Mar 31: Bernie Sanders in Pittsburgh

A Future to Believe In 

Rally in Pittsburgh on 3/31

OFFICIAL EVENT

Join Bernie Sanders for a rally in Pittsburgh, at the David Lawrence Convention Center.  Doors open at 7:30 (the event is slated to start around 10:30, from what I gather).  

This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged. Admission is first come, first served. Crowd entrance through the East Lobby Entrance.

For security reasons, please do not bring bags and limit what you bring to small, personal items like keys and cell phones. Weapons, sharp objects, chairs, and signs or banners on sticks will not be allowed through security.  Information about public transit and parking options are at the main event site, along with a quick RSVP form:  https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/44pm9

Mar 31: The Anthropocene epoch

The Anthropocene Epoch in Cosmic Evolution (a lecture by David Grinspoon)

Informed by comparative planetology and a survey of the major transitions in Earth history, Dr. Grinspoon will offer a taxonomy of planetary catastrophes meant to illuminate the unusual nature of the “Anthropocene”, the current epoch of human-driven planetary-scale changes, and reframe our current environmental and technological predicaments as part of a larger narrative of planetary evolution. This saga has now reached the pivotal moment when humans have become a dominant force of planetary change, and geological and human history are becoming irreversibly conjoined. Is this a likely or even inevitable challenge facing other complex life in the universe? Possible implications for exoplanet characterization and SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) will be considered, as well as the choices our civilization faces in seeking to foster a wisely managed Earth.

4 p.m. in Room 154 of the Chevron Science Center at Pitt.

This talk is sponsored by the Department of Geology and Environmental Science, and co-sponsired by the Year of Humanities, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Honors College. For more information, click here, or contact Daniel Peluso at danielpeluso@pitt.edu.

David Grinspoon, Senior Scientist at Planetary Science Institute, is an astrobiologist who studies the possible conditions for life on other planets. He is on the science team for spacecraft that are currently exploring Mars and Venus.   In 2013, he served as inaugural Baruch S. Blumberg/NASA Chair in Astrobiology at the John W. Kluge Center of the United States Library of Congress, researching and writing a forthcoming book about human influence on Earth, seen in cosmic perspective. His book, Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life won the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Research Nonfiction. Grinspoon was awarded the 2006 Carl Sagan Medal for Public Communication of Planetary Science by the American Astronomical Society. 

Mar 31: Environmental Rights of PA Communities

Thomas Linzey, executive director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) will speak about the environmental rights of Pennsylvania communities, and the growing struggles of PA communities in protecting their environments from industrial waste and pollution. 

6 p.m. in HSS 225 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (the new Humanities and Social Sciences Building, on Grant Street on the IUP Campus).  Free and open to the public.  

Is a corporation’s right to inject toxic waste greater, and more important, than a community’s right to govern itself and protect its water supply?  A community in Indiana County, Grant Township, is joining a nation-wide movement to reject corporate control of their land and resources.  

When the EPA issued a permit for a Class II injection well to dispose of waste water from hydraulic fracturing in their community, residents resisted by adopting a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance that secures community rights to local self-governance, and clean air and water.  As a result of this ordinance, a multimillion dollar energy corporation is suing Grant Township, claiming that the Ordinance violates the corporation's personhood rights, as well as other provisions of the US constitution.  

CELDF, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, is a non-profit law firm working with Grant Township, and a growing number of communities across the state and nation as they spearhead a movement to establish rights for people and nature over the systems that control them.  Linzey is a graduate of IUP, and has been featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, the Nation, and in 2007 was named one of Forbes Magazine’s ‘Top Ten Revolutionaries.’ 

