Harrisburg Fireworks 2, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Pvasimages’ photostream

A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial called for it in December 2009. PA State Rep. Scott Conklin’s House Bill 763 calls for it and has 16 co-sponsors. Governor Tom Corbett was for it — at least while he was campaigning. The “it’” is a Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. As the Post-Gazette noted:

Pennsylvania has the most restrictive constitutional amendment process in the United States, according to the state Constitutional Convention Commission, which is made up of Democracy Rising, Common Cause, the Commonwealth Foundation and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. These organizations don’t always agree on remedies, but they spoke with one voice when they requisitioned a study on constitutional conventions because they agree that Pennsylvania needs a lesson in integrity and effectiveness.

The nonpartisan, nonprofit Civic Research Alliance, which did the study, made no recommendation for action, but spelled out what is essential if a convention is to succeed. “Public support for a convention is strongly correlated with general discontent among the electorate, not only with government but with a range of institutions.”

We’ve got that covered.

Of the four civic groups only Democracy Rising is calling for a constitutional convention now.

Democracy Rising PA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization “working for integrity, value, transparency, and citizen confidence in government.” As they state on their website:

It’s been more than 130 years since the last time Pennsylvania’s entire Constitution was proposed for revision. Since then, we have invented the airplane and flown to the moon. We have fought two World Wars and many smaller wars. We have learned to communicate over vast distances. We have extended each citizen’s average life expectancy by decades.

So it’s not surprising that many people think its time to revise our Constitution.

Democracy Rising PA is giving you, the citizen, a means to add your voice to the rising chorus for real reform. You can sign their petition to our state legislators to place a referendum on the ballot for the general election in November, asking citizens whether they want to hold a Constitution convention.

It’s time to call for a higher standard of public integrity and effectiveness — and, you can help make that happen by signing the petition here.

Pittsburgh Skyline from Mattress Factory, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 18brumaire’s photostream

For over 40 years, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22nd as a way to educate and mobilize people to making a commitment to a better environment and sustainability. In Pittsburgh, April 22nd will also be celebrated as “Greener Pittsburgh Day.” Greener Expressions, a Lawrenceville company, is spearheading the Greener Pittsburgh initiative. The idea behind Greener Pittsburgh is to have a one-stop online location for citizens, businesses, organizations and government to find and promote local green products, services and information to create a more sustainable Pittsburgh. In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, Greener Expressions’ Chief Executive Officer, Greg DiMedio, explained that Greener Pittsburgh will be an online marketplace to “help the restaurant owner looking for biodegradable carry-out containers, the resident looking for an environmentally responsible dry cleaner and the community group looking for a stamp of environmental respectability.” Councilman Bill Peduto has been a covener and advisor to Greener Pittsburgh — helping announce the initiative last year and providing funding.

Moreover, several years ago Peduto introduced the founders of the company, Greg DiMedio and Bob McNeice (Insight Rising). He worked with them on different ideas for how the company would be structured and how it could benefit the community. Peduto also brought in Christine Mondor from evolve EA to add a “neighborhood” element to the initiative. Councilman Peduto continues to work closely with McNeice, DiMedio and Mondor, as well as with Danae Clark who is running daily operations. Councilman Peduto is also proud that he was able to help secure a Community Development Block Grant so that Greener Pittsburgh could work with CTAC to promote environmental awareness in Pittsburgh’s lower income neighborhoods.

On April 19th, Councilman Peduto initiated a proclamation (signed by all members of Council) declaring April 22nd to be “Greener Pittsburgh Day” in the City of Pittsburgh and honoring the project “for providing our community the tools to identify and support local businesses that are committed to sustainability.” During his presentation, Councilman Peduto commented that Pittsburgh is a world leader in recognizing that sustainable practices can be “beneficial to businesses, communities and individuals” and that Greener Pittsburgh will create a network and a rating system of sustainability — something that no other city is doing right now. You can view a video of the presentation of that proclamation below. Greener Pittsburgh is planned to launch in few weeks.

City Planning IV, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Sebastian Niedlich’s (Grabthar) photostream

If you were in control of a city’s energy, water, retail and banking industries, could you make a better, more sustainable place to live? If you answered in the affirmative, you can now test whether that’s true with IBM’s CityOne game. IBM believes that playing their game will enable industries and municipalities to apply innovative technologies to city planning and learn what kind of outcomes they can expect from that technology (but you can play too).

Sam Jones at Green Futures reviewed CityOne (you can read his entire article at This Big City) and describes it as follows:

Players are presented with a series of energy, water and economic problems, whilst charged with providing an urban space conducive to growth – all within a total available budget. They’re armed with a series of gauges measuring business climate, citizen happiness and environmental wellbeing, and assisted by several simulated consultants (presumably a lot cheaper than the real thing).

Among the challenges they face in the 100 or so ‘real world’ scenarios are traffic congestion, water shortages and supply chain problems. They’ll be expected to use techniques such as service reuse, cloud computing and collaborative technologies to help make organisations in city systems more ‘intelligent’ and responsive.

Among the choices they make is whether to deploy new technologies, or re-organise existing systems to make them cleaner and leaner. After the allotted number of ‘turns’, they’re awarded a score which can be compared with like-minded individuals the world over. The game itself has built-in cloud-computing capabilities, allowing players to communicate and confer with industry experts.

