You are INvited! Free to ReImagine! Wednesday, December 11, at 5:00 pm

Join us to Reimagine the heart and soul of Southwestern Pennsylvania: Free and open to the public!

The ReImagine initiative began in the spring of 2017 in Beaver County. Led by the League of Women Voters and local residents, a group of community members met for three visioning sessions, where they discussed sustainable economic and community development projects that they wanted to see completed in their county. In May of 2019, ReImagine Beaver County released a report with the community's visions, and now they are actively working to implement positive change in their communities. Similar initiatives have also taken place in Butler and Indiana Counties.

And now this:
The League of Women Voters and local community partners are now launching an initiative to Reimagine the Turtle Creek Watershed, which encompasses the eastern part of Allegheny County including the city of Pittsburgh, and western Westmoreland County. To make this event as inclusive as possible, we are expanding it beyond the watershed into the "airshed" to include District 8 of Allegheny County Council and PA congressional District 18 - because the positive and negative externalities of economic and community development don't know municipal boundaries. This initiative will begin with a series of brainstorming sessions about the things that the people of these communities would like to see in their area.

Join us on Wednesday, December 11th at 5:00 pm at the Braddock Carnegie Library to learn about the initiative and to begin the visioning process.
The main agenda for the evening is as follows:

5:00 to 6:00pm: Free, plant-based dinner will be served courtesy of the League of Women Voters; organizations will also have tables set up for people to browse.

6:00 to 6:30pm: Introductions, Introductions to visioning, and short presentations by Ujamaa Collective, Epic Metals, and Coalfield Development

6:30 to 7:30pm: Small group brainstorming / visioning activity

7:30 to 8:00pm: Large group discussion and next steps

For those interested, prior to the main event, starting at 2:30pm, there will also be yoga led by Dr. Moni Wesner and a free screening of the documentary The Need to Grow.

This initiative only works if there is representation from many communities. We hope that you will be able to join us and share your visions. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed on Facebook or sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com.

See Less

Monday evening, September 11, 2017 at the Monroeville Public Library for INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective at 7:00 PM, Organic Whole Food Plant Based Pot Luck at 6:00 PM; Tuesday evening, September 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the Monroeville Council Meeting

Hello and Happy September to all those who have been part of Sustainable Monroeville since its inception in 2009~2010, to all who have participated in our meetings and events over these past many years, and to those who have recently discovered our blog and events in the past few eventful months! 

We welcome all people of all ages and all political persuasions to join us in our now broadened Mission as Regenerative Monroeville leading to Regenerative Western PA: To gently and with lots of inspiration, joy, and fun move Western PA forward in the Regenerative Green Economy!

We certainly are blessed here in Western PA to be far inland as hurricane Harvey has passed through Houston and hurricane Irma is poised to pass through Florida and possible other southern states as I type this blog entry.... We are not displaced here in Western PA. Rather, we are hosts for lots of displaced people and animals. We are working with the shift into our Regenerative Economy, one step at a time. There are so many brilliant examples of our Regenerative Economy NOW in Pittsburgh, PA. Last night I was blessed to spend time with my family at the newest in Pittsburgh Living Building Challenge Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Water Building, the Frick Environmental Center. We viewed filmmaker Kirsi Jansa's tenth and final film short in her Sustainability series. Here's the link to the first nine episodes: http://sustainabilitypioneers.com The tenth and final episode will be available on-line soon!

Join Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening, September 11, 2017 for an organic whole food, plant-based pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM, and a viewing of the documentary INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective, at 7:00 PM.

INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective : A new documentary introducing permaculture: designing a world where and planet can thrive. INHABITFILM.COM

Monroeville Council will be voting on the proposed Seismic Testing ordinance at the September Council meeting Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM, at the Monroeville Municipal Building. We are so excited that the Monroeville Council in collaboration with the Municipal Mayor, Lawyer, and Manager, drafted a protective ordinance based on both the South Fayette and Oakmont Seismic Testing Ordinances. 

We, the citizens of Monroeville and beyond are working along with Doug Shields, Western PA Liaison for the national non profit, Food and Water Watch and with the Municipality of Monroeville to forge an updated Protective Oil and Gas ordinance. We intend to protect ourselves, our communities, our property values, and of course, most important of all, the health and wellness of ourselves and all of the animals, plants, and the entire ecosystem here in Western PA, beginning now in Monroeville!

