Putting Down Roots: Maren's List: 201402

Feb 27: Climate change series at Pitt

The Global Studies Center, University Honors College and the Model UN Club, will present a series of four events to foster understanding and engagement on the urgent topic of climate change, with key participants in the debates at the UN and from major non-governmental organizations (NGOs). All events start at 4pm and will be held at the O'Hara Student Center, 4024 O'Hara Street, on the Pitt campus.

January 30 The UN Framework on Climate Change

February 13 Drowning: Climate Change Hits a Small Island

February 27 Outside Pressure: NGOs as Climate Change Stakeholders

March 27 Making a Difference in Climate Change Discourse: The UN and/or Popular Movements

Guest speakers, participating via video, will discuss the politics of climate negotiations, the possibilities and limitations of the UN in addressing environmental issues, and how civil society groups, from environmentalist to public-health and peace activists, engage the UN. Recommended readings for each event posted on website. Each session will include time for Q&A and extended dialogue with the guest speakers.

The sessions will be moderated by Dr. Roger Rouse, Instructor in Global Studies at Pitt, and by Ambassador Ahmad Kamal, a professional diplomat from Pakistan who is the Founding President of the Ambassadors Club at the UN and a Senior Fellow if the UN’s Institute of Training and Research.

Speaker bios, relevant readings and more about the sessions are available at the series website http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/dialogs/climate-change-talks

Feb 26: Film screening, Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria

Food & Water Watch's local efforts to rein in factory farm abuse of antibiotics are picking up steam! You are invited to a special opportunity to watch the PBS documentary, "Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria," to learn more about the problem and how you can get involved here in Pittsburgh. There will also be food provided! If you haven't seen the program, it's a must-watch warning on where modern medicine is headed unless we do something to protect our life-saving antibiotics from misuse on factory farms. Here are the details:

7 p.m. at the Allegheny Sierra Club office: 425 N. Craig St. Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Free parking available. Email Margaret to register, and for parking details.

Factory farms are abusing antibiotics — feeding daily, low doses to otherwise healthy animals to promote growth and prevent disease in filthy living conditions. As a result, antibiotic resistant infections are becoming a serious public health threat, and the medicines we rely on may no longer work for us when we need them. The good news is that we can do something about it. Come out and join us to watch the film, eat some snacks, and find out more about the local movement!

Feb 27 and Mar 6, 13 & 22: Help with health care coverage

Get covered! Starting Thursday in Greenfield, then Hazelwood, Oakland & Squirrel Hill

There’s still time to sign up for health care coverage. The deadline is March 31, but the sooner you sign up, the sooner your insurance coverage starts. Many people in western Pennsylvania qualify for reductions – sometimes major reductions – in the premiums. The Affordable Care Act is working: more than 123,000 Pennsylvanians have already signed up for coverage.

State Representative Dan Frankel is sponsoring more local sessions to help people obtain health insurance through the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. Come learn about the marketplace from trained educators. You’ll also have the opportunity to sign up for free one-on-one help. Please RSVP with Dan's office at 412-422-1774 for any of these sessions:

• Greenfield: Thursday, Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Magee Recreation Center, 745 Greenfield Ave., Pittsburgh, 15217

• Hazelwood: Thursday, March 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., The Car Barn, 5344 Second Ave., Pittsburgh, 15207

• Oakland: Thursday, March 13 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple St., Pittsburgh, 15213

• Squirrel Hill: Saturday, March 22 from noon to 5 p.m., Carnegie Library, 5801 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15217

Feb 24: Gas Rush Stories at Mellon Institute

Come join the local chapter of the American Chemical Society for a screening of Gas Rush Stories & a discussion with filmmaker Kirsi Jansa.

Shale gas exploration is one of the environmental issues of our time and place. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made declared major provisions of the state's new oil and gas act, Act 13, unconstitutional. Governor Corbett's administration filed an appeal. But what does shale gas exploration look like from the perspective of the people who are experiencing first-hand the impacts of the shale gas boom?

Gas Rush Stories, a series of short documentaries, shows how shale gas drilling has changed and is changing the lives of individual Pennsylvanians. Gas Rush Stories also takes a wider look at this issue: How is shale gas exploration changing the Pennsylvania landscape? How is shale gas exploration impacting the development of renewable energy? Gas Rush Stories is produced by independent journalist and filmmaker Kirsi Jansa and funded by The Heinz Endowments and individual donors.

7 p.m. in the Mellon Institute Conference Room (4400 5th Ave, entrance on S. Bellefield). Free and open to the public. For more information, please visit:
http://www.gasrushstories.com/
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/a-fresh-look-at-americas-gas-lands/

Environmental Group of the Pittsburgh Section of the ACS's photo.

Feb 20: Green Drinks at Gus's

Pittsburgh's Green Drinks for February will feature the ReFuel program, a partnership of Greenlight Biofuels and GTECH Strategies.

