Home Sweet Green Innovators

I'm happy to report that Pittsburgh Green Innovators has officially found a home in the Hill District.

"The campus center for the Green Innovations Center will be located in the former Connelly Trade School, in the city's Hill District, where a sales agreement has been finalized. It will house educational programs, serve as a public meeting place and accommodate long- and short-term residential uses."

This exciting program received a $250,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund for design and construction of the center. They received an additional $100,000 for educational and operational services.

Other local green recipients of this fund?

"$210,000 to the Steel City Rowing Club in Verona to construct an energy-efficient boathouse at 100 Arch St., using geothermal heating and cooling, on-site stormwater management and retention ponds, and many other green building components."

The Mayor's Infrastructure Stimulus Wish List...prepare to be Underwhelmed

Pittsburgh's mayor Luke Ravenstahl released his list of projects for the Obama administration's massive infrastructure program, which should should go into effect as early as Obama's first month in office.. The mayor announced his plan amid criticism from members of Pittsburgh city council, who were upset that the mayor did not submit the city's wish list to the US Conference of Mayors in time to be included in the group's Jobs and Infrastructure Report, although 427 other cities were able to do so. You can view that report here.

My first reaction after looking over the list of 110 projects was "Where is the green?" and "Where are the transit projects?" Where are the big and bold ideas for light rail and commuter rail, like the things we have proposed as part of CityLive's Transportation Wiki? I've compared Pittsburgh's list to the wishlists of other cities, such as Miami, which asked for funding for $3.4 in projects, including $280 million on a new streetcar system, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which requested $2.3 billion in funding, with over $1 billion of that money being earmarked for renewable energy projects. Below is a list of the ten cities which requested the most money for infrastructure projects. (The jobs figures are so inflated that you shouldn't even pay mind to them)



Again, the mayor's plan left me asking for plans to expand the light rail to Oakland, or a massive plan for citywide energy efficiency initiatives, like Councilman Peduto's LED lighting plan. To be fair, a lot of the projects on the mayor's list are essential and are long overdue. Our sewer systems should have been upgraded decades ago, and Pittsburgh is not alone as many cities across the US are asking for money for water and waste related projects. But when looking for true green projects I only found a handful that even come close to being considered "green". These projects included bike trails, LED lighting along the trails, and new parks and green spaces. These 10 projects, listed below, represent $38 million of the $1.02 billion in requested funds, meaning only 3.3 % of the total that Mayor Ravenstahl is requesting is going to projects that will make Pittsburgh a greener city. This is a joke when stacked up against other cities, both larger and smaller than Pittsburgh, who realize that projects focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, not to mention CO2 reductions, will be at the top of the Obama's administration's list of priorities.




A friend, who had reviewed the list earlier today, sent me an email with the following:

Where’s the leadership? Where’s the innovation? The imagination? Where’s the $%@$ creativity or inspiration?

That’s just a rote $%#@ laundry list of stuff that came out of the backs of reports that have been filed away in the City-County Building for years.

My thoughts exactly. As I said earlier, the mayor's plan does address some essential fixes to things which are in dire need of upgrades, but anyone who has been living in Pittsburgh for a few years could have recommended those projects. These are not the big bold ideas that we need to "move Pittsburgh forward", as the mayor likes to say often. Obama's stimulus plan will be an unprecedented opportunity to improve our transportation system and finally build out our light rail network, which still only serves the South Hills and downtown Pittsburgh. Other cities have put forth bold ideas that will make them more competitive not only here in the US but on a global scale as well. Like every other issue, this one shows the glaring weakness of Pittsburgh : the lack of bold leadership from our top public officials.

The complete list of projects can be viewed and downloaded to a spreadsheet from Swivel.com

City "guru" Kotkin: Don't spend Infrastucture Stimulus Money on Stupid Projects, like the Boodoggle right here in Pittsburgh

Joel Kotkin, author of "The City" and columnist on about all things pertaining to regional economics, wrote about how it is critical that the Obama administration determines which infrastructure projects are worthy of a piece of the several hundred billion dollars in infrastructure spending that he has promised. I couldn't agree more. Kotkin also singled out Pittsburgh and highlighted our "tunnel to nowhere" project as an example of how easy it is to waste half a billion on a needless infrastructure project:

Perhaps no place epitomizes misplaced priorities better than Pittsburgh. Widely hailed in the media as a poster child for the urban "renaissance," Pittsburgh has suffered a precipitous decline in population: Its 310,000 residents are less than half its 1950 peak. It now shares with parts of the former East Germany the gloomy demographic of having more residents die each year than are born.

Like other cities, Pittsburgh has sought to revive itself with billions in new stadiums, arenas and cultural facilities. Meanwhile, its roads and bridges are in a constant state of disrepair. Most recently, the city embarked on a scheme to create a 1.2-mile, $435 million transit tunnel under the Allegheny River to connect downtown's heavily subsidized towers with taxpayer-funded pro sports stadiums and a new casino. This "tunnel to nowhere," derided by a local columnist as the nation's "premier transit boondoggle," will no doubt be the sort of thing many states and localities will seek federal infrastructure funds for, justifying them on the basis of both short-term economic stimulus and some kind of "green" agenda.

