Jan 15: Passive House tour

For those interested in seeing how one can have a house in Pittsburgh without a furnace, Lucy and Ayres will host a tour of their in-progress Passivhaus in Squirrel Hill.

Please RSVP via email to lucyna.debarbaro@gmail.com or on the Facebook page for the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1095743137110785/  (CTRL-R will take you past the facebook login, if you're not a Facebook user).

3 p.m.;  please arrive on time.

Dec 14: Beaver meeting on ethane cracker

Concerned about the tentative Shell cracker plant we've all heard about up in Beaver?  There will be a community meeting about its possible environmental impacts on surrounding communities.

The meeting is with Clean Air Council & Environmental Integrity.  It will relate to community involvement, permitting processes, & air quality concerns.  

7 p.m. at the Beaver Borough Building, 469 3rd Street, Beaver, PA 15009

Dec 12: Climate Action march, rally, and panel discussion

Climate Action Beyond Paris 

Join Pittsburgh350, Clean Air Council, Sierra Club, Moms Clean Air Force, Earthworks, and PennEnvironment in Pittsburgh for a morning of climate action and education following the international climate negotiations in Paris.

Building Blocks for Climate Action Rally and March in Oakland
Gather at 9:45 a.m. on the steps of the Cathedral of Learning, on the Forbes Avenue side (by the Stephen Foster memorial, opposite Schenley Plaza).
A broad array of organizations and groups, friends and family, and communities will join in on the final day of global action.  Groups and individuals are invited to each create their part of an interlinking network of action by making a box with the name of their movement or struggle, to be built into a symbolic pyramid in front of the Carnegie Museum.
Climate Change Beyond Paris

Following the rally and march, join us at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh (605 Moorewood Avenue, corner of Ellsworth) for a panel discussion on how climate change is impacting Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.  Hear from local experts and leaders in the climate justice movement, and learn what Pennsylvania and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are proposing to do about our state's massive methane pollution problem.  Bring your questions!

Dec 10: Inspire Lecture series: Jeremy Rifkin and Bill Generett

Envisioning a Sustainable, Collaborative and Inclusive Economy

Our current economic model is obsolete and inadequate at serving the needs of our communities, citizens, the environment and future generations.  This model, based on the availability of cheap fossil fuels, is ready to be replaced by a new and resilient model built on connectedness, collaboration, innovation and empathy.  This Third Industrial Revolution will integrate the power and prevalence of the internet with twenty-first century renewable energy technologies, while ensuring inclusion, diversity and opportunity for all of our citizens.  Jeremy Rifkin will present his vision and perspective on the future of the global economy, while Bill Generett will discuss how the Pittsburgh region can bridge the gap between the soaring innovation economy and struggling communities.

5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Hill House Kaufmann Center.  Please go here for more information and online registration.  

Dec 9: GASP and Filmmakers' In The Air

Join GASP at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ current exhibit In the Air: Visualizing What We Breathe.

6-8 p.m. at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

Hear from the photographers, curators, and GASP. This event is FREE and open to the public. Enjoy light appetizers, drinks, and great music!

This event will show appreciation for our current members and will hopefully generate some new ones.  

Dec 5: Sustainability Salon winter film series

The 47th Sustainability Salon will kick off our annual Wintertime Film Series with A Fierce Green Fire, the return of Curt & Kyle, and Mark on Paris -- from Paris!  (and during & after the film and discussion, our always-interesting potluck fare).  The next salon will almost certainly be on January 23rd, and will feature a pair of documentaries about Donald Trump and the environmental (and social) impact of golf -- check back here on MarensList for updates.

Planned protests outside the Paris climate summit have been officially banned.  Some are taking place anyway,and others which took a more violent turn have been squelched.  What does this all mean?  At the November salon on Getting Money Out of Politics, we wound up talking about nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience with Curt Ries and Kyle Amsler of 99Rise.  We'll look at that with A Fierce Green Fire, a Sundance Film Festival Selection that is at once historical and current, contemplative and urgent, farsighted and immediate.  Kyle and Curt will be back with us, to help lead the discussion and give an update on the plans for Democracy Spring.