Mar 31 - Apr 3: Sustainability Weekend at CMU

CMU Sustainable Earth is proud to present 
Sustainability Weekend 2016
Carnegie Mellon’s inaugural sustainability-focused conference

Environmentalism often gets a bad rap - some may associate it with recycling water bottles, hemp, and a general dislike for traditional personal hygiene. While some stereotypes are based off of fact (others less so), in 2016 we want to be thinking about environmentalism in the larger context of sustainability. In organizing Sustainability Weekend, our goal is to pique your interest and show you this larger context. Sustainability is holistic: it is political, personal, economic, and social. It can dialogue with everything from urban planning to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Come learn, network, and have fun!

Schedule below;  additional info on speakers and location is online here.  Registration $10, free for CMU community.  Please register online here.

University Lecture Series - Thursday, March 31
4:30 - 6:00 PM Bea Johnson, Zero Waste Home
Porter Hall 100

Kickoff - Friday, April 1
4:30 - 6:00 PM Keynote: The State of Sustainability
Mark Dixon, COP21 Pittsburgh

Main Programming - Saturday, April 2
9:30 AM Doors Open
Continental Breakfast

10:00 AM - 11:15 AM Pittsburgh 2030 Districts
Aurora Sharrard, Green Building Alliance
Martin Altschul, CMU Facilities Management Services
Aftyn Giles, Sustainability Coordinator Pittsburgh

11:30 AM - 12:20 PM Public Art & Its Role in Sustainability
Elizabeth Monoian & Robert Ferry, Land Art Generator Initiative
Christine Mondor, CMU School of Architecture

12:30 - 1:00 PM  Break/Lunch

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Frick Environmental Center Field Trip
Tours guided by:
Peg Hard RA, MBA, LEED AP
Mike Cornell, Patty Himes, Taiji Nelson, Naturalist Educators, Pittsburch Parks Conservancy
Spots are limited. Check the registration page for details on how to secure your spot!

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Thread: Responsible Fabric from Ground to Good
Dan Leber, Thread

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Environmentally-Preferable Purchasing
Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Women for a Healthy Environment

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Frick Environmental Center and the Living Building Challenge
Noah Shaltes, LEED AP, Project Manager, PJ Dick
Patricia Culley, LEED AP, Associate, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Jess Demoise, EIT, Project Coordinator, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Maureen Olinzock, Sustainability Coordinator, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Environmental Justice in Flint, Michigan: A Case Study
Jacqueline Patterson, NAACP

Mar 31: Zero Waste Home

Zero Waste Home

Bea Johnson, Speaker, Author and Lifestyle Expert

The world-acclaimed author of Zero Waste Home, a.k.a. the “priestess of waste free living”, will share her tribulations and secrets to reducing her family’s trash to a quart jar per year. Through this upbeat presentation, you'll discover the amazing advantages that the zero waste lifestyle has to offer: they might be very different from what you’d expect!

Bio: Bea Johnson and her family are dedicated to living a Zero Waste lifestyle; they generate a mere quart of waste per year.  Through her blog and with her book, Zero Waste Home, Bea inspires a growing international community to live simply and take a stance against needless waste.  Her passion and positive outlook have earned her appearances on TV and in publications around the world.  Grand prize winner of “The Green Awards” in 2011, she regularly speaks at universities, corporate events and conferences.  She has become the spokesperson for the Zero Waste lifestyle or, as The New York Times puts it: “The Waste-Free Priestess”.

4:30 p.m. in Porter Hall 100 auditorium at CMU.  

Other highlights for the weekend will include a State of Sustainability Talk with Mark Dixon from COP21 on Friday, April 1 at 4:30 pm and a featured talk from Jacqueline Patterson from the NAACP (national office) on Environmental Justice in Flint, Michigan:  A Case Study on Saturday, April 2, at 4 pm. 

To register for the Sustainability Weekend 2016, visit 

Sustainability Weekend Facebook 2016

Registration Link for Sustainability Weekend 16

Mar 30: Forum on Pittsburgh's Climate Future

Right now, we have a unique chance to influence the state and national fight over climate change, steering the country away from dirty fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, and towards a clean energy future powered by wind and solar.  All because in the next year, we'll have to develop a Clean Power Plan to slash carbon pollution from power plants.

