Putting Down Roots: Maren's List

Nov 13: SUNDAY Sustainability Salon on Our Region's Air (Part II, on Zoom)

The 130th Sustainability Salon will continue our annual Fall Focus on Air Quality, on November 13th. Since temperatures are (finally) falling, we'll be back on Zoom. Note the new day-of-week! ...I canvassed folks for a non-salon gathering last month, and Sunday was strongly preferred over Saturday. Salons were traditionally on Saturdays because, in their traditional form, they often went quite late. That's not the case for Zoom events -- it's hard to match the dynamic of in-person events. So we're CHANGING TO SUNDAY!

Clairton resident Melanie Meade has lived with, and spoken out about, some of the worst air in the country for decades. She'll share some of her family's story, and ways she and others are working to address the problems in collaboration with the Clean Air Council and other organizations. Clairton's long struggle with air quality, dominated by U.S. Steel's Clairton Cokeworks, is a part of its complicated history -- check out this comprehensive article in PublicSource.

GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell will share developments in the group's programs in education, advocacy, watchdog activities, and legal action. From Fresh Voices for Clean Air (a partnership with a different GASP in Birmingham, Alabama) to our Air Permits Clearinghouse (providing citizens with a window onto the major pollution sources in Southwestern Pennsylvania), to addressing toxic coke oven emissions, GASP works to protect the health of breathers in our region.

Caroline Mitchell is an attorney, an engineer, and a member of the Allegheny County Board of Health. She'll talk about the legal framework within which local and state air-quality regulators operate, and its implication for enforcement actions.

I look forward to seeing folks!

December's Sustainability Salon, on our annual theme of Consumption, will be all about packaging. On Sunday December 18th, in collaboration with Pittsburghers Against Single-Use Plastic (PASUP), we'll have a brainstorming session on ways to avoid single-use packaging for food and other everyday products, and will also feature Larissa Russo of The Refillery sharing what her business is doing about it.

In the meantime, some other items of note:

• Oct 15: Pennsylvania Resources Council's ReuseFest, collecting all sorts of things in North Park. Information and registration here.

• Oct 15: With the threat of nuclear war once again rising up, several local groups have organized a picket of PNC Bank to continue pressuring them to stop investing in nuclear weapons manufacturers. Here's the FB event page.

• Oct 15: The Poor People's Campaign will be on the streets (in the Hill District) with the theme of voting. Here's the FB event page.

• Oct 15: Garfield Community Farm's fall benefit -- FB event page.

• Oct 19: Better Path Presents Unpacking the IRA and the Dirty Deal with Jim Walsh of Food & Water Watch. Register here.

• Oct 20: The Battle of Homestead Foundation is hosting an online panel discussion: Fascism in Today's America: Can It Happen Here? Register here.

• Oct 24: Air Quality Town Hall on the new petrochemical facility just north of Pittsburgh.

• Nov 9-13: The Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) will hold a hybrid Students for Zero Waste Conference (online and in Philadelphia).

• Nov 13: Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light (PAIPL), a faith-based climate group, hosts its annual conference on Environmental Justice and Human Resilience (regional workshops and an online keynote).

• Nov 15 & 16: The League of Women Voters/Straight Scoop on Shale annual Shale & Public Health Conference.

• Nov 15: Book talk/discussion by recent Salon speaker Shanti Gamper-Rabindran and my mostly-silent Salon co-host (and atmospheric scientist) Neil Donahue, at Riverstone Books.

• Nov 17: Plastic Pollution Coalition webinar on reducing waste associated with holiday gift-giving (more info and registration).

• Dec 9: Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania (PSRPA) hosts their annual environmental health conference with a snapshot of local issues, local voices, and recent research.

•. Students at Shaler Area High School have partnered with the Allegheny Land Trust to protect open space in their community and enhance butterfly habitat with native plants. They've put together a fundraiser to help acquire a parcel of former farmland.

•. During the Climate Convergence in June, we placed a countdown Climate Clock in the Pennsylvania Capitol. We want to make this installation permanent! Here's a petition for you to sign, as well as an organizational sign-on letter.