CityOne gives players the opportunity to see how they compare with others by geographic location, by industry, and by player type (Pragmatic Leader, Conservative, Evader, Short-Term Thinker and Futurist). How intelligent can you make a city’s infrastructure? You can join the conversation by registering to play here. But, before you start, here’s a trailer for the CityOne Smarter Planet game, as well as a brief introduction video:

Icicles and Sun, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0)image from Serge Melki’s photostream

We talk a lot about sustainability at this blog, so now we’re asking: How energy efficient is your home? And, wouldn’t it be great if when you were buying or selling a home, you could reliably know how energy efficient it was? Well, twelve lucky Allegheny County residents are about to find out. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with counties, utilities, and non-profit organizations across the country to test and evaluate a Home Energy Score. The Home Energy Score will allow a homeowner to find out how their home’s energy performance compares with other homes in the same area. The DOE likens it to knowing a vehicle’s mile-per-gallon rating. A home energy assessor evaluates a home’s energy systems based on its attributes (furnace, windows, walls, etc.) and scores it on a rating system from 1 – 10 (with 10 being the best rating). They also offer suggestions for how to improve a home’s score and explain the cost savings to be had from making the recommended improvements. Allegheny County was only one of ten areas in the country selected by the DOE for a pilot of this new home energy label.

The DOE has partnered with EfficiencyPA to chose the dozen homes in Allegheny County to be part of the pilot program. You can apply here to participate. Not only do the winners receive a free DOE Home Energy Score, as a final part of the EfficiencyPA House Tour, they may also be selected as a “green home hero” at the Allegheny County Green & Innovation Festival this Fall.

The Home Energy Score is not only a great tool for buying and selling a home, it’s a wonderful way to discover how improving the energy efficiency of a home can provide real savings to a homeowner. From EfficiencyPA’s website:

“For example, if your home was built between 1900-1909 and it costs around $5000 per year for electric and gas, a home score improvement from 4.2 to 5.9 might translate into savings of $2000 per year making the simple payback period 5 years for $10,000 worth of improvements.”

Lastly, be sure to check out EfficiencyPA’s Facebook page and “Like” what you see there!

Wanna get painted?, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from ma.co.’s photostream

Take a look under your kitchen or bathroom sink. What do you see? How about in your basement or garage — what’s there? If you’re like most people, you may find some ammonia or oven cleaner, perhaps some old cans of paint or paint thinners, maybe some antifreeze or motor oil, or weed killer or mothballs. All of these items are classified as “household hazardous waste” (HHW). These are common household chemical products that, if we think about it, we know we shouldn’t be tossing into a trash bag because it would be bad for the environment. So, in many homes, they sit and collect dust. In fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average home can easily accumulate 100 pounds of these common chemicals.

There is a safe way to dispose of HHWs. The Pennsylvania Resources Council has announced the 2011 Schedule of Household Chemical Collections. There are several of these taking place in our area this year. Individuals can drop off waste materials at these events. There is a $2 per gallon fee which must be paid in cash (no checks or credit cards will be accepted). The events are are being held in conjunction with PRC’s Zero Waste Pittsburgh project in partnership with Allegheny County Health Department, UPMC, NewsRadio 1020 KDKA, the HHW Task Force and other private and public sector partners.

The first event this year is for residents of Allegheny County:

Allegheny County Household Chemical Collection Event
Saturday, May 7, 2011
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
North Park
Swimming Pool Parking Lot

You can view a flyer for the event here and all event dates here. The flyer also includes what items are and aren’t accepted. And, be sure to visit the Zero Waste Pittsburgh website to learn how to reduce waste and to see more about Household Chemical Collections in particular here.

Repatriated Mamas at the fountain, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Julien Harneis’ photostream

According to the United Nations Development Programme:

Globally, almost 1 billion people lack clean drinking water. 2.4 billion people have no access to hygienic sanitation facilities; 1.2 billion lack any sanitation facilities at all. Each day, an average of 5,000 children die due to water and sanitation related diseases, many easily preventable.

Investing in the water supply yields an average economic return of $4.40 for every $1.00 spent. Currently, the lion’s share of the burden of collecting water falls on women and children. Each day, women worldwide spend 200 million hours just collecting water for domestic use. According to Gary White, co-founder of Water.org, “This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald’s, IBM, Target, and Kroger.”

Beyond the economic issues and disease aspects, in some countries, children are too busy finding water to attend school, girls in particular are forced to drop out of school due to a lack of sanitation facilities, and women are threatened and assaulted when collecting water or visiting public toilets.

By now, you may well be asking yourself, “What can I do to help?”

Amizade is conducting their Fourth Annual Water Walk in Pittsburgh on Saturday, April 9th (April 10th in Morgantown, WV). Participants will carry a water bucket during the 2 mile route in solidarity with, and to bring awareness to, the 1 billion people around the world who do not have access to safe water. Additionally, Amizade supports water projects around the world including:

- Brought clean water to over 300 schoolchildren in the rural Karagwe region of Tanzania.

- Led workshops on the benefits of Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) — a method to produce suitable drinking water utilizing solar rays from the sun.

- Installed a massive 300,000 liter water-harvesting system, including gutters, underground piping, and a solar-powered pump for a new school in the small village of Chonyoyo.

Amizade’s Pittsburgh Water Walk Details:
Saturday, April 9th, 2011
Registration opens at 11:30, Walk begins at 1:00
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
On the Academic Walk

You can also register online here.

Eric Hartman at his Journey toward Justice blog has much more on Amizade and the world water crisis here. Also, be sure to watch this thought-provoking video created by a Duquesne University student: