Tuesday & Wednesday evenings in October -- enviro phone banking

Clean Water Action does a lot of great work in our region.  Here's an opportunity to volunteer with them to help elect local environmental leaders.

Over the past two years, Pennsylvania has had a legislature and governor dedicated to protecting the interests of oil and gas companies and ignoring the needs of citizens and the environment. We must make a change in 2012.


Clean Water Action will be conducting phone banks between now and Election Day. It takes strength in numbers to make an impact. Join us to make a real difference for Pennsylvania’s future!


Phonebanks Every Tuesday & Wednesday, 6pm-8pm in the Clean Water Action Office downtown (100 5th Ave, Ste 1108).  To volunteer, call Tom at 412-765-3053 x 202.

Oct 28: Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday celebration

Woody Guthrie's 100th Birthday  Multi-Media Folk Sing-a-Long Comes to Pittsburgh Doug Morris, a professor from Eastern New Mexico University, is coming to Pittsburgh and will present a benefit Woody Guthrie Multimedia Folk Sing-a-Long to benefit the Thomas Merton Center in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie.    2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh-based organization in Garfield, that works to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, oppression and environmental justice.  It engages people of diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world.  Woody Guthrie addressed many of the same issues in his music.   The event will be held 7-9 p.m. on Sunday evening, at the Letter Carriers' Local 84 Union Hall Auditorium at 841 California Avenue on the North Side (immediately before the main post office).  All are welcome!  Refreshments will be served.  A free will offering will be taken up for the Thomas Merton Center.  Parking is free at the Union Hall; the entrance is off the parking lot.  For more information, contact doug.morris@enmu.org or office@thomasmertoncenter.org, call the Thomas Merton Center at (412) 361-3022, or visit our website at www.thomasmertoncenter.org.   Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)    If you want PEACE than SING for Justice.

Oct 26: 2012 Rachel Carson Legacy Conference

Our Planet and Our Health - The Impact ofSilent Spring after Fifty Years

Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring, published 50 years ago in 1962, brought global attention to the consequences of unrestrained use of toxic pesticides such as DDT. Among the actions taken in response to her work was a ban on DDT by the newly formed environmental Protection Agency in 1976, over a decade after Rachel Carson's death. The conference will gather participants from academic, non-government, industry, advocates and policy makers to explore the topic:"Our Planet and Our Health - The Impact of Silent Spring after Fifty Years". The event will focus on the oceans as harbingers of the health of our planet and ourselves, with a keynote address from Francesca Santoro, Ph.D. of the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission of the UNESCO. The event will feature the American Chemical Society presentation by Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D. of Sandia national Laboratory of a National Historic Chemical Landmark for Silent Spring to Chatham University, Rachel Carson's alma mater.

1 - 5 p.m. at the Eddy Theatre on the main Chatham campus.  For more information and to register online, visit here. 

Oct 25: GE film screenings at the Co-op

Movie Screening: “Unnatural Selection” & “The Hidden Health Dangers of GE Foods and Their Cover-Up”

Each attendee receives a free copy of Jeffrey Smith’s Audio CD “Don’t Put That In Your Mouth,” a discussion on ending the genetic engineering of our food. 

6-7 p.m. and 7:15-8:15 p.m. at the East End Food Co-op.  Free and open to the public; please register at the EEFC Customer Service desk or call 412.242.3598.

Oct 25: Elections & Environment at WESA

Green Gatherings: How the Environment Factors Into the Election

The Allegheny Front, a Pittsburgh-produced radio program covering western Pennsylvania environmental issues, has announced their next season of Green Gatherings events hosted alongside 91.3 FM WYEP and 90.5 WESA.

Green Gatherings is a free and informal evening of drinks and discussion over issues facing our environment held at our studios at 67 Bedford Square on Pittsburgh's South Side.

The topic for the evening will be "How the Environment Factors Into the Election" and will focus on issues within our community gaining political ground including Marcellus Shale, sewage infrastructure, and many other key “green” issues. The evening will include a panel of speakers featuring Don Hopey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chris Potter of Pittsburgh City Paper and Heather Sage of PennFuture.