Speaking of Paris, our own Mark Dixon is there right now at 
COP21, both as a citizen journalist -- documenting what's going on both inside and outside the summit facilities -- and continuing his efforts to connect Pittsburgh to Paris in the most productive way possible.  He will be with us on Saturday, through the wonders of modern technology, to share his reflections on the summit so far.  We'll start our remote session with Mark by 4 p.m. (remember that he's six hours ahead of us).  You can also read his thoughts on the summit, his analysis of the climate negotiations taking place there, and the facts on the ground, on his blog Mark At COP21.  And -- a late-breaking addition -- Randy Sargent of CMU's CreateLab and Google, who shared the Shenango Channel at our recent air quality salon, is also in Paris (presenting a different project done in collaboration with Google, a 29-year time-lapse of Earth satellite imagery) and will be joining the conversation.  

And if there's time (an outside chance), we'll also dip into another documentary, A Force More Powerful on the impact of mass citizen action and nonviolent civil disobedience through history, with vignettes expanded into fascinating and sometimes horrific detail.  And we'll take a look at what historian and activist Howard Zinn had to say about the practice.

Spanning 50 years of grassroots and global activism, A Fierce Green Fire brings to light the vital stories of the environmental movement where people fought -- and succeeded -- against enormous odds.  From halting dams in the Grand Canyon to fighting toxic waste at Love Canal; f rom Greenpeace to Chico Mendes;  from climate change to the promise of transforming our civilization, A Fierce Green Fire is "nothing less than the history of environmentalism itself" (Los Angeles Times).  

 From the Academy Award-nominated director of Berkeley in the Sixties, and narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende.  The film also features Lois Gibbs, Paul Watson, Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, Stewart Brand, Carl Pope, John Adams, Bob Bullard, Amory Lovins, Barbara Bramble, Jennifer Morgan and more.

Why films this time (and in January and February)?  During the winter (when weather can throw a wrench into the best-laid plans), we take a break from our usual speaker forum to host screenings of important environmental films, sometimes with the filmmakers or other folks on hand to lead the discussion.  Please be sure to RSVP if you might come (email Maren with "salon" in the Subject line).  General information and links to past Salon topics are below.  January's Salon will be on the 23rd, and will probably feature a pair of exposés of Donald Trump;  check back on MarensList for updates!

Salons run 3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill.  Please don't arrive before 3 p.m.  We usually aim to start the program sometime around 4, after folks have had a chance to meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site.   Please email me (at maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with salon in the Subject line to RSVP (yes or maybe), or click on the link in your EventBrite invitation (if you're not already on my list, please email me to be added!).  Please RSVP 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.  And if you're new, please let me know how you heard about the Salons!

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.  

As always, 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, but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's.  (All the extraneous requests for the address don't help;  I have lots of other stuff I send out with it, but don't like to let them go unanswered so it adds hours to my prep time.  If you RSVP properly (see above), you should get the info by the morning of the salon!)

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum;  a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues;  it's a house party with an environmental theme.  We usually have featured speakers on various aspects of a topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included Getting Money Out of Politics, Solarize Allegheny, climate (again, this time focusing on the upcoming COP21 negotiations), air quality (again, with news on the autism connection), reuse (of things and substances), neighborhood-scale food systems, other forms of green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, community solar power, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more 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 Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, and more food (a recurrent theme;  with California running out of water, we'd better gear up to produce a lot more of our own!).

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 or dairy are fine, though if it isn't really obvious please make a note of it.  


If you haven't been here before, you may enjoy checking out our roof garden and solar installation (and now apiary!) as well as the many other green and interesting things around our place.  

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. 

Dec 5: Pipelines and other shale gas infrastructure

Pipelines In Your Backyard?

Shale Gas Infrastructure & Community Organizing

Marcellus Outreach Butler hosts a major presentation on Pipelines, and other Marcellus shale gas infrastructure.  Part of the SHALESHOCK series, the presentation will inform the public on the steps of moving the gas and gas liquids from wellhead to ultimate destination, and inspire further action on the issue.

Alex Lotorto from the Energy Justice Network will review the natural gas midstream, from wellhead to end use. Because our shale contains natural gas liquids as well as methane here in Butler County, Alex will cover how cryogenic processing plants work and why they exist. The three types of pipelines Alex will differentiate, are gathering lines, transmission lines, and distribution lines. Compressor stations are used to move gas along all pipelines.

After Alex reviews how the gas midstream works, he will discuss the problems with each part including land disturbance, basic wetland and stream ecology, land use issues, eminent domain and landowner rights, impacts on air quality, and how organization in the shale fields can be used to leverage companies in their decision making. This includes an overview of strategies and tactics that have been used across the state, including municipal ordinances, landowner coalitions, conservation groups’ monitoring, and direct action.

