Pittsburgh's Best of Green
Here are more than 50 of the best eco-friendly finds in our region.
By Lissa Rosenthal
Photos by Brandon McChesney
We are all aware of the dramatic enviromental transformation Pittsburgh has undergone in the decades since its smoky Steel City days to its present international leadership in laying the groundwork for green technology and architecture. As the city and region continue to lead the country with home-grown innovations in design and technology, how best can we Pittsburghers live the green life? We did our digging; in some cases it was very easy to find and hard to pick the best. In the process, we became green-obsessed and just could not get enough! We also learned that despite tough economic times, people would be willing to pay a bit more for green services such as car washes and dry cleaning. Here are just some of the "bests" that will make others go green with envy!
Best Green Thinking Is Ice Age: Duquesne University's eco-friendly cooling system at the A.J. Palumbo Center uses ice - the first of its kind in a Pittsburgh educational facility. During evening hours, ice melts in 28 gigantic storage tanks, creating chilled water that is pumped across campus to cool university facilities. The cooling system uses up to 40 percent less electricity, saving the equivalent of cooling about 1,700 homes. The Palumbo Center, the Power Center and all of Duquesne's major facilities - 30-plus buildings - are now linked to the university's co-generation plant, taking Duquesne University another step toward improved energy efficiency. Way to go, Dukes! Info: duq.edu
Best Way to Leave It Green: Who knew a "slimy pebble" that named a town and a university ages ago would exemplify student leadership in support of its environment? This past fall, Slippery Rock University (SRU) implemented its Leave It Green Fund. With more than $70,000 available each year, Slippery Rock University students, faculty and staff will be able to recommend and fund green projects on the campus of the Butler County school. SRU's Leave It Green campaign was first created by SRU environmental-studies majors. With funding in place, SRU students, faculty and staff are now being encouraged by the Leave It Green group to start the process of completely greening the university.
Best Dance Studio Is "En Pointe" With Gold and Green: Located in downtown Pittsburgh and opened last year, Point Park University's Dance Building recently received a gold rating from U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program. During construction, 20 percent of the materials used were recycled, and most of the construction debris was kept out of landfills. Designed by Pittsburgh firm The Design Alliance, the building's sustainable features include energy-saving systems and floors made of sustainably harvested wood. It is part of the university's "Academic Village" project, whose vision and goals call for the campus to be organically tied to its urban, downtown neighborhood. Info: pointpark.edu
Best Sustainable Web-Hosting Company: Are you an eco-conscious blogger in search of a green Web host? Look no farther than the South Side. Pair Networks Inc. is all green. It is a global Web-hosting and domain-name registering company that appeals to eco-sites such as Treehugger and GreenMap among others. Pair Networks recycles everything in-house and balances all carbon emissions from its operations. The employees also do their part by using public transportation, riding bikes and taking hybrid cars to work. Pair contributes money to TerraPass for all employees who drive to work to offset the carbon their vehicles produce each year. With such great environmental policies, Pair could make some other Web hosts (and their employees) green with envy. Info: pair.com
Best Green Operations: Eat'n Park Hospitality Group has taken eco-steps toward making its divisions sustainable. In its restaurants across the region, the group is reducing waste by eliminating paper placemats and paper towels and through recycling efforts in select restaurants. With Eat'n Park Hospitality Group's food services at Carnegie Mellon University and Chatham University, and through Parkhurst dining services at major cultural institutions and businesses in the region, Eat'n Park Hospitality Group is greening through committees comprising students and staff. Current green initiatives meet the specific needs and interests of each site and client. Overall recycling goals for the corporation in 2009 include more composting and waste recycling with local agricultural-recycling companies. That's certain to keep Smiley smiling with green pride. Info: Eatnpark.com
Best Recycling Program That Saves Lives: Global Links provides an environmental and morally responsible approach to medical aid. It redirects still-useful, unused and surplused medical supplies, equipment and furnishings from U.S. hospitals and prevents them from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Since 1989, it has recovered more than 3,000 tons of surplus medical supplies and delivered more than $140 million worth of supplies to needy hospitals and clinics in more than 70 countries. Info: globallinks.org
Best Way to Clean Water Is Green: We have heard the scary accounts of the proliferation of trace eco-toxic pharmaceuticals in our water systems. The Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University, led by Terry Collins, is aiming to do something about that concern. As a world-leading research, education and development center, the institute provides a holistic approach to green, sustainable chemistry that focuses on pollution reduction. Research programs are evolving around the scientific and technological development of its patented hydrogen-peroxide activators, which offer more effective, environmentally compatible technology for degrading not only drugs, but all persistent organic pollutants in water as well. The goal is to clean waste streams in a green way before they are released to the environment and into our faucets. Info: chem.cmu.edu/groups/Collins
Best Reason Not to Toss the French-Fries Oil: It can be converted and put into your fuel tank. Steel City Biofuels (SCB), a program of Penn State University through Allegheny County Extension, is dedicated to providing reliable, unbiased resources regarding biofuel production, implementation and consumption. According to SCB, going biodiesel is easy the fuel can be produced from any fat or oil, including waste oil. The most common sources are photosynthetic plants, used for vegetable-oil production. Biodiesel fuel is available at local gas stations, including Get-Go on Baum Boulevard. All new diesel cars can run on biodiesel, but older vehicles (pre-1993) may need some new hoses, and fuel filters may need to be replaced more frequently when biodiesel is first introduced to the fuel system.
