Green Building in the Pittsburgh Region

Thank you for Taking GBA's LEED Survey: To all who participated in the LEED Green Building Rating System Survey, GBA extends a big thank you. We appreciate the time and effort you invested in responding. The comments we received collectively will serve as a significant resource for our continued efforts in maintaining Pittsburgh green leadership role. We are compiling the results into a report which will be available October 1st: www.gbapgh.org/surveys.asp

Date Change - Shades of Green Award, Celebration & Report: The last edition of GBA's cornerstone mentioned the Shades of Green Award and Celebration, scheduled for December 1st, 2004. This event and the publication of our annual Shades of Green Report have been postponed till Spring 2005 to coincide with our second-annual Building Solution Summit. Fear not! We'll keep you posted as these events transpire!

Pgh Floods and Development: Recent flooding in certain areas of the Pittsburgh area can be attributed to over-development and the poor maintenance of streams and creeks. Solutions to minimize the overflow of rainwater cascading from miles of asphalt roads and parking lots include containment and detention ponds or the deepening of streams or reduction of bends in the waterway. Read more at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Mascaro Sustainability Initiative Second Call for Papers: We are pleased to announce this second call for papers for the MSI Engineering Sustainability Conference, to be held in Pittsburgh, Pa., April 10-12, 2005. Papers may be contributed in all subject areas dealing with green construction and the sustainable use of water. To qualify for acceptance, you must submit a one-page abstract by e-mail to msi@engr.pitt.edu on or before October 15, 2004. www.engr.pitt.edu/msi/conference.html

Cool Space Award Nominations: Cool Space Locator is pleased to present the Cool Space Awards 2005 to recognize unique business locations that exist in walkable communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This awards program will celebrate and highlight the cool spaces in our midst while creating excitement about walkable communities and encouraging adaptive reuse in urban and town locations. Winners will be announced at the "April Cools Day" party on Friday, April 1st. Nominations are due by January 15, 2005 check out Cool Space Locator for more information.

Biodiesel in Pittsburgh?: Capital Technologies out of Carnegie Mellon University has developed a new process for creating biodiesel that is more efficient than previous methods. This method doesn't use a caustic catalyst and reduces the processing cost to 13 - 19 cents per gallon above the cost of the organic oil. The end result meets ASTM and EU specs. Capital Technologies' customers in the EU have already offered to purchase 120 million gallons of biodiesel per year, the equivalent to 24 five million gallon per year factories! For more information: Bruce Polatnick, www.capital-technologies.com.

Events

Alliance Building Breakfast - Sustainable Design-Build: Studies and experience have shown that building green is sensible and cost-effective. But HOW is this accomplished? This is done with an integrated, multi-disciplinary team. Could design-build be the best process to deliver good, green projects on-time and on-budget?
Explore this question with local leaders who will share their
strategies and experiences about green design-build. Presenters:

• Tom Kennedy, Sports & Exhibition Authority (Moderator)
• Jamie White, P.E., LLI Technologies
• Robert Kobet, AIA, K-2 Integrated Building Solutions

Society of Western PA (337 Fourth Avenue, Downtown) Sep 29 , 2004 7:30– 9 a.m.

NESEA & GBA present - Green Building Tour: Saturday, October 2 from 10 am to 4 pm, hundreds of green homes and buildings will open their doors to the public for the NESEA Green Buildings Open House. This annual event offers a unique opportunity for people to see firsthand how clean energy and green building practices can be put to work. The North East Solar Energy Association (NESEA) is organizing the Green Buildings Open House for the North East, with the GBA as the local organizer. For details, see www.nesea.org.

GBA Green Tea - Japanese Approaches to Designing with Nature: Join your circle of friends and colleagues at the sleek Nakama Steakhouse and Sushi Bar on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. This green-gathering includes “Japanese Approaches to Designing with Nature”, a recent travel log by Christine and Marc Mondor of Evolve LLC starting at 6:00. Cash bar. For further details, contact us.

Moisture Workshop: IAQ Training Institute is hosting Joe Lstiburek PhD, PE, nationally renowned speaker and author, October 5th 2004 in Pittsburgh, PA. The 8-hour Moisture Workshop will be based on Dr. Lstiburek's years of experience preventing, investigating, and fixing moisture problems in residential, commercial and other types of buildings. For more information on these or other IAQ Training Institute courses contact Malinda Menteer at 866-427-4727 or visit our website at iaqtraining.com.

Is Hydrogen in Our Energy Future? Join Group Against Smog & Pollution to discuss the pros and cons of a hydrogen economy, and celebrate our 35th Anniversary with GASP founder, Michelle Madoff. A Panel Discussion and Benefit Reception Celebrating GASP's 35th Anniversary. Saturday, October 16, 2004 7:00-10:00pm. Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Oakland. For ticket information and reservations contact GASP at 412-441-6650 or gasp@gasp-pgh.org

Champions of Sustainability: "Sustainable Stapleton: Market Demand for Urban Living": The Stapleton airport re-use project in Denver, CO demonstrates that sustainability is economically viable and contributes to the private sector bottom-line, while calling in to question 50 years of single land-use development and automobile dependent design. This "Champs" program will review keys to Stapleton's success, new market demand for sustainable development, and prospects in the Pittsburgh region to emulate Stapleton's partner approach between community, government, the private sector, redevelopment authority and nonprofit organizations to accelerate new urbanism. Thursday, December 9th, 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 am Omni William Penn Hotel. Free admission. RSVP to Sustainable Pittsburgh at (412) 258-6642 or info@sustainablepittsburgh.org.

NESEA Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Conference: September 29 - October 1 Trenton, New Jersey www.nesea.org

News from the USGBC & Abroad

2004 Sustainable Leadership Awards for Design and Development: Applications are now being accepted for the 2004 Sustainable Leadership Awards. Earn international media and peer recognition for your organization's contributions to sustainable design and development. To learn more, click here, or call 888-548-5800, or email sustainableleadership@att.netApplications are due no later than October 1, 2004.

USGBC Seeks Consultant: USGBC is seeking a consultant to support the development of a report on the public health impacts associated with neighborhood design and what types of design best support public health goals. This information will be used by the LEED-ND Core Committee, which is now working to develop a draft LEED-ND rating system. More details may be found at www.usgbc.org - “LEED-ND Public Health Impacts RFP.” The deadline for submitting proposals is Friday, October 8th, 2004

New LEED AP Exam: The new LEED AP exam will cover the LEED v2.1 Reference Guide, LEED v2.1 Letter Templates as well as other standards referenced by LEED v2.1. The exam contains 73 multiple choice questions which must be completed in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Total seat time for the exam will be 2 hours and 15 minutes. Candidates must provide correct responses to 39 of these 73 questions in order to be acknowledged as a LEED Accredited Professional. The exam will cover four sections: knowledge of LEED credit intents and requirements, coordination of project and team, implementation of the LEED process, and performing technical analysis required for LEED requirements. For further details, visit www.usgbc.org.

The Green Building Alliance is a nonprofit organization that integrates environmentally responsible -- and high performance --design, construction and operating practices into the Greater Pittsburgh market. As a result, GBA will increase the human health, economic, environmental, and social value of new and existing development.
64 S. 14th St. Pittsburgh, PA 15203 412-431-0709 www.gbapgh.org