One of PennFuture�s priorities is addressing global warming here at home. To that end, we�re building the Cool Pennsylvania Coalition, a group of organizations of all stripes: for-profit businesses, non-profits, community organizations, and faith-based institutions. To date, there are 130 endorsers, and the number is growing daily. This diverse group all agrees on one thing: it�s time for Pennsylvania to take action to address the growing problem of global warming.

The Cool Pennsylvania Coalition is calling for the State Legislature to pass the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act and for Governor Rendell to make Pennsylvania part of the Northeast Governors� Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Listen to Joy Bergey, PennFuture�s global warming outreach coordinator, interview four women, three of them business owners, who meet regularly in Philadelphia to discuss environmental issues facing us all, and how they�ve chosen to respond. Mary Ann Flaherty owns Farm Fresh Express, delivering locally grown farm products to households in southeast Pennsylvania. Deirdre Again runs her own landscape design business, using sustainable, earth-friendly methods. Sharon Kenny owns and operates Kenny�s Imprintables, and talks in this podcast about how the soy-based inks she uses are not only better for the environment than traditional inks, but are also cheaper and more effective. Andrea Kaldrovics works as a web designer in a Philadelphia hospital, and cares deeply about the earth.

If you are interested in joining PennFuture's efforts to curb global warming, please contact us. You can also sign up for our Cool Pennsylvania Partners list serve. Follow this link to become an organizational endorser of the Cool Pennsylvania Coalition.

PennFuture is hosting a FREE conference on March 25th in Coraopolis (a Pittsburgh suburb) entitled "Global Warming: An Activist's Primer." For more information and to register, visit our web site.

Listen as PennFuture's outreach coordinator Christine Knapp interviews speakers and attendees at the third Urban Sustainability Forum event: "Directing the Flow: Managing the City's Water" in Philadelphia. Christine talks to Glen Abrams, AICP, an Urban Watersheds Planner for the Philadelphia Water Department; Tom Cahill, Principal with Cahill Associates; Kumar Kishinchand, a former Water Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department; Jon Capacasa, Director of the Water Protection Division for the EPA Region 3; Carol Collier, Executive Director of the Delaware River Basin Commission; and Paul Schwartz, Water Policy Coordinator for Clean Water Fund.

The Urban Sustainability Forum is a public forum focusing on important issues facing Philadelphia, with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest, most livable city in America.

The Pennsylvania Senate passed an amendment today to the Clean Vehicles Program that was characterized by its supporters as a "win-win" for the program. Nothing could be further from the truth. The amendment made automaker compliance with the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program voluntary. It allows them to sell either the cleaner California-style cars here or revert to the dirtier federal standards. Automakers have been lobbying furiously against the Clean Vehicles Program, and this amendment gives them a big juicy red valentine for their efforts. It kills the program by removing the requirement for them to sell the cleaner cars. Some Senators may have been misled in voting for this amendment with information that it had the support of the Rendell Administration. It did not. This amended bill will probably get a vote tomorrow on the Senate floor. We elect people to high office to make choices and be leaders. The Clean Vehicles Program is the right thing for Pennsylvania. Senators should reject this bill and the attempt to gut the program by making compliance with environmental laws voluntary.

PennFuture's Director of Outreach Heather Sage talks with Pittsburgh artist, educator, and environmental activist Connie Merriman about her work raising awareness in an effort to protect a unique greenspace in Pittsburgh from destruction. Hays Woods, as Connie and her husband Tom, both with Carnegie Mellon Univerity's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, have dubbed the 635-acre undeveloped forest in Pittsburgh's Hays neighborhood located just south of the Monogahela River, is threatened by a proposed mixed-use development that would include a thoroughbred race track, retail, and luxury housing.

The developer proposes to deforest the majority of the site, a mature contiguous interior forest that lies within steep stream valleys, and then strip mine using a technique that is akin to mountaintop removal mining. In this way, the hilltops will be leveled and the valleys permanently buried, along with the six streams that flow through them. PennFuture and other citizens' groups have been active in working to protect the land from this destruction.

In this podcast, Connie and Heather drive to Hays Woods in search of the elusive "Snowball," an albino red-tailed hawk that has been observed living in the woods for the past four years. Connie hopes to capture Snowball's image on film to educate people about the many rare assets this forest in the city, that has been hidden in plain sight for decades, has to offer. To learn more about Hays Woods, visit www.savehayswoods.org.