6:30-8:30 at the Community Broadcast Center, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15210.  The Happy Hour will include beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks -- and it's free, but please register.

Oct 22: Economics of Happiness film screening

Transition Pittsburgh's Fall Films for Resilience Series aims to round up friendly & intelligent folks to be entertained and inspired by a good movie, figuring out afterwards how to make our communities & lifestyles more resilient to economic, ecological, and environmental challenges.  The film is short and sweet, and definitely worth a watch.

Economics of Happiness synopsis, from IMDB: The Economics of Happiness features a chorus of voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change. The documentary describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance - and, far from the old institutions of power, they're starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm - an economics of localization.

7pm-8:15pm (film is 65 min) at the First United Methodist Church, 5401 Centre Ave.; Use S. Aiken/Liberty entrance to the Sanctuary.  There will be freshly popped, free, organic popcorn for all, too. Please RSVP if you can at the Meetup page (but please come even if you don't RSVP!).  The screening is free, but we'll be asking for donations to support screening licenses for future events. Paying it forward... 

Oct 20: Workshop on high performance homes

DEAWP (Diagnostic Energy Auditors, Western Pennsylvania) is hosting a workshop on High Performance HOmes, the Next Frontier in Home Renovations.

Do you have an older home?  Do you have problems with comfort, indoor air quality, health issues, or air leakage?  Come and learn cost-effective solutions to these issues!  Learn how to make your home more energy efficient, save money, and reduce your carbon footprint.  Turn your home into a high performance home!

1 p.m. lecture, followed by a tour to view the work that was completed at the lower school of the Environmental Charter School (309 South Braddock Ave, Park Place 15221.  Refreshments will be provided.  To register call 888-728-9288 or email info@deawp.org .

Oct 20: Lawrenceville Autumn Hoedown: benefit for replace

Have fun, and help some of our northern neighbors survive in their fracked-up community.  C'mon out for a contra dance benefit to buy water for families affected by gas drilling in Southwest Pennsylvania.  Join local caller Cindy Harris and live music by BFG for a fun evening with dancing, pie, games, hay rides, and giant paint by number!

8 p.m. at Shiloh Church, at 39th and Mintwood in Lawrenceville.  $10 admission.  

For more information on this issue, visit the Shadbush Collective site, and/or check out this Post-Gazette article.

Oct 19: ALCOSAN Wet Weather Plan hearing

Nearly every time it rains, millions of gallons of raw sewage overflow from our sewer systems into our rivers and streams. ALCOSAN, our region's sanitary authority, is charged with creating a plan to fix this huge problem. Their proposal to fix our sewer system involves burying multiple miles of subway-sized tunnels underneath our rivers that won't completely stop the overflows, and will cause huge disruptions to our riverfronts and our environment. These tunnels will do nothing to mitigate flooding, revitalize struggling neighborhoods, clean our air, or address any of the other major challenges facing our region. The kicker? These tunnels carry a price tag of more than $2 Billion - that is more than Heinz Field, PNC Park, the Convention Center, and the North Shore Connector combined, and your sewer bill will more than double to pay for them! If you don't want to see your money get buried in tunnels under the river, RSVP to join us on October 19th! The Clean Rivers Campaign is calling on ALCOSAN to solve this problem using green solutions that will not only clean our water, but will create family-sustaining jobs, rebuild our neighborhoods, clean our air, and result in the most benefit for the least cost to our community! If you would like to attend, but need transportation to ALCOSAN, please let the NMRWA know at info@ninemilerun.org by 5 PM on Wednesday, October 17th. This will be the last chance for public comment on ALCOSAN's plan, so be sure to join NMRWA and the Clean Rivers Campaign on October 19th and make your voice heard! If you are unable to attend on Friday, October 19th, but still want your voice to be heard, consider attending the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network's Public Action Meeting on Thursday, October 18th, as this issue will be covered at that meeting with local elected officials. Also, you may submit comments directly to ALCOSAN through their WWP eComment Form.

