Rust to Renewal

[Posted by Ben]

I grew up in Ohio, a state in the U.S. just west of the city of Pittsburgh. I always had a vision of the city as a broken-down, dirty and polluted place, mostly because cities in Ohio such as Cleveland and Youngstown had similar problems with pollution and had undergone the same kind of dramatic decline when the steel and manufacturing industries shrank or closed all together. I always thought that Pittsburgh must be the same. It certainly did go through some very hard times over the last 30 years after the steel mills closed and people left the city by the thousands. But that’s why it was so striking to see the kind of city Pittsburgh has become. I never imagined the kind of vibrant renewal the city has undergone.



It is such an important part of life in America—this idea that people, companies, even whole cities can remake or renew themselves or change their course. Pittsburgh today is a city with a healthy mix of industry, technology and first-rate educational institutions where the scientists and innovators of tomorrow are being educated. There are still hard times, for sure and the city still has a lot of work ahead of it to continue its revitalization and continue growing "green jobs." But the transformation is dramatic and has lessons for anyone or anyplace that wants to remake itself.

It truly is a story of an entire community coming together to get through hardship and make a better city for the future generations to come.

Thanks to CoolerChoice.com for sharing the video with their readers! They're a good resource for what's new in environmental news.