Sept 15: Sustainability Salon on Stories that Inspire

Over the years, Sustainability Salons have featured countless environmental activists.  What leads so many of us to walk this path?  Author Jon Biemer explores this question in his new book, Our Journey to Sustainability:  How Everyday Heroes Make a Difference.  In it, he documents everyday leaders as they engage in education, advocacy, and action -- sharing 150 stories from interviews and personal experiences to learn what motivates people to act on behalf of the planet.  Readers are introduced to heroes in the trenches around the country, working to create a healthier environment.  Quite a few Pittsburghers (including yours truly) are among those featured in the book.  

Jon has more than forty years of experience creating sustainability.  His practices and causes include freecycling, repair cafés, village-building, renewables, and energy efficiency in homes, municipalities, and industry.  He is a mechanical engineer and holds a certificate in process-oriented psychology;  he has managed utility energy conservation programs, and now provides organizational development consulting to nonprofits.  Jon's first book is Our Environmental Handprints: Recover the Land, Reverse Global Warming, Reclaim the Future, which explores ways that individuals and communities can have a positive impact (handprints) to help offset our negative impacts (footprints).

One local environmental hero is Patricia DeMarco.  Her PhD is in biology (Pitt), but her career has spanned energy and environmental policy, sustainability, and natural history.  She's been an electricity manager in Connecticut, a utility commissioner in Alaska, and was director of the Rachel Carson Homestead, the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham (where she is still adjunct faculty), and also served on the Forest Hills Borough Council.  Her recent book, In the Footsteps of Rachel Carson: Harnessing Earth's Healing Power, tracks her connection with Carson, who faced many similar challenges, as she shares her own journey and the lessons learned.  And her first book, Pathways To Our Sustainable Future: A Global Perspective from Pittsburgh, includes myriad stories of local people making a difference with innovative sustainability solutions.  

With a beautiful day in store for Sunday, the 152nd Sustainability Salon will be hybrid:  in-person (mainly outdoors), and also online for folks unable to attend in person.  Program note:  Speaker order will be the opposite of what is shown here (Dr. DeMarco will go first).  

There's also a whole lot of other important events happening in our region (or online);  please check out the list below for a few of 'em.

Weather permitting, folks can arrive starting at 3 p.m.  Directions and other info will be forthcoming, in a separate email to all who RSVP.  Zoom salons (and the Zoom side for hybrid events), start around 4 p.m., when presentations begin, and usually wind down sometime around 7 or 8 (informal discussion may continue after that, over a yummy potluck supper) -- join us for whatever time works for you!  If you're not already on my salon email list, please email me (maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with "salon" in the Subject line to be added -- and let me know how you heard about salons!  If you RSVP via Eventbrite (still working on changing my platform), you'll receive the Zoom registration link right away. Along about Saturday night/Sunday morning, I'll send it out again, with other information, to all who have RSVP'd.  If you're new to Zoom, you may find my Zoom Reference Guide helpful. 

Other events and whatnot:

•  Followups from the last salon, on Forest Protection:  Petitions are easy, but I heartily encourage everyone to write your own comment letters to the National Forest Service.  If you are involved with an organization, consider conveying these organizational sign-ons to its leaders.  I include them here because they are very substantive, and can provide details for your own comment letter.  

Informative blog post by salon speaker Matt Peters

Video of Matt's salon presentation

Heartwood organizational sign-on 
John Muir Project organizational sign-on

EarthJustice individual letter (customizable)

Climate Forests individual letter (customizable)

REI petition

You can review the DEIS and other USFS documents here and here.

And here's where you can submit comments online (preferred).
Or, via USPS:
Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination
Re: Project 65356 Amendment to protect Old-Growth and Mature Forests201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108
Washington, DC 20250-1124

•  Also, I just learned that liquid and solid waste from gas and oil extraction (much of which is radioactive) is currently being stored in a building (part of a former steel mill, which was never cleaned up properly in the first place) near the municipal drinking water source for thousands of people in Martins Ferry, Ohio.  The facility had a permit for 600 tons at a time, but held as much as 10,000 tons.  It is in the floodplain of the Ohio River, and waters rose up to the front doors this spring.  This petition, by Concerned Ohio River Residents, asks officials to halt waste processing there and keep it out of the Source Water Protection Area, clean up the site, and conduct environmental testing and monitoring.  This practice is insane;  we have to stop legitimizing dangerous extractive industries.  