Have a blessed weekend and see you in Monroeville, PA early this week!

Elisa Beck :)

Founder, Sustainable Monroeville

LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!

Eastern 'Burbs Sustainability Huddle!

Join us this coming Sunday, May 7, 2017 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library in conjunction with the Eastern Burbs Huddle and Monica Joyner to learn about easy ways we can all move into our beyond Sustainable Future. YES.WE. ARE!

No worries, No R.S.V.P. necessary. Come on over with some family and friends, or by yourself!

Facebook Link to the event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1752078305122487/

May is exploding with Sustainability events at the Monroeville Public Library!

Please note, Sustainable Monroeville will NOT meet on Monday evening, May 8, 2017 as we will be collaborating with the Eastern Suburbs "Huddle". 

MPL sponsored programs in May, 2017 are listed below. I hope to see you in May:) Elisa Beck :)

Backyard Composting

7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Cosponsored by the Garden Club of Monroeville

Join us for a presentation about turning your kitchen scraps and pesticide/herbicide-free lawn clippings into treasure! Since 1998 Ellen C. Keefe has been passionate about teaching others how to recycle and reduce waste by making healthy compost. She also discusses the microscopic structures of compost and recent research regarding the benefits of it.

Ellen Keefe is Executive Director of the nonprofit Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in Latrobe, PA. Ellen is also a Derry Township Municipal Authority Board Member and was Board Chair for the Latrobe Municipal Authority. She attended Robert Morris University’s School of General Business Administration and Management and is a Certified Recycling Professional. Last year Ellen spoke at Monroeville Library regarding the work of Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling.

Gallery Space

Climate Change: Challenges and Responses

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The scientific community is essentially unanimous in its conclusion that human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels and release of other greenhouse gases, is responsible for a rapid and significant increase in the average global temperature. This warming is leading to retreating glaciers and melting polar ice sheets, phenomena that will threaten water supplies and put coastal regions at risk from rising sea levels. Other environmental changes will disrupt ecological systems and agriculture. We are already seeing more extreme storms, droughts, floods, and outbreaks of disease that only will become worse without a change in our collective behavior.

For the past six years, Dr. Bob Mitchell has been informally researching the science and politics of climate change. He has taught several short courses on the subject, including in the Pitt and CMU Osher programs, and is an active member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In this talk, Bob will review Earth’s remarkable climate history and provide insights into its likely future. He will then examine the human consequences of a changing climate. Finally, he will discuss technological and policy approaches that offer hope for the future, including meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accords.

Dr. Mitchell has an MS in physics and a PhD in electrical engineering from CMU. His early career work on gas lasers and circuit breakers used much of the same fundamental physics that applies to climate modeling. Later he managed engineering research on automated image analysis with applications in radar, sonar, medicine, and robotics. He retired in 2014 as the industry director of the Army’s collaborative research program in robotics.

Gallery Space

Meet the Beekeeper!

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Come spend some time with Monroeville beekeeper John Yakim. John will show everyone inside a real beehive and answer questions about honeybees, including how they make honey and how the honeybee helps improve our community. We’ll also learn what we can all do to help the bees survive and thrive!

Gallery Space

Elisa Beck:) 

LIKE Living Building Challenge Collaborative-Pittsburgh, Sustainable Monroeville, and Transition Pittsburgh on Facebook!

Adam Tuznik of Clean Water Action and IMPORTANT Action items this week and next week!

Happy December !

What does our Regenerative Future look like? What is a Tessla-Style Positive Energy Plant anyway? There's one in Russia that will take care of all of the energy needs of that country should the grid there go down.... So you say? What does that energy plant look like, and what does it do? How do we facilitate one of those Tessla`style plants in this Pittsburgh region on a site being prepared right now in Beaver County so we bring the Western PA region into the new moment of our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW as an incredible leader!
Donald Trump spoke with Al Gore for close to 90 minutes today and they talked about Climate Change! Hmmm. Did Al let Donald know how monetarily profitable, how gratifying, how unifying, how simply AMAZING the Regenerative Future will be for all of us? What is this new story you're telling me? It seems so different from what I am used to...How do I integrate all of it?