This is a pivotal moment in the fight for climate action—and we need you to be a part of it.  Join PennEnvironment for an educational forum on Pittsburgh's Climate Future for a panel of community leaders, environmental advocates, and public health professionals, including Grant Ervin (Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Pittsburgh), Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis (Executive Director of Women for a Healthy Environment), and Kirsi Jansa (Environmental Documentary Filmmaker, Sustainability Pioneers and Gas Rush Stories).

7-9 p.m. at Phipps Conservatory's Botany Hall (the small but grand building to the left of the glasshouses, near Panther Hollow Bridge).  You can find more info and RSVP on the Facebook event page.

Mar 30: Fracking and Health forum in Mars Twp.

Arm Yourself With Knowledge:  Join Moms Clean Air Force for an informational program and interactive panel discussion on unconventional gas development or "fracking" in an informal setting.

Presenters are:
-Dr. Marsha Haley, MD, Radiation Oncologist, “Public Health and Safety”
-Dr. Cynthia McCormick Richburg, Ph.D., Audiologist, “Environmental Noise and its Effects on Health and Well-being”
- Lisa Graves Marcucci, Environmental Integrity Project, “Restoring Public Participation”
- Environmental Organizations – Update on Methane Rules and Regulations

6:30 p.m. at the Mars Area Public Library (107 Grand Ave, Mars, PA 16046).   Please contact Patrice Tomcik with questions at ptomcik@momscleanairforce.org or 412-999-2360.   Sponsored by: Moms Clean Air Force, Sierra Club, and Clean Air Council

Mar 28: Dear President Obama film screening

The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will host the Pittsburgh première of Jon Bowermaster's new film Dear President Obama, The Clean Energy Revolution Is Now!

Under President Obama’s watch, drilling and fracking expanded rapidly across the United States.  And that means there are now more than 15 million Americans currently living within a mile of an oil or gas well.  They're facing the real-world consequences of our national energy policy. Shouldn't they have a say in what that energy policy is?

You'll be inspired by the community members, whistleblowers and scientists exposing the impacts of President Obama's "all of the above" energy policy and calling for a real clean energy revolution instead.  After the film, we'll hear from filmmaker Jon Bowermaster, and from local coalition partners.  We'll also talk about our major mobilization this summer, the March for a Clean Energy Revolution.

Narrated by Mark Ruffalo, Dear President Obama takes a journey through more than 20 states to examine the impacts of drilling and fracking for oil and gas — hear directly from the people living on the front lines. 

7 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15206.  RSVP here!  Sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center, Marcellus Outreach Butler, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Continuing Education Program, Food & Water Watch, and Clean Water Action.

"Dear...President Obama" is an Oceans 8 Film, Written and Directed by Jon Bowermaster and narrated by Mark Ruffalo.  The film takes a cross-country look at drilling, highlighting its variety of contaminations, the  stories of its victims, the false promise of an economic boom, with a focus on clean energy  solutions that would allow us to proceed towards a future that does not rely on yet another dirty  fossil fuel extraction process.  Interviews with scientists, health professionals, geologists and whistle-blowers provide the core  information we think will convince the current President and those that will follow to join the "anti-  drilling" majority growing across the United States and call for fossil fuels to be left in the ground.

 See more on the film's website: http://www.dearpresidentobama.com/about-the-film/

Mar 26: Gardening and microclimate

Join your friends and neighbors, and fellow gardeners for a talk by Master Gardener and Edgewood homeowner Mrea Csorba:  Create a Healthy Garden:  Install a Micro-Climate!

Learn the basics of how to create a healthy zone around your home in an urban setting to control for air pollution, noise pollution, and use heat and cool cross-currents for effective, optimal well being.Techniques to be introduced: erecting wind, air and sound barriers with landscape trees and shrubs; cool zones for summer comfort and solar zones for winter savings; wind tunnels for cross-ventilation and fungal control.  