Oct 18: PIIN Public Action Meeting

Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) “Moving People of Faith Into Action”

The 2012 Public Action Meeting will take place on Thursday, October 18, 2012, 7:00-8:30 p.m.  at the Rodef Shalom Congregation 4905 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Join 1,200 people as we take action on local and regional issues with local politicians, including 

Mike Doyle, US House of Reps, Dist. 14

Matt Smith, PA House of Reps, Dist. 47

Michael Martin Schmotzer, PA House of Reps, Dist. 22

Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive

Bill Peduto, Pgh. City Council, Dist 8

Bruce Kraus, Pgh. City Council, Dist 3

Corey O’Connor, Pgh. City Council, Dist 5

Transit:

The hard work of PIIN and our partners helped avert the proposed 35% cuts in transit service in September but if the problem of insufficient transit funding is not resolved, the system will again be at risk. PIIN and our partners are coming together to kick-off a multi-year campaign to get sufficient dedicated local and state funding for public transit. We are better together!

Education:

PIIN is seeking a commitment from Dr. Linda Lane, Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent, and Nina Esposito-Visgitis, President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, to continue to work with PIIN and our partners to achieve equity for all of our students, which can only be achieved with a partnership of parents, community, administration and teachers.

Jobs and the Clean Rivers Campaign!

ALCOSAN has proposed and plans to implement a multi-billion dollar fix to the sewer system. PIIN, as part of the Clean Rivers Coalition, wants this, the largest infrastructure investment in Allegheny County’s history, to do the maximum good in the community. We are pushing for good jobs, for green methods to help solve the storm water problem, and provide benefits to our communities and for strategies to reduce flooding.

Voter ID and Turnout:

We will ask all present to not only commit to vote but to consider working the polls on November 6th, work to get people in our congregations and communities to the polls, and make sure that people have an acceptable form of ID so they can vote. Civic participation is a cherished value of each of the faith traditions represented in PIIN and we will put it into action by encouraging and protecting the vote this November.

Oct 18: Green Workplace Challenge

Celebrate the Pittsburgh Region's Leadership at the Green Workplace Challenge Awards & Recognition Ceremony, with the launch of Southwest Pennsylvania's Sustainable Business Compact. 8:00 am - 11:30 am at Phipps Conservatory; buffet breakfast provided.  $25 Green Workplace Challenge Participants & Sustainable Pittsburgh/C4S Members;  $45 Nonmembers (special rate for students). Keynote: "Taking Energy Efficiency To Scale: The Empire State Building" by Victor Olgyay (Principal Architect, Built Environment Team, Rocky Mountain Institute) Also featuring: Energy Efficiency and the Regional Energy Economy: Bill Flanagan (Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development). Breathe Project:  Caren Glotfelty (Senior Program Director for the Heinz Endowments) Unveiling of the SWPA Sustainable Business Compact:  Jerry Swart (Managing Director of Environmental Services, FedEx Ground) Join Sustainable Pittsburgh in a ceremony to recognize the leadership and accomplishments of the Green Workplace Challenge (GWC) participants! Over the past twelve months, these 50+ forward-thinking organizations from southwestern PA took actions that resulted in improved energy efficiencies, water use and emissions reductions, ultimately paving the way for a more sustainable region. The GWC sets itself apart from other comparable competitions across the country because participants are required to measure their actions and provide verification.  Awards will be presented to companies who achieve the top scores in the large, medium and small business categories.  The GWC was recently recognized by City of Pittsburgh's Mayor Ravenstahl via the Green Champion Award. The SWPA Sustainable Business Compact is a strategic next step for this region on its path to becoming more sustainable.  The Compact is a commitment and certification platform, providing a credible and rigorous pathway for businesses to advance and publically demonstrate their corporate sustainability achievements. For a list of additional speakers, agenda, and registration, please visit: www.c4spgh.org/register_GWC_other.html Please join us for this inspiring occasion. See who the leaders are on October 18, the impact they’ve made on the region, and what's next!

Oct 13: Sustainability Salon & Sing: solar tour

  

  

This month's Sustainability Salon will be on Saturday, October 13, in conjunction with the PennFuture Solar Tour.  Upcoming dates and other alerts:

House concert on November 3rd with Ken Gaines and the Squirrel Hillbillies!

Next salon on November 10th featuring GASP and other speakers on regional air quality along with a visit by the CAPS Mobile Lab, fresh from monitoring Marcellus Shale drilling sites.  