•  Sept 6:  The Thomas Merton Center's long run has come to a close, but one of the organization's many projects, East End Community Thrift (a.k.a. Thrifty), has become so important to the local community that there'll be a fundraiser to keep it going into the future.  (Noon to 9 p.m., 5123 Penn Ave. in Garfield;  more information here.)

•  Sept 10:  Ecosocialist global forum -- Roadmap to Ecosocialism:  Strategy, Tactics, & Demands to Defend our Environment.  Online at 2 p.m. in our time zone; more information and registration here.  

•  Sept 12:  Climate Action Plan Justice Coalition is working to make the Allegheny County Climate Action Plan more transparent, inclusive, and equitable.  CAPJ's next strategy session will include Dr. Susan Clark, chair of the Community Climate Change Task Force in Erie County, NY, and that county's Sustainability Coordinator Tracy Skalski -- this all-volunteer task force worked in partnership with the county to develop an excellent CAP for the Buffalo region;  we are advocating for a similar approach here in Allegheny County.  (6-8 p.m. via Zoom;  please register here.)

•  Sept 14:  What happens to our sewage?  ALCOSAN's annual Open House boasts a huge array of fun educational activities including a fascinating tour of our local waste treatment plant (Free; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at 3300 Preble Ave., 15233;  please register here.)

•  Sept 14:  Forage Fest will feature workshops, vendors, a plant swap, and a clothing and food drive.  Free, 5-8 p.m. at Velum Fermentation (2120 Jane St. 15203).

•  Sept 17 and 24:  Pawpaw party!  Ever tasted a pawpaw?  (you can at this month's salon, too).  Grow Pittsburgh's Garden Dreams will host Gabrielle Marsden (who first shared her work to restore the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly to Pittsburgh by planting pawpaws at a 2022 salon) to talk about America's largest native fruit and its fascinating connections to animals huge and tiny.  An opportunity to taste this unique fruit, too (also at this month's salon!).  4:30-6:30 at Garden Dreams in Wilkinsburg.  Free;  sign up here.

•  Sept 18:  Allegheny County Council will hold a combined Post Agenda and Public Hearing regarding the County Climate Action Plan to be developed.  Starting with expert testimony at 4:30, followed by public comment. In the Gold Room of the Allegheny County Courthouse, 436 Grant St. downtown; please attend, and consider speaking!  (here's the link to sign up, at least 24 hrs in advance).  

•  Sept 19:  This month's installment of the Petrochemical Lunch & Learn series about environment and health will feature Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome, Senior Director for Environmental Justice for the Council on Environmental Quality of the White House.  (noon, via Zoom;  register here)

•  Sep 19:  It's been a year since the Pitt health studies were released, linking fracking and related infrastructure to childhood cancer and other health problems.  How have Pennsylvania leaders responded?  (6 p.m., on Facebook Live; more information here.)

•  Sep 21:  Foundation for Sustainable Forests holds its annual field conference, Loving the Land Through Working Forests.  8 a.m. - 4 p.m. in Cambridge Springs, PA;  more information and registration here. 

•  Sep 22:  On the UN World Rivers Day, local events all around the world will highlight the many values of our rivers, increase public awareness, and encourages better stewardship.  Free; 4-7:30 p.m. at Tree Pittsburgh (32 67th St. 15201); RSVP here.)

•  Sep 25:  Another opportunity to learn about and taste pawpaws, with butterfly crusader Gabrielle Marsden, at the East End Food Coop.  6-8 p.m. at the co-op;  $10-15, tickets here.

•  Sep 27:  The Pittsburgh Media Partnership celebrates the Pittsburgh Story with Newsapalooza.  Maren and Sustainability Salons are among those being recognized as civic catalysts!  Here's a piece by The Allegheny Front (five-minute radio piece and a longer article at that link).

•  Oct 1:  Green Drinks -- join fellow environmentalists for a timely discussion of the Environmental Voter Project.  6-8 p.m. at the East End Brewery, 144 Julius St. in Homewood.  More info and RSVP on FB.

•  Oct 18:  Reimagined Recycling fundraiser and Trashed gallery opening.  6-9 p.m. at Atithi Studios and Ketchup City Creative.  Tickets here.

•  ReImagine Food Systems, which we've talked about at past salons, is raising funds for this year's operations (food gardens and hands-on education offered at no cost to residents in environmental justice communities, by volunteers).  If you have something to spare, you can contribute via GoFundMe.  And we're always looking for more volunteers, too!  Email reimaginefoodsystems@gmail.com.