11 a.m. meet & greet, lecture 11:30 - noon at the Wilkins School Community Center.  Please Register here (free of charge, donations accepted).

Upcoming garden lectures include 

LET’S MAKE A PLAN 

 An actual plan of your garden plot! Grid-lined paper and tracing sheets provided.

CHART THE ARC OF THE SUN

That is, it’s path across your garden space throughout the day and seasonally.

NOTE WIND TUNNELS 

Track good and undesirable air currents that bring harsh winds, cool breezes, even, air pollution.

Mar 22, 23, 24: The Messenger -- film about songbirds

Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is kicking off the public phase of its centennial campaign, celebrating 100 years of connecting the people of southwestern Pennsylvania to birds and nature.  The centennial date is March 24, 2016, and three screenings of the visually stunning film The Messenger will be accompanied by an introduction to the plans for Audubon sites and programs in our regions.

“We are excited to announce a lead gift by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, in addition to gifts and pledges from over 150 individuals and organizations.  This has already helped us to raise $4.5 million of our $7 million goal,” said Jim Bonner, Executive Director, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

ASWP has three public sites—Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve (Fox Chapel), Succop Nature Park (Butler) and Todd Nature Reserve (Sarver)—and each will see renovations and upgrades as a result of the centennial campaign.  Additionally, ASWP will open a new community center and park adjacent to Todd Nature Reserve, along the Butler-Freeport Community Trail.
ASWP is also introducing a suite of regional initiatives that will bring hands-on conservation and education programs into local homes, schools, parks, and communities.

The Centennial Campaign is chaired by Bill Schenck, Vice Chairman, TriState Capital Bank. ASWP will kick off the public phase of the campaign with free viewings of the documentary “The Messenger.”  The film tells the story about the mass depletion of songbirds on multiple continents, and about those who are working to turn the tide.  Prior to showing the film, ASWP will provide details to the audience of proposed upgrades and improvements to its three public properties.

All showings begin at 7 pm on the following dates.  Seating is limited and reservations are required by signing up at www.aswp.org:
• March 22 – Freeport Area High School, Sarver
• March 23 – Succop Theater at Butler County Community College, Butler
• March 24 – Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, Fox Cha

Mar 22 and other dates: Composting workshops

Upcoming PRC Backyard Composting Workshops

This PA Resources Council workshop thoroughly covers the importance and benefits of composting, the process, setting up a compost pile, proper maintenance, and ways of using finished compost. Participants will receive a FreeGarden EARTH compost bin with attendance. This bin is an ideal bin for urban and suburban areas and has an 82-gallon capacity.

Cost: $70 single/ $75 couple and includes one compost bin.

Upcoming PRC West Workshops:

February 27, 2016
Ross Township Community Center
1o:30AM- Noon
Register HERE

March 10, 2016
Phipps Garden Center
7-8:30PM
Register HERE

March 22, 2016
North Park – Rose Barn
6:30-8:00PM
Register HERE

March 30, 2016
South Park – Buffalo Inn 
6:30-8:00PM
Register HERE

April 5, 2016
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department 
7-8:30PM
Register HERE

April 7, 2016
Boyce Park – Ski Lodge
6:30-8:00PM
Register HERE

April 16, 2016
Blueberry Hill Activity Center10:30AM-Noon
Register HERE 

May 14, 2016
Baldwin Borough Public Library
10:30AM – Noon
Register HERE

May 21, 2016Ross Township Community Center
1o:30AM- Noon
Register HERE

June 23, 2016
Phipps Garden Center
7-8:30PM
Register HERE

To register online click Register Here under the workshop you wish to attend or email compost@prc.org or call: (412) 488-7490 ext. 226

This workshop is made possible by the generous support of the Giant Eagle Foundation.