1 - 3:30 p.m. at the Butler Public Library, 218 N. McKean Street.  Program is free and open to the public.  Light refreshments will be served.  Photo by Sam Hoszwa.

Dec 4: Benefit concert for Coalfield Justice and against racism

With Burlap Road, Raging Grannies, PFM Harmonizers, Wesley and Wynston Peters, and Louis Suarez - a fundraiser for Youth Undoing Institutional Racism and The Center for Coalfield Justice.

7:30 p.m. (doors at 7) at the Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave. 15213.  $15 donation ($6 students and unemployed);  bring pocket money for the bake sale, too!

Dec 1: Pittsburgh Tour of Climate Scrooges

Hit the streets with the Pittsburgh Tour of Climate Scrooges, a series of visits to people and organizations who are acting (or not acting) with apparent disregard for climate change and public health (these include Babst Calland, PPG, EQT, PNC, US Steel, Rich Fitzgerald, and the Allegheny County Health Department). Tuesday, December 1st at 2:00pm at the Gateway Center (Liberty Ave. between Commonwealth Place & Stanwix). For more information, visit http://bit.ly/PGHFlood, or email info@threeriversrisingtide.org

Nov 21: Local Harvest Tasting

The 4th Annual Farm to Table Harvest Tasting is a casual gathering that gives food lovers first-hand experiences of the quality and diversity of locally grown, produced and prepared food.

This is a great event to meet local Pittsburghers who value their food and are excited to learn how to access local food and beverages. The atmosphere is relaxing: music and local food conversation abounds.

3-7 p.m. in a big tent under the Homestead Grays bridge at the Waterfront (149 W Bridge St., Homestead, 15120, between Gran Agave and Barnes & Noble).  Tickets are $25/person prior to the event and $30/person at the door.  Children 2-15 are $15/person prior to the event and $20/person at the door.  Menu, more information, and online registration here.

Nov 20: CMU IFF screening of T(ERROR)

A courageous, controversial Pittsburgh-based film.  "Intense and intricately crafted, (T)ERROR  explores just how far we are going to prevent terror and exactly what liberties we are sacrificing to get there."  – Arthur Ryel-Lindsey  

(T)ERROR, shot here in Pittsburgh, goes undercover to follow an FBI informant on an assignment to befriend a Wilkinsburg man suspected of being a Taliban sympathizer. In doing so, directors Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe push the boundaries of documentary ethics by plunging into the middle of an active FBI sting operation in an attempt to understand and reveal how the U.S. government identifies and apprehends terror suspects.

Don’t miss this incredibly daring film that has been winning awards all over the world, including the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival!

Celebrate the 10th CMU IFF and 20th Anniversary of CAUSE!  4:30pm - Elegant food reception in Connan Room, Cohon University Center

7:00pm - Q&A Session with the film's co-director, Lyric Cabral

This special preview event is free and open to the public.  Parking is free at the Forbes Avenue Parking Garage after 5pm!  

Presented in conjunction with CMU’s Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies & the Economy (CAUSE) and co-sponsored by The Humanities Center and Center for the Arts in Society.  

The Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival, organized by The Humanities Center, continues to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the themes that define our contemporary social landscape. Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, the 2016 festival (March 17th to April 3rd) will bring the ubiquitous and intimate theme of conflict to life through the power of independent film, poignant discussions, ethnic cuisine, and more. This year’s festival will both move us and enrich us by helping us better comprehend the unique ways in which “Faces of Conflict” shape our modern world and ourselves. The festival is dedicated to Paul Goodman, a  world-renowned filmmaker, psychologist, and Carnegie Mellon professor, whose legacy continues to live on through scholarships that allow the festival to present compelling, international films and culturally provocative events each year.

Nov 18: Shale & Public Health conference

Shale & Public Health - Third Annual Conference

8:30 am - 5:30 pm at Pitt's University Club (123 University Place), Oakland
Free to attend conference; there is a $14 charge for lunch
Pre-registration required; space is limited.  More information and registration here.

Presented by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s “Straight Scoop on Shale” initiative and hosted by the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health, this year’s conference will feature important new research on shale and public health impacts.