  Please also note the followup information and action opportunity below from the Clean Rivers Campaign -- there's still time to weigh in on the ALCOSAN Wet Weather Plan (public comment period closes on October 19th).

Here's the scoop on this weekend's event:  On Saturday October 13th, please join us for the ninth Putting Down Roots Sustainability Salon, another in our ongoing series of monthly enviro-conversational gatherings with potluck food and homemade music.  Following our rousing discussions on solar power, food, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, and regional watershed issues, this month we'll welcome participants of PennFuture's regional Solar Tour as well as Sustainability Salon regulars.  Check out the Solar Tour site for photos and information and an interactive guide (complete with a smartphone app!) about our house and 15 other sites in and around Pittsburgh, as well as stops in Cranberry, Washington, Westmoreland, Beaver, and Fayette Counties.  You'll be able to visit hosts between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on that day, and then we'll carry on with our usual Sustainability Salon activities after that -- conversation, potluck food and drink, and an evening folksing.  The Tour requires tickets (a mere $5 contributed toward tour expenses), but if you just want to come to our place then don't worry about it.  I can also provide a limited number of tickets for the tour, if you contact me in advance.

At the last Salon, we enjoyed presentations by Tom Hoffman of Clean Water Action, Barney Oursler of Pittsburgh United, and John Stephen of Three Rivers Waterkeeper.  All of these organizations and others are participating in a regional collaborative called the Clean Rivers Campaign, building the political power necessary to green the solutions to our Combined Sewer Overflow problem (ALCOSAN's current grey-infrastructure proposal can be seen here).  Individuals and organizations still have the opportunity to attend public meetings and send written comments to ALCOSAN, and you can also quickly and easily sign onto the Clean Rivers Campaign itself -- please visit this site to add your name!  Tom or I can also provide a separate organizational sign-on form by email, if you would like to connect on behalf of your organization -- that action will carry even more weight, and you can see the excellent company you'd be keeping here.  You should send the completed form back to Tom.

On October 13, the Solar Tour starts at 11 a.m. here at our home in Frick Park and elsewhere around town;  we'll settle down to conversation and such at 4pm and wind down by around 10 p.m.  Please email me to RSVP (important for yesses ad maybes, please do so each time -- it helps greatly in several ways.  Among other things, attendance varies from 25 to 75, and it helps to have a handle on numbers in advance!) and I'll send directions and/or a trail map if you need 'em.  Be sure to include "salon" in the Subject line, as I receive a ridiculous amount of email every day.  Bring food or drink to share if you can, along with musical instruments if you play.  Check back on MarensList (where you can find information on all sorts of environmental and social justice events), for updates. 

And if you like to make music or listen to homemade music, don't forget the evening sing -- we typically run the gamut from Irish fiddle tunes to protest songs to the Beatles, and a fun time is had by all.  Bring instruments if you play, and/or pick up one of ours!  Conversations will continue through the evening as well.

____________________

Quite a few people have asked me what sorts of food to bring -- and my answer, as always, is whatever inspires you;  I believe in the "luck" part of potlucks.  Tasty noshings for the afternoon, hearty main dishes or scrumptious salads and sides for dinner, baked goods from biscuits and breads to brownies or baklava -- and/or beverages of any kind.  The more the merrier!  Local fare is always particularly welcome, whether homegrown or boughten.  Dishes containing meat are fine, though if it isn't really obvious please make a note of it.  

----------------------------

-salon |səˈlän; saˈlô n |:  (historical) a regular social gathering of eminent people (esp. writers and artists) at the house of a woman prominent in high society;  a meeting of intellectuals or other eminent people at the invitation of a celebrity or socialite.

Regular, that's the plan.  Eminent and intellectual people, to be sure -- that's yinz.  House, check.  Woman, c'est moi.  High society, celebrity, socialite?  Not so much.  Salons occurred in 17th-century France, purportedly powering the Enlightenment, and were more recently repopularized by the Utne Reader.  I've long contemplated hosting an ongoing series of conversational salons in this tradition: informal gatherings around the notion of sustainability.  Some will have a featured guest to lead a discussion on a some topic, others will be open to whatever comes up.  If you'd like to hear about a particular topic, or hold forth on your own area of expertise, let's talk about a future event!

