Cost: $95 until October 1; $125 after October 1
[REGISTER HERE]
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Green Building Alliance Secures $750,000 to Develop Green Building Products in PennsylvaniaGreen Building Alliance received a $750,000 grant from the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA) for Year Two of its Green Building Product Initiative and its role with the Pennsylvania Green Growth Partnership.

The announcement came at the BFTDA October meeting yesterday. "The green market represents a significant economic stimulus for Pennsylvania, which ranks 2nd in the country in the number of LEED certified buildings. Through the work of GBA's Green Building Products Initiative and the Pennsylvania Green Growth Partnership, substantial progress is being made as the commonwealth moves towards improved conservation and energy independence measures. " said Dennis Yablonsky, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development and chair of the BFTDA board.

The Green Building Alliance is providing consultation and education services, a building product directory, and funding support for the development of new products. The GBA is actively recruiting additional product manufacturers and architectural services providers to be involved in the initiative.
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List and Search New Pennsylvania Green Building Product Directory – Free!
At the Green Building Product Summit on October 29th GBA announced that the “Pennsylvania Green Building Products Directory” is now on-line at www.pa-greenbuildingproducts.org. This Directory , developed by the Green Building Alliance as part of the Green Building Products Initiative, connects Pennsylvania green building products manufacturers with green building specifiers including architects, engineers, interior designers, contractors, and other green building professionals. The goal of the Directory is to use Pennsylvania produced green building products in green buildings throughout Pennsylvania, the United States, and abroad. To list your green building product in the Directory or to search for products visit www.pa-greenbuildingproducts.org. For more information contact Eric Perl at GBA at 412-977-8259.
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Sustainability Week Highlighted By
Green Building
Rebecca Flora returned to Virginia Tech Tuesday to give a presentation as a part of Sustainability Week.

“We’re not just here to talk,” said John Randolph, director of the School of Public and International Affairs. “We’re here to figure out what to do.”

There is a problem, however, with this solution. According to Flora, the core issue is changing people’s attitudes. Educators are expected to be the leaders in the growing movement toward green building. The challengeis attempting to overcome consists of suburban sprawl, a less healthy society, and climate trends. Green building practices are proving to overcome this, with evidence of 20 percent better testing rates in schools and earlier discharges from hospitals.
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Two New Local Housing Developments Anticipate Greener Times
Recently, at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, with the sponsorship of the Green Building Alliance of Pittsburgh, members of two design teams showed plans for the River's Edge of Oakmont, by Rothschild Doyno Architects for Brooks Blair Property Development, and the Mellon's Orchard South redevelopment in East Liberty, under the guidance of East Liberty Development, Inc.

Both projects are part of the pilot version of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-ND initiative. The well-known LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, through which Pittsburgh has staked out legitimate national leadership for environmental conscientiousness in building, is now expanding to document and recognize neighborhood development as one of several type-specific subprograms. River's Edge and Mellon's Orchard South are two of only four projects in the state to participate in what is essentially beta-testing of the program.
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House Committee Reports Out Green Building Legislation, Waste Fee
The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee this week reported out House Bill 934 (Scavello-R-Monroe) authorizing a county solid waste management fee and Special Session House Bill 5 (M.Smith-D-Allegheny) creating a tax credit for high performance green buildings.

Rep. Bud George (D-Clearfield) and Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) chair the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
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New Green Schools & Residential Green Building Web Sites Launched!

Build Green Schools - www.buildgreenschools.org
Green schools are healthy for students, teachers and the environment. Built right, green schools are productive learning environments with ample natural light, high-quality acoustics and air that is safe to breathe. Schools everywhere are going green, nurturing children while saving money. Get the facts and learn how you can make the case to build green schools.

Green Home Guide - www.greenhomeguide.org
Green homes save you money because they use less water and energy than other homes. Their use of non-toxic building materials makes them healthier, and they have fewer mold and mildew problems. They’re filled with natural daylight, so their residents are happier. And they are better for the environment, consuming fewer resources and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
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Governor Rendell Announces Support for Allegheny County Innovative Alternative
Energy Projects
Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the investment of more than $11 million in 24 innovative, alternative and renewable energy projects that are designed to attract nearly $122 million in new, private economic growth; create more than 730 permanent jobs and 1,200 temporary positions.