5-8 p.m. at Gus's Café in Lawrenceville (4717 Butler St, 15206). Free and open to the public. To register for this event, click here. For questions, email pittsburghgreendrinks@gmail.com.

Green Drinks Pittsburgh is a sustainability network platform to inspire new ideas and awareness, find out what is happening in Pittsburgh, meet up with friends you haven't see for a while, and make new ones too!

Feb 19: Film screening: TINY (houses)

Free public screening of the new tiny house documentary "TINY: A Story About Living Small," followed by a Skype Q&A with the directors from the living room of their famous tiny home!

A designer from IKEA will offer ideas for smart design solutions in smaller homes, and representatives from cityLAB will join us to discuss their experiment in bringing tiny housing to Pittsburgh!

7:30pm at Chatham University's Beckwith Auditorium (located in Buhl Hall/Science Complex)

ABOUT THE FILM
TINY is a documentary about home, and how we find it.
The film follows one couple’s attempt to build a “tiny house”
from scratch, and profiles other families who have downsized
their lives into homes smaller than the average parking space.
Through homes stripped down to their essentials, the film
raises questions about good design, the nature of home,
and the changing American Dream.

http://tiny-themovie.com/

Feb 13: Climate change series at Pitt

January 30 The UN Framework on Climate Change

February 13 Drowning: Climate Change Hits a Small Island

February 27 Outside Pressure: NGOs as Climate Change Stakeholders

March 27 Making a Difference in Climate Change Discourse: The UN and/or Popular Movements

Speaker bios, relevant readings and more about the sessions are available at the series website http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/dialogs/climate-change-talks

Feb 13: Gas Rush Stories screening and community conversation

On the second Thursday of each month (Feb 13, Mar 13, Apr 10), join filmmaker Kirsi Jansa for a screening of several episodes of GRS, along with a community conversation.

Shale gas exploration is one of The Environmental Issues of our time and place. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made history by declaring major provisions of the state's new oil and gas act, Act 13, unconstitutional. Governor Corbett's administration filed an appeal. But what does shale gas exploration look like from the perspective of the people who are first-hand experiencing the impacts of the shale gas boom?

Gas Rush Stories, a series of short documentaries tells stories how shale gas drilling has changed and is changing the lives of individual Pennsylvanians. Gas Rush Stories also takes a wider perspective in this issue: How is shale gas exploration changing Pennsylvania landscape? How is shale gas exploration impacting the development of renewable energy? Gas Rush Stories is produced by independent journalist and filmmaker Kirsi Jansa and funded by The Heinz Endowments and individual donors.

7-9 p.m. at Point Breezeway, 7113 Reynolds St. Suggested donation: $5-15 (no one turned away for lack of funds). Wine and popcorn provided.

More information:

http://www.gasrushstories.com

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/a-fresh-look-at-americas-gas-lands/#postComment

Feb 3: Food, farming, and climate lecture at CMU

The Distinguished Lecture Series in Environmental Science, Technology and Policy Presents Gary Paul Nabhan, the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Arizona:

"Tapping Into the Wisdom of Traditional Farmers: Sustainably Growing Food in the Face of Climate Uncertainty"

Over the next half century, climate change will dramatically affect which food crop varieties reach optimum quality in nearly every foodscape in North America. Farmers' selection of crop varieties and how they grow them in each microclimate will be radically reworked by declining chill hours, extreme summer temperatures, the changed frequency of tropical storms, and extended droughts. Fresh water scarcity and increasing salinity will also change what food plants can be grown in many localities as well, not just in already arid areas, but along all coasts. By listening to traditional and innovative farmers on five continents and seeing how they are adapting their diversity of food crops to climate extremes, Nabhan offers options to greater reliance on a few "climate-ready" GE crops, each of which costs close to 5 million US dollars to develop, market and employ. The farm-based strategies for innovation developed through biomimicry, ecomimicry and ethnomimicry will be highlighted.

His most recent book is Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land (Chelsea Green, 2013) will be available for purchase prior to and during the lecture.

4:30 p.m. in Porter Hall 100 (Gregg Hall) at Carnegie Mellon Universaity. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Erika Ninos, Steinbrenner Institute. Environment at CMU events website: http://www.cmu.edu/environment/events/

Feb 3: Sustainable Monroeville -- a Fifth of Solar

Happy Fifth Anniversary! Join Sustainable Monroeville for a wonderful pot luck party and to learn hands-on practical solar information for yourself, your family, and the community!

After a pot luck in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library, Hal Saville of EIS Solar will speak about working together as a community to install solar panels on all of the places we live and work. Help get started in Monroeville and surrounding communities collectively and collaboratively! When we work together, the price comes down.

