethical disposal and recycling ... at NO CHARGE.

5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Science Center. Free admission, light refreshments will be served. For more information and to register online, click here.



Mar 20: Oil & gas drilling tour of the Allegheny National Forest area

Join us for a tour of oil & gas drilling in and around our public forest lands. See the impacts associated with deep gas drilling (Marcellus Shale) and shallow oil & gas drilling. This is an opportunity to grasp the scale of impacts to our forests first hand.

Oil & Gas Tour Details

8:45am. Pittsburgh - Folks interested in carpooling are meeting at the Sierra Club Office in Oakland at 8:45am (Craig Street Side). We'll be leaving at 9am sharp. Directions:
http://tinyurl.com/PGHSierra

10:45am. Marienville, PA - Everyone else should meet in Marienville, PA outside the Bucktail Restaurant in the town center. Directions:
http://tinyurl.com/Bucktail

The oil & gas sites are along dirt roads in and around public lands areas. Expect a wide range of possible weather conditions from snow to rain. Thaw-like conditions are probable so expect mud. Come dressed for the outdoors for whatever weather is forecast (check weather for Marienville, PA). Bring water and pack a lunch and snacks. Expect to walk a bit. Sites are about 1/4 mile from main road.

For more info e-mail or call Jim Kleissler at
jim@palands.org or 412-559-1364.

Mar 19: Mississippi River water quality & CWA

The Sustainability and Computer Science seminar series presents David Dzombak with a talk entitled
Mississippi River Water Quality and the Clean Water Act: Progress, Challenges, Opportunities.

The National Research Council of the National Academies been conducting an evaluation of the implementation of the Clean Water Act in protecting and restoring water quality along the entire length of the Mississippi River. This effort has involved a comprehensive analysis of the progress that has been made with respect to water quality in the Mississippi River, the range of water quality challenges that remain, and the opportunities to address those challenges in the framework of the Clean Water Act. David Dzombak has been involved with this effort from its inception in 2005. He will provide an overview of the findings and recommendations of the comprehensive study, including the need for improved computational tools to enable data sharing and to encourage consistency in data collection methods and quality control.


David Dzombak is the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Associate Dean for Graduate and Faculty Affairs in the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the Faculty Director, Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. You can learn more at http://www.ce.cmu.edu/people/faculty/dzombak.html .

2 p.m. in room 6115 of the new Gates/Hillman building on the Carnegie Mellon campus; free and open to the public.

Mar 19: Green Drinks 6th year launch party

Pittsburgh Green Drinks 6th Year Launch Party hosted by Senator Jim Ferlo and County Executive Dan Onorato. Every anniversary we invite Senator Jim Ferlo, our original host, to help us celebrate. And why? He loves the Green Drinks crowd, and even foots the bill for complimentary food, beer and wine.


This year, he is bringing a special guest, County Executive Dan Onorato. Dan has established an impressive track record of Green initiatives and public policy changes over the last six years. We want to celebrate and build on these accomplishments: from expanding our regional parks and trails network to a signature brownfield reclamation program that has transformed toxic and blighted property to shovel ready development sites, Dan and his county team have pursued a Green Agenda we can all be proud of as County residents. Come hear about them!


Come out to Green Drinks, take part in the evening’s festivities, meet and greet our County Executive as he outlines all the good progress to date, and of course, connect with each other! And besides, what better week to have Green Drinks than the week of good St. Patrick?


5-9 p.m. at Mitchell's Restaurant, Bar & Banquet Center 304 Ross St (at Third Avenue) Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Map & Directions For Port Authority Bus Routes, go here: http://www.portauthority.org

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What is Green Drinks?

Every month, people who work in the environmental field or have in interest in a greener planet meet up for drinks at places all around the world at informal sessions known as Green Drinks. We have a lively mixture of people from Non profit, academia, labor, government, media and business. Come along and you'll be made welcome. Just say, "are you green?" and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there. It's a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there's always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organizing network.