Mar 20: Empty Bowls Dinner

A community meal to fight hunger

The annual Empty Bowls is a simple community meal of bread and soup to help remind people of the one in seven residents of Allegheny County who are facing hunger.

This marks the 21st year that Just Harvest and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will co-host the event. Funds raised will benefit both organizations equally.

Pittsburgh’s Empty Bowls typically draws more than 1,500 people and in its past 20 years has raised more than $500,000 to fight hunger in our region.

The dinner features soup cooked by some of Pittsburgh’s top restaurants. Local personality soup servers, a silent auction of ceramic art and celebrity-autographed bowls, live music, children’s activities, and soup-to-go are part of the festivities.

New this year: two available seating times: 1:30-3:30pm and 4:30-6:30pm.

Each ticket-holder gets to choose a beautiful handmade bowl to take home. Tickets are $22 in advance (purchase here) and $25 at the door.   (Note that for online ticket sales, if you have a smartphone that can access email, you don't need to print the ticket or pay for a text;  you'll receive a confirmation email with the necessary code to show at the door).   Please call Just Harvest at (412) 431-8960 x106 with any questions.

Mar 19 and other dates -- Rain barrel workshops

Upcoming PRC Watershed & Rain Barrel Workshops

Workshop participants will learn how to harvest rainwater from their roofs, store it, and use it in the landscape. They also learn how to reduce their contribution to combined sewer overflow (CSO), flooding, and polluted urban runoff by learning how to practice watershed protection and conservation in their own backyards. It’s easier than you think!

PRC’s Watershed Awareness/Rain Barrel Workshop raises awareness of watershed issues, demonstrates how to install a 55-gallon rain barrel, and introduces other rainwater harvesting options.

Participants will also receive a FreeGarden RAIN 55-gallon rain barrel (seen below). Designed with the homeowner/gardener in mind, it is affordable, attractive, and easy to install.

Cost: $80/person and $85/couple

March 19, 2016
Ross Township Community Center
10:30AM –Noon
Register HERE

April 9, 2016
Organics and More – Sandy Lake, PA11 AM – 12:30 PM
Register HERE

April 12, 2016
North Park – Rose Barn
6:30-8PM
Register HERE

April 14, 2016
Phipps Garden Center
7 -8:30 PM
Register HERE

April 18, 2016
Churchill Borough Building
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Register HERE

April 20, 2016
South Park – Buffalo Inn 
6:30-8PM
Register HERE

April 23, 2016
Ross Township Community Center
11:00AM – 12:30PM
Register HERE

April 26, 2016
Boyce Park – Ski Lodge
6:30-8PM
Register HERE

April 30, 2016
Blueberry Hill Activity Center 
10:30AM –Noon
Register HERE

To register click on the Register Here button under the workshop you wish to attend or please call (412) 488.7490 ext. 247 or email  nancym@prc.org

Workshop gift certificates and premade rainbarrels are now available – contact Nancy Martin at (412) 488-7490 ext. 247 or email her at nancym@prc.org.

Mar 18-19: Local food conference

The 10th Annual Farm To Table Conference will provide consumers with two days of networking and educational opportunities.  Seasonal cooking demonstrations, gardening, and information about the nutritional value of local food are presented by local experts.

Meet with other Locavores to discuss ideas about where your food comes from, and where to find businesses and organizations who can provide you with healthy food and healthy lifestyle choices.

10am-5pm both days at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown;  additional events before and after each day.  More info and register online here.

And this just in:  Friday, March 18, 2016 is officially Pittsburgh Farm to Table Day! Thanks to the Council of the City of Pittsburgh. We will be part of Pittsburgh's 200th birthday that is also kicking off on March 18. Look for our Lettuce Turnip the Beet float in the July 9th bi-centennial parade. 

Mar 17-Apr 3: CMU International Film Festival

Faces of Conflict:  the 10th anniversary season of the CMU International Film Festival premieres with the though-provoking Danish film A War, "a war film for audiences who don’t like war films" followed by a reception.  

