Sustainable Problems and Solutions MACS Green Week – Friday October 4, 2013 Cassandra Thiel, PhD University of Pittsburgh – Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Problems What should I wear for school today? – Affects you, your family?, your classmates?, your school? – Sustainability? I don’t like my vegetables at lunch today. What should I do about it? – Affects you, your health, your happiness – Affects your school

Problems My neighborhood has litter all over the sidewalks because no one will throw away their garbage. What can I do about it? – Affects your community’s look (respect), unity, safety; affects how you and your neighbors feel Someone’s been writing things on the bathroom wall. How can we stop this? – Affects how your school looks, how you feel – Costs money to fix

Problems Everyone buys so much brand new stuff. How should we change our habits? – Affects natural resource use (clothes, computers) – Affects how you feel, and how you interact with others Everyone drives to work. What can we do differently? – Adds to global climate change, local air problems – Makes people frustrated or angry, miss out on exercise

Stakeholders ? An entity (group, organization, member or system) that can be affected by the results of that in which they have a stake.

A New Playground for the School Who are the stakeholders? Community / Parents Teachers Students

Perspectives

A New Playground for the School

How will they decide what to build?

Limitations and Boundaries What’s limiting these three dreams? Money Time Regulations (safety) Space Sustainability?

Three Pillars of Sustainability People PlanetProfit What’s fair? What’s affordable? What’s good for the environment?

Problem: Combined Sewers

Problem: Combined Sewers US EPA estimates 6 billion gallons of raw sewage are discharged into Pittsburgh waterways (2004). Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) warnings 70 days a year in Pittsburgh where contact with the water in not recommended (2009). A CMU study found that only 32% of Allegheny County streams meet PA’s safety standards for fecal coliform bacteria (2005). Cost to fix could be $1 to $50 BILLION.

Problem and Potential Solutions Our sewers are combined and overflow often during rain events. We pour “clean” rainwater directly into our sewer systems and it causes “dirty” sewage to overflow, untreated into our lakes. We use a lot of water (even when it rains) and our system is at full capacity so it overflows often.

Stakeholders Citizens – People who work/live near the water – People who live in Pittsburgh – People who recreate on the water (kayak, boat) Politicians / City Officials Water Treatment Facility (& Institutions who use water) Wildlife (Fish!) Regulating Agencies (US Environmental Protection Agency – US EPA)

Citizens Perspective Gross Water (Can’t Swim!)Bad Traffic

Politician / City Perspective Limited Financial ResourcesPublic Support

Treatment Facility (Alcosan) and Water Users Perspective Limited ResourcesNeed to Use Water

Fish (Wildlife) Perspective More NutrientsPollution and No Oxygen

Federal Regulator Perspective Control Environmental Degradation Follow Laws

Activity – Town Hall Meeting What should we do about combined sewers? Count off to 5 1.Citizens 2.Politicians / City Officials 3.Treatment Facility 4.Wildlife 5.Federal Regulators Meet with your fellow stakeholders 5 minutes = Discuss what you (in your group) want to do about combined sewers Town Hall Meeting between all stakeholders

Town Hall Meeting What should we do about combined sewers?

What CAN we do about Combined Sewers? City planning: each new construction must have combined sewers Alcosan signed agreement with Federal and State EPA to assemble a plan to address CSO by 2012 and implement it by When we DO replace pipes, we should separate storm water and sewage Permeable pavement and green roofs Rain Barrels