These events are simple and unstructured. Make friends, develop new ideas, do deals and forge a new organic future. It's a force for the good and we'd like to help its spreading to other cities. Green Drinks meets on the 3rd Friday of each month from 5:00 - 9:00 PM...or later!! Put it in your calendar and count on it: Green Drinks is happening every month.

2010 Calendar - Save these dates: April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, September 17, October 15, November 19, December 17

Mar 18: Hacking panel at CMU

A panel discussion entitled Hacking Comes of Age: Climategate, Cyber-Espionage, and iWar. The image of hacking as the work of the solitary teenager curiously testing the limits of a computer security system has been replaced with major institutions being targeted by sophisticated groups of cyber thieves, spies and warriors. Climategate, Ghostnet and acts of “infowar” have transformed the face of hacking in the 21st century. This panel will explore the changing nature of computer hacking by highlighting some recent cases that have made headlines and raised dire questions about computer security as a new infrastructure problem. Some of these questions include: • How was privacy compromised by the Climategate hackers so that the findings of climate change science that deals with global warming was itself placed in doubt? • What countries are using cyber tactics to spy upon one another and gather sensitive intelligence? • How do corporations use computers to engage in theft of intellectual property thereby gaining a competitive advantage in the market and make hacking an act of industrial espionage? • Which countries are engaging in acts of information warfare (iWar) and sabotage and potentially how damaging are cyber warfare tactics? Panel Moderator: Peter Madsen, Distinguished Service Professor for Ethics and Social Responsibility, Office of the Vice Provost for Education and Heinz College Invited Panelists: Dawn Capelli, Senior Member of the Technical Staff in CERT, Software Engineering Institute Paul Fischbeck, Professor of Social and Decision Sciences and of Engineering and Public Policy Jason Hong, Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction Institute Richard Perthia, Director of the CERT Program, Software Engineering Institute Fellow and CyLab Co-Director Richard Power, Distinguished Fellow and the Director of Strategic Communications, CyLab

4:30-6 p.m. in Porter Hall 100 (Gregg Hall) at CMU.

Mar 16: Economic & Environmental Sustainability

Professors Terry Collins, (Green) Chemistry and Khee Poh Lam, Architecture will discuss Economic and Environmental Sustainability in a lively, cross-disciplinary dialogue.

4:30-6 p.m. in Rangos 1 in Carnegie Mellon's University Center.

Mar 16: Peter Yarrow concert

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, & Mary in a concert to benefit the PEAL Center and Operation Respect. Peter Yarrow has charmed, inspired, delighted, and just plain entertained generations of audiences since Peter, Paul and Mary first sang their way into the national consciousness in the early 1960s. As a member of that renowned musical trio for 49 years, he has earned five Grammys and an Emmy nomination, recorded eight gold and five platinum albums, and six Top 10 hits.

Peter, Paul and Mary are not only three of the greatest folk artists ever, but also three of the performing arts’ most outstanding champions of social justice and peace. - Coretta Scott King

The PEAL Center helps families of children with disabilities and special health care needs. You can watch this news piece
to learn about Peter Yarrow's work with Operation Respect.

The concert will take place in the ballroom of Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh North. Adults $20, children 12 & under $10. Order tickets online or call the PEAL Center at 412-281-4404.


Mar 13 & 14: TransitionPGH 2-day training

TransitionPGH is proud to announce that we have been selected to host a Training for Transition (T4T)! Two trainers from our national organization will visit for a two-day intensive training. Training for Transition is the popular, in-depth experiential workshop brought to the U.S. by the international Transition Network. The course describes how to set up, run, and maintain a successful Transition Initiative. It is packed with imaginative and inspiring ways to engage your community, and delves into both the theory and practice of Transition that has worked so well in hundreds of communities in the U.K. and around the world. It meets the training requirement for local initiating groups to become an internationally-recognized Transition Town.