Try this for three minutes:
1) Connect with your heart. Go inside yourself. Connect with your heart in a way you feel comfortable with. Touch your heart with your hand, put your hands in prayer in front of your heart, or simply put your hands wherever you'd like and think of your heart.
2) Close your eyes. Slow your breath. Five seconds for an in breath and five seconds for an out breath. Three cycles of this breathing series...
3) BE compassion, gratitude, thankfulness. Count your blessings.

Adam Tuznik spoke with us tonight at our December 2016, Sustainable Monroeville meeting about Clean Water Action's initiatives including discussion about The Clean Water Rule, The "Clean" Power Plant, and the victory closing the Shenango Coke Works Plant. He mentioned the combined sewerage overflow issue and the Consent Decree...We asked about including composting toilets in the discussion of Permaculture planning to reverse the sewerage overflow issue.... Tough subject during a pot luck dinner! We missed Mya Zeronis and wonder where she is. We hope she is doing well... We talked about the importance of eating lower on the food chain as an action towards lessening our footprint on Mother Earth. We modeled taking care of ourselves by sharing a delicious whole food, plant based vegan meal together.

ACTIONS:

Mark your calendar to take a trip to Potter Township in Beaver County on the following dates: December 7, 2016 at 5:30 PM for the Press Conference regarding the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 13, 2016 at 3:00 PM for the final hearing and likely vote on land use issues for the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 15, 2016 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM for a Public Hearing about the Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Register to speak at this public hearing with Ms. Alwine at 412-442-4137. Location: Central Valley High School, 160 Baker road, Monaca, PA15061
December 17, 2016 at 10:00 AM to visit the site at the intersection of routes 376 and 18 one half hour north of Pittsburgh, PA to carry water protector and air protector signs outside the fence line of the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant site and to raise awareness in the area about REGENERATIVE ENERGY alternative ideas for this site that Shell Oil will be able to implement for the protection of our entire Pittsburgh region and to create a power of 10 more jobs than those that will be created by the proposed Cracker Plant!

 Send a letter to John Weinstein, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alcosan expressing your concern that not enough Regenerative Ideas are being included yet in the solution to the consent decree.

Learn about the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and how we can DIVEST from fossil fuels and INVEST in our REGENERATIVE FUTURE!

Many Blessings for our REGENERATIVE and Restorative FUTURE that is NOW!:)

Elisa Beck :)
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com

The Search For Sustainability

Happy 2016! What an amazing time to be alive! 

Join us on Monday evening, January 4, 2016 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM for the January meeting of Sustainable Monroeville.  Searching For Solutions, the first part of a 12 part Searching For Sustainability documentary will be shown. Join us in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library. Free and open to the public!

Please watch the film series trailer here  www.TheSearchForSustainability.com       After interviewing 49 leading visionaries in the sustainability movement, we've edited the content into 12 different facets of sustainability and look at everything from land, soil, water, and education - to politics, business, agriculture, self-reliance, and economics - all from the viewfinder of sustainability and regenerative living.    Every interview has something incredibly valuable to share, and every person we interviewed appears in one or more episodes.    Filming and editing this series has changed my life, my family's life, and inspired and educated us to live at such a higher level of connection and meaning and sustainability - giving us deeper tools and resources to continue advancing to more sustainable living - and I can't wait for you to experience the value and benefit we all have.    To a sustainable future,    Nathan     Nathan Crane is an award winning author, inspirational speaker, conscious filmmaker, and highly sought after publisher and promoter of personal growth teachings, books, events and training courses.  Nathan is the founder of the Panacea Companies including The Panacea Community, Panacea Publishing, Inc., Panacea Life School, and Panacea Hope.  He is the President and CEO of Integrated Health International, and produces highly transformational events that positively impact and transform hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.  Nathan's full venture, product, and resource list can be found at www.nathancrane.com

December 2015, Sustainable Monroeville, and COP 21 in Paris

Hello and Happy December!

In honor of the COP 21 conference in Paris, we will not have a Sustainable Monroeville meeting in December, 2015. Why no meeting this month? No free movie? No talking about how to create and document a more Sustainable Monroeville and a more Sustainable Metro Pittsburgh and more Sustainable Western PA? Hey, we will save some greenhouse gases! There's never been a person in all the years we've been having these meetings at the Monroeville Public Library that has biked or walked to a meeting in these suburbs. Prove me wrong! Yes, there have been carpools....
How are we individually and collectively going to reduce our carbon footprints?

Take time to catch up with filmmaker Mark Dixon on his journey. Learn from him and all the others who have put amazing time and energy into creating our new reality!

