Past deadline and under scrutiny, Allegheny County casts for consultants to draft  climate plan

Alisa Grishman was 19 when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now 42, she’s among the roughly four out of five people living with MS who experience dramatically worse symptoms when they get hot — from blurred vision to numbness and tremors.The heat dome which descended over the Northeast last month rendered her all but housebound.“As I get hot, I turn into a wet noodle. I lose all ability to function,” said Grishman, a wheelchair user and founder of the disability advocacy group, Access Mob Pittsburgh.As Allegheny County drafts its first Climate Action Plan [CAP] — a roadmap to “avoid dangerous climate change” — Grishman is one of the advocates seeking to have their perspectives included. During a council meeting earlier this month, County Executive Sara Innamorato said any plan would be predicated on “community engagement and small ‘d’ democracy.” But advocates like Grishman worry that the county risks greenwashing its climate ambitions if it contracts a consultancy company that fails to earnestly engage with the most vulnerable locals.The county began soliciting consulting firms to help draft a CAP on June 6, more than nine months after the council first asked for one. Interested companies were given 20 days to...