Oct 13: Pittsburgh Solar Tour

You’re invited to PennFuture’s second annual 2012 Pittsburgh Solar Tour on Saturday, October 13, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.pghsolartour.org for more details. 
This year we are excited to also be offering a guided Solar Bike Tour for the central Pittsburgh properties that will be featured on the tour. The Solar Bike Tour is a 20 mile ride through the city of Pittsburgh where we will visit 8 properties with solar installations. This event highlights the growing solar market in western Pennsylvania and demonstrates that creating energy from the sun in our region is practical and possible.
   
   
Register for the Solar Bike Tour:
-         $5 for non-PennFuture members
-         Free for PennFuture members
Bike Tour Starting Location:  906 Western Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 (North Side)
Bike Tour Starting Time: 11:00 a.m.
Click the map to open in Google.

This is a friendly no drop ride, all skill levels are welcome. Helmets are required. We will regroup at the top of each climb or as needed.
Check out the Facebook Event page for more details!

Oct 11: Inspire speakers George Bandy, Jr. & Christine Mondor

The first speaker in the Green Building Alliance's INSPIRE Speaker Series will be George Bandy, Jr., the vice-president of Interface, a carpet design and manufacturing company, and a longstanding champion of sustainability! One of the sustainability industry’s most sought-after, dynamic, and inspirational speakers, George Bandy Jr. looks at opportunities to advance environmental, economic and socially responsible solutions for customers and sets the standard for other businesses following a path and mission of sustainability.

With a deep understanding of sustainability, having worked in higher education institutions and being involved with the USGBC Center for Green Schools, George Bandy, Jr. can naturally translate his experiences in the business world to the school environment. With an emphasis on healthy and high performing places, capacity building and community involvement, George is an expert on the inner workings of how any place can be successful on making the switch to becoming healthy and high performing. He often gives inspirational and motivational speeches to schools across the country as well as incorporating the importance of the educational community when addressing a larger perspective of sustainability to other audiences.

From being as the Sustainable Development Officer for the University of Texas-Houston, to the former Manager of Sustainable Strategy at Interface, George has a great depth of knowledge and expertise on how to develop, educate, support and implement strategies and initiatives with the goal of increasing stakeholder trust and creating new business opportunities

George is a dynamic speaker and travels extensively as a presenter with lectures covering such topics as: The Business Case for Sustainability, Innovation and Design with Nature in Mind, Greening the Supply Chain, Social Sustainability and Culture Change.

Look at just some of George Bandy, Jr.’s Board and Committee Appointments:

United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of DirectorsSecond Nature Board of DirectorsGeorgia Chapter of the USGBC – AdvisorCharlotte Chapter of the USGBC Advisory BoardNFL Atlanta Falcons Ovie Mughelli Foundation BoardGreenBiz Intelligence CommitteeGeorgia Minority Supplier Development Council Board of DirectorsAtlanta Chamber of Commerce Sustainability CommitteeNatural Step Advisor and TrainerThe

We are also very excited to pair George Bandy Jr. with GBA’s very own Christine Mondor!

Christine is an eternal optimist regarding the power of design in shaping a sustainable environment. Christine has been active in shaping places, processes and organizations nationally and internationally for over fifteen years through her work as an architect, educator, and activist. Her diverse experience enables her to note trends and bring benefit across project types, from design of buildings and landscapes to educational efforts to sustainability planning. As strategic Principal of evolveEA and a registered architect, Christine brings creative and strategic solutions to projects as diverse as the award winning design of the “extended stay” house to the developing the business case for sustainability at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. She is experienced at helping communities, schools and other agencies build capacity as they navigate sustainability through strategic planning and project implementation.

Christine has taught architecture, landscape design and sustainability concepts at Carnegie Mellon University, Slippery Rock University, and at Chatham College. She supports organizations that promote design and the environment and currently serves as Vice-President for the Green Building Alliance Board of Directors and is former Board Chair at the Design Center of Pittsburgh.

