Category Archives: Green PGH

Coming this Fall, a Transit-Tastic Event!

Are you a big sustainability nerd? Or are you looking for ways to improve transportation in your area? Well, then you’re going want to check out the Rail~Volution conference coming to Pittsburgh this fall. What’s Rail~Volution, you might ask? It’s a non-profit organization that seeks to build more livable communities with transit. You know, like what’s happening in forward-thinking cities like Pittsburgh.

The annual three-day conference, previously held in places like Denver, Portland, Dallas, Boston, and San Fran, features 80 sessions related to transit and livability. The event is for “people involved in urban planning, people who are involved in policy-making, people who are involved in advocacy related to development issues in any way shape or form,” says Breen Masciotra, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Project Manager for the Port Authority of Allegheny County. She explains that the event will “offer education, networking, and community…. and connects you to like-minded people that you can reach out to all year; it’s like summer camp for adults.”

Rail~Volution will be held on October 21-24, with registration in June. But before then, the Rail~Volution National Steering Committee, made up of 40+ livability professionals from across the United States and Canada, is calling for conference speakers. The committee seeks presenters for the event’s workgroups on topics that include: Innovations in Mobility to Enhance Livability; Transforming Communities through Transit-Oriented; Making Transit Great Again; Shaping Transit for Community Needs; Diversity: Equitable Development, Community Engagement, Communication and Placemaking; and Rail~Volution PK Slam, powered by PechaKucha. “Everyone and anyone should submit something; we are hoping to have a strong participation from local speakers,” notes Masciotra. Proposals are being accepted now till March 22nd. To learn more, visit the Call for Speakers page on Rail~Volution’s website.

To find out more about the conference or Rail~Volution head over to RailVolution.org. Also, stay tuned to Rail~Volution’s Facebook page for details on upcoming Happy Hour events and volunteer opportunities.

 

What we saw at the Western PA Mobility Showcase – a Transportation Nerd’s Dream

It’s probably not cool to nerd out about transportation, but boy howdy did we ever at the Western PA Mobility Showcase hosted by City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI). The Showcase, held in Oakland at Pitt’s Alumni Hall, featured everything from autonomous vehicles to bike-shares to other futuristic stuff like a hyperloop proposal as well as a super sweet electric car.

In a release announcing the event, the Director of DOMI, Karina Ricks, outlined the importance of the Showcase, saying “transportation is radically changing. New choices in travel and new technologies make it cleaner and more convenient than ever. New innovations make headlines every week – many of them originating from our own Southwestern Pennsylvania researchers and industries.” Director Ricks is right, transportation is rapidly evolving. Remember when you couldn’t use an app to just magically ping a nearby car to come pick you up? That was only a few years ago. Remember when you needed someone to actually drive the vehicle you were in? Yeah, that’s a thing of the past! Transportation now is higher-tech and in some ways beyond what we could have ever imagined, or at least that’s what we found at the Mobility Showcase.

Transportation Nerds wander around event

So what did we see?

Autonomous Transportation

Uber was at the event. If you don’t know Uber by now, then you don’t own a smartphone, probably don’t live in Pittsburgh, or are from the past.

Also, showing off driver-less vehicles were Easymile, Navya, and Local Motes. The three companies all have box-shaped futurist transports similar to the ones found in the film Total Recall. Unrelated to anything in particular, both Easymile and Navya have promo videos with Muzak sounding techno music, and Local Motors went with the classic hard rock. Listen and watch their videos below.

Easymile…

And Nayva…

Local Motors’ Ollie…

Pittsburgh’s Bikeshare

Walking is fine, we guess, but biking is way faster. The event presented a few two-wheeled options for getting around the Steel City.

Healthy Ride rep explains the share in Bike Share

Healthy Ride allows you to grab a bike from one of its many docking stations you have probably already seen around the City. Apparently, you can totally use your ConnectCard for free unlimited 15 minute rides. That’ll almost get you from East Liberty to the Strip District.

Bucking the whole bike docking station concept were two other bike-share companies, LimeBike and Spin, that took up opposing corners at the event. Both LimeBike and Spin allow you to get on, ride, and just leave their bikes wherever. It’s similar to what you do with your clothes at the end of the day; you put em on, take em off, and throw them wherever when you get home. Both companies use GPS, self-locking, and apps, but have different looking bikes.