Follow these links for day by day COP 21 updates:
on Facebook: Mark's Climate Journey to COP 21
on the Blog: https://markatcop21.wordpress.com

Here's the link to the climate lecture Mark presented at a recent meeting of Sustainable Monroeville and has presented all over the Pittsburgh region: https://plus.google.com/115412509729507569276/posts/QC5Jpj4jjtZ

Mark is THE representative lay person who has traveled to Paris from Pittsburgh. Follow Pittsburgh's amazing Mayor, Bill Peduto, to see what is going on during the talks and figure out how you can shift your awareness and consciousness and wrap your heart and spirit around the changes you can make as an individual. Think of how you can be involved in your community to shift awareness and make positive changes towards carbon neutrality!

And get ready for an amazing 2016 life changing time! Happy Holidays and Happy end of 2015 and 2016 and Way Way beyond!!

Blessings,

Elisa Beck:)

Sahar Arbab on Sustainable Community Certification for Monroeville, PA, and Party; 7:00 to 8:30 PM on Monday evening, December 1, 2014!

You Are Invited! Join us on Monday evening, December 1, 2014, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, for our fun plant based pot luck dinner and to hear Sahar Arbab, of the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and working this year with Sustainable Pittsburgh, brief us, and work with us on our Sustainable Community Certification for the Municipality of Monroeville! Bring a plant based dish along with a cup, plate and utensils as we strive towards zero waste events!

Sustainable Monroeville meetings are free and open to the public and happen in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library. Invite a friend or two, come listen and learn, and share some delicious plant-based food! We do not limit our meetings to the residents of Monroeville, so feel free to invite friends and family from far and wide!

If you have time over the next few days, watch the movie ORIGINS on-line. You'll learn all about why eating a mostly plant based diet is a great sustainable, environmental thing to do! Here's the link: http://origins.well.org/movie/?contactId=466018&inf_contact_key=150fab727b0095191f4f813d22e96e6313c70467a284f8c280060c53fcedfead&inf_field_Email=elisabeck%40aol.com&inf_BH3oNHedtWJ98YNq=
the movie and related amazing videos are free to view for the next few days!

Someone said to me recently that I cannot consider myself an environmentalist if I eat meat. Chew on that line for awhile!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Elisa Beck :)
LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on FACEBOOK!

Court Gould of Sustainable Pittsburgh on Certifying Sustainable Municipalities! Monday evening, April 7, 2014

Join Sustainable Monroeville at 7:00 PM on Monday evening, April 7, 2014, in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library to hear Court Gould, Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh speak about how Monroeville can become the next Certified Sustainable Municipality! 

Accolades for the 18 Certified Sustainable Municipalities

Through an underwriting campaign on 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP, Sustainable Pittsburgh is bringing community accolades to the eighteen municipalities in southwestern Pennsylvania that have earned recognition through SP’s Sustainable Community Essentials Certification.

Ranging in certification level from Bronze through Gold, these municipalities have met the program's rigorous performance criteria, which tracks 131 policies and practices that define a sustainable community.

The Sustainable Community Essentials Certification assists municipalities with saving money, conserving resources and serving vibrant communities. Municipal officials, there is still time to complete the certification and be recognized. We can even provide hands-on assistance to get you started. Call us at (412) 258-6643 or visit www.sustainablecommunityessentials.org to learn more.

What you will find on the certification website
The certification website is chock full of useful information:
- Click “View Certified Municipalities near you” to see a list of certified municipalities and also those that have pledged to become certified.

- View the information municipalities provided to earn certification.
Once you access the list of certified municipalities, you will notice their names are live web links. These links allow access to the policies and practices the municipality claimed and points earned. From here one can follow web links (little green boxes) provided by the municipality to material on their website that the municipality provided as validation of their certification points earned.

- The “Learn” button on the home page includes a drop down menu link to a “Library of Sustainable Municipal Policies and Practices.” Tracking all 131 certification criteria, this library is automatically populated as municipalities provide their web links to validate their points earned.

Applause for Certified Sustainable Municipalities!
Gold: 
Forest Hills, Connellsville, Moon, Scott, Latrobe, Cranberry, Upper St. Clair, Baldwin, Monaca

Silver:
Edgewood, Dormont, Etna, Heidelberg, Findlay, Millvale, Peters, Mt. Lebanon

Bronze: 
Swissvale

Join us this coming Monday evening, March 3, 2014, for a plant based pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM, and to see the movie The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil  starting at 7:00 PM. Film run time is 53 minutes."When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990's, the country faced an immediate crisis-feeding the population-and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil-fuel intensive farming to small, less energy intensive organic farms and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one.