7 p.m. at McConomy Hall in the Jared Cohon University Center at CMU.  The theme and schedule, more information on all 16 amazing films, special guests from Spike Lee to Krzysztof Kopczynski, and online ticket sales are at the Festival web site.  Note that as part of the Festival's partnership with Putting Down Roots Sustainability Salons, salongoers may attend each film or the Festival as a whole at the student/senior price (just register that way and identify yourself at check-in.  

Mar 16: The Greening of Phipps

The Greening of Phipps: Aligning Operations with Mission and Values

Pittsburgh is blessed with one of the Earth’s greenest buildings – Phipps Conservatory in Oakland. How this gem came about, based on an evolving philosophy, will be the topic of a Pittsburgh350 talk to be given by Richard Piacentini, Executive Director of Phipps.

The greening of Phipps was a learning and evolving process that occurred over a 10 year period.  It led to building some of the greenest buildings in the world;  Phipps is now working on our third net-positive energy building.  It also led to our realizing that human and environmental health are inextricably connected and that it is important to walk the talk and align operations with mission and values.  Climate change is one of the greatest threats to life on the planet.  Phipps believes in reducing the use of fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy, which includes making socially responsible choices when investing.  Developing a track record of aligning operations with mission and values has made it possible for the Conservatory to take ever increasingly bolder steps, including those directly related to climate change.

7 - 8:30 pm (Doors open at 6:30 for welcome and introductions) at the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL), 4466 Frew Street Extension, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

Directions: The CSL sits behind Phipps Conservatory and down the hill. If you are coming across the bridge from the Oakland area/Carnegie Library, as soon as you get across the bridge you will make a right turn (there is a Christopher Columbus statue there). The CSL will appear down the hill on your left. You may park for free in any of the parking spots you will see near and around the CSL building. You will enter on the first floor (at the far end of the building). 

Mar 16: Soil to Sustenance workshop

This exciting event (Soil to Sustenance, Mind Your Plate) will be held on March 16th, 2016 from 7:30 - 9:30 pm at the Union Project. It is a high energy interactive workshop where people will learn:

-Why soil nutrition is important and how to improve it.
During this Section of the Workshop, Students will also take home their very own potted organic edible herb with directions to care for.

-What is a proper nutrient dense diet.
Learn the basics of nutrition, and how to eat for vitality.

-How to select/source and create nutrient dense food.
Get an overview of how to ferment and sprout to maximize nutrients and absorption!
Take home a sprouting lid to get your journey started in the kitchen!

-How to eat mindfully to reduce stress and increase nutrient absorption.
Learn the fundamental aspects of mindfulness that will reverberate in all aspects of your life.
Engage in a mindful eating demonstration that will alter the way you interact with food!
Take home a mindful eating journal to help you reconnect with your practice.

7:30-9:30 at the Union Project (801 N Negley Ave., 15207).  For more information and online registration ($20), go here .  Registration includes a coupon book for local restaurants, markets, fitness centers, and garden centers, and there will be a raffle of neat gifts from various sponsors for some really cool items - they are keeping it a surprise!  All attendees will also gain access to a 4 day online mindfulness course

About the worksop leaders:

Jessica is a certified Nutritional Therapist, the founder of Eco Nut Therapy, a certified Ecological Farmer, and has a B.S. in Sustainable Living/Living Systems and Living Soils. She also loves working with Rebel Health Tribe and the Bionutrient Food Association.

Jason is a co-founder of the mindfulness company Naked Moment, with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. Jason has a B.S. in Sustainable Living with a specialization in Natural Building. He also has been trained to teach many aspects of meditation and is an empowering personal lifestyle enhancement coach.

Let’s transform the connection we have with our food and its origins through the soil, nutrition, and how we process and consume it. Part of our mission is to enliven the attention and process of eating and its wide impact on our environment. Humans can be a positive influence on the ecosystem. We are merging our passions in this Soil to Sustenance workshop to encourage a regenerative system by minding your plate. Each bite of food has a story.

