In the News

Pocono Raceway leads pack in greening NASCAR

NASCAR.com Thursday, May 02, 2013

YahooSports carries a NASCAR.com report on Pocono Raceway's recent Green campaign, which is setting the bar high for other NASCAR tracks.

While the entire NASCAR industry has spent the past month showcasing and stepping up its commitment to the sport's Race to Green initiative, Pocono Raceway has been a factor for years -- an example of what's possible not only for other NASCAR facilities, but also for any sports franchise or facility.

From a one-of-a-kind, on-site solar farm to a goal of 100 percent sustainability to an E-waste recycling event, compost program and even a flock of sheep herding on property, Pocono Raceway has been first among sports facilities to NASCAR Green's checkered flag.

Original source: NASCAR.com

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Taking a deep dive into Pittsburgh's sewers

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Atlantic Citie writes about a University of Pittsburgh Ph.D. candidate who co-authored research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology that aims to determine how much sewers leak.

They studied water samples from Pittsburgh’s Nine Mile Run, one of two urban streams that still exist within the city limits (before we used such streams to dump our refuse, then piped them up and built over them, most cities were covered in small streams: "If you look at any maps with all the buildings and political boundaries taken off," Divers says, "you can see where the streams should be").

The researchers were particularly looking for a kind of nitrogen that can come from sewer systems, industrial sources, lawn fertilizer or any fossil fuels burned into the atmosphere eventually creating deposits on the landscape (fascinating side note: scientists can estimate runoff from lawn fertilizers by looking at the housing stock and financial stability of neighborhoods).

Original source: Atlantic Cities

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Ivy League picks Pittsburgh as Rust Belt's valedictorian

Politic Thursday, March 14, 2013

Politic, the Yale Undergraduate Journal of Politics, tackles Rust Belt revivalism and picks Pittsburgh as its favorite son.

The city’s revival has been part organic and part good long-term planning. With regards to the latter, Clifford Levine, an attorney who specializes in governmental law and chairs the Public Affairs Group of Cohen & Grigsby, gives credit to public-private partnerships. “There is a long tradition of political and corporate collaboration, going back to 1945 when David Lawrence was elected mayor,” he told The Politic. At the time, Pittsburgh was considered one of the most polluted cities in America. A Catholic Democrat, Lawrence forged the now famous bipartisan alliance with Richard Mellon, a member of the WASP establishment and staunch Republican chairman of one of the largest banks in the country. Despite their political and religious differences, the partnership drove a postwar urban renewal.

Original source: Politic

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Philadelphia Flower Show's attendance continues to soar

Washington Post Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Washington Post's Adrian Higgins visited the Flower Show, PHS's big annual event, and came away impressed. (Check out sister publication Flying Kite's pics from the shindig here.)

Historically, big-city flower shows are like big cities themselves: They either change or decline but cannot stay the same. By all appearances, the Philadelphia show is in the midst of healthy change: Attendance climbed from 235,000 in 2010 to 270,000 last year and is on track to exceed 300,000 this year. The number of competitive entries in a feature called the horticultural court — the horticourt — is about 11,000, and the entrants’ enthusiasm has been rewarded with a new $1 million setting for the competitions that includes a fabric roof and new show benches and display backdrops.

Original source: The Washington Post
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Zagat: Philly Fair Trade top local coffee roaster in Philadelphia

Zagat Thursday, February 28, 2013

Zagat ranks the top 11 local coffee roasters in Philadelphia.

Philly Fair Trade Roasters

Joe Cesa has been small-batch roasting in Philadelphia since before you were even drinking coffee. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it was way back in 2002 that he launched fair trade cafe Joe’s Coffee Bar on the corner of 11th and Walnut. A few years ago, he gave up the cafe location and went into roasting full time.

His Feltonville facility produces beans served at over a dozen cafes and restaurants, and are available to purchase in another dozen retail locations, including a prime spot at the Headhouse farmers’ market. Order your own online - you can choose from more than 20 different regions and roasts.

Original source: Zagat

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Small batch bikes: A look at North Philadelphia custom bicycle maker's incredible world

A Continuous Lean Thursday, February 28, 2013

North Philadelphia custom bicycle maker Bilenky Cycles Works is profiled in this video curated by A Continuous Lean.

Interestingly, the past few years have seen a resurgence in companies like Bilenky Cycles Works based on the same type of thinking from consumers: quality. There seems to be a critical mass of a certain type of consumer that is interested in quality and is willing to pay for it. Though, I have to admit, that the recent resurgence of small batch manufacturing has been mostly based on the same few categories of products like bicycles, small leather goods, jeans etc. I’m eager to see manufacturers take a leap and expand the circle to other types of products.

Original source: A Continuous Lean

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Pittsburgh's time of transition, magnified

The New York Times Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The New York Times writes about the economic transformation in Pittsburgh and how another mega-corporation reduced its operations there while smaller technology and medical companies have risen up.

But in the course of reducing it reliance on industry and big corporations, Pittsburgh has become one of the more envied stories of urban revival in the Rust Belt. The proportion of Pittsburgh’s work force in manufacturing is now actually lower than the national average, according to Christopher Briem, a University of Pittsburgh professor. But so is its unemployment rate, at 7.2 percent.