This film tells the story of the Cuban people's hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity-through cooperation, conservation and community, told in their own words. " "As the world (is experiencing) approaches (is the word in this text), Peak Oil. Cuba provides a valuable example of how to successfully address the challenge of reducing our energy use."

"Everyone who is concerned about Peak Oil needs to see this film. Cuba survived an energy famine during the 1990's, and how it did so constitutes one of the most important and hopeful stories of the past few decades. It is the story not just of individual achievement, but of the collective mobilization of an entire society to meet an enormous challenge." Richard Heinberg, author of The Party's Over, Powerdown

The time is now y'all. Let's learn together! Following the film on the Power of Community, we will show a few short excerpts of next month's film on the Latest in Clinical Nutrition by Michael Greger, M.D. creator of NutritionFacts.org. Dr. Greger is an amazing resource and appears each year at the North American Vegetarian Society meeting and recaps all of the literature produced from the prior year regarding nutrition. I call him a comedian doctor!

Join us with a friend or two and some of your family! This meeting is free and open to the public and you can be from any community! We'd love for you to join us! 

Elisa Beck :)

Founder, Sustainable Monroeville 

Cross pollinating communities; Join us!

Laura Beck and Pam Barroso of Monroeville at Schwartz Living Market's Upcycle/ARTZ Market!

Pat Fulkerson and his lovely wife, of Monroeville, participating in the South Side Soup Contest at the Schwartz Living Market! 

 Last month's Fifth Anniversary Pot luck dinner party of Sustainable Monroeville!

 Happy Five Years Sustainable Monroeville~!

 Hal Saville of EIS Solar demonstrating a solar panel at last month's meeting of Sustainable Monroeville. Thanks Hal!

 Houses with solar panels and smiling faces!

Life is Good! On Route 376 traveling towards Pittsburgh, PA!

Sustainable Monroeville's Five Year Anniversary Party Celebration! February 3, 2014, 6:00 PM Pot Luck dinner and 7:00 PM Hal Saville of EIS Solar.

Happy Anniversary to Sustainable Monroeville ! Join us for a wonderful pot luck party on Monday evening, February 3, 2014 at 6:00 PM in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library for the pot luck, and 7:00 PM to learn hands on practical SOLAR information for yourself, your family, and the community!

Hal talking about SOLAR at Schwartz Living Market during a meeting of SUNWPA folks!
Join us on Monday evening, February 3, 2014, to hear Hal Saville of EIS Solar talk with us about working together as a community to implement solar panels on all of the places we live and work.  Let's get started in Monroeville and surrounding communities collectively and collaboratively! When we work together, the price comes down.  

Monroeville is now "Solar-Ready"! The township's new solar ordinance, lays the path to encourage the growth of clean renewable energy on local homes and businesses. Energy Independent Solutions, the solar developer for Phipps Conservatory and many other local solar installations will host a free workshop explaining solar power basics, the new ordinance's purpose and how to get started with solar, including site evaluation, government incentives and project financing. Have your solar questions answered and your home or business evaluated at this informative workshop.

Hal Saville leaning on a Solar Array

We'll start out the five year anniversary celebration with a pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM. The meeting and talk by Hal Saville will begin at 7:00 PM. Remember to bring along your plate, silverware and a cup too, along with a friend, family, and a few neighbors. 

SAVE THE DATES: Sustainable Monroeville Meetings for 2014: February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, December 1, 2014 Elisa Beck :)

Green Healthy Schools Conference on November 4, 2010

The Green Healthy Schools Conference will be at Phipps Conservatory on Thursday, November 4, 2010 all day.

Go to the web site of the Green Building Alliance for details.

April 5, 2010 meeting with AJ Stones and Groundwater Up

The April meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is on Monday evening, April 5, 2010, at 7:00 PM in the program room of the Monroeville Public Library. Join us to hear AJ Stones, Master Green Builder and to see the movie trailer from Groundwater Up introduced by Bob and Tirza Mason. Our meetings start with introductions of those in attendance followed by the speakers and Q& A. Join Us!