•  Concerned Health Professionals of NY recently released the 9th Edition of the Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas & Oil Infrastructure.  Check it out!  

•  PA is considering legislation to (a) greatly increase the renewables portion of our electricity generation, and (b) enable community solar!!  The Pennsylvania Solar Center has made it easy to speak out to support this action! 

•  We know that only a tiny fraction of plastic has ever been recycled.  And yet, NPR has been airing sponsorship messages for the American Recycling Council, which is continuing to perpetrate the "recycling" hoax.  Does that make your blood boil?  The national group Beyond Plastics has a petition/sign-on letter to get them to stop -- please sign, for yourself or for an organization you represent!

•  It's been more than a year now!  You can support striking Post-Gazette workers here (and consider signing up for the alternative online publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress -- and maybe even cancel your P-G subscription until they start treating workers fairly!).  This strike has garnered national attention;  one recent picket even made it into Teen Vogue.

•  PRC continues to hold online workshops about composting, rainwater harvesting, and waste reduction.  They have several Hard-to-Recycle events each year; 2024's are listed here.  For household chemicals, here's the link.

•  The Rachel Carson EcoVillage is still looking for a few more members, so they can start construction!  Curious?  You can sign up for an introduction session or sign up as an “inquirer” to have more information sent to you.

•  Did you see the film The Story of Plastic, or the PBS doc Plastic Wars?  (and/or join us for Plastic Paradise at a winter film salon seven years ago?)  ...What if you could bring up imagery of the toxic impacts of plastic production, and commentary by the people and communities living with them, over the world?  You can do all that with the interactive Toxic Tours tool.  Check it out!  

•  Mask update:  Breathe99 masks (featured in a 2020 salon on Pandemics and Air (video), and one of TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2020) are now being distributed by Our Children Our Earth, a local purveyor of alternatives to disposables (as well as classy wooden toys).  Contact Dianne via OCOE's Facebook page, or call (412) 772-1638 to coordinate a curbside pickup (or you can still order online).

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum;  it's a mini-conference;  it's a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues (and often health, and justice, and politics);  it's a house party with an environmental theme.  Each month we have featured speakers on various aspects of a particular topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, and (when in person) delectable potluck food and drink and music-making through the evening.   Beginning in early 2012, salons were originally a potluck mini-conference;  the event has been either on Zoom or outdoor/hybrid since March 2020.  This event series was featured in the Pittsburgh Media Partnership's Pittsburgh Story project on Civic Catalysts -- here's a piece by The Allegheny Front. 

Past topics have included forest protection, a celebration of the 150th salon, a closer look at our quarter-acre, reducing single-use plastics, water campaigns, climate campaigns, consumerism, air quality campaigns,  movement-building and sustained campaigns, abandoned oil and gas wells, hope (finding it, creating it, using it), addressing environmental causes of cancer, a development proposal for Frick Park, single-use plastic legislation, home energy efficiency (and legislation to help fund improvements), the UN's COP process for climate negotiations, alternatives to single-use packaging, our region's air (part I and part II), activist art and America's Energy Gamble, advocacy opportunities, social justice games, fixing Pennsylvania state government, climate action, forest restoration, the history of American consumerism, regional air quality, preserving Pittsburgh's forests, climate modeling, approaches to pipelines, pipeline hazards, the legacy of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the judiciary and fair elections, consumption, pandemics and air,  election law and activism, air quality and environmental justice, social investment,  local economies, the economics of energy, mutual aid networks, ocean health, the rise of the radical right, the back end of consumption, approaches to activism on fracking & climate, air quality, technology, and citizen science, single-use plastics, election activism, election law, whether to preserve existing nuclear power plants, advanced nuclear technologies, passenger and freight trains, consumption, plastics, and pollution, air quality, solar power, youth activism, greening business, greenwashing, the petrochemical buildout in our region, climate/nature/people, fracking, health, & action, globalization, ecological ethics, community inclusion, air quality monitoring, informal gatherings that turn out to have lots of speakers, getting STEM into Congress, keeping Pittsburgh's water public, Shell's planned petrochemical plant, visualizing air quality, the City of Pittsburgh's sustainability initiatives, fossil energy infrastructure, getting money out of politics, community solar power and the Solarize Allegheny program, the Paris climate negotiations (before, during, and after), 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, 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 (often led by filmmakers) over the winter with films on Food Systems, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Plastic Paradise, Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Triple Divide on fracking, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game, A Fierce Green Fire, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, 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!).