TransitionPGH is a volunteer network of support for low-energy living in the Pittsburgh Bioregion. TransitionPGH is the hub from which neighborhood-sized transition initiatives can launch. The goal of each initiative is to establish a collective 20-year vision, determine the steps, and then execute what's called the Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) to accomplish each vision for each neighborhood in Pittsburgh. To get a better handle on TransitionPGH, you can read this press release and attend the meetup and film screening on March 9th.

The training runs 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. both days at Kingsley House, 6435 Frankstown Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Lunch is pot luck, and snacks are provided. Cost is $200 for 2 days with 2 trainers from TransitionUS. Some scholarships will be given if there is a legitimate need or trade agreement.

Register online or email jeff@ecoburgh.org . Make payments online @ http://ecoburgh.org or make checks payable to TransitionPGH . The session is limited to 40 spots, so RSVP soon!

For more info on transition, check here: transitiontowns.org and our events at TransitionPGH.org

Mar 5-11 & 13-14: Pentagon papers film

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Recently nominated for an Oscar, this finely crafted documentary has all the suspense of a snappy thriller. It's the captivating true story of Daniel Ellsberg, a former Marine, Pentagon employee and military analyst, who in 1971, performed one of the most daring whistle-blowing acts of the century – leaking copies of the top-secret history of our involvement in Vietnam to The New York Times. This is an exhilarating story of moral courage that touched off a landmark struggle between the press, the president, and the Supreme Court. (Judith Ehrlich & Rick Goldsmith; USA; 2009; 93 min)

More information on Pittsburgh Filmmakers site; trailer on YouTube.

Mar 11, 18, 25: A Garden Primer -- SOLD OUT

Don't know the first thing about vegetable gardening? Never even picked up a spade? Fear not - the Garden Primer course will cover all the basics including which tools beginner gardeners will need, what and where to plant, and when to harvest. In addition, those taking part in the course will be given step by step instruction on everything from starting a compost to properly transplanting seedlings. Whether working with a spacious backyard or an apartment balcony, participants will receive specialized advice and guidance to get their vegetable gardens going whatever the space.

The three-part course will be offered 3 separate times this spring:
1st Series: March 11, 18, 25 SOLD OUT
2nd Series: April 6, 13, 20
3rd Series: May 3, 10, 17

All courses will be held 7-9 p.m. at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S Highland Ave in East Liberty. Cost is $50, includes materials and light refreshments. Payment can be made via PayPal, or by sending a check to Grow Pittsburgh at 5429 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. You can register online to
secure your seat.

Mar 11: Local Food Showcase: grower/buyer event

Penn State Extension, Allegheny County, and co-sponsor Chatham University are proud to announce the first annual "Local Food Showcase: a Grower / Buyer Event". This event brings together Western Pennsylvania farmers, value-added producers, food industry purchasers, and consumers. If you grow food, cook food or eat food, this event is for you!
This is a great opportunity to find local sources of fresh and processed foods for retail, restaurant, CSA (community supported agriculture), wholesale, farm markets, and home use. This event features a tradeshow format to foster networking. These local food producers will be displaying their products and seasonal availability to potential customers. In addition, there will be demonstrations, tastings and educational information on local farms, biofuels, composting and gardening. Many area organizations will be on hand contributing to this event.
Pennsylvania agriculture yields an amazing variety of food. The full spectrum of locally produced foods will be represented including fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheese, baked goods, sauces and salsas.
The goal of the "Local Food Showcase: a Grower / Buyer Event" is to foster economic development through business relationships between farmers and chefs, retailers, wholesalers, institutions, for the upcoming 2010 growing season and beyond. It is part of a larger effort to strengthen the local food infrastructure in Western Pennsylvania.
The event will be hosted by co-sponsor Chatham University, in the Mellon Board Room, Pittsburgh PA 15232, on March 11, 2010 from 1-4pm. Farmers and vendors can register for this event through Penn State Extension, Allegheny County by contacting Heather Mikulas at 412-473-2540 or hem12@... Registration deadline is February 26, 2010. The public is invited to attend; the entrance fee to the event is $5.

