For my first post on "Green is Good," I wanted to highlight some of the good things that are going on in Pittsburgh. I'm a firm believer that "Green is Good" and that we can spur the economy while saving the planet with the right planning and investment. As a country and a region, we've spent more than enough money investing in projects that are anti-Green. It's time for Green.
5 Exciting Projects Happening Right Now:
- Dan Onorato has pledged to use his millions of green stimulus money on weatherizing buildings throughout the county.
- Car-Free Fridays and in general a biking renaissance in the city of Pittsburgh spear-headed by bike-pgh
- A great focus on our rivers with new docks planned and more interconnecting river-side trails.
- Construction of the first LEED-certified Gold Sports Arena - even if it has a bad name.
- Green Innovators. This long-term pet project of Senator Jim Ferlo is set to teach high school graduates to become "green collar" and work in the abundant green projects throughout the region.
That's a healthy list of things to be proud of in the Pittsburgh area. We have a long ways to go (which I'll be sure to point out in future posts) but there's a lot going on here. Anything you're excited about that I missed?
4 comments:
As my email to you implied, I prefer Dan Onorato, gubernatorial candidate, much better than Dan Onorato County Executive. It's good to see him looking at improving the energy efficiency of the county buildings. Green roofs on top of the downtown buildings and things of that nature will only improve the air and water quality in and around Pittsburgh. One thing I would like to see out of Pittsburgh, and other local governments, is a commitment to purchase green power for their electricity. I blogged about the city of Philadelphia's ambitious plan to become the greenest city in the U.S. Bloomberg's plaNYC2030 should be the model for regional and municipal sustainability plans. Other cities have similar ambitions and I think a good first step for Pittsburgh is to lay out a plan similar to the ones presented by Mayors Nutter and Bloomberg. Hopefully the Pittsburgh plan will include input from city residents.
Unless you count driving an SUV as 'car free' the whole driving less thing won't work for me without some transit reform. The overcrowding drove me off the 61c.
To MH: Consider the Port Authority's TDP, especially their "Concept 2," which upgrades all of the 61s to "Rapid Bus" -- running them more frequently and regularly.
I have too much experience with the Port Authority to count anything as good news until it is actually running.
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