Fossil Free Fuel (FFF), a Braddock-based company that works in partnership with Steel City Biofuels, uses straight vegetable oil (SVO) as a fuel. Using straight vegetable oil is different from using biodiesel because it requires you to make modifications to your car; with a modified fuel system, you will be able to use straight vegetable oil or 100 percent biodiesel all year round. FFF collects the oil from area restaurants, and then filters it to remove water and food particles in order to purify it so it can be utilized as fuel without converting it to biodiesel.
FFF offers waste-vegetable-oil converter kits for new and old diesel vehicles starting at $2,000 that allow diesel cars to run on waste vegetable oil. Most of the vehicles that receive SVO conversions are older Mercedes Benz turbo-diesel and some Volkswagen diesel models. Info: FFF: 412/894-8184, fossilfreefuel.com; Steel City Biofuels: 412/241-9322, steelcitybiofuels.psu.edu.
Best Reason to Let Someone Else Do the Driving: Classy Cabs is going green! Owner Bob DeLucia's goal is to have an entire green fleet of cabs, from cars that run on hydrogen to those that use electric and propane. To date, he has added 10 "green" cars to his fleet, though they are actually black in color. A cross between a cab and a limo, these sedans - each named after a Pittsburgh Steeler - offer energy-efficient luxury rides that fight air pollution. Your trip to the airport or around town has never been this good for the environment. Hail a ride - and all hail, Bob DeLucia. Info: 412/322-5080, classycab.com
Best Conceptual Housing System: TriPod is a prototype house demonstrating a prefabricated-home concept developed at Carnegie Mellon University. A prefabricated and modular house can be assembled with greater speed and superior craftmanship when compared with a traditional "stick built" house, which is constructed on the building site, piece by piece. The TriPod house has many energy-efficient features. It only uses 10 percent to 25 percent of the electricity that would be used in a standard-construction home of equivalent size. TriPod uses photovoltaic panels to gather energy from the sun, and this allows it to be a "zero energy house." That means it generates as much electricity as it uses, and consequently, eliminates the need to use fossil fuel for power. The TriPod concept received a 2008 Lifecycle Building Challenge Award, a national honor created in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that recognizes the future of green building and facilitates the reuse of local building materials. Look for your TriPod home in the near future. Info: lifecyclebuilding.org
Best Way to Think Outside the Cage: You've decided it's time to bring a furry friend into your home. But before you spend time playing with puppies at your local pets store or combing through countless Web site listings, consider adopting a pet from Animal Friends. The no-kill shelter's slogan, "Reduce, Rehabitate, Rehome," speaks for itself. Visit its pet-adoption and resource center in Ohio Township, and while you're there, check out the line of eco-friendly pet products - from toys made with natural rope and dyes to organic catnip. Although its cause is a serious one, Animal Friends knows how to throw a party. So, even if you already have the furry love of your life, check out its annual "Black Tie and Tails" and "Paws for Fashion" benefits in November and June, respectively. Info: thinkingoutsidethecage.org
Best Way to Get More Green Into Your Neighborhood: By 2012, there will be 20,000 trees planted throughout the Pittsburgh metropolitan area to improve quality of life and the environment through TreeVitalize Pittsburgh, the local arm of a state-wide public-private partnership to help restore tree cover, educate citizens about planting trees, and build capacity among local governments to understand, protect and restore their urban trees. Community groups are encouraged to partner with TreeVitalize. The number, species and types of trees awarded to each group will be determined by TreeVitalize Pittsburgh, and each group will receive priority enrollment as a group for Tree Tenders training (see following blurb) offered at various locations in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Bring more trees to your neighborhood! Info: paconserve.org/216/treevitalize