Oct 8: Water quality, policy and health

Re-thinking water quality, policy and health — An elemental approach;  a talk in the Distinguished Lecture Series in Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy by Kartik Chandran, Associate Professor, Columbia University

The current paradigm for wastewater treatment is based on a net 'oxidation' of its main elemental constituents, carbon and nitrogen. Such a model, while beneficial to environmental health is energy and cost intensive and in some cases prohibitive. The high energy, cost and resource requirements of this oxidative model also renders technologies thus developed, rather inaccessible to the majority of the world’s population from a sanitation and human health perspective. Further, such models are rather redundant, when considered in conjunction with the carbon, food, energy and water cycles. In this presentation, concrete examples of new models for carbon and nitrogen cycling (or lack thereof) are presented as alternate vehicles for energy and resource neutral or positive sanitation. Through the use of such models, improved water quality is but a bonus and is complemented with commodities and energy, which can be monetized. It is also possible to adopt such models to address issues such as localized migration into cities by facilitating de-centralized and distributed resource use, recovery and infrastructure.

4:30 pm in Porter Hall 100 on the CMU campus.

Kartik Chandran is an Environmental Engineer and currently Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University, where he leads the Columbia University Biomolecular Environmental Science program and the Wastewater Treatment and Climate Change program. Under his stewardship, the research directions of biological wastewater treatment and biological nitrogen removal were established for the first time ever in the history of Columbia University. Chandran is keenly interested in developing novel models for sustainable sanitation and wastewater treatment, with a specific focus on managing the global nitrogen cycle (one of the grand challenges of the National Academy of Engineering) and linking it to the carbon cycle, the water cycle and the energy cycle. Chandran has received, among other awards, the NSF CAREER award and the Paul Busch Award. He was the recipient of a 2007 National Academies of Science Fellowship and a guest professorship at the Delft University of Technology in 2008. In 2011, Chandran began implementing a novel model for sanitation in Africa, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Water Environment Federation and on the nomination committee of the Stockholm Water Prize.

More details on Dr. Chandran’s work can be found at www.columbia.edu/~kc2288.

This event is part of Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture, on view at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University from Sept. 15, 2012 - Feb. 24, 2013. Through a wide range of materials including photographs, sculpture, video, publications, research and archival materials, design projects, and architectural models and drawings, Imperfect Health uncovers some of the uncertainties and contradictions in the current ideas of health and considers how architecture acknowledges, incorporates and affects health issues. For information, visit: www.cmu.edu/millergallery

Oct 7: Benefit concert with Mike Stout

A Call To Unite --  Mike Stout and the Human Union Band will perform in a concert to benefit Pennsylvanians United for Single Payer Healthcare and the Thomas Merton Center.

7:30 p.m. at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (650 Schenley Drive 15213).  Suggested donation $15, low-income $10.

You can see Mike and his band in action online, here commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.

Oct 6: Celebrating Gandhi

Join Pitt's Asian Studies Center for an afternoon of activities celebrating the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings! Enjoy tea, snacks, and conversation with Pittsburgh organizations at the 2 p.m. reception, followed at 3 by cultural performances, inter-faith presentations and more!

2:00 – 5:00 PM at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

There will also be a lecture by Carrie Trybulec, Director of the Gandhi Memorial Centerr, Washington, D.C.:

Mahatma Gandhi: Truth is One

Mahatma Gandhi said: “I believe in Advaita, in the essential unity of man and for that matter, of all that lives.” His life was a testament to the ideal that “Truth alone is eternal, everything else is momentary.”

Gandhiji believed in the notion that Truth is “One”, and that we call it by various names. His life was a continuous struggle for Truth, the realization of the oneness of life. He experimented daily with Truth, particularly in the ashram setting, in the communities he established in South Africa and India with members from different religious and social backgrounds, living together with a common spiritual purpose.

Gandhiji utilized the “ashram life” as a sort of spiritual laboratory. It was the environment he created in which to test out and experiment with the ideal of Truth. Just as Henry David Thoreau went to Walden Pond to experiment with the simple life, a life enriched by man’s natural heritage, Gandhiji explored the domain of Truth through prayer and service in the ashram setting.