Speakers include:
- Karen Hacker MD MPH Director, Allegheny County Health Department
- Bruce Pitt PhD Professor & Dept. Chair, Environmental and Occupational Health, Pitt Graduate School of Public Health – Perinatal Outcomes and Unconventional Natural Gas Development (UNGD) in Southwest Pennsylvania
- Wilma Subra MS President Subra Company, Chemist and Microbiologist, Chair of STRONGER Pennsylvania Air Quality Regulations Review Committee, served on many EPA committees and MacArthur Fellow – Ethane crackers, the Louisiana experience, shale and public health issues
- Jill Kriesky PhD, Associate Director, SWPA-Environmental Health Project – Establishing Pennsylvania’s Health Registry
- Brian Schwartz MD Professor and Associate Chair, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine and Senior Investigator, Geisinger Health System– Public health considerations of Marcellus UNGD, new Geisinger research
- Cynthia Richburg PhD CCC-A, FAAA Professor and Clinician, Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Research on hearing loss and health effects near shale gas development sites
- Bernard Goldstein MD Emeritus Dean/Professor, Pitt Graduate School of Public Health – Shale Health Policy and Practices in Germany, the EU, and the US

Additional conference highlights:
Round-table Brainstorming Session where the public can interact with experts and civic leaders
Session for Practitioners – Addressing Shale Health Issues in Practice – Ned Ketyer, MD FAAP, pediatrician; Lenore Resick, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC Family Nurse Practitioner, Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project

Nov 17: Health 2.0 Pittsburgh on Health and the Environment

Health 2.0 Pittsburgh is hosting an event focused on the Interconnection of Health and the Environment. 

5-8 p.m. at Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes.  Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 10^th by contacting Ben Johnston at bjohnston@prhi.org or 412-586-6714. 

About Health 2.0 Pittsburgh

Health 2.0 Pittsburgh connects disruptive technology solutions to contemporary, important community health issues through local forums organized by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. During the events, topic experts and a mix of students, funders, technology developers, and entrepreneurs network, frame and explore the issue, and showcase technology solutions that match the issue.

About the Speakers

Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis is the executive director of Women for a Healthy Environment (WHE). She leads WHE’s strategic activities, focusing on prevention of human health problems linked to environmental risk factors. Michelle also serves on several boards and coalitions, including the PA Green and Healthy Schools Partnership, Health and Wellness Task Force. Previously, she served as the director of land protection at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Anthony M. Joy, MBA is the chief information officer for Cleveland Metroparks, where he manages all of the technology services and needs. During the Health 2.0 Event, he will demo their Parks App and iNature educational guide, which help to connect people to nature.

Davit Davitian is the business development lead at SolePower. The Pittsburgh-based SolePower group created a power-generating insole that allows outdoor enthusiasts, the military, people in developing regions, and everyday users of consumer electronics to charge their mobile devices simply by walking. 

Kristen S. Kurland is a teaching professor of architecture, information systems, and public policy at CMU’s Heinz College and School of Architecture. Professor Kurland will present how her work crosses the boundaries of health and the built environment. She uses the technology of GIS spatial analyses to assess the connections between health, park proximity, green spaces, and urban design. 

Stephen Quick, FAIA, LEED AP is an architect, adjunct professor of architecture at CMU, and research associate for CMU’s Remaking Cities Institute. Stephen will demo 3D models of Pittsburgh that are used to simulate and query what would happen to health and other impacts if certain features of the urban environment are changed. Within the space of technology, health, and the environment, Stephen has also worked on healthy living projects with Allegheny County Medical Society, GIS mapping, and walkable cities.

Nov 17 or 19: Resilient Pittsburgh Deliberative Forum

Pittsburgh’s popularity is on the rise and while some areas are benefiting, many of our neighborhoods suffer abandonment and violence, our population and infrastructure are aging, and climate change will bring new challenges. How can we create a resilient city that is safe and most livable for everyone?

What does a Resilient Pittsburgh look like? 

We know strengthening education, addressing neighborhood violence and investing in infrastructure are things that make the city a better place for everyone who calls it home. Tell us how we can improve the daily reality of living in Pittsburgh and help communities prepare for the future and reduce the risks of disasters.

The Resilient Pittsburgh Deliberative Forums are meant to give Pittsburgh residents a space to learn in more detail about what local government and partners are already doing and to discuss possible solutions with other residents. We’ll talk about the chronic stresses that weaken Pittsburgh and the acute shocks that threaten the city. The goal of the meetings is to identify strategies that can empower residents and invest in our future as a city. 

Join us for one or both events: 

Southside Market Place on Tuesday, November 17 from 6-8:30pm

East Liberty Presbyterian Church on Thursday, November 19 from 6-8:30pm

Food will be provided.