•. The petition we spoke about a couple of months ago is also still relevant: https://www.fixharrisburg.com/

• PRC continues to hold online workshops about composting, rainwater harvesting, and waste reduction.

• The Rachel Carson EcoVillage is still looking for a few more members, so they can start construction! Curious? Check out this introductory video -- or even better, 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 six 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 at November's 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.

Talks and discussion will run from 4 p.m. to 7 or 7:30 on Zoom (sadly, no potluck supper these days). You're welcome to join the call for informal conversation after 3 p.m., and we aim to start the main program right around 4. If you're new to Zoom, you may find my Zoom Reference Guide helpful. If you RSVP via Eventbrite, you'll receive the Zoom registration link right away. If you're not already on my Eventbrite 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!

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; it's a house party (if there weren't a pandemic) with an environmental theme. Each month we have featured speakers on various aspects of a particular topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included our region's air (part I), 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, 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!).

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, perhaps we can sing and play a bit if the weather's nice!

Nov 13: Sustainability Salon on Our Region's Air (Part II, on Zoom) (note date change!)

[Note that this particular posting is kind of a dummy -- I left it in place after the date change, so nobody would go to a dead link. Up-to-date information is here.

The 130th Sustainability Salon will continue our annual Fall Focus on Air Quality, on November 13th. Since temperatures are (finally) falling, we'll be back on Zoom. Note the date change! ...I canvassed folks for a non-salon gathering last month, and Sunday was strongly preferred over Saturday. Salons were traditionally on Saturdays because, in their traditional formd, they often went quite late. That's not the case for Zoom events -- it's hard to match the dynamic of in-person events. So we're CHANGING TO SUNDAY!

Oct 24: Air quality town hall

Air Quality Town Hall #8:

The Race to the Bottom –
Another Fossil Fuel Threat to Greater Pittsburgh

While the world is moving to combat global warming, Pittsburgh is doubling down on a 150-year commitment to heavy manufacturing driven by fossil fuels when the new massive Shell ethylene cracker plant starts to produce millions of tons of plastic in Beaver County.

Our Commonwealth approved a $1.7 billion subsidy to attract Shell, money that we will pay in taxes. And then those jobs for workers from our region? They are proving to be a mirage.

When Shell was asked at a local meeting how many of the first 200 jobs at the plastics plant were going to be filled by locals, the company said they did not know. More recently, pressured to answer this question, Shell said that of the 400-600 permanent jobs at the plant, 40-75% were going to locals, a ridiculously imprecise range.

It is clear that this plant will never be an economic game changer for the region.

Remember the definition of a “shell game?” It’s a game involving sleight of hand, in which three inverted cups are moved about, and contestants must spot which is the one with a pea or other object underneath. The pea is never where you think it is.

We will highlight Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC) and its Eyes on Shell initiative. Imagine the threats of round-the-clock production, thousands of rail cars servicing the plant, and increased fracking to feed this monster. Learn what BCMAC is doing to combat those threats, and ways that you can join with them to carry some of that burden.

6 p.m., on Zoom; register here for this session.

Oct 15: Between-the-Salons gathering

I had high hopes of one more in-person, outdoor Sustainability Salon l ast Saturday -- but chilly temperatures and a program that warranted slides led us to switch to a virtual event. Quite a few other folks were disappointed, too. So before we descend into a long winter of Zoom, let's take advantage of fairly nice weather this Saturday, and have a non-Salon gathering -- no particular topic, no talks, just a back-porch potluck and lots of conversation. If it’s warm enough (and the right people come), we might make some music. It looks like we’ll be making some music, and I’ll be mulling cider in addition to the usual. And who knows, you might go home with some seedlings or produce!

This low-key, informal gathering will go from 3 p.m. to 7 or so. Please be sure to RSVP if you might come! To RSVP, please email me (maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with gathering in the Subject line. Along about Friday night/Saturday morning, I'll send out Directions & Other Information to all who have registered (but please register even if you know your way here).