Gandhiji strove for the realization of Truth; not the fallible and corruptible nature of man’s perception of Truth but the all-pervasive, infinite and universal Truth. In his effort to know Truth, Gandhiji regularly sought the guidance of “that still small voice of calm” found in the silence of one’s heart.

Gandhiji tried to shape his life by the highest ideals that have illumined humanity from all religions and from all parts of the globe. His commitment to study the scriptures of all faiths, to share the prayers of all communities, to serve all humanity, and to kindle in his own heart a love for all of life, was guided by his devotion to Truth. Gandhiji believed that “All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.”

Gandhiji asked that we seek to know the Truth of our existence, the Truth of our very being, and to live our lives according to this ideal. He said, “Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. Life is an aspiration. Its mission is to strive after perfection which is self-realization.” This realization is in the knowledge of the oneness of life; that Truth is One.

See the event flier here, which includes a list of sponsors: Gandhi Day 2012 Flier

Oct 6: Furnish for Free

Furnish for Free is an event that is open to the public and hosted by Who's Your Brother Foundation. At Furnish for Free, WYB promotes the re-use of gently used items by giving these items to a neighbor or a friend who is in need. In addition to the scheduled events, we also collect and disburse furniture to those who have needs on an ongoing basis.

How do I make a donation?

We will accept gently used furniture, books, electronics, clothing, kitchenware, appliances, etc. These items will be collected by appointment. To make arrangements for drop off or pick up of a donation please contact us at furnishforfree@whosyourbrother.com or 412-328-2197. Donations will also be accepted during the times of our public events.

What if I need furniture or other items?

Those in need of particular items can also contact us. If we cannot meet your need, we will do our best to contact you when and if new items collected match what you seek. We also host six events each year where the public can come and receive items that we have collected.

Want to help?

Volunteers will be needed to help during scheduled collection dates prior to our public. We need extra hands. And if you own a pick-up truck or van you can assist us with the collection of donations.

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at 201 N. Braddock Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.  If you have any other questions or would like to help with an upcoming Furnish for Free event, email us or call 412-736-7295.

Oct 2: Stormwater panel discussion in Shaler

The Northern Area Environmental Council is hosting a forum to bring different perspectives to the combined sewer problem:  Visions of Gray and Green: Stormwater Solutions in Western Pennsylvania.  Panelists will be from local government, ALCOSAN, the Three Rives Wet Weather Project and the Clean Rivers Campaign.

8 p.m. at the Shaler Area Middle School auditorium, 1810 Mt. Royal Blvd.  For more information, visit  http://naecwpa.org or contact Mary Wilson at (412) 364-7006. 

Oct 2: Sustainability & Computing panel

The Fall 2012 Sustainability and Computing seminar series will kick off  on October 2 with a  Panel Discussion by four computer science faculty working on different facets of the sustainability problem: 

Jen Mankoff (HCII) - Zico Kolter (CS) - David Andersen (CS) - Illah Nourbakhsh (RI)

Issues of sustainability, energy, and the environment pose some of the greatest challenges facing society.  Although these problems span a range of disciplines, there is a growing appreciation for the role that computer science and computation in general can play to address such issues.  The goal of this seminar is to create a forum to discuss the ways that computer science can and will contribute to these domains, and to foster greater consciousness, conversation, and collaboration in this area. 

We hope to cast a wide net: topics include both computer science research relevant to sustainability challenges, as well as research areas in sustainability, energy and the environment which may provide fertile ground for novel work involving computational thinking.  Talks may also present mature research in sustainability – both to increase our general sustainability literacy and to generate discussion about how computer science could help advance the work.  In all of these areas, we look forward to collaborating with other groups on campus.

While this inaugural presentation is CS-centric, the seminar as a whole is deliberately – and necessarily – interdisciplinary, and we invite both speakers and participants from all areas.  We also hope to foster some meta discussions: exploring opportunities for collaboration, funding, outreach, and so forth.  Please let us know if you would like to speak in the near future.

3-4 p.m. in Gates/Hillman 6112 on the Carnegie Mellon campus.

Please contact copetas@cs.cmu.edu to be added to the Sustainability Seminar mailing list for notifications on upcoming talks and special programs of interest.

Additional information:   http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~SCSGreen<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7ESCSGreen>