HydroGen LLC — $500,000 for design and installation of modules to clean hydrogen-rich gas from U.S. Steel’s coke oven operations in the Mon Valley Works plant. The cleaned gas will be used in a demonstration project that could lead to a commercial-scale fuel cell power plant.
Phipps Conservatory and Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens Inc. — $250,000 to support construction of a zero-net-energy education/research/administration center utilizing anaerobic digesters, solar and on-site wind energy technologies. The center will annually offset 443,124 pounds of carbon dioxide, create 23 permanent jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs.
PFBC Environmental Energy South Park Technology Inc. in partnership with CONSOL Energy, Inc. and Sargas AS — $600,000 to develop the pressurized, fluidized-bed combined cycle technology to use wet waste coal for efficient power generation with reduced carbon dioxide emissions. PFBC expects to generate 2.8 million kWh of electricity annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2.6 million tons. The project will result in 1,000 construction jobs over three years and 150 permanent staff.
Carnegie Mellon University — $80,000 to partially fund a prototype hybrid ventilation/automated window opening system. The system will reduce energy use by at least 10 percent.
Walnut Capital Acquisitions Inc. — $400,000 to install a 100 kW solar system. Demonstrates viability of third-party ownership of commercial solar projects for distributed generation in redevelopment of old industrial properties.
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Driving to Green Buildings: The Transportation Energy Intensity of Buildings
Designers and builders expend significant effort to ensure that buildings use as little energy as possible. This is a good thing—and very obvious to anyone who has been involved with green building for any length of time. What is not so obvious is that many buildings are responsible for much more energy use getting people to and from those buildings. That’s right—for an average office building in the United States, calculations done by Environmental Building News (EBN) show that commuting by office workers accounts for 30% more energy than the building itself uses.
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November 3 - Rachel Carson Homestead presents: Rachel Carson Spirit &
Nature Conference
When: November 3, 2007 – 8:30 a.m. To 4:30 p.m.
Where: Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA
Why: The Rachel Carson Homestead Association (RCHA) brings to Pittsburgh current national and international dialogue on faith, global warming and earth stewardship.  A multi-faith panel will discuss world religions’ earth stewardship teachings and Rachel Carson’s environmental ethic
Cost:  $25 Adults; $10 College Students.  
REGISTER ONLINE AT: www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org
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December 1 - Ben Avon Holiday House Tour
When:December 1, 2007; 10am-4pm, 6pm-9pm
What: Enjoy this carbon neutral walking tour of beautiful Ben Avon PA. The tour, sponsored by the Avon Club Foundation, showcases 6 historic homes that embody preservation, recycled and renewable materials, adaptive re-use and energy efficiency in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.
Cost:  $20 advance / $25 door
www.benavon.org/avonclub for tour information
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DEP Announces $10 Million in Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants
The Department of Environmental Protection announced $10 million in Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants to support new projects that will replace nearly 95 million gallons of conventional diesel fuel with homegrown biodiesel and spur innovation in alternative fuel technologies.

The grants will leverage another $108 million in private investment. In addition to supporting technology advancements, the alternative fuel grants will also expand the market for homegrown fuels by providing financial incentives to producers. The program awards 5-cents-per-gallon to Pennsylvania biodiesel and ethanol producers, up to 12.5 million gallons in 12-month periods. 
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Follow Up: Mayoral Candidates Forum hosted by the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition
More than 125 members of the design community and media attended the Mayoral Candidates Forum hosted by the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition at the David Lawrence Convention Center on September 27. 

The 90-minute program, moderated by WDUQ Radio’s Katherine Fink, was the first time Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) and Mark DeSantis (R) met for a public exchange.  

Both candidates expressed support for making the North Shore casino LEED certified, both acknowledged the city is financially strapped and solutions must be creative, and both agreed there should be better mass transit linkage between Oakland and downtown. 

The candidates disagreed on the effectiveness of current community engagement efforts and on the roles of the URA and City Planning
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UPCOMING GBA EVENTS