Software and more

Advanced software was used by pretty much everything at the Showcase, but some of the specialized technology on display at the event will change transportation operations and infrastructure going forward.

If you’ve ever sat endlessly at a red light when there is no cross traffic, you will probably be interested in tech from Rapid Flow. The tech company, which spun out from Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a software called Surtrac that uses artificial intelligence to sense traffic conditions. They apparently are already working with the City of Pittsburgh, so hopefully, this flippin’ traffic here in town will soon be a thing of the past.

The University of Pittsburgh showed off its new real-time transit screen, created by the appropriately named TransitScreen. It shows all transportation options in the area from buses to bike-share to Zipcar/Uber/Lyfts. It’s the thing we always needed, but for some reason we never had. You can see when your transport is going to actually arrive. Don’t believe us, go to Oakland and be amazed!

Carnegie Mellon University’s Traffic21 also had a table. Traffic21 is a multi-disciplinary research institute where us transportation nerds can, according to its website, “design, test, deploy and evaluate information and communications technology-based solutions to address the problems facing the transportation system of the Pittsburgh region and the nation.”

Are you an Uber or Lyft driver? Then you are going to want to download the free app Gridwise that is designed to help drivers optimize their time and increase earnings.

Roadbotics demo map

Until we have flying cars – thanks for lying to us Back to the Future 2 – we have to deal with roads. But, if you weren’t aware, roads need to be constantly repaired. Roadbotics will map and photo all those stupid potholes across a city or town. You can see how they marked a town outside Pittsburgh right now here. The rep at the event mentioned that it would be a yearly process beating out the current every three-year road review he says the city currently uses. (We were too excited from the event to fact check this.)

A Vehicle for you & your friends

Need a car to get out of the City? Why you’d want to leave the Burgh, we do not know, but  Zipcar is still available if you need it.

Chariot uses a Ford Transit Wagon like a bus. It’s mass transit for company employees or it can charter you to some far-off destination, maybe a group wine trip you and your friends have been putting off.

Tesla parked outside Pitt’s Alumni Hall

Tesla parked one of their sexy vehicles outside of Alumni Hall. We want this, erh, we need this. At Tesla’s table, we signed up for a chance to win driving a Tesla for a week. But if someone wants to buy it for us, or if Tesla wants to just give it to us, we wouldn’t object.

Also, pedaling all-electric vehicles were Proterra, which offers electric buses. Having a non-fossil fuel mass transit system would surely make us one of the most sustainable cities in the country (a green trait we’d love to rub in other city’s faces). Pittsburgh Port Authority actually purchased one of these ‘lectric Proterra buses, but other cities bought more than one :(. Oh, it also should be noted that Proterra is an American based company… U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!

Hyperloop from Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh?

Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) had a table at the event. Why was an Ohio-based group at a Pittsburgh event? The MORPC are the ones who put together the hyperloop proposal that goes from Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh. A hyperloop is literally magic, using magnetic levitation to float a pod above a track which zips along at super-fast speeds. An image behind the MORPC table indicated that it would take 20+ minutes to get to Columbus with the hyperloop system. We need this now; there’s a freaking shuffleboard club opening in Chicago that we need to check out!

All and all the Western PA Mobility Showcase was pretty awesome. We learned a lot, saw some cool stuff, and daydreamed about taking a hyperloop to Chicago, using one of the bike-shares to ride to DC in the summer, taking driver-less vehicles to hang with friends, and washing our shiny new Tesla. The event really showed that a futuristic Pittsburgh isn’t something far away, it’s happening right now.

Meet Pittsburgh’s Draft Climate Action Plan 3.0

While the Trump administration has been working to remove environmental protections and even swapping out the term “climate change” for “resilient,” Pittsburgh is addressing this global issue head-on. The Steel City, along with numerous U.S. cities and now 14 States have committed to the Climate Paris Agreement, which the U.S. federal government withdrew from earlier this year. In September, the City of Pittsburgh released a draft of its Climate Action Plan 3.0. The Plan calls for 100% renewable energy use and a dramatic reduction in emissions. The City Council is currently reviewing the Plan and may hold hearings or sessions before a final vote. With the lack of federal support and with the City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, a global spotlight will shine on Pittsburgh as it addresses the issue of climate change. This past week alone, the City had a three-day climate change workshop headlined by former Vice-President and climate change advocate, Al Gore.