Mar 10: Rain Barrel workshop at CCI

Rain Water Harvesting and Watershed Awareness

Rainwater harvesting is an effective, ecological and economical method for the conservation and protection of this precious natural resource. By catching, storing and re-directing your roof water for on-site usage you can take advantage of this free source of precious water while at the same time contributing to a reduction in the combined sewer overflow (CSO) problem that plagues the Greater Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas, helping to reduce flooding and nonpoint source pollution, and contributing to recharging our groundwater supply. You’ll also have a free source of non-chlorinated water for use in your yard and garden.

Learn how to harvest rainwater from your roof and divert it for on-site usage in the landscape. Attend a rain barrel workshop and return home equipped with the knowledge and hardware needed (not the 55-gal. drum) to assemble and install a rain barrel. It’s easier than you might think.

2010 PRC West Watershed Awareness/Rain BarrelWorkshops

6:30 – 8pm on Wednesday, March 10th at CCI Center on the South Side

6:30 – 8pm on Thursday, April 6th at the Green Tree Municipal Building, W. Manilla Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15220

6:30 – 8pm on Thursday, April 15th at the East End Co-Op

6:30 – 8pm on Thursday, April 22nd at the Richland Twp Municipal Building, 4019 Dickey Road Gibsonia, Pa 15044

6:30 – 8pm on Thursday, April 29th at Heidelberg@ Three Hierarchs Eastern Orthodox School, 1819 Ellsworth Avenue Carnegie, PA 15106-3947

7 - 8:30pm on Thursday, May 6th at the Upper St Clair Library, 1820 McLaughlin Run Road · Upper St.Clair, PA 15241

10am – 11:30am on Saturday, May 15th at the Schrader Environmental Center, Oglebay Institute Wheeling, WV 26003

6 – 8pm on Wednesday, May 19th at the Regional Environmental Education Center in Boyce-Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241

7 - 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27th at Phipps Garden Center (5th & Shady Avenues)Wednesday, June 2nd

7 – 8:30pm at Lauri Ann West Memorial Library, 1220 Powers Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

2 - 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 13th at Hahn Nursery in the North Hills

6:30 – 8pm on Wednesday, September 8th at CCI Center on the South Side

For more information or to register for a class please call (412) 488.7490 ext. 247 or email
Nancy Martin.

Feb 10: Sierra Club monthly meeting (postponed from February)

Proscribed Floods, Prescribed Fires: The Roles of The Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy. It All Happens Right Here in Pennsylvania!

The Corps is involved in vital aspects of conservation and regulation of our waterways, from flood prevention to control of disposal of wastes from Mountain-Top Removal Mining. Col. Crall is an articulate spokesman for the Corps’ activities and can answer any questions, including those about new regulations about to be promulgated which may break the back of MTR mining.
On the other hand, the Nature Conservancy is doing exciting work at trying to lower the risk of out-of-control forest fires here in the East and to raise the germination rate for oaks, near zero without fire. This is controversial stuff in the forestry profession. Come hear what it’s all about, from Colonel Michael P. Crall, Pittsburgh District Engineer, and Pat McElhenny and Jenny Case of the Nature Conservancy.

7:30-9PM at the Phipps Garden Center, Fifth and Shady Avenues, Squirrel Hill. Free and open to the public. Refreshments and conversation after the program. For more information, contact Donald L. Gibbon (412-362-8451) or dongibbon at earthlink dot net. Keep abreast of monthly meetings and other local Sierra Club activities at the Allegheny Group website.



Mar 9: Transition Towns coming to Pgh

TransitionPGH is a volunteer network of support for low-energy living in the Pittsburgh Bioregion. TransitionPGH is the hub from which neighborhood-sized transition initiatives can launch. The goal of each initiative is to establish a collective 20-year vision, determine the steps, and then execute what's called the Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) to accomplish each vision for each neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

This is the first public meetup of TransitionPGH. We are working together to build awareness for energy descent and ultimately to establish Pittsburgh as a premier Transition Town Hub.

Join us for a free screening of InTransition, the Official Transition Movie, followed by small group discussion and networking. We'll collect and compile your ideas and provide them back to the group via email.

