Pittsburgh’s Commitment to Sustainability Drives Innovative Sustainable Solutions/RNN/Renewable Now Network.com

Is this, perhaps, the essence of our commitment to building a cleaner, healthier future?  That it is, in fact, a creative process?  It is a dream not a burden.  Our journey to clean energy, less waste, smart cities, organic, local food is an innovators dream.  Pittsburgh's experience speaks volumes to the wonders of preserving resources and balancing an economy with an environment.

Within a world that sometimes seems on the verge of a meltdown, we work within the core, knowing that the planet sustains all life, to build a green future.  A future that speeds us through a migration away from fossil fuel, directly into the digital economy that takes advantage of data, technology and collective intellect.  We work on collaboration and cooperation.

Kudos to Pittsburgh for their track record and sharing their story with the rest of us so we can use their blue print for best practice.



Pittsburgh’s commitment to a sustainable future is driving the development of innovative solutions and new, green technologies that address the challenges of reducing energy usage, addressing stormwater issues caused by aging and inadequate infrastructure, and reducing the environmental impacts of shale gas development.

These efforts and more are captured in detail at PittsburghGreenStory.com, a new resource for journalists providing the latest news, data, stories, people and places driving Pittsburgh’s continuing green evolution.  Current leads featured on the site include:

Like many older cities served by aging infrastructure, Pittsburgh is challenged by combined stormwater runoff — and subsequent spillage into its rivers. In response, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) have released the Citywide Green First Plan, which outlines how Pittsburgh intends to use innovative, cost-effective and green infrastructure approaches to manage stormwater, mitigating local street flooding and sewer backups caused by heavy rainstorms.

 The proposed management practices will include solutions such as rain gardens, tree plantings, water detention basins, stream restoration, and pervious pavement that mimics natural processes to slow and capture rainwater.

Pittsburgh startup WindStax builds scalable, vertical axis wind turbines that can operate in urban environments. WindStax manufactures the largest vertical turbines in the U.S., requiring wind speeds as low as five miles. WindStax has pioneered linkages to microgrids and batteries to store energy, using their ZeroFirst™ technology to allow customers to transition between alternative energy sources, smooth supply and demand cycles, and still have public power as a fallback. WindStax turbines are portable, avian-friendly and silent.

- See more at: http://www.renewablenownetwork.com/pittsburghs-commitment-to-sustainability-drives-innovative-sustainable-solutions/#sthash.DVTe4WFH.dpuf