Original source: The New York Times

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Penn State research validates Johns Hopkins study that measures Antarctic ozone hole's impact on oce

Huffington Post Thursday, February 07, 2013

The Huffington Post reports on separate studies by climate scientists at Johns Hopkins University and Penn State University that indicate the Antarctic ozone hole is diminishing the Southern Ocean's ability to counter manmade climate change.

"The future of the circulation in the Southern Ocean, and the impact that it has on global climate change now seems to be very strongly tied to what happens to the westerly winds in the future," Meredith said.

The second study, by Pennsylvania State University researchers, is a small step toward answering that question, said Julie Arblaster, a climate scientist at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, who called the analysis' use of wind speed and direction observations "sophisticated."

Original source: The Huffinton Post

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Redevelopment on Pittsburgh's downtown waterfrot earns another win

The New York Times Thursday, January 31, 2013

Former Keystone Edge Innovation & Jobs News Editor Christine O'Toole writes in The New York Times about massive investment in Pittstburgh's downtown waterfront and the tremendous impact it has had on the city.

This month, the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority approved preliminary plans for an $80 million to $90 million investment in new roads, streets and utilities on a 178-acre former industrial site that is the biggest remaining waterfront property in the city. The developers will use a tool called tax increment financing, which earmarks a portion of a site’s future property taxes to build its infrastructure. Such financing, approved by both the authority and the City Council on a case-by-case basis, has galvanized redevelopment on Pittsburgh’s complex industrial sites.

Original source: The New York Times

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Lehigh Valley is among nation's regions most likely to adopt green transportation

ZDNet Thursday, January 31, 2013

ZDNet reports on a Pike Research study that rank Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton high on the list of metropolitan areas most likely to adopt alternative or green transportation like plug-in hybrids or electric cars.

Based on that criteria, Pike figures that sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the largest 102 cities in the United States will total 1.8 million from 2012 to 2020.

Original source: ZDnet

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Penn State climatologist backs Pennsylvania bill to raise alternative energy standard

The New York Times Thursday, January 17, 2013

The New York Times writes about Penn State climatology professor and controversial climate change researcher Michael Mann and his support for two bills being introduced by Pennsylvania State Rep. Greg Vitale's that would raise the commonwealth's alternative energy standards.

Requiring greater use of renewable fuels would help bring Pennsylvania closer into line with neighbors like New Jersey and Delaware, which have higher requirements for use of renewables, said Bruce Burcat, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition.

Original source: The New York Times

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Inside the LEED Gold restoration at Pittsburgh's Market Square

Sustainable Cities Collective Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Sustainable Cities Collective features an interview with Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Art Ziegler and Pittsburgh-based evolveEA principal Marc Mondor that centers on restoration and LEED Gold status of three buildings at Pittsburgh's Market Square.

Art: A big mall would not have worked—he tried this in the past, with the Mellon Bank building and the Lazarus building, but the fact is that people who shop downtown like historic buildings, they like the scale and the variety of architecture, and the density of a historic district. It’s worked over and over again, and we see this everywhere—abroad the shopping areas are in historic neighborhoods and also in New York. The Market at Fifth project has set the pace for retail to flourish in the area, in Market Square and along Fifth Avenue and Wood Street.

Original source: Sustainable Cities Collective

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Bradford brings it: Lodge at Glendorn among America's Most Romantic Hotels

Travel + Leisure Thursday, January 17, 2013

Travel + Leisure's list of America's Most Romantic Hotels includes the Lodge at Glendorn in Bradford, a 1929 structure with 50 fireplaces and resting on 1200 acres.

ooms in the Big House and a dozen cabins have original details such as built-in tie racks and the recipe for a martini painted on a kitchenette cabinet. Road signs in this area warn not of deer crossing but of bears. They’re hibernating for the winter, and you may choose to do so, too, by one of Glendorn’s 50 fireplaces; the staff will leave the makings for s’mores. But if you’re up for Dorn-ish sports, activities director Shane Appleby will provide heated goggles and lead a caravan of snowmobiles through the woods, or cut a hole in the ice on Skipper Lake and help you catch a bass, which can be cooked for your breakfast. Dinner features the kind of “fancy” cooking that the Dorns must have thought elegant, sometimes successful (velvety lobster bisque), sometimes overwrought. If your visit includes a Tuesday, you can venture into town for the weekly square dance. The locals bring covered dishes, and your $3 admission supports the Bradford Landmark Society.

Original source: Travel + Leisure

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Study: Pittsburgh among few to see economic recovery

Reuters Thursday, December 06, 2012

Reuters reports that Pittsburgh is joined by Knoxville and Dallas as major U.S. cities cited by a Brookings Institution study that have experienced economic recovery.

The Pittsburgh skyline partly tells the city's economic story, said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. A major bank just finished building one skyscraper and started construction on another.

"In my mind, it's already recovered. We employ more people in Pittsburgh than we ever have," he said.

Original source: Reuters

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Young Visionaries: United By Blue's organic apparel and accessories

Entrepreneur Thursday, November 08, 2012

Entrepeneur's Young Visionaries series pays a visit to Philadelphia's United By Blue, an organic apparel and accessories company with a heavy social mission.

His vision provides for the removal of one pound of garbage from the nation's waterways through the sale of each item on the site. Each cleanup involves thousands of volunteers and has resulted in the removal of many thousands of pounds of garbage.

Original source: Entrepreneur

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