The Soil to Sustenance, Mind Your Plate event is providing wholistic nutrition, ecological farming, and mindfulness education to the Pittsburgh area community. The funds provided by this event will be used to further spread this crucial knowledge as a means of increasing food security, food nutrition, human health, earth health, quality of life, mental health, and empowerment.

Mar 16: E-Wasteland film screening

Join Cinema Politica Pittsburgh for a film screening and popcorn at TechShop Pittsburgh! 

About the film:

In developing countries, the demand for second-hand electronic equipment is quickly growing, due to an increasing connection to the “global world”, and the inability to afford brand new products.

Every year, around 200,000 tonnes of second-hand and condemned electrical goods arrive in Ghana, West Africa, mainly received from the “developed” world.

Many of these electronics are nearing the end of their life, and will soon be discarded as e-waste. A significant volume of electronics actually arrive as e-waste, exported illegally as second hand goods.

7 p.m. at TechShop Pittsburgh (192 Bakery Square Blvd, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206).  $5 suggested donation.  More info at:  www.cinemapolitica.org/pittsburgh

Mar 15: Nutrition and Mindfulness workshop

Come to City Grows, an urban organic garden shop in Lawrenceville, for a delightful evening of discussion on how to choose the best foods to nourish yourself and your family.  It is not just about what we eat, but how we eat, where it came from, who grew it, and how it was grown.  This workshop will include not only helpful guidance on how to choose the best foods for your health, but also an interactive mindfulness meditation technique that can be used immediately as well as incorporated into your daily life.  We hope to empower and give clarification to jump start a brighter future.

Our two guest speakers are Jessica Smith and Jason Nelson.  Jessica has a bachelor's in Sustainable Living with an emphasis on Living Systems and Living Soils.  She is a certified Ecological Farmer and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.

Her partner, Jason Nelson, is a co-founder of a Mindfulness start up, Naked Moment.  He also has a bachelor's of Sustainable Living and Natural Building as well as training in yoga and meditation.

They have teamed up to educate about wholistic nutrition -- from the soil up -- and mindful living.

http://nakedmoment.com/
http://econuttherapy.com/

7-8 p.m. at City Grows (5208 Butler Street in Lawrenceville).  This class is free, but small donations are accepted to help cover the cost of materials!  Spots are available first come, first serve, so please arrive as close to 6 as possible.  A head count will surely be helpful, so you can RSVP on the Facebook event page.

Mar 15: Clean Rivers Campaign Twitter/Facebook Rally

Join the Clean Rivers Campaign for a Twitter/FB Rally
to thank our Mayor, County Executive and the EPA
and support their continued work to achieve our shared vision!

Tuesday, March 15, 10-11am via twitter and Facebook

As many have heard, the EPA has responded and will allow Pittsburgh to pursue an adaptive management plan and make significant green-infrastructure investments!

Thanks to your hard work for five years, our shared vision can now become a reality!

Join the Clean Rivers Campaign and supporters from across Allegheny County in thanking our elected officials and the EPA during our twitter rally tomorrow.  We need to let them know that the Pittsburgh region is ready to maximize green solutions that will bring the most benefits to our communities! By signing up now, we'll make sure you receive all the information you need to participate (and there is also more info below)!  
   
What’s a Twitter Rally? 
Simple! During that hour we ask all of our supporters to tweet the EPA expressing their thanks and support for a green plan for Pittsburgh. You can also post on facebook and ask your friends to participate, too.  At the same time, the Campaign will deliver a letter and banner signed by ratepayers like you directly to the EPA!

How to Participate:

Sign up and we will email you all the information you need (more info on the registration page). Then on Tuesday, March 15th from 10-11am, everyone tweets and shares!

RSVP Here: 
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5452/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=81088