The next salon will be on November 12th, the second half of our regular fall feature on air quality.

And there’s a whole raft of other events between now and then included there (under “other items of note”) — check ‘em out!

Oct. 8: Sustainability Salon on Our Region's Air (Part I)

Autumn came in right on schedule this year; temperatures took a crisp turn exactly on the equinox. Leaves are starting to turn, but it hasn't been too cold up 'till now. People have been really enjoying our in-person gatherings this summer, so I had high hopes of one more in-person, outdoor Sustainability Salon. But with Saturday's high in the mid-fifties (probably the low fifties down in our valley, and a possible frost that night), quite a few folks have chimed in that it will be a bit too chilly to be hanging out on the back porch -- so we'll revert to Zoom. (Look below for several other things happening earlier that day, more active in nature and thus less chilly than sitting.).

For those who are keen to get together IRL, I'll be looking at my calendar and the ongoing forecast to see if I can do an informal, in-person, in-between-salons gathering in the next week or two, while the backyard is still somewhat flowery! Email me (with "salon" in the Subject line) if you'd be interested.

So, for the 129th and the 130th Sustainability Salons, we'll return to our annual Fall Focus on Air Quality.

On October 8th we'll have both a big-picture view, and close scrutiny of a massive new facility in our region.

Dr. Matthew Mehalik, Executive Director of the Breathe Project, will lead a conversation about where we are in the air-quality journey of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the role of a broad collaborative like the Breathe Project in the local landscape of activism and advocacy.

Photo: CMU CREATE Lab/Breathe
Dr. Clifford Lau was an industrial chemist for three decades (at Polaroid and Bayer Material Science), and has taught Chemistry and Environmental Science at several local universities. Recently he has been working with groups like Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), Climate Reality, and the Clean Air Council on the petrochemical buildout in our region, with a particular focus on the ethane cracker about to open in Beaver County (and already spewing pollutants into the air and water).

Filmmaker and activist Mark Dixon has worked to place air monitors all around the Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County -- and we'll hear about the air emissions already being released by the plant before it even begins producing plastic.

And on November 12th, speakers will include:

...and perhaps another speaker or two. I look forward to seeing folks at both events!

So, welcoming back the faraway folks who have been enjoying our virtual events for the past couple of years, the 129th Sustainability Salon will take place once again on Zoom. Be sure to RSVP to get the Zoom registration link!

In the meantime, a few other items of note:

• Oct 8: The Allegheny Land Trust, the Chalfant Run Watershed Association, and Plant Five For Life are collaborating on a volunteer workday volunteer workday at the new Churchill Valley Greenway.

• Oct 8: Climate education group Communitopia's third annual Pedaltopia bike ride & fundraiser.

• Oct 8: Women's March Pittsburgh will gather supporters for "Women's Wave: We Won't Go Back!" downtown, part of a nationwide weekend of action.

• Oct 9: Sunday afternoon scarecrow making, in honor of Indigenous People's Day, and in protest of the uprooting of The People's Enchanted Garden.

•. Oct 24: Air Quality Town Hall on the new petrochemical facility just north of Pittsburgh.

• Nov 15: Book talk/discussion by last month's stellar Salon speaker Shanti Gamper-Rabindran and my mostly-silent Salon co-host (and atmospheric scientist) Neil Donahue, at Riverstone Books.

https://shop.riverstonebookstore.com/1115-shanti-gamper-rabindran

•. The petition we spoke about a couple of months ago is also still relevant: https://www.fixharrisburg.com/

• PRC continues to hold online workshops about composting, rainwater harvesting, and waste reduction.

Talks and discussion will run from 4 p.m. to 7:30 or so on Zoom (sadly, no potluck supper these days). You're welcome to join the call for informal conversation after 3 p.m., and we aim to start the main program right around 4. If you're new to Zoom, you may find my Zoom Reference Guide helpful. If you RSVP via Eventbrite, you'll receive the Zoom registration link right away. If you're not already on my Eventbrite 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!

Past topics have included 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, 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!).

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, perhaps we can sing and play a bit if the weather's nice!