Listen as PennFuture's Eastern Pennsylvania Outreach Coordinator Christine Knapp interviews speakers at the Urban Sustainability Forum's first event: "Life and Breath in the Big City: Philadelphia's Air in the 21st Century." Christine talks to Rob Diemer, the Chair of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, who conceived the idea for the Urban Sustainability Forum. Also hear from Joe Minott, Executive Director of Clean Air Council; Morris Fine, Director of the City's Air Management Services; and Brian Castelli with the Alliance to Save Energy about the status of Philadelphia's air, what the city can do to improve air quality for all residents, and what the broader objectives are for the Urban Sustainability Forums. Visit www.sustainablephiladelphia.com to learn more about the Urban Sustainability Forum- a public forum focusing on important issues facing Philadelphia with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest, most livable city in America.

PennFuture's Jan Jarrett sits down with economist, author and educator John Ikerd to discuss how agriculture and modern capitalism can and should be sustainable. Dr. Ikerd was one of three keynote speakers at the 2006 Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference. Ikerd's most recent book is called Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense.

Pennsylvania farmers are critical to the Commonwealth's economy, health, and future. PennFuture's Jan Jarrett explores the 15th Annual Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture's (PASA) Farming for the Future conference, entitled "Weaving a Diverse Landscape: Food as a Common Thread." Jan speaks with Kim Miller, PASA's Board President, about the PASA mission: promoting profitable farms which produce healthy food for all people while respecting the natural environment. She also speaks with Randy Gray, former State Director of the Nature Conservancy (Pennsylvania), who is now spearheading innovative initiatives that go beyond traditional land conservation practices such as conservation easements, focusing on creating economic drivers that make conservation economically viable. Finally, Jan sits down to dig into what sounds like a scrumptious home-grown feast at the PASA conference dinner.

Senate Bill 1025, which would kill the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program, remains on the Senate calendar for the week beginning February 6. The earliest that the bill could be voted is Tuesday. We know from conversations in the Capitol that senators – especially in southeastern Pennsylvania – have been receiving a steady flow of faxes, e-mails, letters and phone calls from constituents telling them to oppose this harmful legislation. The work of citizens from across the state is greatly appreciated by PennFuture and the other public health and environmental organizations supporting the Clean Vehicles Program. Keep it up—you are making a difference!

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on legislation (House Bill 1902) that will eliminate the expiration date of Pennsylvania’s recycling program, making the program permanent. Under current law, the fee on municipal solid waste that funds the recycling program is due to expire on January 1, 2009. House Bill 1902 is sponsored by Rep. Carole Rubley (R-Chester and Montgomery). PennFuture supports this legislation.

Governor Rendell will present his annual budget address to the General Assembly on Wednesday. The address was pushed back a day in anticipation of what will hopefully be a raucous victory parade for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday. Tune to Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) to watch Governor Rendell’s budget address live at 11:30 AM on Wednesday. PCN coverage of the address will begin at 10:30 AM, and continue afterward with reactions from legislative leaders. Visit www.pcntv.com/2_03_06.htm for more information on PCN’s coverage. You can also watch the address online at www.pcntv.com.

John Hanger, President and CEO of PennFuture and Jan Jarrett, Vice President, today released PennFuture's Policy Agenda for Pennsylvania, "Every Environmental Victory Grows the Economy." PennFuture releases a policy agenda every election cycle, and briefs candidates on specific proposals for growing Pennsylvania's economy and protecting our environment at the same time.

Two major PennFuture initiatives from our last policy agenda, the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard Act, and the $625 million Growing Greener II Bond Referendum, have been signed into law.

The agenda leads off with 11 environmental victories PennFuture believes will grow our state's economy, and that we will be focused on in the coming years. Recommendations range from establishing an energy capital budget, to a "Fix-it-First" transportation policy, to keeping antibiotics safe for human health.

PennFuture works diligently and collaboratively with coalitions of public interest, citizens', health, sporting, labor, and faith organizations; businesses; and government agencies on initiatives to improve our environment, communities, and economy. This podcast is approximately 40 minutes long, and is a recording of the press conference in Harrisburg where the agenda was first released.

To view the entire agenda, click here.

Overwhelming public support for the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicle Program has helped to keep SB 1025- a bill to kill the program - from coming to a vote this week. Bi-partisan opposition to this bill is growing. Now, the earliest a vote could occur is next Tuesday. Co-sponsors of the bill Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango) and Sen. Roger Madigan (R- Bradford), majority chairs of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy & Transportation committees, respectively, have been none too pleased with recent editorials such as this one in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, calling for opposition to the backwards bill. The soonest the bill will see real action is Tuesday, February 7, so stay tuned. If you haven't done so already, contact your state senator by using PennFuture's Action Center.