7:00-9:00pm at the First United Methodist Church, on the corner of Center & Aiken in Shadyside. For more information contact jeff@ecoburgh.org or check out www.transitiontowns.org RSVP Here : http://meetup.com/transitionPGH

You can watch the Movie here: http://transitionculture.org/category/transition-movie/

Mar 7: Empty Bowls Dinner

Empty Bowls is a simple meal of soup and bread that reminds us that many of our neighbors are struggling to feed their families. All proceeds from Empty Bowls, including this auction, benefit Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest.
Just Harvest

The 15th Annual Empty Bowls Dinner will be held at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Oakland on Sunday, March 7th. This year we are opening the bidding for the top bowls from the Silent Auction early! Check out these one-of-a-kind ceramic and celebrity autographed bowls (just a sampling of the many that will be at the event)!

Online bidding will end at 4 pm EST on Thursday, March 4. The auction will end live at the event on Sunday, March 7, 2010. If you are not able to attend the event, you can submit an absentee bid online and we'll do the bidding for you!

Additional Items The silent auction at the event will include more ceramic bowls and other art. Additional celebrity bowls include future hall-of-famer Jerome Bettis, rocker Donnie Iris, actor/comedian Jimmy Fallon, Penguins Max Talbot, Jordan Staal and Eric Godard, Penn State coach Joe Paterno, and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. Plus more!!!

Tickets are still available for this family-favorite event - visit our website for details and to buy tickets.


Mar 7: International Women's Day event

"Join Us On The Bridge": Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day. From March 6 to March 8, women and men around the world will be joining together for a unique celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day: they’ll be gathering on bridges to highlight the critical role of women in waging peace and building a better future for all.
“This is a day when we ask women worldwide to unite in building the bridges of peace for our future.”
—Join Us On The Bridge website (http://www.womenforwomen.org/bridge)
Locally, the event will be held on Sunday, March 7, on the 9th Street Bridge. Women and men will gather on either side of the bridge at 2:30 p.m., then begin marching at 3pm to meet each other with banners and songs in the middle of the bridge. At press time, a dozen organizations were involved in sponsoring the events, including the American Friends Service Committee PA Program, Pittsburgh CodePink, Roots of Promise, several local chapters of NOW, Students for Justice inPalestine, School of the Americas Watch/Western Pennsylvania, Women’s Independent Press, and Dr. Goddess Arts, Education and Management.

Women to Women International, an organization which helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives, is calling for women to join together not only because of women’s work in waging peace, but because across the globe, women bear the brunt of war and poverty. Throughout the world, women go through everything that men go through—hunger, poverty, injustices, torture, imprisonment, racist colonialism, etc.—but in addition, they are subjected to a whole other set of injustices as a direct result of their universal second-class, subjugated status.
Join us on the bridge on Sunday, March 7th, to honor these women and join them in building bridges for sustainable peace and justice in our own communities and across the globe.




Mar 5: Talk on Israeli/Palestinian struggle

Human rights activist Mazin Qumsiyeh will speak on Israeli apartheid and Palestinian popular resistance. Dr. Qumsiyeh currently teaches at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in Occupied Palestine. He is president of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People and coordinator of the Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab. He has written several books, including the highly acclaimed Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle, and has served on the faculties of several universities. He has also served on the boards and steering committees of groups including the Peace Action Education Fund, the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, the Palestinian American Congress, the Association for One Democratic State in Israel/Palestine, and BoycottIsraeliGoods.org. Professor Qumsiyeh has published over 200 letters and 100 op-ed pieces, and has been interviewed on several TV and radio programs. Appearances in national media include the Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, CNBC, C-Span, and ABC. He also regularly lectures on issues of human rights and international law. He is currently working on a book on Palestinian civil resistance from the beginning of the Zionist project in the 19th century until today. His website is: http://qumsiyeh.org.

7PM at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Sponsors include the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee and the University of Pittsburgh Students for Justice in Palestine.