Most folks have opinions about what our government does, and how. Getting out onto the streets is sometimes necessary (like now!), and has certainly been vital to a great deal of systemic change over the centuries, but there are also mechanisms built into government that enable regular people to weigh in on public policy at the local, state, and federal levels; I've often included such opportunities in my "other events and whatnot" listings in these salon announcements. And since public opinion can sway policymakers, influencing our fellow citizens by stating cogent arguments in the media is also important.
For the 168th Sustainability Salon -- marking 14 years!! -- we'll talk mostly about writing letters and making public comments, and will feature current issues, past victories, and tools for your toolbox. We'll be on Zoom.
Of course, there are
street protests, which are happening pretty much every day now that the federal government is coming apart at the seams in the most cruel way possible.
Marie Norman, by day a professor of medicine and clinical translational science at Pitt, is well-versed in both writing letters and organizing events like town halls, marches, and rallies. Nine years ago she saw some of the changes coming down the pike, and founded Steel Phoenix to organize get-togethers for the purpose of writing letters to policymakers. She has also been part of many street demonstrations, and
speaks out in favor of including that approach in our activism -- both by the "usual suspects" and by the rapidly growing number of people who are new to protesting. Only by getting more and more people out on the streets will we demonstrate that the majority of American people don't approve of the path the US is going down. Marie will start us off with a few thoughts.
But there's also a great deal to be done with the pen (or the keyboard).
Citizens can write and call government officials and agencies on current issues of all kinds, either spontaneously or during explicit public-comment periods for legislation or regulations that are in the works. Any legislator worth their salt wants to hear from their constituents! And letters to the editor (LTEs) can be very helpful to raise awareness among the public and in turn influence policymakers.
One of the key arguments one can make in these letters and comments comes from provisions in both our
city charter and our
state constitution, protecting residents and indeed nature itself. Environmental attorney
Tom Bailey has made a study of the
Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment -- what it really means, and how to use it.
Currently, for example, the federal government is retreating from controlling fossil fuel emissions. Luckily, Pennsylvania residents have a fundamental right to clean air and pure water spelled out within our state constitution. Tom will discuss two landmark Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases in which our rights were enforced and protected. He'll suggest a couple of additions for your public comment that incorporate language from these cases. He also looks forward to hearing from participants about what issues concern you within our state's ecosystem.
Then we'll take a close look at a local Pittsburgh issue. The city's Planning Department has put out their proposed recommendations for expanding Greenways, which could be a big step towards meeting goals of habitat restoration and connectivity set forth in the Climate Action Plan. This offers a rare opportunity to provide meaningful and permanent protection for Pittsburgh's forests. Public pressure is essential to help ensure that the recommendations from the Planning Department are not watered down by the influence of developers on our city council. Matt Peters, Hazelwood resident and member of Heartwood, will give an overview of the proposal and discuss two development proposals that threaten these forests. Isabella Gross, principal environmental planner, will also be on hand to share more about the Greenways Expansion project she leads, and lend insight into City processes.
Kara Kukovich, with the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club, will talk about who to send your comments to for this issue, and offer a tutorial in how to write effective letters to decisionmakers.
LTEs are also a useful way to educate and make our voices heard -- both by policymakers, and by our neighbors. This is usually in the context of responding to published articles in newspapers or other media. The Pittsburgh chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby has an ongoing project to help members write such letters, and some fantastic ones have been published over the years! Harry Hochheiser, a biomedical informatics professor at Pitt, also has a great handle on the evolving media landscape in our region. He leads this volunteer effort, with coaching sessions as well as email updates noting recent articles about climate issues.
We'll also talk about some other current opportunities for public comment (like the possible dismantling of NCAR, below in the Other section), and hope that you'll put all this information to use by writing your own letters and comments now and in the turbulent times to come (and call, and rally, and march)!
As always, you can find the latest here on MarensList.
This salon will take place on Zoom. The program will start around 3 p.m., and usually goes 'till 6 or 7. As always, 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, 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 (times are U.S. Eastern):
• Every day! Join volunteers with Indivisible's "Outrage Hour" Every day from 4 to 5 p.m. at Fifth & Shady. More info and RSVP here (but feel free to come whether or not you RSVP).
• Jan 20: In just a year since the inauguration, the current federal administration has brought a fascist regime, terrorizing communities across the nation. You can take a stand by walking out of work, school, and commerce in the Free America Walkout: refuse to cooperate! 2 p.m .local time (everywhere); find actions near you here.
• Feb 19: Permits & Zoning webinar -- part of a monthly series by Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services. 12-1:30 p.m.; more info and registration here.
• Feb 21: 28th annual Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit creates opportunities to learn, connect, and act on behalf of racial justice. This year's theme: Building Community for Lasting Democracy and Racial Equity.9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the CCAC Allegheny campus. Sliding scale registration; more information and registration here.
• Mar 19: Webinar on Commenting, Public Meetings, and Information Requests -- part of a monthly series by Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services. 12-1:30 p.m.; more info and registration here.
• Apr 20: Webinar on Policy, Legal, and Organizing Levers -- part of a monthly series by part of a monthly series by Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services. 12-1:30 p.m.; more info and registration here.
• Protect and connect Pittsburgh Forests, expand our Greenways! Lots more information, and who to write, here.
• The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is slated to be shut down, if current national leadership has their way. What about all the critical weather and climate research they do? Their information is essential for other researchers, meteorologists, farmers, businesses, and the general public. As climate change leads to more severe storms (and droughts), this is hardly the time to scrap our premier atmospheric research institution. The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has made it easy to write to your federal legislators about this; click here to get started.
• I encourage local folks to sign up for the Indivisible Grassroots Pittsburgh email list, which will bring you lots more listings, more frequently -- email Debra. And there's Fighting Back, by Alison, with up-to-date emails on lots and lots of protest actions and other events.
• 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!
• 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!
• PRC continues to hold online workshops about composting, rainwater harvesting, and waste reduction. They have several Hard-to-Recycle events each year; upcoming events are listed here. For household chemicals, here's the link.
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 greener buying, data centers, local environmental authors (Part I & Part II) honey forests & friends, air science into policy, air quality education and engagement, farming and succession, building with wood, food justice, Mutual Aid networks, activism in the coming years, COVID caution and community care, nature education/volunteer programs, air quality, stories that inspire, 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!).
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