Environmental History of Pittsburgh

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Environmental History of Pittsburgh

• RiverQuest

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A City at the Confluence

• Advantageous location on major rivers
• Natural resources, bituminous coal
• One of the worlds industrial centers from
  1850-1980
• Environmental history defined by air, water, and
  land

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1870s River Traffic
downtown
South Side
Steamboats and barges carry a valuable commodity.
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Bituminous Coal Pros Cons

• Cheap, easily attainable. Why?
• High BTU content when burnt
• CO2, Hg, As
• Mining wastes
• Undermining
• Smoke

What was the biggest barrier to controlling smoke
pollution?
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The Point, 1896
Why is the air in this picture mysteriously less
smoky?
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1906 Strip District
June, 1100 am
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1907 Flood
Penn Avenue, downtown
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Water Woes 1870s-1900s

• Highest Typhoid Fever mortality rate
• Why?
• Wells located adjacent to outhouses
• Sewage disposed of in river to 1958
• River is the drinking water supply!
• Modern Combined Sewer System, water filtration
  plant, chlorination-1907

ALCOSAN Plant came online in 1958.
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1911 Stacks Fifth Avenue
Jenkins Arcade, currently Fifth Avenue Place
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Smoky City, USA time??
A rainy autumn morning in fall 1945, 920 am.
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Nov. 5, 1945
1100 am?
1100 pm?
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1910s-1940s
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Hell, with the lid off.
Pittsburgh Steel Company, Monessen Works 1949
When did things start to change?
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Air Quality Movement

• 1930s St. Louis, MO passes ordinances to reduce
  pollution. How?
• Using cleaner-burning fuels
• Using mechanical combustion equipment
• 1940 Pittsburgh starts to follow suit
• New industry created to treat coal
• Most improvement due to advance of natural gas
  usage.

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Clear Improvements
Downtown as seen from the Liberty Tunnel

• 1945

1951
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You missed a spot
1952 a downtown building is cleaned of more
than 80 years of soot
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Other Changes

• 1950s regional railroads switch from
  coal-burning to diesel-electric locomotives
• 1960s metals industry still resistant to
  controlling emissions
• 1970s GASP works to advocate enforcement of
  Clean Air Act
• 1980s iron and steel industry collapse

Where did the steel industry go?
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Coal-to-Gas Controversy

• Why a grassroots uproar over the mandated
  conversion to gas heating?
• Costly to residents and small businesses
• Despite political opposition, Mayor Lawrence won
  reelection
• Controversy around clean air today?

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1972 Water Pollution Control Act

• Stringent controls on industrial pollution
• Increased local legislation
• Dozens of watershed agencies
• Ongoing concern over CSO, runoff
• Why is CSO and runoff getting worse?

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Land Use and Reclamation
LTV Works, 1945 Brownfield, 1975 South Side Work
s, 2005
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Herrs Island
1875- major Rail-stop for Livestock Huge
meat- Packing and Rendering Plants 1981, Brownfi
eld With toxic wastes
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Washingtons Landing
2.5 million clean-up has resulted in 70 million
in public and Private investment and over 1
million in city revenue
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The Waterfront, Homestead

• Former U.S.Steel Homestead Works
• Brownfield for 25 years
• 2002--opened as upscale destination for shopping,
  housing, nightclubs, movies, and corporate
  headquarters (Eat n Park, AIU3, etc.)
• Questionable benefit for adjacent neighborhoods
  of Munhall, Homestead, and West Homestead.

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Other Notable Projects

• Summerset at Frick Park
• Reclaimed slag dump on Nine Mile Run
• Pittsburgh Technology Center
• Reclaimed JL site on Monongahela
• Riverplace/Duquesne RIDC
• Reclaimed U. S. Steel site on Monongahela

Century III Mall and other shopping center
locations in West Mifflin and Jefferson Hills
are built on slag dumps. What are the risks?
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Green Pittsburgh

• Green Building Movement 1990s-2000s
• Sustainability
• Pittsburgh is a leader in 2006
• Indoor environment 80-90
• 40 buildings certified or included in Leadership
  in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

Pittsburgh Voyagers new vessel will be a green
boat. However, the US Green Building Council
chose not to assess a passenger vessel for LEED
status. Expect this to change in the next decade!
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Greener Things

• Buildings on brownfields (reclaimed)
• Systems save 30-60 on energy
• Systems save 20-50 on water
• Up to 90 of construction waste is recycled
• Abundant natural lighting
• Emphasis on healthy buildings

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ALCOA World HQ, North Shore
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PNC FirstSide Center
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PNC FirstSide Center
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David L. LawrenceConvention Center
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David L. LawrenceConvention Center
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Reclaiming the Place
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Rails to Trails
Great Allegheny Passage Montour Trail, Present Day
1935
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North Side becomes North Shore
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Three Rivers Park

• Mayor Tom Murphy
• Riverlife Task Force
• Friends of the Riverfront
• PAFBC, PADEP
• TAXPAYERS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
• TAXPAYERS OF ARAD

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River Resource Revenue
KAYAK PITTSBURGH rents kayaks to local paddlers
from a stand beneath the 7th Street Bridge near
PNC Park. FUN!
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Sailing by the Cultural District
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Pittsburgh Pioneers
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David L. Lawrence
Mayor, 1945-1957 2 terms as Governor of
PA

• Notable for bi-partisan coalitions for the common
  good
• Served an unprecedented four successive terms as
  mayor
• Brought the Mellon family and other influential
  people into the support of Renaissance I.

Mayor Lawrence started the first action groups to
fight against smog in Pittsburgh.
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Howard Heinz

• Son of H. J. Heinz, b. 1877
• Served many positions with Heinz Company, and
  served as trustee of many entities including PA
  Railroad, Mellon Bank, Regional Planning
  Association, Chamber of Commerce
• Notable commitment toward preserving natural
  spaces
• With other industrialists started the Greater
  Pgh. Parks Committee in 1932.

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Richard King Mellon

• Recruited by Mayor Lawrence to help lead the
  citys Renaissance I in the 1950s
• Helped establish Allegheny Conference on
  Community Redevelopment
• Pressured railroads to reduce emissions
• Outdoor enthusiast

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• Native of Springdale, PA
• PA College for Women grad
• MA, Zoology, Johns Hopkins
• Wrote radio scripts for US Bureau of Fisheries
  during Depression
• Prize-winning study of the ocean
• Articles and books on ecology of life and humans
  as part of nature
• Silent Spring (1962) warned about usage of
  synthetic chemical pesticide
• Testified before Congress 1963 for new Health
  Environ. Legislation.

Rachel Carson
Writer Scientist
Ecologist
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Steamboat Race 1912
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Healthy Water
Healthy Life
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