The draft Climate Action Plan 3.0 can be found here, and a summary presentation of the Plan can be found here.  Follow @PLANPGH on Twitter for updates from the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning.

For more information on sustainability and resilience in Pittsburgh, visit the City’s website: pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/sustainability&resilience. 

The video above was created by the Owl Me Not project run by Ben Wonderful. Owl Me Not seeks to simply explain that which is unknown, whether it’s an idea or an innovative business. Owl Me Not has partnered with IHeartPGH to produce videos on topics related to Pittsburgh, including a series on innovators.  The project is currently in development, but the latest video can be found here. Feel free to reach Ben Aufill about the OwlMeNot project via email.

E-waste, Jobs Creation & The Green Electronics Challenge

Since today is Earth Day, it is the perfect day for me to share a couple of green related things that I have been talking over the past month.  I hope you will take a moment to read through this post and learn more about the e-waste and Isidore recycling.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – TechShop will be hosting a launch party for the Green Electronics Challenge.  See below for the details on the Green Electronics Challenge Competition

Green Electronics Challenge Launch Party Details:

  • When: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 6:30-8:30pm
  • Where: TechShop Pittsburgh
  • Cost: FREE – but you must RSVP here.

I am excited to share this event with you for two reasons…

1. Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Demo

TechShop staff testing out the liquid nitrogen ice cream recipe

TechShop staff testing out the liquid nitrogen ice cream recipe

First – as part of the kickoff celebration, the TechShop team will be making and serving ice cream made with liquid nitrogen.  If you haven’t been over to TechShop, yet – you need to make a point of stopping by to see the space.  I wrote about TechShop last year before they opened.  TechShop has been in Pittsburgh for over a year and there is a great, often free, community event happening at the shop each week.  (I am such a fan of the place that I now work there as the social media coordinator for TechShop Pittsburgh).

I was at TechShop last night for a great event organized by the Pittsburgh health coaches at Sweat and Butter, and got a sneak peek at some of the projects that TechShop will be showing off this week and in the near future.  Keep an eye on @TechShopPGH and the TechShop Pittsburgh Facebook page for update.

2. E-waste Excitement (and Opportunity)

Last month, I attended a fellowship program in social entrepreneurship called StartingBloc in Los Angeles.  StartingBloc is a 5 day intensive workshop where people who are interested in building better communities come together to share ideas and listen to speakers from around the globe.  (I would LOVE to see more Pittsburghers participate in future StartingBloc programs!)

One of the speakers that I found most inspiring was Kabira Stokes who is the founder of Isidore Recycling.  Isidore Recycling is an e-waste recycling business located in Los Angeles.  Kabira’s talk was an eye opening lesson on the need for (and huge opportunity) in e-waste recycling.

Kabira showed me some of the more vintage electronics that Isidore recycles

Kabira shows off some of the items that are donated to Isidore Recycling

The short version of the story is that we have a lot of electronics that we aren’t using anymore, and these electronics are just being thrown in the trash.  Some of things in TVs, cell phones, and old computers are pretty toxic and should not be disposed of in landfills.   Aside from the environmental issues, many of the devices contain valuable materials that can be recycled and reclaimed.

Kabira started Isidore Recycling as a way to reclaim those valuable materials and create jobs for incarcerated Angelenos who face barriers to employment.  California has a a huge issue with  recidivism – in 2012, 65% of people who got out of prison ended up going back to prison with in 3 years.  Part of the reason that rate is so high is that is almost impossible for someone who has been incarcerated to find steady employment.

Kabira was kind enough to give me and some of the other StartingBloc participants a tour of the Isidore warehouse.  I left her warehouse and Los Angeles and returned to Pittsburgh with a great excitement for e-waste.  

I think this is an incredible business that not only addresses the challenge of what to do with old computers and cell phones, but also creates jobs in our community with out having to create more products to add to the waste stream.  I am very interested in creating a business like Isidore Recycling here in Pittsburgh and if you know anyone else who would like to help with that please send them my way.

What is the Green Electronics Challenge?

It would be great to have some ideas from Pittsburgh submitted to the challenge.  Please let us know if you are submitting an idea!