Party for the Planet and GreenMarket Place

The 13th annual Women’s Health & The Environment Conference will take place in Pittsburgh on April 21. The theme is “Healthy Places—Healthy Lives.” As a salute to the role women have played and continue to fulfill in protecting Mother Earth, here are profiles of three of the many remarkable eco-conscious women in this region, past and present.

Heinz believes that the conventional concept of the environment—involving only the traditional green issues such as air and water quality—is no longer adequate to the lives that people (and especially women) live today. “The more questions we ask, the more we can make informed choices and live healthier lives,” says Heinz, who is the wife of Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, and the widow of the late Sen. John Heinz, formerly of Pittsburgh. “Here’s why,” she continues: “Ignorance kills, and knowledge saves lives and helps us live healthier ones. What I have taken away from conference after conference is that there is no one single way through which to look at health care, and that is the position we start from at the Women's Health & Environment events.”

Attendance is free and lunch is provided, but registration for previous years’ events has closed quickly. (Info: womenshealthpittsburgh.org)

Rachel Carson: With the 1962 publication of Silent Spring, writer, scientist and ecologist Rachel Carson gave rise to the modern environmental movement. She developed her love of nature growing up along the banks of the Allegheny River just upstream from Pittsburgh in Springdale, where her homestead is preserved as homage to one of the most important environmental voices of the 20th century.

Trained as a marine biologist at what is now Chatham University, Carson obtained a master’s degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University and worked for many years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to Silent Spring, she penned three volumes on marine life, all of which became bestsellers. (Info: rachelcarsonhomestead.org)

In 1996, May established the Colcom Foundation, whose mission continues since her death in 2005. The foundation fosters a sustainable environment by addressing causes and consequences of overpopulation and its adverse effects on natural resources. Regionally, the foundation supports conservation, environmental projects and cultural assets. (Info: colcomfdn.org)

Thinking beyond his borough, Fetterman has supported a project to make inexpensive water filters from clay and sawdust to provide safe drinking water for people in developing countries and victims of natural disasters. He has played a national role in the quest to curb climate change by advocating the Cap and Trade Bill as spokesman for several environmental organizations and by testifying in Washington, D.C. Thanks to funding from the Heinz Endowments, Braddock begins constructing the first and only “green roof” building in the Mon Valley this spring. (Info: 15104.cc)

With a master’s degree in sustainable systems from Slippery Rock University, he’s bringing together like-minded leaders to find sustainable solutions to correct our region’s water- and sewage-system problems. Boulos is developing a more holistic approach that reduces investment in new pipes by making a major investment in cisterns and rain barrels. When he’s not bringing together water-management experts and engineers to develop the idea, he’s the on-the-farm handyman. (Info: blackberrymeadows.com)

As the first business in the tri-state area catering to sustainable design and building, Donatelli provides services that are in high demand. “At our first national convention [of green building suppliers], there were 11 of us around the table. Now there are 111,” she says of the bourgeoning interest in the field. She adds that the people most affected in the building arts are chemically sensitive people, self-described “canaries in the coal mine” because they experience various health problems related to untested chemicals found in many common building products.

Green products are the solution, she says. Young people and people with families are quickly learning about the health benefits of green building and design techniques as developers and contractors learn about the cost benefits. (Info: artemisenvironmental.com)

Court Gould: One of the region’s go-to leaders in sustainable development is Court Gould. He is executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh and serves on local, state and national advisory committees dealing with sustainability and public policy.
Gould was a German Marshall Fund delegate in the study of regional economies in Europe and a featured speaker at an international conference on sustainable development in Hiroshima, Japan. He is active in community organizations, including the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership and the Local Government Academy. (Info: sustainablepittsburgh.org)

Bill Peduto: Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto has sponsored a number of bills and initiatives aimed at saving the environment and also saving taxpayers’ money. Most recently, Peduto is leading an effort to begin the transition from old-style street lighting to new LED technology, which will save millions of dollars by reducing electricity use and cutting carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere.

Other recent green legislation introduced by Peduto includes the following: replacing gas-guzzlers with hybrids in the city’s motor pool; encouraging residences and businesses to build living green roofs of plants; tightening the rules on recycling (no, it’s not optional—you can be fined if you don’t put out those blue plastic bags or bins bi-weekly); and mandating green policies and procedures in the mayor’s office. (Info: city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district8)

In 2010, Eat’n Park restaurants will increase their recycling and composting programs, and the group will open an LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) restaurant in May at the Waterworks Mall in Fox Chapel. When he’s not implementing sustainability initiatives that he develops for Eat’n Park, Moore volunteers his time developing funding strategies for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and can be found where he is most comfortable—cooking in his home kitchen. (Follow the Eat’n Park blog for Moore’s sustainability and “EcoSteps” updates. (Info: blog.eatnpark.com)

Channel 4 Action News This Morning: WTAE-PIT (ABC) - Pittsburgh, PA

See: http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=1815&DateTime=4%2F22%2F2010+5%3A17%3A03+AM&Term=%22United+Nations%22+%2BEnvironment&PlayClip=TRUE
General Environment News

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  Heritage Foundation/The Foundry: Climategate Investigation Only Fuels Controversy
  
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  ABC News: Many Television Weather Forecasters Doubt Global Warming
  