Register for the forum on-line here.
​For more information, contact Rebecca Kiernan at rebecca.kiernan@pittsburghpa.gov or 412-255-2254, or check out Resilient Pittsburgh.

Nov 14: Sustainability Salon on Getting Money Out of Politics

Getting Money Out of Politics:  

Striking at the Roots of the Climate Crisis

The 46th Sustainability Salon will feature several different approaches to getting money out of politics.  The Citizens United ruling has enabled billionaires like the Koch Brothers to steer the ship of state into uncharted waters of corruption and inequality.  Meanwhile, the League of Women Voters has been a national leader on campaign finance reform ever since the 1970's:  educating the public, lobbying Congress, and filing amicus briefs in most of the Supreme Court cases on the subject.  Our stage will be set by Kathie Breckenridge of the Greater Pittsburgh LWV on their recently-completed analysis of money in politics, recent Supreme Court decisions, the First Amendment, and the changing definition of corruption.  Frank Kirkwood (who has worked with the Coffee Party and Represent.US, and blogs at TrustworthyGovernment.us) will fill us in on what other national groups are doing on this front, along various paths, and we'll learn about new tools to navigate the complicated fiscal landscape of politics, regulation, philanthropy, and corporate power from Gabriel McMorland and Nick Stocks of Three Rivers Rising Tide (formerly the Shadbush Environmental Justice Collective).  And Curt Ries and Kyle Amsler of 99 Rise are collaborating with Avaaz and other organizations on the Democracy Spring Campaign, a watershed series of actions planned for early 2016, based on nonviolent civil disobedience and aimed at overturning Citizen's United and restoring voting rights.

Mark your calendar:  the next Sustainability Salon, kicking off our Winter Film Series, will take place on December 5th.

Salons run 3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill.  Please don't arrive before 3 p.m.  We usually aim to start the program sometime around 4, after folks have had a chance to meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site.   Please email me (at maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with salon in the Subject line to RSVP (yes or maybe), or click on the link in your EventBrite invitation (if you're not already on my list, please email me to be added!).  Please RSVP 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.  And if you're new, please let me know how you heard about the Salons!
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.  

As always, 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, but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's.  (All the extraneous requests for the address don't help;  I have lots of other stuff I send out with it, but don't like to let them go unanswered so it adds hours to my prep time.  If you RSVP properly (see above), you should get the info by the morning of the salon!)

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum;  a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues;  it's a house party with an environmental theme.  We usually have featured speakers on various aspects of a topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included Solarize Allegheny, climate (again, this time focusing on the upcoming COP21 negotiations), air quality (again, with news on the autism connection), reuse (of things and substances), neighborhood-scale food systems, other forms of green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, community solar power, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more 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 Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, and more food (a recurrent theme;  with California running out of water, we'd better gear up to produce a lot more of our own!).

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 or dairy are fine, though if it isn't really obvious please make a note of it.  


If you haven't been here before, you may enjoy checking out our roof garden and solar installation (and now apiary!) as well as the many other green and interesting things around our place.  

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. 

Nov 14: Mike Stout and the Human Union

An acoustic evening with Mike Stout and the Human Union  
Come hear original songs spanning 16 CDs, of Pittsburgh History Its struggles, and the men and women who made our world a little better.  Featuring Laura Daniels (keyboard),  Kevin McDonald (guitar), Dave McLaughlin (violin/fiddle), and Dan Schlegel (bass). 
7:30 p.m. at the Point Breezeway Café, 7113 Reynolds Street.  Admission: Whatever you can afford, or feel like contributing 

Nov 13: GASWORK film screening

THE FIGHT FOR CJ's LAW

This new film by Josh Fox (GasLand) will be shown at the Letter Carriers Union Hall (841 California Avenue 15212, on the North Side).  Sponsored by The Union Edge Pittsburgh Branch and the IWW.

Nov 13: Grow Pittsburgh's Urban Grange

Kick up your heels with Grow Pittsburgh to celebrate home grown food, craft brews, music, merriment and more. Rub elbows with local growers and producers and get to know the people behind Grow Pittsburgh. Bring your dancing boots. Get down with music from Molly Alphabet, Hill Jordan & Slide Worldwide, and Pandemic.

6-9 p.m. at Spirit (242 51st Street, Lawrenceville -- near Goodwill off Butler).  Follow along with #GPGrange and share your experiences throughout the event!  Get your tickets today  (General Admission $25 | Grow Pittsburgh Annual Members $20 -- Annual Members: Look for a code in your inbox).