Ouch. I can't say I disagree with Kotkin, and I think his points further emphasize the need for the NIB - the National Infrastructure Bank. We need to take the politics out of deciding which projects get federal funding, and an independent board on the NIB is a smart way to make sure that projects that have the highest probability of generating jobs and growth get the funding instead of projects where we have to import Japanese labor to bore holes under the Allegheny River.

Hopefully the North Shore Connector boondoggle doesn't hurt our chances for new infrastructure projects here in the burgh, but judging from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's announcement today of the city of Pittsburgh's Stimulus plan wish list, it seems like instead of bold audacious projects, like commuter rail, streetcars, or linking downtown to the Oakland corridor, the mayor is playing it safe with projects such as a supermarket, and $10 million worth of asphalt. I am not kidding you - read for yourself. More on this in the next post.

The EPA is seeking local applicants for its Green Jobs Training Program

According to Pop City the EPA is looking for 60 Pittsburgh area applicants for its Brownfields Jobs Training Program. The federal agency is looking for applicants who live in local brownfield areas, such as Braddock, Swissvale, Clairton, Duquesne, McKeesport and Homestead. The training will develop the individuals to become certified environmental technicians and brownfield remediation specialists.

From the Pop City announcement:

The jobs pay about $12 to $15 an hour and include health insurance and benefits. Job placement services are available after training. Graduates will receive licenses for positions such as field technicians and phase I environmental technicians that conduct soil, water, air and building material testing and may receive further certification as a lead or asbestos inspector or clean-up technician.

While $12 to $15 an hour doesn't sound like much, and it isn't, it is a start, and these are the types of jobs and skills that will soon be in high demand. The program will lead to higher paying positions once the trainees get some experience. The EPA reaching out to potential applicants in areas like the aforementioned East Pittsburgh neighborhoods is what I call the Van Jones effect. As Van Jones said, the green movement cannot be just about rich people putting solar panels on their rooftops. The green movement must be inclusive, and must be about green jobs for all, especially those who are struggling and looking for jobs that have the potential for advancement and higher incomes. Green jobs can and will be the "rising tide that lifts all boats" and I am glad to see this announcement that there are indeed real green job openings right here in Pittsburgh.

Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low Carbon Economy

Tickets to the event in DC are sold out but click here to RSVP for the live Webcast

Live Webcast

Green Recovery

December 1, 2008, 12:00pm – 1:30pm

Please join the Center for American Progress and three of the country's leading advocates for investments in a green economy for a discussion on how each step of an economic recovery package (stabilization, stimulus, recovery, and growth) can be greened, and explore both national and state perspectives on policy solutions towards transforming our economy to a low-carbon model.

Introduction by:
Joseph Romm, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Featured Speakers:
Governor Ed Rendell (D - PA)

Thomas Friedman, columnist, New York Times; author, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- and How It Can Renew America

Moderated by:
Bracken Hendricks, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Van Jones talks to TPMtv about the ecoPopulist movement

I don't know about you but I get fired up listening to Van Jones talk about the green jobs movement. His main point is that the green movement should be the rising tide to lift all boats - meaning green should be the way to create jobs that will employee those who are living in poverty. Right now, he argues, the green movement is too focused on consumerism, where those who are well off being the ones who benefit the most through their purchases of expensive solar panels and eco-friendly products. To learn more about Van Jones and his green jobs campaign check out the Ella Baker Center website.

To all the Pittsburghers reading this, we are trying to get Van Jones to come back to Pittsburgh when we are hosts to next summer's Netroots Nation convention.

Van Jones: "We need a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty...."

The reality is, that there is only one solution to both of the crisis that we face. There is only one solution to the ecological crisis, the crisis of global warming, the crisis of global warming, there is only one solution to the social and economic crisis. and that solution is this: We need a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Simple as that. We need a green economy that honors the earth, but it cannot be a green economy only for the eco-chic, the eco-elite, the people who can afford to buy a hybrid, the people that can afford to put solar panels on their second home. I want them to buy a hybrid, I want them to put solar panels on their second home, but the people who are struggling right now for bus fare - they have a place too.

- Van Jones, 10/31/2007


What do politicians like Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton mean when they say they want to boost our economy through the creation of "Green Collar Jobs?" Van Jones, a civil rights activist out of California, is one of the leading advocates for using the green movement spurred by the race against climate change and global warming to create thousands of jobs throughout urban areas in the United States.

Last week, Van Jones was here in Pittsburgh to speak at the Good Jobs Green Jobs conference. Modeshift has a writeup of Jones's speech at the event. Details from that presentation will be posted but for now check out this interview with Van Jones over at the Grist.


Here is Van Jones speaking on behalf of his non profit "Green for All" about how a "Green wave should lift all boats."



Below is information on the upcoming "Dream Reborn" conference in Memphis the weekend of April 4th, 2008.





"The new dream has to be about the people and the planet too."