Monroeville is now "Solar-Ready"! The township's new solar ordinance lays a path to encourage the growth of clean, renewable energy on local homes and businesses. Energy Independent Solutions, the solar developer for Phipps Conservatory and many other local solar installations, will host a free workshop explaining solar power basics, the new ordinance's purpose, and how to get started with solar (including site evaluation, government incentives and project financing). Have your solar questions answered and your home or business evaluated at this informative workshop.

We'll start out the five year anniversary celebration with a pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM. The meeting and talk by Hal Saville will begin at 7:00 PM. Remember to bring along your plate, silverware and a cup too, along with a friend, family, and a few neighbors.

SAVE THE DATES: Sustainable Monroeville Meetings for 2014: March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, December 1, 2014

For more information, contact Elisa Beck, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., S.M.E. or check out www.sustainablemonroeville.com and monroevillefoodgarden.wordpress.com

Elisa is also the force behind the Schwartz Living Market: an Urban Oasis for Healthful Living

Twitter: SustMonv

You can also find Schwartz Living Market, Living Building Challenge Collaborative-Pittsburgh, Sustainable Monroeville, and Transition Pittsburgh on Facebook.

Feb 1: Sustainability Salon & Sing with Steingraber & Seeger

The Winter Film Series continues with with Living Downstream, an eloquent and cinematic documentary about environmental health based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, PhD. Join us at the 25th Sustainability Salon to share Sandra's experiences as scientist, patient, and activist as she forms an environmental human rights movement called Walking Upstream. You too can become a carcinogenic abolitionist.

With the death of the incomparable Pete Seeger this week, there will surely be a rousing sing in the evening (after the film, discussion, and potluck supper; more on all that below).

The next Sustainability Salon will feature our annual focus on local, more humane, and more sustainable food — and will take place on March 15th.

By the way, many salon-goers have admired the house across the street, with the pretty river birch. The folks who live there are moving on, and the house is being sold. Please contact me if you’d like more information about becoming our newest neighbor!

And a couple of notes by way of followup to previous salons:

1. One of the news outlets featured at our November salon on environmental journalism was PublicSource — a nonprofit journalism website in Pittsburgh providing in-depth news about Western Pennsylvania. They cover issues of energy and the environment, social justice, criminal justice, and more; their motto is Dig Deeper. I encourage you to sign up for their newsletter and become a member of our growing group of readers. They’ll send you their stories in emails once a week and invite you to discussions about topics they cover. You can sign up online at PublicSource.org. And don’t forget to tune in to WESA (90.5 FM) at 7:30 on Saturday mornings (or online) for The Allegheny Front!

2. For salon-goers who joined us at last winter’s screening of Gas Rush Stories (or wish they had), note that there are monthly community screenings taking place in Point Breeze, with conversations led by filmmaker Kirsi Jansa.

Living Downstream

This poetic film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. After a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives some worrying results and is thrust into a period of medical uncertainty. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggles with cancer and her public quest to bring attention to the urgent human rights issue of cancer prevention.

But Sandra is not the only one who is on a journey—the chemicals against which she is fighting are also on the move. We follow these invisible toxins as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how these chemicals enter our bodies and how, once inside, scientists believe they may be working to cause cancer.

Several experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research make important cameo appearances in the film, highlighting their own findings on two pervasive chemicals: atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and the industrial compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Their work further illuminates the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.

At once Sandra’s personal journey and her scientific exploration, Living Downstream is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water. You can watch the trailer here.

3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill. Please don't arrive before 3pm; we usually introduce speakers (or start films) beginning around 4pm after folks have had a chance to meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site. Please email me to RSVP (yes or maybe), or click on the link in your EventBrite invitation. Please do so each time -- it helps greatly in several ways. Among other things, attendance varies widely, and these events have been so successful that we need to begin limiting attendance. So RSVP early if you can, to ensure your participation! The free virtual "tickets" on Eventbrite may run out (you don't need to print any tickets, by the way, just be on the list). Also, weather and such can be unpredictable and it's good to know who to contact if there's a change -- and I'll send directions and/or a trail map if you need 'em on Friday or Saturday. Be sure to include salon in the Subject line, as I receive a ridiculous amount of email every day. Bring food and/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 aren't yet on my list, if you're interested in Sustainability Salons (and our occasional house concert, simply contact me and I'll put you on my email list.

Note once again that I'll be sending out directions and such, and any late-breaking info, to all the RSVP'd folks by the morning of the salon if not before. So if you don't have it yet, please be patient! One of these days I'll streamline this process a bit (assistance would be welcome -- thanks to Beth for her help with the transition to EventBrite), but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's.

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For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum, a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues, a house party with an environmental theme. We usually have featured speakers on a particular topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.
Past topics have included community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, community solar power, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, solar power, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings and discussions (led by filmmakers) over the winter with Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, and more food.

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: wine, beer, hard or sweet cider (the latter we can mull if you like), juice, tea, whatever (I've got the kombucha covered, though it's always fun to compare). 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.

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.