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  Reuters: Derivatives Bill Calls For U.S. Carbon Market Study
  
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  Reuters: Jackson Riles Business, Lawmakers With Carbon Rules
  
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  Reuters: World Bank Chief Urges Action To Save Wild Tigers
  
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  Reuters: Orcas Are More Than One Species, Gene Study Shows
  
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  Reuters: Film Fetes Small Steps To Address Climate Change
  
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  Reuters: Ocean Chemistry Changing At 'Unprecedented Rate'
  
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  Reuters: Senators Struggling Over Climate Compromise
  
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  Reuters: Green Auction nets $2 million for environment
  
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  Reuters: Like Sept.11, volcano plane ban may hold climate clue
  
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  Reuters: Obama unchanged on offshore drilling despite spill
  
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  Reuters: Energy sector poised for innovation -- with the right spark
  

Heritage Foundation, Energy and Environment, April 22, 2010, Posted By Audrey Jones

If the University of East Anglia report set up to investigate the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) was meant to put the Climategate controversy to rest in time for Earth Day, it failed [2] spectacularly.

The panel was led by Ernest Oxburg [2], who happens to be the honorary president of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association.  Carbon capture and storage is an industry that definitely wouldn’t suffer should CO2 limits be imposed.  Also, Oxburg’s involvement with the wind-energy industry raises further conflict of interest questions.  With this in mind, the lack of depth into which the investigation went and the complete acquittal the panel gave the CRU, is not at all surprising.

The supposed investigation lasted a mere three weeks and was only five pages in length.  Steve McIntyre, a leading critic of the IPCC report and editor of the Climate Audit blog, pointed out [3] that the panel thought it only regrettable—and in no way acknowledged any sort of cover-up– that key facts and figures were tucked away in obscure scientific journals and omitted from the IPCC report. This is significant because, as he put it, IPCC presentations—and not the journals– “are how the climate science community speaks to the world.”  Apparently, these scientists did not want the world to understand that their data did not support their theory.  At least according to the well-known “climate-gate” emails which show that the scientists involved saw that these facts would “dilute the message.”

McIntyre isn’t the only one who is not sold by this so-called investigation.  The Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Myron Ebel, said [2], “They don’t even make a minimal effort to rebut the obvious appearance of widespread data manipulation, suppression of dissenting research through improper means and intentional avoidance of complying with Freedom of Information requests.”  In the scientific community, where transparency and the ability to replicate results are everything, these charges are severe.  And unfortunately, the Obama administration is calling for harmful regulations based upon this faulty science.

The same week the panel gave the CRU a free pass, President Obama made the claim [4] to his Economic Recovery Advisory Board that pending climate legislation from the left is good for business.  The board would have been good to tell him otherwise. Spain [5] and other European countries that have tried regulating CO2 emissions have suffered drastic economic results.  Heritage experts have done the number-crunching [6] and their results show Obama’s statement to be blatantly false.  While the figures for the final bill would be slightly different than those calculated by Heritage experts for the Boxer-Kerry legislation, if CO2 emissions or renewable fuel standards legislation was enacted, you could count on trillions of dollars of losses in U.S. GDP, job losses in excess of a million, and trillions of dollars worth of higher energy costs.

If the American people are going to have to bear the consequences of this bill in a time of economic hardship, we should continue to demand a true investigation into the—shoddy at best, deceptive at worst—findings of the CRU.  Allowing those that stand to profit from CO2 regulation to be the ones to investigate the science is like having a polar bear guard the seals.

Climatologists and Meteorologists Divided on Science of Climate Change and Man's Role

When it comes to the weather forecast, climate change may be the biggest of them all -- and the stakes are much higher than whether to bring an umbrella.

While most climatologists agree that humans are driving global warming -- literally, in some respects, because of our reliance on fossil fuels -- some of the most trusted names in the weather business don't buy it.

John Coleman, the founder of "The Weather Channel" and the original weatherman on "Good Morning America," has spoken out with his belief that climate change is a myth.

"I love the Earth and I want to come up with alternative energy sources. I want to protect the water and air," Coleman said in a presentation posted on YouTube. "But I know that the Earth is going to be just fine with burning fossil fuels for as long as they last."

"There isn't any climate crisis," he said. "It's totally manufactured."

Other television weathermen tend to doubt that man has anything to do with it. "To think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant," said CNN weather anchor Chad Myers on a broadcast. "Mother Nature is so big. I think we're going to die from a lack of fresh water or ocean acidification before we die of global warming."

The view is surprisingly common among television meteorologists -- the folks trusted every day to bring you the five-day forecast.

One of three weather forecasters believe climate change is "caused mostly by human activities," according to a recent study from George Mason University and the University of Texas at Austin. Out of those surveyed, one in four agreed with the statement, "Global warming is a scam."

All told, barely half the forecasters surveyed actually believe in the science of climate change.

To find out why, "Nightline" turned to one of the most prominent doubters, AccuWeather's Joe Bastardi, who has been a frequent guest on "The O'Reilly Factor," weighing in on the highly-politicized climate change debate.

"Here's what I'm telling people," he said. "Let's see what happens over the next 20 to 30 years. To me, it's a big forecast and the forecast is based on the idea that there are things turning around now, we have the way now to actually measure it. The Earth is going to cool back to where it was in the late '70s by 2030. That's my forecast ..."